SEATTLE (AP) — The NHL will make the Emerald City from laiyongcai92's blog

 the home for its 32nd franchise after Seattle’s expansion bid was approved by the league’s Board of Governors. The move gives Seattle the major winter sports franchise it currently lacks and puts hockey in a market where the NHL believes it will thrive. A rundown of things to know about the decision:WHY SEATTLE?Seattle is the biggest U.S. market that doesn’t have either an NBA or NHL team. Its economy has boomed in the past decade since the departure of the NBA’s SuperSonics to Oklahoma City. It’s a city with disposable income and the itch to spend it on a new team. A season-ticket drive last spring had to be cut off at more than 30 Jaycob Megna Jersey Womens ,000 deposits.WHERE WILL THEY PLAY?The arena at Seattle Center is undergoing a $700 million privately financed renovation. The building started out as the Seattle Center Coliseum for the 1962 World’s Fair and has been the home for the NBA, minor league hockey and thousands of concerts and events. Its roof was given historic landmark designation, adding a complication to the construction, but it will essentially be an entirely new building built underneath the roof. The arena will hold 17,400 for hockey and is being designed with the idea of having the NBA return someday.WHEN DOES THE PUCK DROP?The 2021-22 season. Seattle would have loved to have its team take the ice for the 2020-21 season, but arena renovations may not be done in time and no one wants to risk it. Preliminary work has been underway on the arena since an agreement between Oak View Group and the city of Seattle was finalized in late September, but the heavy work can now get started. The construction requires a significant amount of digging to create the space needed for a modern building under that roof.Labor uncertainty also hovers over all things NHL because owners or players can vote in September 2019 to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement one year later — right before the beginning of the 2020 season.NAME? COLORS? LOGO?Good luck getting any info from the ownership group about a potential name. They have given no hints while the public has taken to online suggestions that include everything from the Metropolitans, Totems and Breakers (tributes to Seattle’s hockey history) to the Pilots, Steelheads, Sockeyes and even the Kraken. The expectation is that the franchise name will be announced sometime in the first half of 2019.As for colors, it’s anyone’s guess. Seattle franchises almost all have a shade of green included, so don’t be surprised if that’s part of the scheme.SWEET 16?The addition of Seattle will give the Western Conference a 16th team to mirror the East. The Central Division has seven teams and the Pacific Division has eight. Seattle will be placed in the same division with Vancouver, the closest team by geography, so that means Arizona will be moved out of the Pacific and into Central starting with the 2021 season.VEGAS Ryan Dzingel Jersey , PART TWO?NHL general managers will be a little more leery about the players made available in the expansion draft after watching Vegas go all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in its first year last season. Seattle may not have the same immediate success as the Golden Knights, but with the management team in place — coach and GM still pending — don’t be surprised if Seattle is successful early in its NHL lifetime. TORONTO (AP) — Toronto coach Mike Babcock said the Maple Leafs got schooled by Nashville.Pekka Rinne made 18 saves for his third shutout of the season and the 54th of his career as the Predators defeated the Maple Leafs 4-0 Monday night.Mattias Ekholm, Kevin Fiala and Colton Sissons each had goal and an assist for Nashville, and P.K. Subban also scored.“We got a lesson from a veteran team,” Babcock said. “In the third period in particular … they just stayed patient.“They were heavy on the puck, heavy on their sticks, detailed, blocked shots, competed. I liked their game.”Michael Hutchinson stopped 28 shots for the Maple Leafs, who hit the post three times and had a goal called back for offside.Nashville improved to a league-best 22-2-0 when leading through two periods.“Defensively, we played a great game,” said Rinne, who had 23 shots blocked in front of him. “They have a dangerous team.”The Maple Leafs were coming off one of their most complete performances of the season in Saturday’s 5-0 shutout of Vancouver, but have lost three of their last four after a five-game winning streak.“It was a tight game Womens Tom Pyatt Jersey ,” Leafs center John Tavares said. “They’ve been through a lot of battles over the last few years and have really proven themselves and know how to win.”The Predators were playing for the third in in four nights. They opened their season-long six-game trip with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday — a performance that head coach Peter Laviolette described as “awful” — and then beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday.“The past two games, that Preds hockey,” Subban said. “That’s the way we play when we’re playing our best. We make it tough.”Rinne is now tied with Marc-Andre Fleury, Bernie Parent and Ed Giacomin for 21st on the all-time shutout list.After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Predators went ahead at 4:08 of the second period when Ekholm’s shot from the point, through traffic, beat Hutchinson for his fifth of the season.Hutchinson was making his third consecutive start with No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen and backup Garret Sparks out injured.Ekholm has 29 points in 43 games. His career best was 35 points in 2015-16.Toronto appeared to tie the game 43 seconds later when Auston Matthews connected on a no-look pass from Andreas Johnsson. But the goal was called back after the Predators correctly challenged that William Nylander was just ahead of the play.After Rinne stopped Johnsson in front, Subban made it 2-0 with his fourth goal at 13:11. The Predators won an offensive zone faceoff before the Nashville defenseman, who was playing his seventh game back after missing 19 with an upper-body injury, ripped a one-timer that deflected off Nylander’s stick at the point and sailed past Hutchinson.“He’s got to get better,” Babcock said of Nylander. “All the details, all the compete, all that stuff has just got to keep getting better.“The urgency level has to be there.”Subban, a Toronto native whose parents were on hand at Scotiabank Arena http://www.senatorsshoponline.com/authentic-zack-smith-jersey , dropped to one knee and pumped his fist in celebration at center ice, before being congratulated by teammates.Rinne stopped Mitch Marner late in the period as Toronto managed just 14 shots through 40 minutes.Nashville, which came in having won three of its last four on the heels of a six-game skid, got a power play early in the third. The best chance came on a partial breakaway by Toronto center Frederik Gauthier, who shot over the Predators’ goal.Toronto got its third opportunity with the man advantage later in the period, but Matthews hit the post for the second time with Rinne out of position.Hutchinson kept his team in it with a glove save on Viktor Arvidsson with six minute left in regulation, but lost control of a rebound and Sissons scored his eighth with 2:37 left in regulation.Fiala added his eighth goal with 37.3 seconds left.Matthews blasted a shot off the post for the game’s first real chance before Filip Forsberg, who returned to the Nashville lineup after missing 17 games with a hand injury, forced a good stop by Hutchinson at the other end.With just two goals over his last nine games coming into Monday, Kasperi Kapanen hit the post off a nice feed from Connor Brown on an odd-man rush later in the period.NOTES: Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said before the game he doesn’t know when Andersen (groin) or Sparks (concussion) will return to action. Andersen has practiced twice in recent days. … Despite his prolonged absence, Forsberg’s 14 goals are still tied with Craig Smith for Nashville’s team lead heading into Monday.UP NEXTPredators:At Chicago on Wednesday.Maple Leafs: At New Jersey on Thursday._____