Expanded Schedule? Yes. Expansion? No.

The NHL and NHLPA are in the midst of negotiations for the new CBA, and one of the things on the table is expanding the regular season from 82 games to 84.  This has been discussed for the past few years and seems likely to happen.  Along with that would be a reduction of the preseason, which is currently at six games per team (and I'd imagine will drop to four games each).

Adding two games to the regular season makes sense for practical purposes.  After Seattle joined the league, teams had two division games taken away so that they could play the Kraken twice.  As a result, there are two division opponents that teams only play three times a season while playing each of their other division rivals five times.  Teams don't like that imbalance and would prefer to play everybody in their division the same number of times.  So, going to 84 games would give teams those two division games back while still accounting for the two games against the Kraken.

While expanding the schedule is a smart, logical idea, expanding the league is not.  Now, the NHL doesn't appear to be actively considering expansion, but that hasn't stopped fans and potential ownership groups in places that want NHL teams from suggesting that the league should expand to their city.  It shouldn't.

One of the cities that seems particularly keen on getting an NHL expansion team is Atlanta.  Some in the Atlanta camp have even suggested that it's a done deal.  It isn't, nor should it be.  Because the NHL has already put a team in Atlanta twice...and they both moved to Canada!  Why do they think the third time would be the charm?  Or, why not cut out the middleman and just put the team in Quebec City right away so that it saves a step when Atlanta inevitably fails again? 

Part of the momentum for this "the NHL should expand" push is because of the Arizona Coyotes.  Technically, the Coyotes didn't move to Utah.  Officially, the Mammoth are considered an expansion team and the Coyotes are "inactive."  Their owner was even promised a new franchise if he won the land auction to build an arena.  And, since 33 teams wouldn't have been practical long-term, a resurrected Coyotes likely would've had an expansion partner to get the league back to an even number (albeit an awkward one) of 34.

However, there's an important point regarding the Coyotes that's worth mentioning.  The land auction was cancelled, so the new arena's not happening.  As a result, the owner has abandoned his attempts to revive the franchise.  He relinquished the franchise rights and intellectual property back to the NHL.  So, the Coyotes aren't coming back.  While it's not official yet, the franchise has effectively folded.  And, if Arizona's not returning to the NHL, there's no need for a 34th team to join the league with them.

All of the expansion proponents agreed that 33 and 34 were both clunky numbers, so 36 became the common thought.  That obviously works out the best math-wise since it would be six divisions of six and 18 teams per conference.  But that's the only place where the math works out.  Whether it's 82 or 84 games, figuring out the schedule would be a challenge.  And, more importantly, the NHL doesn't need four more teams!  There's a lot of talent out there, but are there 100 NHL-caliber players who aren't currently in the league?

Atlanta and Phoenix also seem to be the only cities mentioned as potential NHL expansion locations.  We've already established that Phoenix ain't happening!  And Atlanta won't be joining the NHL by themselves.  So, where's the second team then?  (Atlanta and Phoenix are also connected in an indirect way since they were both the Winnipeg Jets--with the original Jets leaving Winnipeg for Phoenix and the current Jets moving to Winnipeg after their past life as the Atlanta Thrashers.)

Quebec City is also a one-time NHL city that has sought to return as an expansion franchise.  They even built a new arena in Quebec City several years ago.  There was even talk after the Golden Knights joined the league that Quebec might get the other expansion team, which, obviously, ultimately went to Seattle.  So, yes, there's interest in a revived Quebec Nordiques.  NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has even acknowledged that.  However, he also made it clear that there's no timetable for anything expansion-related, so there's just as much wishful thinking on Quebec's part as Atlanta's.

So, OK, you're going to Atlanta and Quebec.  That's the clunky, awkward 34.  How are you getting to 36?  Salt Lake City's no longer an option now that they have the Mammoth.  And, unless another owner emerges and they can find a suitable arena site, neither is Phoenix.  So, where are you putting those other two teams?

Houston is the only other city that seems even remotely realistic.  It's the largest city in the country that doesn't have a team in all four major men's pro sports, but had a successful AHL team for years.  Houston's obviously a big enough market and an NHL team could obviously share the Rockets' arena.  It could be a natural in-state rival for Dallas, too.  But how much interest is there in a Houston hockey team?

And that's really it.  Outside of Quebec, there aren't really any Canadian cities that would make sense.  There's been talk about Hamilton, but they're not putting a team in a city that's literally in between Buffalo and Toronto!  That doesn't exactly bring the NHL to a new market or back to a former market.  (And how many people in Hamilton would actually drop the Leafs to root for an expansion team instead?)

Likewise, are there any other random cities in the U.S. outside of those I've already mentioned that could be considered viable potential NHL markets?  What would those even be?  Milwaukee (never been mentioned)?  Kansas City (been floated as a relocation option for some teams)?  Charlotte (do we need another team in the South)?  Indianapolis (never been mentioned)?

NHL expansion may sound great in theory to those who are proponents of it.  But, in reality, it wouldn't make logical sense for so many reasons.  The NHL currently has 32 teams.  That's tied with the NFL for the most among the major North American men's pro leagues.  Sorry, Atlanta, but it doesn't need to get any bigger.