Sure the Maritimes might have two new teams next season, but what does that mean to the Lewiston Maineiacs’ organization, players and fans?

Money, new teammates and new divisional alignments, to name a few.

But expansion is still a big official question mark, pending any bids by groups in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Saint John, New Brunswick.

“What happened this weekend, and all that has happened so far, is that we as owners have given approval for expansion to happen,” said Maineiacs owner Mark Just on Tuesday. “Over then next few weeks we have to set criteria for expansion, and if the groups in those cities are still interested, and we all believe that they will be, then we can go ahead with the process.”

Just and the other owners of the 16 current Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams voted last Saturday to allow the league to expand to 18 teams next season, and identified St. John’s and Saint John as the two cities the league would like to welcome.

“Because of the buildings those two cities had, and because of the hockey towns that they are and have been for a while, we singled those two out,” said Just.

For the Maineiacs, expansion will have a few immediate effects, the first of which will be an equal share of the expansion fee the new franchises will pay to join the league. No figure has officially been set, but early estimates hover around $3 million.

“To me, and I know to a lot of the other owners, that isn’t as big a factor,” said Just. “I can’t really get into everyone else’s head, of course, but the common discussion wasn’t so much about the money for the rest of us.”

Perhaps the biggest issue for the rest of the league will be stocking the new teams with players. Again, a final plan will be hashed out by the governors and then handed to the owners for approval, but the common idea so far is an expansion draft at the end of the season.

“We do not know exactly how many players will be involved,” said Maineiacs general manager and coach Clem Jodoin. “It could be 12, 13, 14, we just don’t know. The players, though, now that this has happened, have to realize that things might change around Christmas, and they have something else to play for now.”

The team will be allowed to protect only a certain number of players from the expansion draft, and yet to be decided is whether or not the 16-year-old players will be eligible.

Rumor persisted for much of the week prior to the owner’s meetings that Montreal would be a major part of the discussions due to its clout among advertisers.

“I know I didn’t give it much credibility,” said Just. “Only one team has survived in there in the last 15 years. Geographically, Drummondville, Gatineau and Shawinigan would love to have another team in there, but I don’t know how many times you have to get hit over the head before reality sets in.

“If Serge Savard’s group couldn’t make it work (he owns the PEI Rocket and moved them last year from Montreal), who will? They are going to have to do a great selling job on me and some of the other owners for that to ever happen.”

One of the final pieces of the puzzle for the governors and owners to decide will be re-alignment based on the new 18-team structure, something about which many people have speculated.

“The next few weeks will tell a lot,” said Just, “because the groups have to have their new applications in by Nov. 30, the next couple of weeks will be a lot of meetings and phone calls getting things ironed out. In the end, we feel that we have done what is best for the league.”