"Hell hath no fury like a hockey market scorned!"

Sports journalists across Canada are always looking for new angles on covering the NHL story. Lately, the angle has been how the players themselves feel about road trips through rinks where games routinely have empty seats outnumber occupied ones.

These recently revealed candid expressions by the players are about how as professionals it does affect them. They try to play as hard as they would in front of a rink with standing room only. But as business partners with the new NHL, the future prospects scare them. Canuck defenceman Mattias Ohlund said that "these are interesting times, and it should be interesting to see how the next few years unfold.”

The media, players, coaches and management get to see every building and take stock of what they see. They also talk between teams, so the cat has been out of the bag for some time now.

My holiday wish is that the NHL senior brass aren't turning a blind eye to this sobering and broken situation anymore, because the NHL marriage to some of these markets has long since been over. For the NHL to continue to do so, is to be "intentionally Offside".

Up until the lockout, there has been anecdotal evidence, a story about a poor attendance here or there, or about one franchise that seems to be very close to being a lost cause. Teams clung on to survival to get to 2004 when a new CBA would save them and to be fair some of those were in Canada. So the CBA has helped some teams but certainly not all. Nor should the CBA save all existing cities.

But the fans have only recently started to see, post lockout, what dire future the league is facing with the media reports of poor attendance and poor season-long gate revenues not just for a few teams but almost for complete NHL divisions. Cost certainly was achieved with the CBA. But revenue certainty will never be found in some existing cities.

Even some of the NHL's brightest stars like Detroit and Denver have started to flicker. Those types of markets will sustain themselves, but they will have alot less to give to help sustain the league as a whole.

The ancient Chinese wish, "May you live in interesting times", is more of a curse than a blessing. And the NHL is most definitely moving into "interesting times" as Ohlund said.

The NHL isn't the last to know, it's the fans.

For the sake of the fans, if not for yourselves, please don't continue this charade much longer, it's not healthy for anyone.

If you think I'm Offside with this call, then log on to the forum and have your say!

Thanks to Alex Snell for the Staples Center Kings game photos.

Chris
Chair, Manitoba Mythbusters
www.ManitobaMythbusters.com
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