In order for the s****t of hockey to survive outside the Canadian market,
it is crucial that Detroit or San Jose (whichever one makes the final in
the West) wins the Stanley Cup. TV ratings in the US suffer greatly when
a Canadian team makes it to the Stanley Cup final.
Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that there are Canadian teams in the
NHL. I am happy that the Ottawa Senators have done so well in the
playoffs, but it is clear to any observer that they got this far by
getting by being very lucky in beating Buffalo and New Jersey, 2 teams
that only lost because they didn't take Ottawa seriously. It would have
been better for the sustainability of the NHL if it had been 2 American
teams in the finals. Now we are faced with a disastrous situation where
a Canadian team has made it into the finals for 3 years in a row. This
is not good, although many crazed Canadian hockey fans will angrily
disagree without thinking about the long-term consequences.
Gary Bettman clearly has a balancing act. One, he must appear neutral
during the Ottawa VS TB series. One the other, he is hoping that Tampa
Bay wins the cup so that American interest in hockey continues.
Ever since the NHL has aggressively expanded into other US markets, it
has increased the visibility of ice hockey. This is a good thing. When
the Quebec Nordiques were moved to Denver, they won the Stanley Cup that
year, and the good people of Quebec had the good sense to cheer them on.
Let's face it, when the NHL had only 21 teams, the only people watching
hockey were Canadians and Americans living in the north. The best-paid
player Wayne Gretzky was only making $900,000 a year. Gretzky getting
traded to the LA Kings was the best thing for hockey and for Canada.
Nowadays, California boasts 3 NHL teams and Canada's national s****t is
getting American attention even in the most southern areas of the US,
especially in Hollywood where it counts.
I think that in order for hockey to survive, the Stanley Cup finals
should be 2 American teams going against each other. The Canadian
audience will always be there to watch (where else will they go?) and
American TV revenues will be there to help sup****t the league. I think
that an acceptable alternative is an American team VS The Toronto Maple
Leafs because Toronto is the most well-known Canadian city in the eyes
of Americans. Toronto has the Blue Jays in MLB and the Raptors in the
NBA so if Toronto makes it to the Stanley Cup finals, the ratings won't
suffer as much in the crucial US market.
My $.02!
ttfn, Tavington
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