Whenever the proposition of the NHL relocating a team or expanding comes up, people will point to cities like Portland or Quebec City as expansion spots. Why these cities? Both Portland and Quebec have successful hockey histories. Portland has the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, who are regularly at the top of WHL attendance. Quebec City has a long history mainly focused on, the former NHL and World Hockey Association team, the Quebec Nordiques. A lot of people will claim that a market with a strong hockey history is almost guaranteed to have success.

http://thehockeywriters.com/judging-...ockey-history/