Viewpoint

Bring back the Nordiques and the Jets!!

There's expansion to be had north of the 49th....

Are players going to want to spend 8 hours on an airplane before a game?? Don't think so!

I am a true fan of old school hockey but now that European players are in the league I believe it is a much better game. Having said that, I think the globalization of the NHL would be an awful idea. There are major issues with the schedule as it is. By more than doubling the distance for teams to travel would be absurd not to mention environmentally horrific.

I would like to see an NHL team play agaist a European Club team, in a preseason exibition.

The Rangers in Prague and Ottawa in Stockholm are no-brainers for sure, but maybe a better solution would have been to match up with divisional opponents (like LA and Anaheim); maybe pair New York with Pittsburgh, and Ottawa with another Northeast division opponent; that way each team's home fans will still get 2 home games with all the other Eastern Conf. teams.

Europe? Are you kidding me? What about non NHL cities in North America like Quebec or Cincinnati?

as a long time Rangers Fan and Predators Season ticket holder I think b4 playing any games in Europe the league should do a better job with promoting the game in general b4 having games in Europe and have exhibitions Games in Europe like the All Star Game there

What I would really like to see would be an NHL excursion to Belfast, to either play a game against the Belfast Giants, or maybe have two National Hockey League teams play against one another at the Odyssey Arena.

The Giants were introduced - with a lot of Canadian backing, I might add - to add a team to the city of Belfast which would be a living example of the kind of non-sectarian Northern Ireland that the Good Friday Agreement's signatories and backers would have aspired to, and while the team does well, it is crying out for more of a media presence in NI (or in the Republic, for that matter - if only Dublin could get a team of its own someday...) - the games aren't even shown on TV regularly, if at all.

If the NHL wants to make an impact in the parts of Europe which aren't already hickey strongholds, and show people in Canada and the US how the league can play a positive role through the organisation of such European events, Belfast is as good a destination asany.

Here we go again with the eastern bias and the poor fans who will miss seeing "Crosby the Great" 1 out of,,,how many times? How about the Left Coast fans who have seen Crosby and other up and comers ONCE since they entered the league'How great is that marketing?Maybe the people putting the schedules together could think about...expanding...to western Canada and the western U.S. for next year..(sarcasm intended)

Of course, when the Western teams lost a heck of a lot more than just one chance to see Crosby with the current schedule, Morrison didn't bat an eye. I think you said something along the lines of "If it's not broke...". How hypocritical!

The teams that should have been sent to Stockholm are Vancouver and Detroit. It makes more sense to send teams that feature stars that are from the area, and no team has nearly the Swedes that those two do.

Of course the NHL should come to Europe! I only wish the Senators were coming to Switzerland! There are a huge ammount of hockey fans here...not to mention all the North American expats working here. It's frustrating for us to follow hockey by the highlight reels. And look at all your great European players...Alfredsson, Gerber, Sundin...and the list goes on and on! Way to go NHL for bringing us some great hockey! And can you put Geneva on your list for a visit next? :)

No way. Keep the openers in Canada. The NHL needs to grow globally? The Europeans really need to be convinced that hockey is a great sport? The Hockey News just published the European issue recently and elaborated on the heavy Euro influence. I agree that the NHL needs to get out of Nashville, Phoenix, and Florida. Send those teams North. However, Columbus is a good team and even in Ohio there are hockey freaks like myself.

I tend to agree with the first poster - teams in already hockey-eager towns in Europe would in many ways be prefereable to teams in football-eager southern US cities.

This would all hinge, of course, on an agreement of some sort with the existing European hockey leagues, and time-zone considerations, already a fairly large issue while spanning only 4 zones in North America, would become central.

I don't think it bodes well for the teams involved. Anaheim got off to a sluggish start (4-7-2 in the first month of play). I understand you can't blame that entirely on a trip overseas....but.... Are fans in Ottawa willing to endure a start like that next year.

For the most part, I share Stephen's desire for expansion into Europe. It would certainly be good for the game. However, I think the potential problems of putting NHL teams in Europe are a lot to overcome. The biggest problem obviously is travel. Most teams now suffer by travelling out to the opposite coast - imagine what travelling across the Atlantic would do. Also, how would television be affected? I dont exactly relish the idea of having to watch Leaf games at 1AM in the morning. Another problem is economics. For some reason, Stephen has chosen London, Paris and Berlin as potential cities for expansion - but they've got little to no history of hockey. If the NHL is looking to put teams where hockey is already popular, they'd have to look to Prague, Stockholm, Moscow, Helsinki, etc. My knowledge of global economics is limited but are the economies of those cities strong/stable/safe enough for the investment? that said, it looks like we're all going to be in a recession anyway...

This is a response to the first comment. Eventhough NHL teams in Europe is a great idea, I strongly believe that the NHL should first and for most focus on bringing for NHL teams to Canada since we only have six.

Europe has an immense population that has proven time and again that it loves Hockey. Why the NHL always made it so insistent to force hockey on the United States when there was an eager market overseas boggled my mind.

With that said, there will be concern, no doubt, on the part of European clubs about encroachment, but frankly I don't see it as a long term problem. The younger generations will likely embrace the new system.

It is clearly my hope that the NHL become a much more global entity and have teams in other countries than just Canada and the United States. Personally, and I hope everyone else thinks along these lines, I'd MUCH rather see a team in London, Paris or Berlin than I would in Nashville, Phoenix or any part of Florida.

If they don't get snow, they won't get hockey.