Fixing the NHL

Wow, apparently people from Quebec City actually know how to write in English. Can't say the same about American Tea Partiers...

In 1995, the Quebec Nordiques moved from Quebec to the larger market of Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche. A year later, the Winnipeg Jets left the cold winters of Canada and headed south for the warmer (and apparenty more "lucrative") environment of Phoenix, Arizona. A year after that, the Hartford Whalers fled Connecticut and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. The NHL's experiment of delving into the American South, often at the expense of more traditional hockey markets in Canada, has produced two more teams: the Nashville Predators and the Atlanta Thrashers.

The year is now 2011. Unsurprisingly, this experiment has been an appalling failure. When it comes to attendance figures, it's worth noting that the overwhelming majority of teams on the bottom are teams based in the American South: Phoenix (#29/30), Atlanta (#27/30), Dallas (#23/30), Miami, Nashville, Carolina (#22-20 respectively).

Whoever thought that introducing a traditionally cold weather (and technically foreign to many here in the 'States) sport into Southern markets is obviously one of the most braindead individuals living. It makes as much sense as trying to push nascar into Poland, or making an NFL team in Kenya. It seems especially stupid now that one of the teams, the Phoenix Coyotes, are not only probably going to fold, but that they are going to move back into the original city that they moved from back in 1996.

It was brazenly idiotic to move into Phoenix and Atlanta, both of which are atrocious sports cities. I'll never forget seeing a SEA of cubs' fans invading Atlanta when the Cubs played the Braves in the 2003 playoffs. It was the playoffs' for goodness sake and people in Atlanta couldn't even get excited for that. And in Phoenix, with the Coyotes on the verge of getting swept, apparently there was a significant number of Red Wings' fans in the crowd. A crowd might I add that was obnoxiously sparse during the season. And Atlanta, they can't even support a baseball team that made 13-15 postseasons in a row. How do you expect their crowds for a mediocre hockey team to look like?

I rest my case...

This "Southern experiment" has clearly been a dreadful failure. The NHL needs to finally man up and cut its losses. First in Phoenix, then Atlanta, and possibly other teams as well (Nashville, Miami, Tampa Bay, Carolina). Then they need to resurrect the NHL teams that will undoubtedly receive the fan support that all pro teams deserve. The Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques are two that need to make a return. The return of the Nordiques in particular would bring back the exciting and ferocious rivalry inside Quebec between the Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens.

A few months ago, 1100 fans of the Quebec Nordiques packed a bus and headed to Long Island, New York, where they invaded the game between the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Thrashers. I don't think there's anything else that needs to be said.



Bring hockey back to Canada, where it belongs. Move the Coyotes back to Winnipeg and bring the Thrashers to Quebec. At least this way, more than ten people will actually give a damn...

Cheers,
DC