Is this what the NHL wants???
Is this what the NHL wants???
Unless an absolutely unforeseen finish to the season occurs, the NHL will crown it's 23rd straight Stanley Cup champion from the United States.
I know we got a handful of hockey fans that follow the board and I figured I would pose a question that doesn't revolve around Sidney Crosby and see if anyone wanted to discuss it.
Does anyone think hockey constantly losing in its most feverish hot bed will hurt the sport in the long term?
At this point it just goes beyond winning Stanley Cup. There isn't a single team from our northern neighbors that has been remotely competitive this season. As of today (2/15/16), the 4 western conference Canadian teams sit 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th out of 14 teams. It doesn't get much better in the east where Canadian teams rank 12th, 13th, and 16th respectively.
It seems to be a disease that is beginning to leak over the boarder. Minnesota sits 10th in the west and Buffalo sits 14th in the east. The further south you travel, the more success you are seeing. Los Angeles leads Pacific, Florida leads the Atlantic, Dallas leads the Centeal, and at least one team leading a division has a threat of a snow fall throughout the season in Washington. California, Florida, and Texas currently have all 6 teams in playoff positions.
Beyond just having a bad season up north, many of these teams seem to be spinning the tires for quite a while now. Oilers have been absolutely atrocious for a decade, the Maple Leafs have seen very limited success and are selling off any tradable asset they currently have, Buffalo pulled the old "tank for the future" but still seem a few years away, Winnipeg has never shaken off the mediocrity they inherited from Atlanta, and last year is proving to be a "diamond in the rough" type of season for a Calgary team that has been buried in a cellar since the lockout.
Ottawa does have some good young talent but their defense needs a complete overhaul (enter Pfanuef from Toronto) and both Montreal and Vancouver have above average talent that has been decimated with injuries.
With the tight salary cap restriction and player maximums, I feel the struggle for these teams lies with players that would much rather live and raise a family in climates that aren't brutally cold in the winter. Should the NHL reconsider these rules to help lure talent back to the hockey hungry markets?
I know we got a handful of hockey fans that follow the board and I figured I would pose a question that doesn't revolve around Sidney Crosby and see if anyone wanted to discuss it.
Does anyone think hockey constantly losing in its most feverish hot bed will hurt the sport in the long term?
At this point it just goes beyond winning Stanley Cup. There isn't a single team from our northern neighbors that has been remotely competitive this season. As of today (2/15/16), the 4 western conference Canadian teams sit 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th out of 14 teams. It doesn't get much better in the east where Canadian teams rank 12th, 13th, and 16th respectively.
It seems to be a disease that is beginning to leak over the boarder. Minnesota sits 10th in the west and Buffalo sits 14th in the east. The further south you travel, the more success you are seeing. Los Angeles leads Pacific, Florida leads the Atlantic, Dallas leads the Centeal, and at least one team leading a division has a threat of a snow fall throughout the season in Washington. California, Florida, and Texas currently have all 6 teams in playoff positions.
Beyond just having a bad season up north, many of these teams seem to be spinning the tires for quite a while now. Oilers have been absolutely atrocious for a decade, the Maple Leafs have seen very limited success and are selling off any tradable asset they currently have, Buffalo pulled the old "tank for the future" but still seem a few years away, Winnipeg has never shaken off the mediocrity they inherited from Atlanta, and last year is proving to be a "diamond in the rough" type of season for a Calgary team that has been buried in a cellar since the lockout.
Ottawa does have some good young talent but their defense needs a complete overhaul (enter Pfanuef from Toronto) and both Montreal and Vancouver have above average talent that has been decimated with injuries.
With the tight salary cap restriction and player maximums, I feel the struggle for these teams lies with players that would much rather live and raise a family in climates that aren't brutally cold in the winter. Should the NHL reconsider these rules to help lure talent back to the hockey hungry markets?
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konjo78
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Re: Is this what the NHL wants???
Im sure nhl would like toronto and montreal to be better but new york, la, chicago and boston are 4 keystone cities to just about every american sport.
Re: Is this what the NHL wants???
abpk, your last statement, albeit in microscopic print, was the most telling. If you are a modestly-talented Canadian athlete, wouldn't you rather further your career in a warmer climate that is also more inclined to be financially beneficial to the individual? Follow the monetary exchange rates.
It ain't over until it's over.
Re: Is this what the NHL wants???
abpk2903 - While you make solid points about the decline in production in the 7 Canadian teams, it still does not change that hockey is the sport our northern neighbors hold dear. So I do not think that it will hurt the sport in the long run.
Here are the average attendance numbers from NHL teams in the 2015-16 season thus far (data comes from ESPN)
Montreal - 21,288 (100 % capacity)
Toronto - 19298 (102.5%)
Calgary - 19,148 (99.3%)
Vancouver - 18,422 (97.4%)
Ottawa - 17,925 (93.6%)
Edmonton - 16, 839 (100%)
Winnipeg - 15,294 (101.9%)
The attendance data from the last 5 years is relatively the same for the 7 Canadian teams.
Hockey is the Canadian past-time. They have 7 NHL teams, 3 AHL teams, 3 major-junior hockey leagues (WHL, OHL, and QMJHL), along with countless other junior leagues from the A level to the C level, just feeding the constant need for the sport in Canada. There is also the chance of another Canadian team being added over the next few years (Quebec City), if expansion is agreed upon by the league.
Here are the average attendance numbers from NHL teams in the 2015-16 season thus far (data comes from ESPN)
Montreal - 21,288 (100 % capacity)
Toronto - 19298 (102.5%)
Calgary - 19,148 (99.3%)
Vancouver - 18,422 (97.4%)
Ottawa - 17,925 (93.6%)
Edmonton - 16, 839 (100%)
Winnipeg - 15,294 (101.9%)
The attendance data from the last 5 years is relatively the same for the 7 Canadian teams.
Hockey is the Canadian past-time. They have 7 NHL teams, 3 AHL teams, 3 major-junior hockey leagues (WHL, OHL, and QMJHL), along with countless other junior leagues from the A level to the C level, just feeding the constant need for the sport in Canada. There is also the chance of another Canadian team being added over the next few years (Quebec City), if expansion is agreed upon by the league.
Re: Is this what the NHL wants???
Another issue that has plegued Canadian teams in the past is the exchange rate. The NHL does the best they can to keep the salary of Canadian players equal to what the same player would make in the U.S. but I recall incidences in the past where Canadian players made notably more or less than American players based on the fluctuating value of the Canadian Dollar vs American Dollar.
I don't think this mediocrity is going to kill the sport of hockey but I do think it can impact the NHL. I've noticed Canadian hockey analyst shifting more and more of their attention towards Junior Hockey, International Hockey, and College Hockey.
Think of it this way. Let's say the Steelers have 25 straight years of just poor football. Do I think western PA will no longer follow football as much? I don't. But I do think western PA might put more interest into High School and College Football (especially the competitive local teams) and less interest into the NFL.
I don't think this mediocrity is going to kill the sport of hockey but I do think it can impact the NHL. I've noticed Canadian hockey analyst shifting more and more of their attention towards Junior Hockey, International Hockey, and College Hockey.
Think of it this way. Let's say the Steelers have 25 straight years of just poor football. Do I think western PA will no longer follow football as much? I don't. But I do think western PA might put more interest into High School and College Football (especially the competitive local teams) and less interest into the NFL.
Re: Is this what the NHL wants???
Easy fix is to float the contract to the exchange rate on the time it pays out.
Same issue I've had with Florida for years not having an income tax. Adjust the contract terms to be % less for non-taxed income states to make, truly, the value of the contract the same throughout both countries to the individual. Otherwise, salary caps, floors, minimum terms, vet minimums, etc, aren't equal.
Same issue I've had with Florida for years not having an income tax. Adjust the contract terms to be % less for non-taxed income states to make, truly, the value of the contract the same throughout both countries to the individual. Otherwise, salary caps, floors, minimum terms, vet minimums, etc, aren't equal.