Breaking: Major rumor could change the face of the NHL forever.

There have long been rumors that only one team will be granted an expansion franchise, and those rumors suggest that team will be situated in Las Vegas. The logical conclusion here would be to assume Quebec City gets screwed and has to continue waiting for the hope of a new team, but that may not be the case at all.

According to Habs insider Marco Normandin, Vincent Cauchon, a French radio host for CHOI Radio X in Quebec, dropped a bombshell on the radio today, one that could change the face of the National Hockey League forever. Cauchon revealed that two very reliable sources, one based in Ontario and one based in Montreal, have both informed him that the Carolina Hurricanes are on the verge of making the move to Quebec City.

This would be a massive shift for the National Hockey League, and would mark yet another team failure in an American market that was forced to relocate to Canada to survive, something that is highly unlikely to sit well with commissioner Gary Bettman. Despite that, a report from TVA Sports earlier this week also lends credence to this blockbuster rumor, that report revealed that a group representing the Hurricanes, including owner Peter Karmanos, were in Quebec last week.

The Hurricanes have had a laughable attendance this season, and there's almost no doubt the team is haemorrhaging money at the moment, and if you really stop and look at the long term picture this move could make a ton of sense for the NHL when it comes to balancing out the conferences. With the Hurricanes moving to Quebec, an expansion team in Las Vegas, and a potential expansion team in Seattle down the line, the NHL would have 32 teams, and would once again have balance in their conferences.

The good news is according to Cauchon we won't need to wait long for an answer to this rumor, he believes the announcement could come as soon as at the end of the regular season, and there have been whispers of a big announcement coming down on the 12th of April, although the two rumors could be unrelated.

[pub]