Will Bettman Bet It All On Las Vegas?

photo courtesy SharksPage.com
When I hear the name Las Vegas, the very first thought that comes to my mind is hockey. The hot weather, the complete lack of snowfall, the legalized and rampant gambling...how could a person NOT think about the National Hockey League when they think about Las Vegas?

In an effort to satisfy the panicked frenzy for hockey among local residents, Harrah's (the casino and hotel giant) is selflessly planning to construct a brand new arena just off the Vegas Strip by 2010. It's not about money. They just want the puck-crazed populace of Sin City to be happy.

What's curious about the stadium plan is where it will be located. Despite being only one block east of the Strip, the black heart and twisted soul of Las Vegas, it will actually be outside city limits, thus crushing the mayor's dreams of having a "downtown" arena. Like Vegas has a downtown anyway.

Gary Bettman's plans won't be crushed, though. He's no doubt happier than a pig in, well, you know what. After all, nothing could be more in line with his grand vision of never-ending NHL expansion than a major league ice hockey team based in a city that has no winter, no local water supply nor any significant precipitation at all, let alone snow. How could that possibly be a bad idea?

If they need a good name for the team, I have a suggestion: The Craps.

---

Read More...

Summary only...

Further NHL Expansion Is Stupid, Likely

There's really no better way to put it. Expanding the NHL to include more teams (like in Vegas) or simply moving existing teams from one lousy market to the next is a terrible way to promote the sport.

What expansion does is dilute talent. There are a limited number of truly great hockey players in this world, and their skills are best showcased by playing on teams with each other. One superstar on a lousy team doesn't stand out because he's held back by his teammates who chuck lousy passes, bobble one-timers and more or less skate around without a clue. Florida comes immediately to mind, much to Olli Jokinen's dismay.

When a team is filled with true superstars, chock-full of great talents whose skills are multiplied by playing with each other, the fans come flocking.

As Eric at the Fanhouse pointed out yesterday, the Penguins have now been forced to create a waiting list for season ticket purchases because of out-of-control demand. Why is this, you wonder? Perhaps it has something to do with three young men named Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Three true superstars whose innumerable skills are even further multiplied by playing on the same team as each other. This is not a "problem" facing teams like Phoenix, who have nobody even close to superstar status and are already at a disadvantage by playing in a non-traditional market.

In an ideal world, the NHL would contract to at most 28 teams (but ideally 24), and concentrate the limited talent pool in fewer cities. Expansion would only further diminish the on-ice product. You want to know the real reason goal-scoring has been down in the past twenty years? Because too many teams were added. Back in the 1980s, it was easy for Wayne Gretzky to score 200 points in a season (and his team over 400 goals) because the Oilers had Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson. There were only 20 teams back then, and the talent was heavily concentrated.

In 1989-90, ten teams scored more than 290 goals---out of 21 total. In 1999-2000, zero teams out of 28 scored that many. It's not because the goalies got fatter or the creases were too large. It's because there weren't enough good players on each team.

Through contraction, the NHL could easily kill multiple birds with one stone: increase ticket sales, increase goal scoring, decrease team deficits in weak markets. Why make the goals bigger when you can just stack the offense full of superstars?

Too bad it's never going to happen. The league seems dead-set on further expansion at the expense of all common sense. We're all worse off as fans because of it.

Read More...

Summary only...

NHL Expansion: It Worked So Well The First Time

So what if several NHL teams are barely-watched from their actual arena seats, let alone on television? So what if the league itself is still the media's favorite whipping boy? So what if the talent pool is so diluted that some teams have to rely on just one really good player? It's time to expand, baby!

Word has it that Gary Bettman and his cartel of head-in-ass owners are interested in granting expansion teams to Las Vegas and Kansas City. Never mind the facts that Las Vegas is television market #51 and the majority of its workers spend their evenings staffing the casinos, or the truth that Kansas City has a great new arena but no proven demand for the sport. Forget the fact that there are already teams like Nashville, New Jersey, Phoenix, Florida and Atlanta struggling to keep their seats above three-quarters full. While you're at it, forget the already-failed US expansion scheme Bettman suckered everyone with the first time. There's quick money in it, so let's make the league bigger! Bigger than the NBA! Bigger than Major League Baseball! Even bigger than the NFL!

If the NHL needs anything, it's contraction. I'm in favor of dumping four teams and dropping the league to 26. Or, while we're at it, dropping to 24 would make for even-sized divisions. A subsequent rise in the salary cap (even if the rules have to be rewritten) and the concentration of teams in stronger markets with more talent to choose from seems financially sound to me, but then again, I'm no economist. Or, at the very least, move existing teams to the new markets---the Las Vegas Coyotes would still makes sense name-wise (it's a freakin' desert!) and it would really make Janet Gretzky a happy lady.

And that's what it's really all about---keeping the wives satisfied.

Read More...

Summary only...