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Originally Posted by megadude
Thank god that tool is gone but the damage is done.
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I don't think F1 has ever been as strong as it is today thanks to the leadership that Liberty has exhibited since Bernie left.
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Originally Posted by Mister F
I'm not sure why you're resisting what I'm saying so much. This information is common knowledge and easy to find online. Why so down on your own country having more than a measly 7 teams?
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I'm not down on Canada having more teams but it's just not a realistic venture if you're looking to grow your sport internationally. Basing your league in the US and pinning growth on the US is a safer option, as the NHL has demonstrated, than relying on a Canadian- led league. I don't think it's unreasonable to say that an NHL with three or five more Canadian teams would be smaller than its current iteration.
To support my point, the salary cap has reached the point that if the Winnipeg Jets spend at the cap they have to make a deep run in the playoffs to break even. They lost money last year for the first time since their move from Atlanta, and that pressure will only persist as the cap increases in the future.
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Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime
The growing the game initiative may have been a flop relative to other leagues, but I fail to see how opting not to grow the game would have resulted in a better outcome? Quebec City is watching hockey regardless of whether the Nordiques exist or not. The same can't be said of fans elsewhere.
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This is the crux of my argument. People in QC like hockey regardless of whether or not there's an NHL team there. Placing a team there now is not new money, comparatively, as you'd be carving up pieces of Montreal's market and already serving currently existing hockey fans. You expand to Vegas or Seattle to get new people into the door, new people into the sport, and expand your base that way.
I don't actually think the NHL's initiative was a failure relative to other leagues at all. Hockey is pretty strong in a few markets right now, in particular Nashville, Dallas, and Tampa, among others. Los Angeles churns out a surprising number of hockey players right now and Arizona is very much on the up. I don't get why people don't see the value in growing this sport for the betterment of its long term interests.
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Originally Posted by Acajack
The money-losing Panthers, Coyotes and Hurricanes are not new teams.
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The Hurricanes made money last year.