Is the NHL Doing the Right Thing?

James Bagos
Sep 3, 2000

A wise man once said "The seed cannot sprout upwards without simultaneously sending roots into the ground." Picture the NHL as the seed. Then picture Canada as the ground. I believe that it is necessary for the NHL to support the country that revolutionized the game. By supporting them I mean actually giving them money so that they can be on equal ground with US franchises. How can the NHL do this when they're struggling to be successful and profitable already? That's the question you're probably asking yourself am I right? Well it doesn't matter anyway if I'm right or not because I'm going to explain to you how to make this plan that I have work. 

Most of the Canadian NHL franchise payroll average is around 30 million. Some of the richer franchises in Canada are lucky to allow a 5 million-dollar leeway on this figure. A top US NHL team franchise payroll is around 38-40 million. The New Jersey Devils whose payroll is around 30-35 million is one of few anomalies. But the difference is the fact that New Jersey was able to trade for Vladimir Malahkov and Alexander Mogilny at last years trade deadline. Those moves helped put the Devils over the hump so to speak. Malahkov at the time made 2.7 million and Mogilny made 4.6 million. A Canadian franchise would be lucky to be able to trade for the 2.7 million Malahkov. 

So now you're probably saying, "So life is tough in the big city Bagos, they have to learn to deal with it". Well it doesn't have to be that way. The NHL players and coaches have an association to deal with salaries and privileges so why can't Canadian hockey franchises? Well they can. It's just that nobody has thought of it yet. Or at least nobody has brought it up in the NHL. But it needs to have a name like the NHLPA does. How about CHFSA (Canadian Hockey Franchises Support Association)?

It'll work this way...The Stanley Cup winners are to give the CHFSA 2 million dollars. Then look at the top-10 NHL teams in the standings. Assuming there is no Canadian hockey team in the top-10 each team would give this CHFSA 1.5 million. That's 17 million spread among the remaining hockey franchises in Canada that have a payroll under 35 million. That would exclude the Maple Leafs. That averages out to 3.4 million extra to each team. That may not seem like much but it wouldn't hurt. If the teams save it and let it accumulate then in a few years they could go out on the free agent market and "buy" a super-star player. The extra money would give the teams many options. Options that they don't have the luxury to exercise right now. 

Most of the teams will not like giving up 1.5 million or 2 million but how do you think the Canadian teams feel when some big-money US franchise snaps up their best player through free agency? It's the least they could do to thank the Canadian teams for forcing them to relinquish their best player to them. If it means that some of the teams giving up a few million (come one that's chump change for most US teams) then that's what has to happen.

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