It is interesting going through the various forums of the NHL teams. Your team is always going to stay put but that other team, it really needs to be relocated back to Canada where they appreciate hockey, snow, ice and polar bears.

It was less than two months ago when a Phoenix journalist covering the Coyotes (yes apparently there is one) chastised Canadians for hoping doom and spreading gloom about the Coyotes. Now we hear that in fact, the team can't make any trades without consulting the league office, as it is now controlling the situation. So for pure editorializing and no evidence to support the journalist's rant, an Offside whistle is what you hear.

So trying to be as objective as possible (although no one can truly be, unless they could care less about hockey and the NHL - Tiger Woods comes to mind), I offer my prognosticative abilities to the NHL and you the fans.

So here we go, team by team:

Calgary was going down that path to perdition in the late 90's. Ads ran in the Calgary newspapers by the team to spur attendance: A Flames logo above the words "endangered species" while Jets and Nordiques logos had "extinct species" under them. That's as subtle as it gets in Calgary. Then ownership had an oportunity to make a real change. It's outlook and attendance rebounded soon after Sutter arrived.

Changes to on-ice performance allowed Edmonton and Ottawa to rebound in the same way. That the losses of cash in the bad times is more than offset by the profits in the good times. That is a sign that a market that can last. And if you are the Leafs, profits are up regardless how close or far the team is from the draft lottery.

Colorado, Detroit and Dallas will bounce back soon enough. I expect them and their attendances to rebound just as Chicago has.

I think Buffalo can make it long term if they have come through one bankruptcy already.

But Nashville proved with a 3rd overall team that fan support is an issue.

Miami hasn't had good attendance since moving to the new rink. The old Miami arena was in downtown and the team for the first 3 years did well in attendance but also appeared in a cup final. It has been a steady road downhill for them since, even with a playoff appearance thrown in. This team is very questionable.

Clearly, the crowds are too small in Phoenix even with poor on-ice performance as a reason. NHL involvement shows that this gives merit to Canadians "badmouthing" that relocation decision.

Carolina is starting to trail off after 2 cup finals in 7 years. It may rebound. It may not. Safe for now, but still heading the wrong way.

Tampa also won a cup and fills the rink with fans. Sounds perfect right? Then you hear the cup winning year turned only a small profit and that was the only profit in its entire history of larger losses. Added to that, when you check out ticket prices and see how ungodly cheap the prices are, you start to realize that this team is drowning in red ink, yet looks fine from the outside.

I am hoping that Anahiem isn't just a few years behind Carolina. But with ownership turmoil with the criminal charges and now Burke's departure that club may slip faster than Disney's desire to exit. If team falters some, attendance may nosedive. Or it might hold steady. Burke's successor will have alot to do with whether this team stays or surfs out of town.

Atlanta is on the bubble. And they have ownership lawsuits to handle which might force a change there too. Not just to ownership but to address if the management doesn't turn things around. If Ilya wants out, who can blame him? But he must know that do so may also cause another expansion failure. Does lightning strike that city's NHL team twice? It may happen.

The Kings are in real do-do. I know it's LA but the financial numbers are bad. Real bad.

Same story only worse in NYI. It is New York after all but with such a poor rink it is on life support soon or maybe even now. If no new rink appears in 5 years or maybe less, this team is a "dead team skating". The LILighthouse project seems too big to succeed given the economic challenges the world faces. If it is lost without being scaled back, the team goes down the drain with those plans. The patience required and money lost would challenge any owner. If it weren't for Charles Wang, Long Island's Stanley Cup history might already be history. Maybe it should be?

And New Jersey has won so often, has a beautiful new rink and the attendance is dropping off fast. The Devils are running out of excuses fast. This would be the dream future for most clubs and yet NJ still is losing gate over just the last few years. Sweet Lou, for my money one of hockey's greatest GMs, may have to pull rabbits out of hats to keep this team afloat.

Boston has kept their fans through several years of dark waters. Not sure how or why.

Columbus may get better on-ice performance but will the fans come back? Really hard to say. Thats alot of years of losing, even for a strong hockey market to go through. Any momentum the team had is now gone in a very very very football mad environment. The auto sector problem doesn't offer any favours either. I can't blame the fans if they didn't come back to the team. Then again, I can't blame the NHL for relocating them if that happens either. The Lose-Lose situation is ongoing. Playoff hockey offers salvation to what should have been an expansion success story.

Pittsburg has more luck than most clubs in the last 25 years. First Mario to save the team now Crosby. The new rink will keep this team safe, after Mario saved them again.

Washington is more tricky than most teams. They were so slow buying tickets to see the Second Coming of Rocket Richard. Lots of flash and dash just not alot of playoff production. If this continues this team may not climb out of its hole. I think this team can make it. After seeing it through some terrible seasons in the past, it deserves it. But there is something about the situation that makes me think it's going to be a rough ride yet. Just don't trade Alex for anything because the team could soon follow him out of town.

So in summary, here's how I handicap the NHL's future:

Going to Make it Long Term (18)
==========================
Boston
Buffalo
Calgary
Chicago
Colorado
Dallas
Detroit
Edmonton
Minnesota
Montreal
New York Rangers
Ottawa
Philadelphia
Pittsburg
San Jose
St. Louis
Toronto
Vancouver

"On the Bubble" to "Needs Intensive Care/Good Luck" (08)
===================================================
Note: This is where the NHL and NHLPA need to spend most of their time on. Not Olympics, not European adventures nor the KHL. Not even US TV contracts. Because if these markets fail, there might not be enough cities to relocate them all to successfully. I do expect at least 5 to pull through though. But all 8? That would be like "running the table".

Anaheim
Atlanta
Carolina
Columbus
Los Angeles
New Jersey
Tampa Bay
Washington

"Dying" to Relocate (04)
===================
Nashville
New York Islanders
Florida
Phoenix

So if you have any differing ideas on which team will sink or swim, have your say on the newest release of the Manitoba Mythbuster Forum.

http://manitobamythbusters.com/forum/

Chris
Chair, Manitoba Mythbusters
~ The Reality May Suprise You! ~