I'm tired of the NHL and Commissioner Gary Bettman pandering to Americans. Most Canadians remember Jim Balsillie's several attempts and legal battles to purchase a team and move it to Canada. The NHL put Balsillie through as many legal battles as they could and always found ways to fund the teams in their current locations. Now the Atlanta Thrashers are struggling for funding and both Quebec City and Winnipeg are willing to bring in the team. Despite being 28th in attendance, the league has stated they will do everything possible to keep the team in Atlanta. Teams in the USA are dying left, right and center. Despite being consistently terrible for the last 40 years, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still fifth in attendance this season. The Canadiens are second, Canucks eighth and Senators tenth. Detroit is in fourth and they attract many Ontarians close to the border. [See 2010-2011 Attendance Report] Canadian teams are thriving whether they win or lose. There are dozens of cities in Canada that could easily support an NHL team, yet it is unlikely they will ever get one. The NHL focuses it's attention on keeping dying American teams alive and securing American TV deals. If more teams are located in Canada, they will consistently bring in revenue for the league and TV deals in Canada are guaranteed. I can't say for sure why this is, but one possible reason is Commissioner Bettman is American and wants to bring revenue to American cities. What perplexes me is how a sport toted as Canadian, has an American running its elite league.
This isn't the only attempt the NHL has made to please American fans. Some may remember FoxTrax, the electronic puck used by Fox in the 90s to follow puck movements with glowing streaks. Clips are easily found online, and you'll see that they are quite ridiculous looking [See 1996 All-Star Highlights]. Americans were complaining that it was too difficult to follow the puck on the ice (despite them being complete opposite colours). I would argue other "gimmicks" and changes to the league were made to bring more excitement to the game and attract less loyal hockey fans in the United States. Some of these are the change to a shootout after a brief overtime. I had never seen an NHL shootout before this change and yet it was included in all my EA Sports NHL games growing up. Penalty shots only occurred on rare occasions and fans got excited when these were called. I think this change was made to make this excitement happen more often. This isn't a bad thing (I find them very suspenseful), but I think changing the game to get more American viewers is bad. Other things like the All-Star Fantasy Draft and the addition of the lottery system as part of the entry draft seem like ways the NHL tries to gather American media attention and give fans more to bet on. If this is truly Canada's game, the NHL should realize the financial potential of the Canadian markets and allow them to develop teams. Many hockey fans in several provinces and major cities in Canada must travel great distances to watch an NHL team. If teams are located in these areas, the low attendance in American cities will increase greatly. Plus, once teams are established and have a loyal fan base, tickets prices can increase and further increase revenues. To put this into perspective, the cheapest Thrashers tickets are $10 USD each and the cheapest Leafs tickets are $35.50 CDA (which I believe is standing room behind the very back row). Not to mention the lengthy waiting list for season tickets in Toronto, whereas I can sign up now to get excellent season seats for 2011-2012 in Atlanta and many other cities.
[Oh, I forgot one thing. Why was the Star Spangled Banner sung during the NHL Heritage Classic between two Canadian teams (Flames and Canadiens) and played in Calgary, Alberta?]
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