I get the feeling that Dinamo Riga lives on artificial breathing every season. Sure, they secure the finances, but it feels like it's in the last second every time. It would be sad if Dinamo Riga left as it's a great addition to the league. Would Latvian hockey go under without a KHL team? Of course not. Would it not be the same to be without professional hockey in the country? Certainly.
Another important question is how long the fans will support the team if they're a constant bottom team every season. It's not fun to know every season that your team won't reach the playoffs or even be near it. Fans will get tired of it and that would hurt the team even more than the current political situation already is.
A way for the league to partly solve these kinds of problems would be to fix more division games. In Riga's case, I believe that games against Western teams could attract more fans than the Russian teams, especially in a potential division based around the Baltic Sea.
A little side note: Even if Dinamo Riga left the KHL, I don't think they would just disappear. I think they would try to find another league to play in, whether it would be the Finnish league (system), the Belorussian league or some future Nordic super league, and who knows? Maybe those options are better off for both Latvian hockey and the team itself.
Another important question is how long the fans will support the team if they're a constant bottom team every season. It's not fun to know every season that your team won't reach the playoffs or even be near it. Fans will get tired of it and that would hurt the team even more than the current political situation already is.
A way for the league to partly solve these kinds of problems would be to fix more division games. In Riga's case, I believe that games against Western teams could attract more fans than the Russian teams, especially in a potential division based around the Baltic Sea.
A little side note: Even if Dinamo Riga left the KHL, I don't think they would just disappear. I think they would try to find another league to play in, whether it would be the Finnish league (system), the Belorussian league or some future Nordic super league, and who knows? Maybe those options are better off for both Latvian hockey and the team itself.
