Toews Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Quote Hockey’s back! And the NHL is still sticking it to Canadian fans TONY KELLER The National Hockey League’s regular season starts Wednesday, and despite the perennial appeals for more Canadian teams, there will be no new NHL franchise any time soon, if ever. Quebec City badly wants one, but it’s still waiting. And while massive fan bases in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area can each support another team, it will be a cold day in the month of Never before the NHL voluntarily shakes up a profitable status quo. But with this fall’s World Cup of Hockey, the NHL leaned on Canadian fans, on their love of the game, to pull off a financial coup. The league figured out how to play more games in Canada, thereby earning a lot more revenue from Canadians – without having to put any more franchises up here. The tournament is estimated to have brought in $100-million to $120-million in revenue, with a profit of around $60-million. Nearly every dollar came from Canada. But thanks to revenue-sharing, those Made in Canada profits are largely destined to wind up in the United States. Related: Everything you need to know about all 30 NHL teams Related: Everything you need to know about NHL expansion Canada is home to the world’s largest, most passionate and most financially committed population of hockey fans. The NHL has less than a quarter of its teams in Canada, but is believed to make more than a third of its revenues here, and a far higher percentage of its profits. Nevertheless, the NHL is based in the U.S., and 23 out of 30 teams are American. And thanks to the way the league divides up revenues, much of the money it earns in Canada ends up supporting struggling franchises south of the border. Canadian national TV money, for example, is shared equally among all of the league’s 30 teams. That means Hockey Night in Canada revenues are almost entirely dedicated to subsidizing hockey nights in America. Of the $5.2-billion that Rogers paid for a dozen years of Canadian NHL broadcast rights, about $4-billion will end up in the pockets of U.S. team owners. (The owners, as part of their collective agreement with the NHL Players Association, pay half of their revenues to the players). In addition, the league also has a kind of equalization system under which the most profitable teams must share some of their cash with the most unprofitable. With a few exceptions like the New York Rangers, the money-spinning machines are Canadian, and the money-suckers are American. The World Cup of Hockey, with all of its round-robin and playoff games played in Toronto, was run on a revenue-sharing basis. Half of profits were split among the league’s largely American owners, the other half went to the players. According to the Globe and Mail’s David Shoalts, Rogers paid $30-million for Canadian TV rights to the World Cup, compared to the $5-million (U.S.) paid by ESPN for the American TV rights, and another $2-million or so paid for European rights. The prices are no surprise, given the Canadian TV audience was many times larger than the American. Another $30-million or so in World Cup revenue came from corporate sponsorships; again, the primary audience was the Canadian fan. Ticket sales are believed to have brought in a further $30-million. All of the World Cup’s round-robin and playoff games were played at a venue where demand for hockey consistently and overwhelmingly exceeds supply: Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. Critics are upset that the league appears intent on skipping the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. They think this is short-sighted, and they’re probably right. And for Canadians, who since 1972 have been obsessed with best-on-best, nation vs. nation showdowns, the idea that the NHL can’t interrupt its interminable season once every four years to give us a Paul Henderson moment is infuriating. But from the NHL’s perspective, replacing the Winter Olympics with the World Cup has a compelling financial logic. The former costs the league money up front, and the payoff, if there is one, is distant and uncertain. The World Cup, in contrast, earns real cash, the kind you can count. And as long as the games are played in Canada, that cash is guaranteed. The bottom line is this: In a little over two weeks, the World Cup took in more revenue than the Phoenix Coyotes or Florida Panthers generate in an entire season. The league put the equivalent of a new franchise in Toronto for a few days in September. And then, having fleeced the locals, it packed up its carnival tent, counting its winnings as it headed south for the winter. http://www.theglobeandmail.com//opinion/hockeys-back-and-the-nhl-is-still-sticking-it-to-canadian-fans/article32324463/?cmpid=rss1&click=sf_globe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForsbergTheGreat Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Who cares. The goal is about expansion with new fans. US has 330 million people, Canada has 30 million. I wonder what market they are going to target. Canada has already proven we will watch and pay for hockey with or without a home team. For reference that 5.2 billion dollar deal fro 12 years, we bring in from Rogers is peanuts to what the NFL brings in annually. So you can target markets you already own and have nearly tapped out or you can try to get a piece of the bigger US pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cripplereh Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I some what agree that yes they have more players and a bigger market.I just think to make the NHL better you NEED to go back to its roots and have a team in Saskatoon or regina as more players are from that area then any place else.Another team on the west coast , bring back Quebec and from there and only after that teams go to the states!A friend of mine in the States told me from what he can see the US dollar will fall and bad in the next couple years.Makes no sense to put more teams there,but Seattle has had a team and that also would help us on the west coast.Bring back the old divisions so more travel for all teams and no difference for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimberWolf Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 We don't need more teams, we need less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForsbergTheGreat Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 6 minutes ago, cripplereh said: I some what agree that yes they have more players and a bigger market.I just think to make the NHL better you NEED to go back to its roots and have a team in Saskatoon or regina as more players are from that area then any place else.Another team on the west coast , bring back Quebec and from there and only after that teams go to the states!A friend of mine in the States told me from what he can see the US dollar will fall and bad in the next couple years.Makes no sense to put more teams there,but Seattle has had a team and that also would help us on the west coast.Bring back the old divisions so more travel for all teams and no difference for us! Better for who? Not the whole of the NHL. The NHL is better when "more" people are interested in hockey. The more people interested, the more people that play, the better the competition is. We're finally starting to notice the effect of top end players coming from non traditional hockey markets. We Demko, Matthews, Gostisbehere are prime examples. Yes it makes it harder for a team to win the cup, but that's what makes it that much more enjoyable when if finally does happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cripplereh Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 better for the league itself as for everything in life you grow from the ground up,well hockey started and IS CANADA's game.So places that can have a team should no matter what Betty will make you think.there are already to many teams in the US so we do not need anymore there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbox Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 30 minutes ago, TimberWolf said: We don't need more teams, we need less IMO, 28 teams would be perfect. Arizona and Carolina with a dispersal draft. 7/7 7/7. Move Dallas to Pacific division, move Columbus to Central division and move Detroit to Metropolitan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toews Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 53 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said: Who cares. The goal is about expansion with new fans. US has 330 million people, Canada has 30 million. I wonder what market they are going to target. Canada has already proven we will watch and pay for hockey with or without a home team. For reference that 5.2 billion dollar deal fro 12 years, we bring in from Rogers is peanuts to what the NFL brings in annually. So you can target markets you already own and have nearly tapped out or you can try to get a piece of the bigger US pie. I agree. The article is terrible. I posted it because its a discussion that often occurs on CDC. Growing the game is a good thing. It also means that there will be more talent in the future and that is not only good for the game but makes the end product satisfying for the fans as well. Its why I like the Vegas move, its bold and the NHL needs to make such moves if they are going to try and get new fans interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancaster Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 To be fair, it's not like all Canadian teams are heavy money makers. Toronto, Montreal and probably Vancouver will always be teams that bring in pails of cash, but it's not like Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton are economic engines of the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbox Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 3 minutes ago, Lancaster said: To be fair, it's not like all Canadian teams are heavy money makers. Toronto, Montreal and probably Vancouver will always be teams that bring in pails of cash, but it's not like Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton are economic engines of the NHL. I wouldn't put Calgary in the same class as Winnipeg, Ottawa or Edmonton. They're higher than that. Easily Canada's 4th most profitable team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Maybe they wouldn't be so hard on us if we had more than one arena? The Oilers at rogers place vs the canucks from rogers place watched by the leafs fans in rogers place brought to you by rogers from rogers. Roger that? Edit** Also, keep in mind that people think that the Canadian teams/markets are chump change, yet forget that 0 Canadian teams in the playoffs means or meant 0 cap growth or stagnant cap growth, and that the introduction of a team in Vegas has thus far meant 0 increased revenues when weighed against the Jets reintroduction to the league which helped increase the cap by 4 or 5 million almost overnight. 6 Canadian teams equaled almost 35% of the entire leagues revenues over the last 15 years. Food for thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsofthands Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 i can only imagine the amount of butthurt and conspiracy theories that would have flooded these boards if an american team won the lottery draft this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 2 hours ago, cripplereh said: I some what agree that yes they have more players and a bigger market.I just think to make the NHL better you NEED to go back to its roots and have a team in Saskatoon or regina as more players are from that area then any place else.Another team on the west coast , bring back Quebec and from there and only after that teams go to the states!A friend of mine in the States told me from what he can see the US dollar will fall and bad in the next couple years.Makes no sense to put more teams there,but Seattle has had a team and that also would help us on the west coast.Bring back the old divisions so more travel for all teams and no difference for us! Have fun trying to lure F.A.'s to Regina or Saskatoon or keeping U.F.A.'s from leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cripplereh Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 well if 40% of Canadian's are from there and they want to play at home or as close as can be,do the math!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedin Brothers Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 15 hours ago, Xbox said: IMO, 28 teams would be perfect. Arizona and Carolina with a dispersal draft. 7/7 7/7. Move Dallas to Pacific division, move Columbus to Central division and move Detroit to Metropolitan. This isn't 2012 anymore. Carolina doesn't suck anymore. They won a cup. Have we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neko Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 I don't see Las Vegas lasting longer than a decade in the NHL, it's a troubled city when it comes to professional sports and LV will prove that once again sooner or later and to no surprise Bettman will probably go running to the rescue to keep it there. For now Bettman putting Arizona and probably Carlina on welfare support. 18 minutes ago, Sedin Brothers said: This isn't 2012 anymore. Carolina doesn't suck anymore. They won a cup. Have we? That was a decade ago and most people of Raleigh weren't even aware of it. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stawns Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 17 hours ago, TimberWolf said: We don't need more teams, we need less significantly less, absolutely. want to increase scoring, make games more exciting? Reduce the number of teams and see the existing teams run with 3 scoring lines like the 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimberWolf Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 13 minutes ago, stawns said: significantly less, absolutely. want to increase scoring, make games more exciting? Reduce the number of teams and see the existing teams run with 3 scoring lines like the 80's. The trap only exists because poor/untalented teams can't compete without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neko Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 1 minute ago, TimberWolf said: The trap only exists because poor/untalented teams can't compete without it. Devils won the cup in '95 with it, then again they had the league's best goaltender at the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimberWolf Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 2 minutes ago, Creepy Crawler said: Devils won the cup in '95 with it, then again they had the league's best goaltender at the time They exploited a system that couldn't exist without expansion. It was genius but horrible for the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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