from James A. Conley of Shnarped,

Relocation isn’t the big money-maker expansion is, but it’s not without benefit. The Winnipeg Jets paid an expansion fee of $60 million to make their exodus from Atlanta. Another relocation won’t fetch the nine-figure number that an expansion team would, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, in any case.

There are other concerns with expansion, of course. Diluted talent. An expansion draft. There are legitimate risks to the on-ice product in an expansion scenario.

Relocation would bring no such risk to the game itself.

Adding two fantastically successful franchises to the NHL mix is a dream scenario, and could serve to further bolster the league’s bottom line at a time when their finances have never been so good.

But there is so little guarantee of success, especially in the short term, that relocation could prove to be the better bet.

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