Soon, I hope. I think the NHL should have 40 teams. The best way to create NHL fans is through expansion. Whether it's California, Dallas, Columbus or Florida, teams create fans, young people and beer-leaguers who want to play. We have NHL players born in California, South Florida, Texas and so on. I think the talent pool is deep enough for another 250-300 players, especially with the international pool and more American talent like Eichel and Auston Matthews (from Scottsdale, Ariz., and likely the top pick next year) being developed by USA Hockey.

There is a great potential for growth in hockey and the NHL should be very aggressive, especially with youth football numbers dropping. Hockey needs to seize the chance to get kids who are not signing up for football. Get a kid playing hockey early on and you've got them for life.

-John Buccigross of ESPN, who writes about many more hockey topics...