Well, maybe, but Buffalo, Green Bay, and those small markets teams actually deserve an NFL team, the stadium is full, and football is the prime sport there.
And one could argue that Montreal and Toronto (amongst others, but those are the easiest examples) have high revenue figures because their tickets are very expansive... but hey, no matter what happens in Montreal and Toronto, attendance is always full OR nearly full. If Montreal and Toronto had their tickets at league's average, they wouldn't be doing that much revenues... And it won't draw any more people, they're already playing at full capacity. So we basically have to pay more for our tickets here to see our money go somewhere else?!?! This is where Strachan rant makes sense, even if he NEVER said those words in his papers.
if that is the case couldn't the leafs charge less for tix and move themselves down into the the middle 3rd of revenues? kinda like making a tax deductible contribution before tax time in order to move yourself down into a lower tax bracket. guess that is nashville's fault for making the leafs overcharge. i guess the leafs figure they can charge what the market will 'bear', pay the tax for being in the top third, and still MAKE MORE MONEY than if they cut prices and moved to the middle third.
let's really bottom line it. nashville is doing as much or more with less payroll than the leafs. the old days of large market entitlement have changed. the leafs(and their ticket office) may not have gotten the memo. look at the difference between the haves and the have not's pre/post CBA. kinda hard for nashville to compete with detroit if they are getting outspent by x3.5. last year it was around x1.3. no you can't buy cups, but you used to be able to rent a playoff spot every year if you have the money. of course this could always be a round-about way of getting back at contraction.
http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/salaries/default.aspx
2003-04 2005-06
Team Total Payroll Team Total Payroll
Detroit Red Wings $ 77,856,109 New Jersey Devils $ 44,895,949
New York Rangers $ 76,488,716 Vancouver Canucks $ 43,711,344
Dallas Stars $ 68,578,885 Philadelphia Flyers $ 42,566,760
Philadelphia Flyers $ 68,175,247 New York Rangers $ 41,474,800
Colorado Avalanche $ 63,382,458 Colorado Avalanche $ 41,044,829
Toronto Maple Leafs $ 62,458,140 Dallas Stars $ 40,651,480
St. Louis Blues $ 61,675,000 Detroit Red Wings $ 39,578,300
Los Angeles Kings $ 53,833,800 Tampa Bay Lightning $ 39,157,379
Anaheim Mighty Ducks $ 53,296,750 Edmonton Oilers $ 38,469,340
Washington Capitals $ 50,895,750 Los Angeles Kings $ 37,856,150
New Jersey Devils $ 48,931,658 Atlanta Thrashers $ 37,170,200
Boston Bruins $ 46,569,000 Ottawa Senators $ 36,909,094
Vancouver Canucks $ 42,074,500 Toronto Maple Leafs $ 36,796,580
New York Islanders $ 40,865,500 Boston Bruins $ 36,662,100
Ottawa Senators $ 39,590,000 Calgary Flames $ 36,589,140
Phoenix Coyotes $ 39,249,750 Carolina Hurricanes $ 35,308,700
Montreal Canadiens $ 38,857,000 Montreal Canadiens $ 32,994,940
Calgary Flames $ 36,402,575 Anaheim Mighty Ducks $ 32,060,233
Carolina Hurricanes $ 35,908,738 Nashville Predators $ 31,649,440
San Jose Sharks $ 34,455,000 New York Islanders $ 31,447,520
Tampa Bay Lightning $ 34,065,379 San Jose Sharks $ 31,005,400
Columbus Blue Jackets $ 34,000,000 Phoenix Coyotes $ 30,354,345
Edmonton Oilers $ 33,375,000 Chicago Blackhawks $ 30,141,200
Buffalo Sabres $ 32,954,250 Columbus Blue Jackets $ 30,093,235
Chicago Blackhawks $ 30,867,502 Buffalo Sabres $ 28,515,120
Atlanta Thrashers $ 28,547,500 St. Louis Blues $ 28,480,800
Minnesota Wild $ 27,200,500 Florida Panthers $ 26,500,510
Florida Panthers $ 26,127,500 Minnesota Wild $ 25,158,800
Pittsburgh Penguins $ 23,400,000 Pittsburgh Penguins $ 23,122,650
Nashville Predators $ 21,932,500 Washington Capitals $ 18,932,830
