Does anyone else think that pro hockey teams should be from Canada?

i mean i dont really watch hockey like most Americans (check the ratings) dont mention attendance cause baseballs attendance has gone up for years but look at the ratings the NLCS did on TBS this year. i think it was like a 1.8 i think the sport would be better to get these pro teams out of the warm weather climate and stick them up in canada or in the North like in Maine. i think it would benefit the game more cause who goes to hockey games in south florida. just my opinion whats yoursDoes anyone else think that pro hockey teams should be from Canada?
Some places that would make potentially good, and in some cases, great NHL cities (in alphabetical order, not in order of first preference):



Hamilton, Ontario

Hartford, Connecticut

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Portland, Oregon

Quebec, Quebec

Seattle, Washington

Toronto, Ontario

Winnipeg, Manitoba



Some places that are sad excuses for NHL cities (even when they are Stanley Cup championship quality, the fans will not come out):



Anaheim Ducks

Atlanta Thrashers

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida Panthers

Las Vegas (no team yet, but Gary Bettman is trying)

Nashville Predators

Phoenix Coyotes



Stop the Board of Governors mafia! Bring the NHL back to people who care about hockey!



By the way, although it's true that Tampa Bay was second in overall attendance in 2005-2006, this dropped to 3rd in 2006-2007 and they are on pace for 6th this year, despite being a more exciting team. It is false that Florida had better attendance than 11 cities with snow (during any season). In 2005-6, five of the 11 teams with worse attendance than Florida were sunbelt teams: Carolina, Phoenix, Atlanta, Anaheim and Nashville.

By the way, in 2006-7, Florida dropped to 22nd out of 30 teams in terms of attendance, and this year they are on pace for 25th out of 30. So much for building fan support from within ...

Everyone knows, by the way, that Florida and Tampa Bay fill the stands with "snowbirds" (some of the estimated 2 million Canadians who have vacation or retirement homes in the state of Florida). You can't say that these places have become grassroots hockey towns by any stretch of the imagination!

If you want diehard hockey support you still have to go back to the places where kids grow up playing in neighborhood and backyard rinks (whether in Canada or the U.S.), where hockey is as much of a religion as it is a sport ..



A final point: official attendance statistics can be misleading. Struggling NHL franchises frequently pad their attendance statistics to hide the fact that they lack popularity (nobody wants to be the class dork). It is common to see many empty seats in places like Tampa Bay and Phoenix even on nights when they report a 'sellout'. A truer test of the team's popularity is to show up shortly before game time to see if you can still buy a ticket. The cities where it is common knowledge that this is virtually impossible on most nights are: Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Philadelphia, Calgary, Minnesota, Vancouver, Ottawa, Colorado, Edmonton and the New York Rangers.
i do, although idk much about hockey. lolDoes anyone else think that pro hockey teams should be from Canada?
i think it should.
Absolutely right. The most profitable franchise is in Toronto, which could easily handle three teams, like NY-NJ has!!!



NHL would be a success in Hamilton, Winnipeg and Quebec City too.Does anyone else think that pro hockey teams should be from Canada?
It's good for hockey to be in the United States, because there's more money and exposure for it. However I think that places like Florida, Phoenix, and San Jose have teams while places like London (Ontario), and Winnepeg don't.
Hockey in the southern US is ridiculous, but there's not much to be done with Gary Bettman in charge. It should definitely not be relegated to Canada, though. Doing that would leave you with lots of very angry people in Montana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York!
I feel that the problem with hockey is that although it is a regionally popular sport, it is being sold in two cultures that look at the game differently. But for the financial potential, the United States is an attractive place to expand to.



I love hockey and would watch it if I lived on Mars, but to many folks who have never seen the game or as much as a single snowflake, it is just a novelty sport on an already crowded sports "platter".



Canadians revere the sport, claim it as its own, and would probably be watching their team play while attending a wedding. But, again, the fact is that the owners want to become more profitable and don't really care about national sentiments. They see an opportunity to make tons of money and are doing what any person with a vested interest in a business would do and that is to market their product in areas where it is not readily available.
Are you really gonna make me defend Southern hockey on Christmas Eve?



That's a little harsh.



Have some nog.
actaully veiwer ratings have gone up for many american teams; i know a lot of americans who like hockey i wouldnt want it taken away. Hell i met a guy who was a capitals fan living in Hawaii
ya know, I can put together a great defense of southern hockey, but it's Christmas eve. I think that today and tomorrow, you can shut up and be content knowing that the many hockey fans in the south think you're a compete idiot who has no clue what the hell he's talking about.



One quick point though: NHL attendance has been steadily increasing in the south, and Tampa bay is the third most attended team. And teams in more traditional markets are on the bottom tier in terms of attendance- try NJ, St. Louis...



have a merry grinchmas.
I'm glad they decided to give hockey a chance here in North Carolina, because it's the best thing ever. I'm glad America gets to share in the joy of it!!



And, by the way, you'd be surprised at how many Hurricanes games feature sell-out crowds. Plus, it's not like your average person can actually afford tickets...they're pretty steep. I'm happy to have gotten to go to one game in my lifetime. An amazing experience.
some areas are good in the south for hockey, others not so much. I do think one or 2 teams theleast should move to canada (replacing the Winnipeg jets %26amp; Quebec Nordiqes. (although they moved in my 'young' hockey life.... I miss the Montreal vs. Quebec games)



nashville (is a good place for hockey... it seems ALOT of players like country music too bad Rock/metal music goes better with the sport.. but they need to get out of there for sure.)
What does climate have to do with it? Sure it may be weird that you're going to an ice hockey game in San Jose and it's 90 degrees out...but it's indoors, and if people are going, who the hell cares what the freaking weather is? Bad argument.
Schmeckity, Schmeck! Many sports markets in the USofA are fickle markets! Win and they come, lose and they dont! Just the way it is nowadays. Reference to an answer above, Saturated Market~! I could care less where a team is located! I just want to see good hockey. Do I feel for some of the Canadian markets that dont have teams? Hell YES! Is it fair, Hell NO! Is it that American local governments pay outrageous amounts to lure teams away from a less lucrative market? Probably. An owner needs tax breaks and lucrative leasing agreements from arena's to profit. Its a business. In time, a few teams will relocate. Who? I dont know. Perhaps, the Panthers? Atlanta? Columbus? I see them going before anyone else! Nashville will be there for a while. I dont see Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose, L.A., TBL, Carolina or even the Yotes moving anytime in the near future.
Well I think it depends on the market. Look at the Dallas Stars, they have a huge market and a very consistant fan base. But then you look at the Flordia Panthers and well they stink and the fans don't want to see them. A big part of it is owners willing to pay for some talent. The Tampa Lightning have an owner based in Detroit (owns the Detroit Pistons, and the Shock of the WBA) He is willing to spend some money and advertise down there and they have a pretty good fan base. The problem with Canada is this, most of the cities are considered small market teams so they have trouble competing with huge markets like New York, Detroit, Philly, Toronto, Boston and so on. Not all Canadian markets are small, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto do very well. In contrast teams way up north like Calgary and Edmonton have problems not only finding good players but financing them once they do get them. For this reason you find teams in odd markets. You need a big city to sustain a competitive team. A. because you aren't going to get automatic fans like if a football team started up, and B, because big cities are expensive and $80 for a ticket in a big city doesn't seem as bad just due to the location. People in Chicago are used to high ticket prices on things. If you go to say a place like Nashville people might just say, ah that's too much I'll pass.



To me maybe some more teams in Canada wouldn't be a bad thing. More people like hockey there. I think it is a great sport but my opinion is bias as I've played since I was a boy. If the market can hold a team I say yes get the teams in the desert out of the league, and give them to people that will appreciate them.
Seriously, who cares? I mean, really. Contrary to popular belief, we Americans like hockey, there will always be Southern teams, its never going to be solely in Canada, get over it.



What do you mean nobody goes to games in South Florida?!?! Hi...Tampa fans...
HI AMDD ^ ^ ^ ^!!!!! Are you my bodyguard? I do wish there were more teams in Canada. I understand "If you build it they will come". What YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND is last year Tampa was #2 in NHL attendance and Florida had higher attendance then 11 NHL cities where it DOES snow.



http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance鈥?/a>



So, you are wrong about the attendance, but I do agree that it would be nicer to have more Canadian pro hockey teams.
One thing about professional sports, they're there to make money. They would not have spent hundreds of millions of dollars putting a team in cities with no chance of recovering their investment. While it may be a bit of a gamble, I'm sure they did their homework before dumping in a boatload of cash.

I never would have thought the NBA would work in Toronto, but the Raptors are doing ok in a non-traditional basketball market.
If Canada could support thier teams, they would still have them in Winnipeg and Quebec. Lets appreciate the game, and quit with the darn Canada vs USA. If you want teams in these Canadian towns, you first need someone to own them, an arena to seat atleast 18,000 fans and fans to but them. Panthers, Coyotes and so forth, are not good teams, but they draw enough to survive. Hate them if you want, but they arent going anywhere.
Yes, if you compare city-to-city, hockey is more popular in Canada. BUT - Canada doesn't have the population to support the league. AND - there are NHL teams doing extremely well in US cities, including southern cities. AND - there have been NHL teams in the USA since the league was formed. AND - the non-Canadian population of players has grown significantly over the last few decades.



Overall, I don't see much validity in the question. Making the NHL a Canadian-only product would doom it to failure.
Canadians invented it and Canadians should be the ones with all the teams. Besides how do you play hockey in Florida.