From the Pressbox

Why is everyone bashing our Game? Either way no matter where it is played, it's Canada's game. No one questions that. Look at the system we have right now, Our Junior team wins every Christmas, Our Women's team has zero competition and Our Cdn Men account for 60 - 70% of the entire NHL.. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see one or two more CDN teams in the NHL, but I wouldn't agree with a team in Hamilton ... I'd also be happy if most teams stayed just where they are & the current CDN teams actually turned a profit year after year... I find the "New" NHL exciting & the parity throughout the league is amazing. The on-ice quality is great, and at least there are lead changes nowadays.. My opinion on Bettman is mixed..during the lockout I "hated" him, but once post-lockout hockey got going, I started appreciating what he has done. Just wanted to have something positive out there about the state of the NHL.

It's time to go Mr. Bettman. It's time we had a commissioner who really understands the passion we have for Hockey in this country. Another Canadian team is what we want and it's what we should have. Who polices the commissioner when he acts like a potentate? Get off of your high horse and let things happen as they will.

the players will not want an all canadian league because that will mean lower salaries.

it won't happen.

welcome to the BHL Bettman Hockey league what used to be the NHL, no longer applys . this is Bettmans own private impire or so he seams to think and he's running it like a comunist republic. gag orders outrages fines, all because someone dissagrees with him, whats next a public execution. Who is he to tell owners who and who not to sell to.someone should bitch slap that little jerk and bring him into the real world. this is not Bettmans world.

I watched the game between Argentina & Chile, I'm chilien, I'm not a soccer fun, but I watched the games for this WORLD CUP, I have several question after last night events
Beeing Argentina a team with good skilled players, do they need to show a very poor attitude in the field? All the beautiful of the scores are shade with shameful show in the field
It's FIFA supporting referees like the one in this game? Is there a grade o corruption in all of this?
If there would be a fair Referee, wouldn't be a really positive game that everybody would enjoy. Was this Tournament against racism?

If Gary Bettman was really interested in hockey he would find a way to bring a second team to the southern Ontario.

It's too bad Bobby Hull's re-incarnation of the WHA never happened during the lockout.

Football will never be understood in North America until the ridiculous lie of stealing its name for plastic rugby men in tights is firmly nailed.
Calling football soccer,from Association Football,was obviously a well meaning attempt at a compromise,but any compromise between the truth and a lie will result in another lie.That would suit liars fine.It is ridiculous that football has to assume a different name so that plastic rugby can continue to be misrepresented as football.
It is obviously plastic rugby that should take another name which describes it.Some other possibilities are dumball,oddball,
handegg or screwball.

Bettman is riding the blue red and white jock harder than president bush himself. All of the myNHL campaigns were designed for war-built and thriving Americans. Maybe he feels like he'll go some balls so his voice is so high next time he goes and embaresses himself on national TV which the majority of viewers were Canadians. Any city in Canada could support a NHL team better than any major US city. Buck Bettman! we should depart 4'5ft american dick riding ass

i agree with everyone, abandon the nhl, start up a english football league style of tiered system, bring back our stanley cup, maybe even start up a champions league where the canadian champion takes on some euro champs. i havent got $240 million, but id sure put up whatever i have to bring the dominion challenge cup back to canada.

Here is a make up of the New CNHL (Canadian NHL) Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg,Hamilton or Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and Boston, Chicago,Detroit,and New York. In time Buffalo will come aboard.
Ths will put the focus on Canada and Mr. Bettman
can then do his thing. He will be able to put teams in Kansas,Baltimore etc.Canada has enough Millioneers who can buy teams and place them in the right location without having Gary Bettman vetoing any move.

Mr. Balsillie for NHL Commissioner... he is able to run a company AND he loves the game...

Too easy!

If the NHL really wants to think progressively, why not a system like the European Soccer Leagues? Have the NHL merge or develop a partnership with the AHL and create a two-tier system with the top 20 or so teams in the first level making the playoffs and the bottom 5 or 10 teams be relegated to the second division. The competition will improve, revenue sharing could also be tied to performance (relegated teams would receive less), and newer markets would be opened up, especially here in Canada.

You are batting 1000% I will never understand the thinking of Canadian NHL owners. What does Gary Battman have over them. Hockey is the USA is DEAD in certain parts of the USA. No matter how hard the commissioner tries. High school sports gets more press that the NHL. When will the Canadian owners get balls and stand up and be accounted for. Hockey is losing ground to other major sports except in Canada. Just look at how low the ratings were in last Stanley finals even in Canada. It is time to fire Gary Batteman and bring in someone who understands hockey. Thanks

I think its about time that Balsillie take away Bettman's blackberry and cut his service

Awarding an NHL franchise to the city of Hamilton? MLSE would sooner see an NHL team in Tel Aviv before they permitted that to happen...it would also in all probability sound the death knell for the Sabres who have already declared bankruptcy once...

Often as a joke instead of calling 'Hockey Night in Canada" I refer to it as 'Honkey Night in America' considering how they ruined the N H L.
Why don't the remaining 6 Canadian teams break away and form our own league?

Gee, who to listen to?? A Canadian Hockey
Writer or a loudmouth uninformed shmuck from
California????Hmmmm, tough decision.

Good points all around Elliotte. I think Bettman is killing hockey. One of his first pledges as comissioner was to put hockey in every corner of America...the problem is that it doesn't belong in every corner. We currently have NHL franchises in cities where they cannot compete with High School football for attendance. And the minute Jim RIM shows the slightest interest in saving an obviously floundering franchise in Nashville, Bettman climbs up on his high horse shouting FOUL! How can he possibly claim to be committed to protecting the best interests of the league? Nashville finished with 110 points this year, only Buffalo and Detroit had more. At the same time, only 14,000 fans on average went to see this talented team in 2006, giving it the sixth worst attendence record in the NHL. What better example of a team in a city where it doesn't belong?

As a life-long hockey fan, I'm becoming ever-more disgusted with the watered-down version of today's NHL. There are too many teams in too many markets where there is no passion for the game. I'm not necessarily saying that there HAS to be hockey in Winnipeg, Hamilton, or Quebec City, the league just needs to exercise a lot more common-sense when choosing where these franchises end up. And for my money, Kansas City and Las Vegas are clearly not examples of good use of common sense.

At the end of the day, the NHL is run by Americans. What do you expect?

I have a question: If Canada loves hockey so much more than most of the United States, why are there only 6 NHL teams in Canada? The answer is greed. Back when the NHl first expanded to the United States, the leaders wanted just to get more money. There's no reason Canada cannot have its own major hockey league, and let the United States make its own league. There are countries with similar populations, economy,etc of Canada with very succesful professional sports leagues (England, Australia, Spain, etc). There's no reason Canada could not have a very successful and passionate hockey league with the best players in the world, who mostly happen to be Canadian. It's sad that what seems to be the driving force behind everything the NHL does is simply money.

As a true, proud, hockey-loving Canadian, my heart feels like it is being ripped out and thrown to the ground every time I hear about the USA getting anouther team. I mean most of the cities dont even have ice naturally! I hate that money is such a big part of the game. Give us a team back in Winnipeg! Such a great game deserves fans that can appreciate it. We would do that here in Winnipeg.

Where the NHL is screwing up is in not brining a game to a viable area. As many fans in Toronto will decry, there are hardly any quality tickets available with everything pretty much taken up by the corporate market. And ownership in Buffalo will decry, a team in Hamilton, or Kitchener-Waterloo for that matter, will take away those Leafs fans who can't get even one decent ticket (read not standing room only) for the ACC but can get a busload of decent tickets (as in the lower bowl) at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. I should know as I have organized bus trips to Buffalo to see the Leafs play. Granted, I had to buy a bus' worth of tickets to a game that would in all likelihood not sell out (Nashville for instance). But for the price of one lower bowl ticket for the ACC, I saw two games in Buffalo. Now the Sabres are a contending team, I guarantee the days of seeing two games in Buffalo for the price of one. With the significant majority of Canada's population in southwestern Ontario, bringing another team to that market would be intelligent. Does the NHL actually have the gravitas to say that they can justify having three teams in the New York/New Jersey area and not have three teams in the southwestern Ontario/Buffalo market and yet that does not infringe upon Detroit? That's a spurious claim at best for Mr. Bettman and company. I'm not saying that Hamilton or Kitchener-Waterloo deserves a team over Winnipeg or even Quebec City. But what I am saying is that the southwestern Ontario route of relocation/expansion is financially viable considering the sheer volume of people that would be willing to buy tickets at Toronto prices and still be able to see an NHL game. If Mr. Bettman is indeed a dollars and cents but focused on the fan guy that he claims, the dollars and cents add up, the fan support would be there... this move makes sense. It's logical. However, as the NHL goes, smart, intelligent decisions are rare and slow in coming.

The problem is that a Canadian franchise means nothing to U.S. owners in terms of money. NFL-style revenue sharing would solve this problem for sure (good luck!) . Its all moot however, if they keep changing the rules and losing fans. I remember when hockey had consistently higher ratings than basketball in the U.S.--pre-Bettman prosperity I calls it. I love this sport and would hate to see it changed beyond recognition.

If the Canadian owners have any pride in their country they will form their own league. Let the somewhat but rich player go to the US league.
In a very short time the US league will fail.The players of the US league will be looking for a team to play for. At this time you have a draft and sign them as entry players and pay them the minimum. I am also very sure the teams that made up the original six will more than willing to join the Canadian League.
There we have it, NO MORE BETTMAN !!!! Hurray

Scott from Edmonton - That attendance figure you cited from the Jets' last season is because we were bitter that we already knew they were gone and were just playing one last season here out of necessity, being that Minneapolis fell through and Phoenix wasn't ready yet.

I know our attendance figures were bad, and I know people will disagree, but the Winnipeg Arena was a hole in a location that seemed out of the way for many people on nights when it was snowing and -40, and we were playing the early incarnations of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

I don't care if the NHL comes back to Winnipeg but if it does, in the MTS Centre which is in a better location and a way better building than the Arena could ever hope to be, and considering Winnipeg is having slightly better economic times than we did in the 90's, enough people will support them.

Transplanted from the US to Canada as a child I grew up a hockey fan. Moving back to the states at twelve, I totally lost any coverage of hockey. Now, I have a satellite so that I can watch all my hockey and see Don Cherry every Saturday. People here, unless transplanted, are too close minded. I think that Kansas City is a one sport town (Cheifs) and if the Royals do well they will follow them until they lose again. If we were to get a team, they would have to come out of the gate winning.
I would love to see hockey come here for my own selfish reasons. But I don't think that it would help the league in any way. I almost think that there are too many teams that thin out the product.
No matter what, I don't see anymore new fans that aren't already fans. So it seems as though the league is as big as it will get down here.

Don Cherry is the MAN. Thanks.

Repatriate the Stanley Cup!

Its time for a Canadian professional hockey league. Van, Cal, Edm, Reg, Win, SW Ont, Tor, Ott, Mon, Que, Hal

Intense rivalries, fans with passion, fun.

If the CFL can survive, if club teams (Hockey) can survive in Europe, if ECHL team can survive in cities where I couldn't imagine hockey existing, then why not Canada?

TOM

Further to my earlier comment I also wanted to say that Hamilton (and Winnipeg and Quebec) should have their own NHL team. Let them prove it on the ice rather than by ponying up the odd few hundred million. In particular introduce a system of promotion and relegation so that the best teams are rewarded by promotion to the NHL. That way geographic and demographic shifts in the game can be recognised gradually and meritocratically and not by Bettman or the owners' diktat with severe disruptions brought about by relocation. Then we can really see who can produce better teams. After all, hockey is meant to be a sport not a proft making enterprise for a cabal.

Elliotte,

A good article. Why can't your interviews on HNIC be hard-hitting like that!

Bettman is the owners' agent and, as such, is geared towards maximising their profit and not to the interests of fans. The whole set-up of North American sports is ludicrous and the idea that a 'franchise' can be moved to accommodate the owner's wishes is an insult to the local fans.

Ditto the draft. If teams can be in the South to maximise TV money then why don't the Canadian teams just say they're having no more of the draft and seeing poor US teams (Pittsburgh anyone?) rewarded with the best Canadian (and other) prospects. Let the players decide if they want US greenbacks or to spend time with their hometown clubs early in their careers.

Sugarcoat things if you want, but this is all about Canada & the US. The rules for acquiring teams are obviously different depending on what side of the border you are on. If the NHL forefathers could have foreseen what the NHL has turned into today, they would never have expanded into Boston in 1924. Bettman needs to remember that the 'nation' referred to in National is Canada. Look closely at the cup Gary - it's called the 'Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup'. That's the Dominion of Canada. Why can't a rich Canadian buy a struggling team and move it to Canada? Rich Americans in San Jose, Anaheim & Florida were practically handed new franchises on a platter without even having to compete against other cities. Although I'd hate to see the salary escalations, maybe it's finally time for someone to form another rival major league - WHA2? The first WHA managed to add 3 new Canadian teams to the NHL's roster. With Bettman's stance, that might be the only way to put major league hockey into cities where hockey is a true passion rather than just a "new found interest".

We should start up our own Professional Hockey League,
that would make them think twice about casting our country of Canada off to the side!.
The majority of the hockey players are Canadian anyway!.

Great article, I agree he must go. The players are now passing up more money to play on Canadian teams where the atmosphere feels like hockey and they are appreciated by knowledgable fans. Hamilton and the surrounding area would support a NHL team and would be the alternative for unattainable Leaf tickets.

Bring on a CHL!

To Joe from Edmonton. Why don't we just scrap all the franchises from the states and we'll put 10 teams in Canada. I find it hard to believe that a fan from a city that almost lost it's own team in Canada, where support is obviously there can tell me that it's alright to sacrifice a team thats been around for 37 years and has already sold out most games for the upcoming season. I have friends in southern Ontario and know first hand what a pain it is to get across the border. I'm not against putting another team in Canada. But why would you want to shoehorn a team into a spot where you already have two other teams already there. Have you ever watched a Devils playoff game? This is in one of the largest markets on the continent. Why would you want to create another situation like that? Is there any place in between Edmonton and Calgary that can support a team? I don't think you would be real excited about anyone putting another franchise in Alberta in the Oilers backyard.

Lets have our own Hockey lig owned operated managed and played by Canadians only.

Unfortunately, we can't use relativism to explain why Balsillie didn't get the same loving treatment as other (renegade) NHL owners or bidders. Balsillie did handle it incorrectly.

Yes, he did the same as KC's prospective owners, and in an ideal situation, the NHL wouldn't use that as a reason to shut him down. However, it was clear that they used relocation as an argument to block his purchase of the Penguins. So you would think that, knowing their prejudicial attitude towards him, that Balsillie would be less obvious in subsequent plans to buy and move a franchise. But he openly announced his intentions by undergoing preparations (again, yes, completely normal and no different than other would-be owners) for relocation, thus giving Bettman and Co. their favourite excuse to dig in, as well as issuing what they undoubtedly read as a challenge to Bettman's self-perceived complete control over any and all NHL-related operations.

Sure, objectively, Balsillie did no wrong. But in the subjective world of the NHL, he should have known better.

Bettman is a dork. Let Balsillie buy the team. A guy that loves hockey that much won't do anything to hurt the league. We need another team in Canada. Hamilton is full of hockey hosers that'll support a team. We all know that. And the Predator fans won't miss there team that much. It'll make the headlines for a day and then it'll be over. There just isn't that much interest over there. Picture a home game at the Saddledome where every Tom, Dick and Sally is wearing a red jersey. Now picture a Preds home game. We love hockey in Canada and some Americans do too, but a team in Nashville just doesn't make sense. When the Expos left town in Montreal, people were sad, but we all knew that in the end, this just wasn't a baseball town. I think Nashville will come to same conclusion concerning their hockey team.

A franchise returned to Minnesota. Why can't Winnipeg return. Bring back hockey to the land that loves hockey.

The problem, I think, is that it takes longer to establish a solid hockey market in a non-traditional hockey city than most businessmen want to wait. The horizon for establishment of a solid fan base in Nashville might be, say, 20 years (long enough for the kids to grow up fans of the Predators and buy tickets to see the home team, instead of transplants who are fans of other teams and go to see the visitors). The problem is that the owner has been losing money for the last ten years, and doesn't want to wait any longer to turn a profit. I don't see how it is fair to force the owner (or a new owner) to continue to lose money for another decade to establish a solid team. It might very well be for the benefit of the league as a whole, but the league as a whole doesn't incur the full losses--the individual owner does, and he is tired of it.

I find it remarkable that there are those who still put forth the idea keeping the teams in their current markets will result in some magical US television contract when in fact there was one with the current roster of American teams in place, and look what happened to that one! How long before NBC looks at the ratings and decides that paying zero dollars is too high a price for hockey on television? For the NHL to survive it needs to be in strong markets not weak markets constantly teetering on bankruptcy. Nashville had 10 years to develop the market, how long do we wait before we say enough is enough? Considering the hoards of Nashville people on the Tennessee discussion boards howling how much they hate hockey and want to see the Predators leave should give you all the answer you need...

I think that it's worth noting that if we're saying hockey needs to develop some "roots" in the minor leagues before being offered a franchise in the NHL, Hamilton doesn't make the cut.

In the AHL Hamilton drew 4,888 fans per game this year (with a championship team!) behind such hockey hot-beds as Houston, Milwaukee and Portland. Other cities with NHL teams also drew better, and in fact , namely Chicago and Philadelphia. Oh, I wonder how Toronto's AHL team did: oh right, 4th last in the league at 3,829 fans per game. The GTA is not hockey crazy. You might argue they are Leafs crazy or NHL crazy, but to say that Hamilton (or Toronto) supported their AHL team better than Nashville supported their NHL team is completely wrong.

The Predators this year averaged between 13,000 and 14,000 fans a game. The Jets highest average attendance in their history was in 1985-86 when they drew 13,694 fans per game. The last year they played in the league they averaged 11,316 fans per game. But yeah I guess their attendance problems must have been because they were a "LOL Southern US Team." Oh wait.

But I guess they were a Canadian city and worth fighting for and Bettman messed up. Not like Nashville. Hockey isn't "from there" so it's okay to see it go.

As an Edmontonian that saw the Oilers almost leave only to be purchased by a local group and then thrive (business-wise, not so much hockey-wise), I really hope that the local Nashville group (which would probably help to get the business community on board) gets the team and that hockey can continue to be introduced to new fans.

Bettman doesn't care about Canada? What about the revenue sharing he proposed under the old CBA... what about when he saved Ottawa from moving?

Oh how easily Canadians forget when their currency is strong and the Alberta teams can spend like Toronto.

You idiots this isn't about US vs Canada at all. This is someone trying to come in and run your business like it's his birthright, and Bettman having a little issue with not having due course run before giving up on a city. There's a binding lease for the next season and possibly beyond for god sakes. Those of you who are familiar with Winnipeg and Quebec should sympathize. Yes it is too late for you guys, but shouldn't franchises be given a little bit more time?

10 Americans in the first round in the draft. You tell me hockey isn't growing in America. I would agree with the poster that said you need grassroots hockey for a team to support the NHL. That may be true, but the reality of expansion is that it has to work the other way around. The NHL comes, and it establishes grass roots, which in turn eventually supports the big club. Giving up on Nashville now would be a huge mistake.

Canadians are just bitter about losing franchises in Winnipeg and Quebec that they can't get beyond this US vs Canada BS that is not the central issue of this story. Bettman is simply saying we shouldn't give up on a franchise without due course, so bringing in a rogue owner who's sole purpose is to move the team is the wrong move.

Sure the new bid is from the guy wanting to move it to KC, but Biaggio has said that he will abide by the lease and keep the team in Nashville if indeed a lease is present. Why would any sane person want to introduce Bald Silly the Conquerer to your business if he is planning on not following the mandated procedures? That is when you have totally lost control when you have done that.

This is not about US vs Canada, this is whether balsillie is or isn't a good fit for the board of governors. I'd like to see how things would be different if the rumor was to move say Edmonton to Hamilton. The Canadian media is spinning this as a good chance to rail against Bettman, and with some good cause, but this is not a matter of US vs Canada.

I would be all for an additional team in Southern Ontario. The rivalry with the Leafs and Sens is great. And with the overflow of fans from TO, I'm sure the area could support another team. But as was stated earlier, this is not about ticket sales and gate revenue, it is about attempting to land a TV contract. Bettman has been trying to do this forever and has failed. He will continue to fail because hockey is not going to become a major sport in the US no matter what he tries.

Get rid of Bettman, let the game thrive in markets that love the sport and write off continued expansion in the Southern US.

Priority one: Bettman has to go. I'm quite certain my fellow NHL fans feel the same. We need a true Hockey "person" in that position. I recall when the Lightening won the Cup, a local Tampa Bay news show interviewed a number of Tampa residents about their championship team. No one, litterally no one! interviewed even knew they had a hockey team in Tampa! Some guessed that the "Lightning" was perhaps the name of their soccer team. Hockey is a novelty in the south. It is a passion in the north.

I was totally upset when the Avalanche won the cup their first year in Colorado for, what could be described as "novice" hockey fans. That cup (and team) belonged to the people of Quebec City (Nordiques). The fans in Quebec watched their team build through the draft. They were loyal, and they supported their team with passion, only to have it snatched away because of the "big market" possibility.

As it turns out, we lost a year of hockey for a salary cap "solution" that has already eroded. We lost two Canadian NHL teams (Quebec and Winnipeg) to the Bettman numbers game.

Let's face it, the youngsters in in the southern market are playing basketball, baseball, touch football and so on. They are not exposed to hockey. There isn't a local rink or open frozen ponds to play pick up. The sport is expensive. Equipment, ice time, and maintenance is too costly. Southern High Schools don't have hockey in their sports programs. Bottom line is; it's not likely those kids will become hard core NHL fans in their adulthood. If the sport is to have the passionate fans that exist in the Canadian cities, then the NHL needs to look at Seattle, Portland, Milwaukee...places in the States that have hockey youth programs and a fan base. I watch my hockey on CBC (Windsor) because the broadcasts are superior to the local US channels. And of course, my favorite, and a true patriot...Don Cherry. He's the best ambassador of the NHL, bar none.

For Mr.Bob Walsh

I laugh everytime someone from the USA tries to tell me Canada cannot support another NHL team, you don't believe 3 teams can be supported within the TOR-BUF-HAMILTON triange...please, Hamilton has supported their AHL franchise better then most current NHL cities, like: Miami, Nashville(sorry PredsFan), Atlanta, Phoenix, LA( and they've been around forever) and yes, even New Jersey.

You ask if we should sacrafice Buffalo, to support Hamilton, do you find alot of people from Hamilton with Buffalo season tickets...I doubt it. Nobody cared when Quebec City and Winnipeg lost thier NHL teams, why should we fear Buffalo may lose thiers?? If you ask just about anybody, Toronto will never lose thrir fan base..their worry is another NHL team that will be more successful then the leafs.(on ice performance). Hamilton fans are craving a team and would die to support an NHL team. Now if the people in the Buffalo area can't support the Sabres...too bad so sad..American cities shouldn't have to rely on Canadian fans, just because of geography.

Re: "Why are we so fixated on Hamilton getting a franchise ?"

Hi Bob. First of all I grew up in Toronto and have been a Leafs fan for over 40 years. I love hockey but I cannot help but feel cheated time after time by the Leafs and their pension fund overlords. I am, quite frankly, tired of it.

I do like Buffalo as a team but I won't cross the border to watch a game. The United States government has taken all of the fun out of that.

I now live in Hamilton, a city that has had the NHL carrot dangled in front of it many times only to come away bitter and disappointed. It was encouraging to see somebody that actually wanted to win try to finally obtain a team for an area that is crying out for one.

Regardless of what happens, Southern Ontario support for the Sabres is bound to drop off due to passport restrictions and delays at the border. So I really don't think a team in Hamilton will make much of a difference.

And, it doesn't take a team in Hamilton to bring Buffalo down. After years of building a good solid team the Sabres were decimated by the "new improved" NHL. I do, however, believe that the area can support 3 teams.

First off Joe, aren't there Nascar races in Michigan, New York, Penn, New Hamphire....? It's not just in the South anymore so get off that rant.

As far as the owner, he doesn't have any fans in Nashville anymore because of his dealings the last couple of months. But even though he has gutted the team, fans are still buying season tickets.

True, we don't sell out every game, but it's hard to get some fans to come out for weekday games versus St Louis, Chicago, and Columbus after the Preds have already beaten them 6 times.

It's funny though, I don't hear anyone complaining about the Devils fans when they don't even sell out playoff games!

Basillie thought he could bully the league into moving the team and he got called on it. If he had gone about it the correct way, I could see the Preds moving up there in 2 years. But he didn't, so now he's stuck with no team!

Why are we so fixated on Hamilton getting a franchise ? Do you think a bad team in Hamilton is going to be a great draw ? I believe there are two teams a short drive away. One is considered a small market franchise that is just getting it's feet back under it. Should we sacrifice that franchise just to get another one in Canada. I'm all for putting teams in places that care about the game but I don't think Hamilton is the best choice. Do you really think the Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo area can support 3 teams ? Who do you think is going to lose out ? The city of Buffalo has taken enough crosschecks by the NHL. We really don't need this.

to the " PredsFan"

you are right about one thing, that team isn't going anywhere as long as Bettman is in charge....I doubt the seats will EVER be filled to capacity for a full season....does hockey news make it anywhere in the paper other then on the back page.. It boggles my mind how you all can be fasinated in watching cars go around in an oval for 200 laps or so, but watching the fastest game on earth, doesn't interest you at all... please do explain...its confusing you love football, because of hitting and fast plays, everything hockey has but yet you don't enjoy hockey.

PS: as a fan you should worry about your owners decision making: all your best players: Gone....he passess on a great offer from Balsillie, to take a lesser amount, because Bettman has offerred him some back ally deal....seriously think about it, your owner could truly care less if the Preds stays or go, just like most people in Nashville

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

POWER TO THE CANADIAN PEOPLE!

GO SENS GO!

The Predators are not going anywhere anytime soon. Seats will be filled so the clause will not kick in. And if it does, it will be in the courts for years before it is resolved.

Excellent article Elliot. The NHL does not need a New York Lawyer running the NHL & "gagging" Owners!

Please pass on to Bettman.

You guys are all absolutely right! IT makes no sense to try to keep hockey in southern states where the people would rather watch Nascar races or bull riding. Moving the Preds to Hamilton was a great idea until it was scuttled by Bettman.

Hockey in Kansas City? NO way! Ridiculous! Isn't there some way to get rid of Bettman? I dream of the day when Canada will have more the 6 hockey teams. Hamilton? Absoloutely! I hope Winnipeg and Quebec city will get a franchise again one day too.

Regarding Balsillie, if you have some insight into the inner decision making mechanisms of the Blackberry Billionaire - who doesn’t talk to the media much or give interviews – I wish you would elaborate on how you gleaned that info. You have scooped the entire Hockey Reporting world.

Are we shocked........Bettman and his crew seem to believe the only way the NHL will survive is with more American teams populated with people who don't seem to care about hockey. It's too bad that the owners of the six Canadian teams don't stand up and fight for Balsillie and his attempt to move to Hamilton(gag order or not...)..I wish someone would remind the NHL commish that 40 percent of the NHL revenue comes from 6 Canadian teams adding one more could only help. As well, when will Bettman realize just because a city has a large population, doesn't equate to higher TV ratings and more fans. Does anyone recall when Kansis City had a NHL team back in the day, they averaged fewer then 5000 fans(why does the NHL believe that has changed... oh! THAT'S RIGHT BECASUE THEY HAVE A NEW ARENA) Unfortunetly, things will never change in the NHL, until the commissioner understands that the biggest difference between Canadian hockey fans and American fans is.....

A)Regardless of who your favorite team is you will always watch the playoffs / Finals, because you know it is good hockey and we(Canadians) enjoy watching hockey regrdless of who is playing(like Americans with baseball),

and

B) in the US if a city's NHL team fails to make the playoffs or gets eliminated.....the fans interests stops,their motto being ...Not our team I don't care....

C) There needs to be a grass roots understanding of hockey

My suggestion to Bettman, before a city gets a franchise, they should create a grass roots interest in the game, maybe start with an AHL team if need be...before hockey can survive and compete in the USA people need to know it and understand it....not just be given a NHL franchise...but that will never happen in Bettman's NHL.

Elliote,
I have to disagree with much of what you wrote. Hockey - the sport - is and will remain to be near and dear to the fabric of this country.

The National Hockey League, however, is a different kettle of fish.

This is a private club that is headquartered in New York City. Four Fifths of it’s franchises are located in the United States. This a for profit enterprise is attempting to regain it’s footing in the biggest media market in on the planet (biggest market relevant to the league at this time). The 300 million people in that market have no idea where Edmonton, Ottawa, Calgary, and - yes! - Hamilton are, and if they have to bring their snowshoes there if they want to travel to see their team play on the road.

In regard to the recent attempt by Jim Balsillie to buy the Nashville Predators, Balsillie did nothing wrong. Kansas City also had a ticket drive before the proposed sale was approved. Everybody and his uncle has the ‘Lets gauge local interest while making some financial interest off these deposits’ ticket drive when they are trying to drum up support/interest/leverage/publicity for a franchise move or expansion.

The problem is that the NHL wants to get a real American TV deal that will push the sport and the majority of its teams into financial realms that only the Leafs and the Rangers now enjoy. Getting another team that will make 99% of Americans say ‘huh? Where the hell is that?’ just is not in the cards right now. Add to this fact that the NHL is a gate driven league in the States, and the Hamilton whatevers will never draw.

‘But the Florida/Atlanta game doesn’t draw now!!’ you might say. True, but having a team in those markets means there is a chance at a national TV deal at some point. Whether or not it will ever happen is another argument, but it won’t happen without a team in each major market around the American nation.

Why are the owners putting up with Bettman and why do fans continue to support this floppy league with him running it or should I say ruining it?

And another thing....

If I am walking around with a quarter of a billion dollars in my pocket and I am looking to buy something, would I not think twice about investing in the NHL? After watching the commissioner put pride ahead of profit and personal feelings ahead of progress it would be madness to invest that kind of money. Businessmen everywhere have to be watching this situation with great interest.

I think the nhl is a great game & the league
should let the players play their game, I don't like clutching & grabing. If The player
injuries another player the nhl league should,
suspend him dpend how injuried the player is.

I agree, there is no market down there. They had a descent team and not until they got Forsberg did they finally to sell any tickets. Canada has the best market for it relocate them up there. Someone who knows what they are doing should run the league, VOTE CHERRY!

Couldn't have said it better. Well done.

Careful Elliot, or Bettman will have a gag order imposed on you. Besides, how could Southern Ontario possibly support two teams? Two in Missouri is a no brainer, they are so hockey starved they could probably support 3 or 4.

This guy is killing the game. Teams that were losing money at 19 million a year now have to pay out 34. Bettman thinks that the only thing preventing hockey from captivating the American public is the lack of scoring. I fear that by the time they get rid of this guy the game will have become a bizarre mutation of what it once was.

The league needs more people like Jim Balsillie and less people like Jeremy Jacobs and Gary Bettman if it has any hope of regaining it's former glory. Unfortunately there is still a long way to fall. Heaven forbid that we have owners that are fans first and cash counters second.

I couldn't agree more! You hit the nail on the head!
We are starting to get glimpses behind the scenes in the NHL office and Bettman is looking less like an impartial commisioner and more like a member of the Sopranos crime family putting the screws to the owners to get his way. Gag orders? C'mon!