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Friday, November 3, 2000
Canada's problem isn't expansion
By Al Morganti
Special to ESPN.com
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It might seem logical to assume the expansion of the National Hockey League in the United States has come at the expense of promoting the game in Canada. You can certainly understand a fan in Canada crying foul at new teams in the Sun Belt, while the league is struggling in the land that still produces the majority of NHL players.
|  | | Keith Tkachuk in a Winnipeg uniform is now a piece of history. |
Is it really fair that the game is being seeded in Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Nashville while it runs away from Quebec City and Winnipeg? Or what about
talk of expansion in other cities, while teams struggle in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and even the national capital of Ottawa?
It all seems like a perfect set up for a sob story of how the NHL has set up shop in Manhattan and churned the gears to obliterate the game in Canada,
while promoting the sport in the states. After all, success in the states translates into better TV deals, better marketing partners, and a much better
chance to be included in general dialogue as a major sport with the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball.
But scratch the surface even the smallest bit, and you will discover that such an argument is absurd. The problems of Canadian-based teams are far removed from the NHL's expansion in the United States. In fact, since the NHL has expanded in the United States, it gives the Canadian-based teams an even better chance at survival.
Sound like faulty logic?
Well, consider what transpired this past summer when the Phoenix Coyotes were on the block. Very sound sources indicate that if the group that included
Wayne Gretzky did not come forward and buy the team, the Coyotes would have been headed to Portland, Ore.
At the same time, the Calgary Flames were going through their own strife. The Flames were in danger of being forced to move if they did not sell enough
season tickets. Ultimately, the Coyotes got sold -- which was not good news for the Flames, or the Edmonton Oilers, or the Ottawa Senators, or even the Vancouver Canucks, for that matter.
The reason is simple: If the Coyotes had moved to Portland, it would have been one less market to beckon a struggling team from Canada. We've already
seen the Quebec Nordiques leave for Colorado, and the Winnipeg Jets for Phoenix.
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The problems faced by Canadian teams are problems caused mostly because of the Canadian government and its refusal to grant any sort of tax breaks similar to the tax advantages teams get in the United States, along with the exchange rates. ” |
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— Rangers GM Glen Sather |
Portland is a destination just waiting for a team to throw up its hands and leave a market. It already has come close to happening twice, first when the Penguins had one foot out the door in Pittsburgh -- until a group headed by Mario Lemieux stepped into the picture -- and again when Phoenix was rescued by the new ownership group getting the blessings and signature of Gretzky.
"I think expansion has been good for our teams," Vancouver general manager Brian Burke said. "Let's face it, we can all use the money we get from
expansion (the club's share of an entrance fee), and I think we all benefit from the fact that there are only so many squares on the chess board.
"In my mind, not only have the revenues been significant to the Canadian teams, but it has impaired the ability to move a team (to the United States). Every time a
new team starts in the U.S., it's another square on the board taken, and there are only so many places you can move a team.
Until recently, Glen Sather was not only a general manager in Canada, but during his time as GM of the Edmonton Oilers, Sather was often the conscience of Canadian teams. Although Sather recently left Alberta to take over as GM of the New York Rangers -- perhaps, there's irony in that -- he remains steadfast in his suppport of
Canadian teams.
"I don't know that I buy the checkerboard theory," Sather said. "But overall, I think expansion has not had a bad effect on Canadian teams. In fact, I
don't see how it's even had any effect.
"Maybe it is true that there are less players for teams to leave for, but if a team wanted to pick up and go, there are still markets. There's Houston, Portland, Las Vegas. ... And I will say this -- and this is coming from somebody who has spent a lot of time dealing with the issues involved: Every time there has been a problem
with a team in Canada, I got the feeling that the NHL under Gary Bettman did its best to keep the team in Canada.
"The problems faced by Canadian teams are problems caused mostly because of the Canadian government and its refusal to grant any sort of tax breaks
similar to the tax advantages teams get in the United States, along with the exchange rates."
Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.
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