The Future of the NHL...in 1958

I recently found an interesting article in an April 1958 issue of Hockey Blueline magazine. It is an interview with New York Rangers General Manager, Muzz Patrick in which he predicts what the future of hockey will look like in the distant future of 1978. Firstly, Patrick discusses the potential of expansion by the NHL; "I'd say that Los Angeles and San Francisco are the most likely cities to join the NHL in an eight-team league. They're building an 18,000 seat arena in Los Angeles now. That is the primary consideration. You must have an arena with a minimum of 12,000 seats. But more than that may be necessary to pay travelling expenses to the Coast." The Los Angeles Kings and Oakland Seals would of course join the NHL as part of a six team expansion in 1967, perhaps a little later than Patrick predicted. The Seals would remain only until 1976 and the Bay Area would be without an NHL team until the San Jose Sharks joined the league in 1991. Next, the Rangers GM talks