BartG101 said:
Hockey is a regional sport.
So basically you are limiting hockey to a select few. You've already given up hope that it can be popular outside Northern North America. In other words, you've doomed it for failure. It's clearly overextended its bounds using your terminology. Unless that region is Europe AND all of North America (which it appears from previous comments, it is not), the NHL is in dire need of contraction to stop the bleeding. I, for one, don't think hockey has to be labeled as a regional/Canadian only sport. I have seen too many people converted despite seeing only a marginal brand of hockey. Hockey can survive in the South; it will survive in the South. All they need is a good team to support. Hell, most Canadians won't watch a loser and that's all that Tampa Bay, Nashville, Florida, Carolina, Atlanta and Co. have been for most of their existence.
And before you say that we should support a loser just because it's hockey, keep in mind that very few cities have ever supported a new team through consistent failure. Even well established teams like the Bengals have trouble drawing crowds and this is in the all-mighty NFL. In baseball, even in the hotbed of the South, there are rarely sell outs. The NBA is the same way. If you don't win, they won't support you. There are a handful of cities around continent who can claim they support their team through everything. Until their is a consistent winner in the south, any comments about its lacking of hockey support is just based on ignorant presuppositions.
BartG101 said:
Making it more popular in other areas shouldn't be a concern.
Let me guess, you aren't a hockey fan. Why would you want to deprive so many hockey fans (of which there are many in the south)? We have just as much of a right to this game as you do or anybody else does. You didn't invent it, and neither did we.
BartG101 said:
My point remains that, in my opinion, I'd rather see him go somewhere where a majority of the people care about the sport.
Tough luck bud, but the only place this is happening is in a select few Canadian cities. Should hockey just give up and contract every US team so that every player can play under that stipulation? Because, the majority of people in New York/Detroit/Boston/Buffalo don't care about hockey. Same with almost every city on the face of the earth. And the majority of people don't care about baseball or basketball or, in some cases, football, as well.