A Proposal To Fix the National Hockey League

Every die hard hockey fan out there loves to reminisce about the days when hockey was popular in the United States, especially when the NHL had reached its peak in the early 90s, right before the first lockout that almost crippled the league.

Games were on ESPN, FOX, and ABC.

Even if you didn't like hockey, there wasn't a sports channel you could watch that didn't advertise "The Fastest Game on Earth."

In fact, for a while, hockey was second only to baseball in terms of television ratings and attendance, if even for a very brief time.

But, now those memories seem like they were taken place in a dream world.

Immediately after Gary Bettman took over as commissioner, there was a lockout that cut the 1994-95 season in half and killed almost all of the momentum from what was one of the most exciting playoff series in NHL history; the Vancouver Canucks vs. the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Following that series, hockey was on top for a few weeks in the summer of 1994.

Front pages on the top newspapers in America, clips on nightly news shows, player appearances on talk shows, and many other things—it couldn't get any better.

The die-hard hockey fan then started to cringe in the years following that first lockout. Not only did the league expand to 30 teams from the previous 24, but expanded in all the wrong places.

Cities where people wouldn't know a blue line from a clothesline were now all of a sudden hosting NHL teams.

Nashville, Atlanta, Raleigh, Tampa Bay, and Sunrise became the new locations, and as we look back in retrospect, just how the hell did this ever come to be?

By believing they were still a top sport, the NHL thought they could do no wrong; however, that quickly and completely backfired.

The new expansion teams started out horribly, with bad players and bad records, quickly causing new found popularity to dwindle. And that was only the beginning of the very destructive snowball effect.

Because popularity in these cities dwindled, big name free agents would not sign there and players already on the teams would leave as soon as they possibly could. Then the team loses money and that's how we got our second lockout in just 10 years.

One that for the first time in professional sports, caused an entire season to be lost, along with the NHL's popularity and respect.

We are now four seasons passed the lockout and I'm happy to say that hockey is back on the rise again.

Salary caps have now allowed for every team to have a chance and if the league just stays the course, everything will be fine.

Then we hear that dreaded word again: "expansion." 

With different news articles reporting on how Toronto's market can support another team and how the people of Kansas City are dying for a team of their own.

Because of this, I am led to believe that the NHL once again wants to expand, this time to 32 teams. Something that I think will put the final nail in the coffin and destroy this league, once and for all.

For that reason, I write this proposal that you are reading here today.

I offer my thoughts and three little pieces of advice that I think will help fix the NHL. I will refer to them as the three R's: Reduction, Relocation, and Realignment.

As you read on further, hopefully you will make some sense of this and come to an agreement with me. The best part is, if I do say so myself, is that this is all completely realistic and something I think will actually fix the sport I love.

Reduction

When the NHL was at its popularity peak, it was no coincidence that the league was smaller. At one point, there were 24 teams and then the league expanded to the better number of 26 in 1994. Only cities that liked hockey and could support a franchise got to host a team.

When the league underwent it's rapid growth to cities that could never support a hockey team, as stated above, is when things started to fall apart.

For that reason, I will propose that the NHL fold two franchises; the Florida Panthers and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Whenever I watch a Thrashers game, I am near dumbfounded at how little attendance they get, even against teams like the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs—three teams that are almost instant big draws when it comes to ticket sales around the league.

Even during their only playoff appearance in 2007, they still did not sell out, and when the Rangers swept them in the first round, I believe that put the final nail in the coffin as attendance was even worse.

Marian Hossa wanted out last season and now Ilya Kovalchuk is itching to go. When he becomes a free agent, you can guarantee he is out of there the second his contract expires. With two superstars now gone, who will draw fans to the arena on a game by game basis?

Brian Little and Tobias Enstrom may be solid players, but they are far from superstar status. All the more reason to rid the league of this team.

The second franchise that should fold is the Florida Panthers. Although the other Floridian team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, seems to do very well with attendance, the Panthers don't come close to selling out.

The only games they do come close to selling out are when the Rangers come to town and you can hear chants of "Lets Go Rangers" in the background. As a Rangers fan, I'm proud; as a hockey fan, I'm disgusted.

It was before a game against the Rangers last season when then Captain Olli Jokinen said, "Looks like we're going to have to play a decent road game," in a pregame interview.

The Panthers had their chance at popularity during the late 90s when being led by players like John Vanbiesbrouck and Robert Svehla. But that time is long gone, and with the recent departures of Olli Jokinen and superstar goaltender Roberto Luongo, how long will it be before Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss want out?

Relocation

In response to all the people saying that Toronto can support another hockey team, I partially think they are right. I'm not sure how a team that close to Toronto will do, but I firmly believe that Canada can use another team.

Rumors about the Nashville Predators relocating have been swirling for as long as I can remember, and I think it will be great for the league if they relocate to Canada.

Cities like Hamilton, Winnipeg, and Quebec, among others, have been brought up, and I'm fine with any of them.

Later in the article, when I get to the third "R" in the series, I will name this relocated team the Winnipeg Jets, just for continuities sake, even though I'm not suggesting that a team actually move there.

The only thing stopping this from happening is a band of about 5,000 die hard Predators fans who don't want their team to leave.

They have made petitions and even raised money, but it seems they are the only fans going to games on a nightly basis.

My message to them: If you love your team that much, then you will follow them wherever they go, as my dad and grandpa did in 1958 when their beloved New York Giants made the move to San Francisco.

Heartbreaking, but necessary.

Realignment

The NHL has undergone several of these in the past couple of decades, and I think it is time for another one—once the league has shrunk to my suggestion of 28 teams.

I used to love the creative conference names such as Prince of Wales (Eastern) and Clarence Campbell (Western). The divisional names were also creative with names such as Patrick, Norris, Smythe, and Adams.

I would love for the divisions and conferences to revert back to those names, but people feel it would be too confusing for the new influx of fans.

I will agree with that for the moment and keep the Conferences the same (because Prince of Wales can become a little annoying after a while). But in the newly aligned divisions posted below, the names have been changed.

Eastern Conference

Patrick Division

1. Toronto Maple Leafs

2. Montreal Canadiens

3. New York Rangers

4. New Jersey Devils

5. New York Islanders

6. Philadelphia Flyers

7. Washington Capitals

Adams Division

1. Ottawa Senators

2. Boston Bruins

3. Buffalo Sabres

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

6. Carolina Hurricanes

7. Tampa Bay Lightning

Western Conference

Norris Division

1. Edmonton Oilers

2. Winnipeg Jets

3. Detroit Red Wings

4. St. Louis Blues

5. Phoenix Coyotes

6. Los Angeles Kings

7. Minnesota Wild

Smythe Division

1. Vancouver Canucks

2. Calgary Flames

3. Chicago Blackhawks

4. Colorado Avalanche

5. San Jose Sharks

6. Anaheim Ducks

7. Dallas Stars

By looking at this new alignment, one would think that this was completely random but believe me, there's a method to the madness.

First, each division has an odd number of teams, seven, and each division also includes at least one Canadian team and one "Original Six" team.

Playoffs will also revert back to how they used to be, meaning that it doesn't matter where you finish in the division that determines the playoff bracket, it's where you finish in the standings—something that I have complained about for years.

That about wraps up this proposal, and believe me, it was actually fun to write.

We all love to think that we can have a say in something big, something like the sport we love.