Alright. This is what I'm talkin about! A hockey discussion w/ true hockey fans.
First off, to touch on Jamie's view about the Preds. Honestly, if the Preds don't make the playoffs, no one cares. The only way to sustain a fan base is to be competitive year in and year out. Perfect example locally for me is the Ducks. They don't draw, never have. The year they went to the Finals, they had a figure in the LA Times that said the Ducks sold out 5 dates all season: the 2 times they play the Kings, the 2 times they play the Wings and the 1 time they face the NY Rangers. As soon as they went into the postseason, everyone was on the bandwagon. Once they went back to Duck-form this past season, no one cared. No one around town was talking Ducks or wearing anything Ducks. If the Nashville fans are die-hard and loyal, they'll come back after this lockout. I personally have my doubts. I just look at all the other teams in the NHL over the past few years that had a playoff run and then stunk the next season and the fans jumped off the bandwagon (Anaheim, Caroline, etc.)
My reasoning for folding franchises ties directly into revenue and the issues of a salary cap. Bottom line guys, a salary cap isn't a cure all and isn't the way to go. Sure the NFL does well, but there are other reasons the NFL does well, namely their TV deal which generates over $80 million for each team. That's right kids, $80 million. The NHL deal gives no money to it's teams. The only thing, the ONLY thing a salary cap does is ensure owners of franchises such as Edmonton, Calgary, Carolina, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, etc that put no money into their team in terms of payroll turn a profit. That's the sole reason the owners want a cap. If a cap gets put in place, does that really guarantee that Phoenix becomes a Cup contender? Does that mean Atlanta wins the Eastern Conference? No. It doesn't. The only reason some of the teams like Carolina and Anaheim have done what they've done is because of the rules that focus on decreasing scoring. Teams w/ no talent obstruct the teams w/ talent and play ugly hockey all the way to the promise land. It's a travesty.
Eliminating some franchises eliminates a lot of the issues the NHL has. We wouldn't even be talking about a cap if the league hadn't over expanded. As long as Gary Bettman is in power, this league is in trouble. He has no direction other than his cap-mindedness and no idea on how to improve this game.
As a local LA guy, take the Kings out of contraction talk. They draw, and draw well. There are tons of die-hard Kings fans around here. I don't know who mentioned them as being abysmal or whatever, but that's so far off. If anything, the Ducks need to go, not the Kings.
As for not folding any Canadian franchises, I'll say it again: You can't. Look at the sentiments Morgbug has conveyed. Now what happens to the game and it's overall fan base if we fold the Flames, the Canucks, the Oilers and Senators? Can you honestly tell me that hockey as a whole survives w/ only 2 franchises in the great white north? Hell, most of the people watching hockey in June regardless of who is playing are Canadians. What would have happened to the overall state of affairs had the Flames been folded say 2 years ago and it was a US team in the Finals this year? I think you guys are missing the overall point I'm making for not contracting any Canadian franchises. It goes well beyond tradition.
Hey Jamie. Who won that series again?
