Less is more | Mar Sees's Blog

Ok why not? Even though I'm dreaming in technicolor, I figured I'd throw in my two cents regarding the state of the NHL. So now the league wants a franchise in Europe. What? Are you kidding me? Then they want to add more teams in North America? Unless that includes Canada, give me a break. And I'll tell you why.

I fully acknowledge that there are plenty of American cities that love hockey. In fact, some may even have better fan bases then certain Canadian cities. But let's be realistic. In the U.S as a whole, hockey will never be a top sport. Want some evidence? Start with the fact that it normally loses out to college sports in level of importance and media attention, and many arenas around the league are nearly empty during the regular season. Then consider that some residents of North Carolina didn't even know who the Hurricanes were the year they won the cup. Why then is the league thinking of expanding to more U.S cities that don't want to care about hockey? Think about this as well: why is there only one professional baseball and basketball team in Canada? Because for the most part, people don't care about it enough. So why doesn't the NHL realise this is the case regarding hockey in some U.S cities?

I understand it's all about money, but maybe the answer is to target the cities that actually will make the most money, rather than pushing a sport on people that could care less. I won't even get into European NHL teams, because current western teams already whine about travel and jet lag. Yikes. Anyways, I've taken the liberty of formatting a new 26 team league. I want to apologize to the real hockey fans in the cities that I am eliminating and/or re-locating, I would be upset if it happened too. But I eventually got over the Expos leaving Montreal.

Eastern Conference:

Boston, Buffalo, Hamilton, Montreal, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey, Ottawa, Quebec City, Philidelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington

Western Conference:

Anaheim, Calgary, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Minnesota, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Jose, Vancouver, Winnipeg

The teams that are now riding off into the sunset (or re-locating however you want to look at it): Atlanta, Carolina, Columbus, Florida, Los Angeles, Nashville, Tampa Bay.

Why three teams all around the "golden horseshoe" of southern Ontario, plus Buffalo? Same reason why there are essentially three New York area teams. Why keep Phoenix and not Los Angeles? Because even with #99 on the ice, the Kings couldn't remain legit. Let's give big Wayne another chance to make it work in the desert. Why give Winnipeg and Quebec City another go around? Because Minnesota proved that 2^nd time is the charm.

All this likely won't happen, but here's hoping.