RingWraith
Registered User
This is probably the Bettman influence, but the NHL seems to me to be spearheaded with an extremely misguided demeanor towards the development and sustainment of the fanbase. For some reason there is a trend to force hockey onto non-traditional markets with "potential" needlessly, ceaselessly and ultimately wastefully. Naturally here comes the uproar from the south. Please shut up and listen. I am not at all parading some arrogant ideal that any team south of Philadelphia and Denver should callapse and move north. Risk taking is apart of business and experimentation in risky but potentially lucrative markets is something I accept. But only in moderation and within logical bounds.
There is a much better place to be focusing such efforts right now. I'm talking about struggling traditional markets that innately have much larger potential fanbases. It should be an absolute priority of the NHL's to advertise the hell out of hockey and ensure a quality product in markets such as Chicago, New York city and Boston. These are sports markets where hockey has seen glory in the past, and where great potential still exists. Unfortunately though the sport we all love has been relegated to a tertiary thought in cities like these. Can we not all agree that a vibrantly healthy franchise and hockey culture in Chicago is more valuable to the NHL than continued efforts in Phoenix or Carolina or Nashville?
There is a much better place to be focusing such efforts right now. I'm talking about struggling traditional markets that innately have much larger potential fanbases. It should be an absolute priority of the NHL's to advertise the hell out of hockey and ensure a quality product in markets such as Chicago, New York city and Boston. These are sports markets where hockey has seen glory in the past, and where great potential still exists. Unfortunately though the sport we all love has been relegated to a tertiary thought in cities like these. Can we not all agree that a vibrantly healthy franchise and hockey culture in Chicago is more valuable to the NHL than continued efforts in Phoenix or Carolina or Nashville?