#StayNegi: Expanding the Canadian NHL

Perusing the internet today, I couldn’t help but notice the study Conference Board of Canada did on the financial stability of Canada and their ability to take their team count from 7 to 9 teams. 

Okay. Pause.  Rewind. 

Conference Board of Canada is the same group of people who stated in November that the CFL could make a jump from 8 teams to at least 11 to possibly 14.  How can you think about expanding the league, when Ottawa Renegades folded in 2005?  And before that, Ottawa lost their previous team, the Roughriders back in 1996. 

Clearly the CBoC has an amazing knack of knowing what the Canadian financial future will look like.  They have suggested putting NHL teams in Quebec City and Hamilton.  Just a few facts about the cities, Hamilton, the metro population is 692,911.  Hamilton is also just over an hour from Toronto, an hour and a half to Buffalo, and three and a half from Detroit.  Quebec City has a metro population of 765,706 and there’s over three hours between it and Montreal. 

So what does this all mean?  Well the cities are very small to begin with and they are close enough to other cities that people have formed a love of these other teams.  If you’re a Canadiens fan living in Quebec City, or a Sabres fan living in Hamilton, are you going to give up years of fandom to go see this new team play?  Sure there’s the novelty factor, but you bleed for this team, you live and die for them, why would you throw this all away? 

And don’t you dare use Winnipeg as an example: A) They had a team in the last 30 years, and lost it and B) Their nearest NHL team is over seven hours away. 

So Conference Board of Canada, whatever mathematical formulas you are using are wrong.  Stop messing with the game, stop making dumb suggestions.  Your numbers may say the cities can support a team (I don’t buy it, but let’s pretend you’re right), you’re not going to sway enough people to give up their teams for a new one.  Canadiens have 100 years of tradition, Sabres fans are some of the most devoted ones out there, Red Wings are an Original Six and there’s pride in that, ditto for the Maple Leafs.  Numbers don’t show passion and commitment.  Numbers are only part of the game, and as a group that represents Canada, shouldn’t they of all people understand this the most?  After all, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been told this is Canada’s game.

#StayNegi my friends