WHY THE NHL, CANADA?

Recently, the Globe and Mail/TSN collaborated on a 6-part series entitled "Why Not Canada?".

The basic premise of the series was a look at logical Canadian cities/communities that could, theoretically, become home to an NHL franchise. Each city was reviewed - Hamilton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Quebec City - with an eye towards how those markets measure up against a host of NHL-appropriate metrics.

After much review, the authors decided that, yes, Canada could support another/more NHL franchises - but, unfortunately for all Canadian hockey fans, expansion and/or relocation to Canada isn't a pressing concern to the folks at NHL HQ in mid-town Manhattan. Oh, the sentiments are nice - 'We appreciate Canada and Canadian hockey fans', is a common refrain - but the facts-on-the-ground suggest that the exact opposite is true.

We've expounded (pounded) on the many reasons why Gary Bettman and his team at the AmericaNHL will not allow the logical market forces to work their magic, erase the problems in Garyland (that swath of the US SE and SW where GBB planted franchises in hopes of 'expanding hockey's footprint in the US sporting consciousness'), and add to the earning power of the Canadian market's insatiable demand for high level professional hockey.

We've discussed and shared the most recent and salient economic facts vis-a-vis the NHL and Canada. As a former league executive, this writer was privy to data from 2007...which showed that the Canadian market generates more than half of all revenues generated by NHL Enterprises, the league's business and marketing arm. The big TV deals? Canadian. The big sponsorship deals? Canadian. The big licensing deals? Primarily Canadian. Each year, Canadians GIVE Gary Bettman $500MM...and get nothing in return.

No Stanley Cups since 1993. Two fewer teams. 20% fewer Canadians in the NHL. The game was 'repositioned' by Gary's marketing henchmen...cooler, hipper, suburban, expensive. Player salaries went through the roof - despite the sacrilege committed by Bettman when he canceled the season (and the Stanley Cup....who'd have thought it...Bettman more powerful than WWI and WWII combined). Higher costs for everything from game tickets to hockey equipment - and these costs have priced many Canadian families, particularly new Canadian families, from the game of hockey.

We've discussed the Death of Hockey in Scarborough, that quasi-city of 600,000. No minor hockey means no minor hockey fans...and definitely not major fans. And the newest wave of new Canadians won't be taking their place along side Schmitt, Bucyk, Mikita, Esposito, and Kadri on the ice, in the seats or in their version of the Canadian experience.

Our national fabric is ripped. We just can't see it. We're in a dysfunctional relationship with an abusive partner - and until we make the decision to leave this relationship, nothing will change; in fact, things will only get worse.

In 1967, 100% of all NHL players were Canadian. In 2010, that number is 50%. If Gary gets his way and remakes the NHL into an 'American' sport, that CanCon number will drop even further....35% by 2020? 20% by 2025?

And, all along, we keep pouring our blood, sweat and tears into a league that serves American interests, grows the game in America, builds the national development program for the US team. That $500MM is used, each year, to build the fan base of US teams...which enhances their revenues...which allows them to spend more (than they should) to compete against Canadian teams.

No wonder no Cup for Canada - how can we expect our NHL 'outlets' to compete when we're subsidizing the rosters of our competitors? When our percentage of teams is the lowest it has ever been? Despite the fact that the Canadian economy is winning plaudits worldwide for our sagacious banking regulations and universal healthcare?

It makes no sense - and, in many ways, the G&M/TSN series made no sense, either. The most salient question that needs to be asked is this: WHY THE NHL, CANADA? Why the fixation with an entity that obviously doesn't care about your needs, wants or desires? Why do we keep hoping-and-dreaming that we'll be allowed another 'outlet' to sap more money and resources from the Canadian hockey marketplace? What is in the best interest of hockey-in-Canada, that catchall that represents fans, players, owners and executives who love and support the game from the grassroots up through to the Olympics?

WHY THE NHL, CANADA?

What's the return on investment for those $$billions that we've invested since 1993. No new rinks, no new teams, fewer jobs for Canadian players....and a disrespect that borders on sociopathic from an AmericaNHL that would close shop 5 minutes after the Canadians (players, fans and most importantly, dollars) find a better solution.

Heck, there were empty seats - in the playoffs - for a Red Wings game...and that's Gary's 'Hockeytown.' We understand that the economy of that region has been decimated - but that's a traditional powerbase for the NHL. What happens if the CBC didn't spend the $100MM each year? Or TSN's $60MM/year? If the Canadian sponsors refused to allow the AmericaNHL to exploit the fans connection to the game, the NHL would have no meaningful sponsors. Think Nashville, Atlanta, Florida, Tampa, Phoenix, and four or five other franchise would remain solvent? Think again - they rely on Canadians' love of hockey (and our billions) to stay afloat....all in an effort to protect GBB's 'grow the game' legacy.

A legacy built upon the premise of exploiting Canada to benefit Americans. Hockey taxation without representation. And its killing hockey in Canada.

***

Mea culpa: This writer, David McConnachie, used to work as the director of publishing for the NHL, from 1996 to 2000. If you liked TOTAL HOCKEY, A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE NHL, HOCKEY FOR DUMMIES, THE COOLEST KIDS BOOKS, POWERPLAY MAGAZINE (and its predecessor, BE A PLAYER) et al, then it validates my time spent as a Canadian in King Gary's Court. Those books were created for Canadian hockey fans (well, except HOCKEY FOR DUMMIES, that was the official 'get to know' hockey book for all new NHL HQ hires....really, I'm serious!). Those were books that I wanted to read growing up as a fanatic Leafs fans in the 60s and 70s.

I raise this point in hopes that it will help crystallize the facts that I'm mentioning here (and in the other, earlier MANIFESTOs). This is not BS from a fan-boy nor spin from a Gary-approved TV talking head. This is simple the truth that isn't shown to most Canadian hockey fans...the lies, the deceit, the exploitation.

There's that word again: EXPLOITATION. But truly, there is no better word to describe the situation that seems to have arisen. The only thing CANADIAN that the NHL appreciates is CANADIAN MONEY, although they exchange it for US dollars as soon as possible. Can't build rinks in the US, nor buy glossy insert sections in the USA TODAY with Canadian loonies and toonies. Nope, those 'grow the game in the US' initiatives - all to the detriment of hockey in Canada - must be paid for in US dollars, albeit generated from Canadian butts-in-the-seats, jerseys-on-the-back, game-on-the-tube revenue streams.

Two great quotes (from the earlier MANIFESTO, The Price of Freedom):

"Hockey will not work in the South. Mr. Bettman's plan is not working out. You've got Phoenix, you got Dallas, you got Atlanta, you've got Tampa Bay all in trouble. ... These teams have got to move north where everybody loves hockey."

Jerry Moyes, current Coyotes owner.

"I've learned that the NHL has some bizarre, mystical hold on Canadian government officials," said Stephen Ross of Pennsylvania State University. "Can you imagine another industry which is of huge importance to Canadians, where Canadian consumers are being denied access to a product that they vigorously demand, all because of an anti-competitive agreement between 30 wealthy owners, 24 of whom are American?"

That 'bizarre, mystical hold', that Stockholm Syndrome, is fully understood and appreciated by the NHL's executives. They know that we have an irrational connection to a sport that is deliberately snubbing Canadians at every turn. They lie - "Balsillie is a carpet bagger' (fyi...GBB approached Balsillie to buy the Penguins, or at least act like he'd buy the Penguins to wrestle up some local owners...same thing in Nashville). They cheat - parachuting NHL HQ employees, yours truly included, over to USA HOCKEY to help out during the Olympics. They steal - $500MM/year, our best-and-brightest players, our national trophy...oh, don't forget, the Stanley Cup was 'given to the people of Canada for the Canadian champion'. Chicago is kinda like a Canadian city....Anaheim, not so much. And let's not forget the wonderful parade-through-the-parking-lot that accompanied the Devils' wins in the 1990s.

And, knowing all this, the AmericaNHL continues to extort more than half a billion dollars each year out of the Canadian marketplace - without giving anything in return. No ROI. No Stanley Cups. No new Canadian teams. No appreciation for the fact that, in Canada, hockey is more than a sport...its part of our national cultural history. Fewer jobs for Canadians. No respect.

NO, NAY, NEVER.

Thus the appropriateness of the word EXPLOITATION.

***

So, I ask again: Why the NHL, Canada? Is it because of our shared history, our cumulative years of emotional investment, our belief that it behooves and benefits Canada to see our national sport become a 'big player' in the US sporting market? If we can make it there....

But that belief structure is so 1990s, when Canada was fearful and timorous, when our dollar was worth 40% less than an American buck. When we used to pine to 'be loved' by our American cousin. When we used to drink the Kool-Aid (again, yours truly gulped his fair share) and believe that a well-respected NHL would mean greater respect for Canada as a whole. Except, I don't hear too many mentions of Canadian James Naismith during the NBA season....Hollywood blondes dancing for the Lakers cover their roots, don't you know?!

But now, in 2010, after the majesty of Vancouver, after the meltdown on Wall Street (and the sub-prime submersion of Main Street USA), after the schismatic battle over instituting some form of national healthcare, after the Birthers, the Tea Party, TARP toxic assets, unprecedented debts...the list goes on....the future is hazy, at best, for the US economy in the near short-term.

So there's no financial ROI from our association with the NHL. And there's little to no emotional benefit ('you like us, you really, really like us') coming from the US sporting consumer who, feeling the pinch, drops the hockey seasons tickets.

And, from a on-ice perspective, Vancouver's thrilling final should make clear - once and for all - that Canadians must stop subsidizing the US hockey development process. We came within a clanged post of losing that game - and with it the bragging rights as the 'greatest hockey nation.' But, in truth, that moniker has always hung somewhat false; after all, Canada is still the only hockey power without its own national, professional league.

There is no pro-level structure in place to find jobs for those Canadians increasing shut-out of the NHL as it moves to high-paying Euros as the stars and American grinders on the 3rd and 4th lines. There is no pro-level exposure that connects the fans across the country to the teams in their own community...the link that provides the vital fuel for the continuing success of hockey in Canada.

No team in Halifax - even though Halifax is larger than Cole Harbour's Sid-the-Kid-saves-Pittsburgh. No team in Winnipeg - even though the Coyotes lost more money last year than the Jets ever did, combined. No hockey in Hamilton - despite Blackberry Jim's $400MM proposed offer/settlement. No hockey in Quebec City - although the Bolts team would look good in Nordiques blue. No hockey for the rest of the major Canadian cities....and never forget that the average Canadian city is 4-6 times more likely to name hockey as the favourite sport, and the average Canadian citizen is 8-10 times more like to be a fan of the game, at all levels. After all, Canada still has more minor hockey league players than the US...despite the 10x population advantage.

So why the NHL, Canada?

***

The answer usually given is that there is no other alternative....and, in many ways, that is currently true. There is no mechanism foreseeable that will allow Canadians to acquire more NHL franchises under GBB's watch. There is no choice but to 'buy what is available'...because the alternative is a quiet Saturday night.

But what if we Canadian fans started to ask the question: why DO we spend any money with the NHL? What if we were willing to spend that money on an alternative business model, a Canadian branded product that was built by and for Canadians?

At the Canadian Revolution, the initial driving impetus was to show all Canadians how easy it would be to create a Canadian league. The market demand for hockey is immense...and the current Starbucks-like product isn't geographically available to most erstwhile fans. A Canadian competitor, built upon a model that ensures that the price point is reachable for all interested customers, would flourish.

The model that we created - with the 'magic formula' of 45312 - is simply an example of made-in-Canada solution that would provide more jobs, more hockey for all interested Canadian fans. And, at the end of the day, the most important part of the formula (45,000 STH, 300 players, 12 owners/cities) is you and I. We need to be prepared to accept that our investment in the NHL will never pay dividends and that we need a new investment strategy is needed.

If you and I were willing to look at the realities of the hockey universe, we'd see dysfunction, disrespect and disunity from the current solution provider. The American model, the NHL's Starbucks strategy, has proven itself faulty. And the only thing keeping many of the American franchises afloat is the revenue being created by Canadians.

A new model, built for the betterment of hockey in Canada, would instantly become no worse than the second best product on the planet, complete with young, exciting Canadian players competing in rinks a lot closer to their home towns. Canadian players who would become household names, recipients of healthy endorsement deals from eager sponsors and advertisers. Broadcasters would have valuable content to share with their subscribers and viewers.

And Canada would have a new national endeavour, a 21st century equivalent of the National Railroad. Recently, the consummate con, Conrad Black, writing in the National Post, admonished Canadians to 'do something great'. It's one thing to be great - but its more important, from a historical perspective, to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the cumulative greatness to achieve even greater accomplishments.

When I think back to that day in February when Sid potted that goal in OT, I can't imagine a more worthwhile cause than the protection of such a vital national interest as the sport of hockey in Canada.

A Canadian league that benefits all Canadians.
A Canadian league that reinvests to rebuild the Canadian hockey infrastructure.
A Canadian league that connects fans from across Canada with its national stars.
A Canadian league that lowers costs and reduces barriers to entry for new Canadians.
A Canadian league that grows the game...in Canada.

I was recently accused of being anti-American. Actually, I'm more pro-Canadian, and there is a vast difference. I have nothing but respect for the average American hockey fan - they generally have to 'work harder' at being a fan. I believe that an appropriately assembled AmericaNHL will help to expand the awareness and interest in hockey in the United States by tapping into logical regional hotbeds of the sport. I look forward to many years of competition between the US and Canada for international hockey bragging rights.

But, as a Canadian hockey patriot, what I see is very clear: two options, one that helps Canada and the other, the status quo, that will only continue to have a negative effect on hockey in Canada. The AmericaNHL that exploits and gives nothing back....or a Canadian league that leaves a lasting sporting legacy that benefits future generations of Canadian hockey players and fans.

When you and I are ready to see those facts, that choice, then change will happen. It is inevitable - the only question remains as to whether we Canadians will act before its too late. Before Gary Bettman and the AmericaNHL has killed hockey in more Canadian cities, turned off more new Canadians because of the NHL-provoked costs escalations, and denied Canadians a chance to see their best defend their hard-won gold in 2014.

We've got ample supply of players, maybe not yet household names, but soon enough. We've got an ample collection of cities and/or philanthropic owner-candidates. This debate, this question, is to you and I.

Why do we still remain faithful to a partner intent on our devastation?

And, more importantly, when will we come to our senses and begin to take steps towards our emancipation and achieve Canadian Hockey Independence?

In the interim, we'll continue to agitate and continue this discussion with as many fellow Canadian hockey patriots as possible. If you know one, forward this link or the link to our website: TheCanadianRevolution.ca

And don't forget: keep your stick down and your chin up!

HOCKEY MORTUUS EST!

Latin for HOCKEY IS DEAD.

And we know who killed it (ET TU, GARY?). Might even suggest this would be a good case for CSI:NY.

The only problem is the victim is in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Well, actually, the victim IS Scarborough. And the next likely victims? Hockey throughout the rest of Canada. But that might not attract US viewers.

It would be a very interesting episode, though, filled with twists and turns, prime suspects and suspect decision-making. It would span the globe in its scope, reach and relevance. It would strike at the core of this on-going tug-of-war for the heart and soul of Canadian Hockey, that broad spectrum of varied Canadian interests that represents sports’ Holy Trinity of OWNER, PLAYERS and FANS.

There’d be wild-goose-chases throughout the courtrooms of Arizona – fighting over the ‘remains’. Hushed conversation in the corner office of the American NHLehman Brothers operation – planning and strategy sessions convened for the sole purposes of thwarting the survival of hockey in Canada. There’d be intriguing international plotlines – will Niedermayer sign with a KHL team? Is it unpatriotic of Russia’s richest man to invest half a billion in an American sports league? Can Hudler just ‘walk away’?

Character assassinations of epic proportions that rival Capone in their vindictiveness. Millions and billions of dollars under the spotlight. Local politicians, backroom deals, shady operators.

The emotional ebbs-and-flows of the people of Hamilton can serve as the episode’s moral centre. A flawed plan that has caused devastating ‘collateral damage’ to all levels of Canadian hockey will be the key piece of evidence. And introducing a young man of Lebanese descent, acting as both example of and role model for the challenges faced and the opportunities presented.

Flashbacks would show us what hockey in Scarborough used to look like – and why, to this day, hockey is still the best route to international fame and fortune for any aspiring young Canadian athlete, regardless of background.

And, with an eye towards carrying the drama forward, we’ll flash-forward to see why Scarborough is only a harbinger of things to come if we fail to act.

Oh, and an embattled Napoleon, desperately clinging to a greatness that never was, playing the role of our episode’s evil villain and history’s fool.

***

The offices of the Canadian Revolution, the Campaign for Canadian Hockey Independence, sit just west of Victoria Park Avenue in Metropolitan Toronto. At one time, about 10 years ago, Victoria Park Avenue was the dividing line between the old City of Toronto and the old City of Scarborough before the amalgamation that created the current GTA. Today, in terms of hockey, Victoria Park still represents a border, a DMZ of sorts, between the land where hockey lives....and the land where hockey is, for all intents and purposes, dead.

Scarborough, Ontario – still an acceptable city to Canada Post – has a population of more than 600,000 people, which would put it in the top 10 of Canadian cities....and top 25 of US cities. In fact, an ‘independent’ Scarborough would have the same population as Boston – and more than Nashville (Predators), Denver (Avalanche), Washington (Capitals), Atlanta (Thrashers), Miami (Panthers), Tampa (Lightning) or St. Louis (Blues)....to name just a few. Needless to say, Scarborough has a big population and would be, by any conceivable measure, considered a BIG LEAGUE hockey city. And with 57% of Scarborough’s citizens being foreign-born, it is a typical Canadian city-of-the-future in microcosm.

In early September 2009, in an interview with the Toronto Star’s Lois Kalchman, John Kelloway, head of the Scarborough Hockey Association, said: “The SHA will shut down at the end of next season. We will cease to exist at the end of the 2009-2010 season ... our future has been decided."

And while the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) is attempting to assist in terms of finding teams to accommodate the remaining players, the most telling truth is spelled out in the GTHL’s press statement.

"We have been able to establish an arrangement that will allow 90 hockey players to play in a viable league this season," GTHL president John Gardner said.

Ninety of the remaining 1,900 players in an organization that once boasted a membership of more than 13,000 in the late 1970s and more than 10,000 just fifteen years ago (coincidentally, just when Gary Bettman was just getting comfortable at the helm of the NHL). And, after this season, there’s nothing but dead-ends to follow and last rites to perform. Hockey will be dead.

After all, without the cement that the on-ice game provides, there is little coherence to the more casual exchanges with the game. If the kids aren’t playing organized hockey, chances are they’re probably not playing less-organized hockey....or following the ups-and-downs of their favourite teams and players. They won’t grow up to be elite level players, or even elite-level fans. And their growing disinterest – manifested by the distance imposed by the barriers of cost and the rigours of neglect – will be passed onto to future Canadians. It is not without reason to assume that hockey in Canada will become, by the year 2020, just another sporting distraction competing for our attention along with other global leagues and games. Our current national pastime will become simply past its time.

And, by then, what has happened in Scarborough will have happened to most communities across this country....in fact, it’s already being seen at the most grassroots level. According to Glen McCurdie, a senior director at Hockey Canada, registration in minor hockey, which currently sits around 585,000, is showing areas of decline.

This information was discussed – in fact, it was Topic #1 at the OneGoal Hockey Summit – as part of that group’s efforts to reverse the trend in declining participation (not to mention declining viewership and relevance among the sport’s youngest demographic). The key areas of particular focus were the need to reduce the barriers new Canadians face in getting on the ice and the impact that will have on future registration numbers.

From the Toronto Star’s coverage of the challenges being faced in ‘selling hockey’ to new Canadians, comes this pearl of wisdom (and perfect synopsis) from a young fan/new Canadian:

“Hockey fanatics like Egypt native Nour Abdelwahed, 15, say lowering the cost of equipment would be the best way to lure apprehensive youngsters. The Grade 10 student at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute can skate but only plays street hockey because ice hockey gear is beyond his parents' budget. He thinks more accessible and reasonably priced equipment would allow local leagues to thrive.

"It's not just too high for new immigrants, it's everybody," he said.

***

Canada was – and always will be – a land populated by immigrants or their descendants. We have a huge land mass that touches three important oceans and we border a country that dominates our thoughts and dreams. Thirty-five million is about 35 million too few, to start. After all, both China and India with their billion-plus populations live within borders that are measurably smaller than ours.

We’ve got a big house – and we better fill it if we want to keep it. Plus, having extra hands to do the work that’s required has been – since Canada’s pre-inception –an important function of our collective genetic voyage from our old countries to our new homes on the plains and cities of Canada.

And hockey has always served its role in welcoming past generations of new Canadians into the cultural and sporting fabric of the community and its collective people. Many a new Canadian parent felt the harsh sting of winter on a cold Saturday morning, dragged by their kids to a game that they had little comprehension of and even less initial interest towards.

After a few Saturday mornings, that casual disinterest would give way to vested interest and parental pride. The fathers might gather to fortify their coffees with an exotic new liqueur favoured by the parent of the star new goalie. The mothers might share sweets and trade recipes while keeping a watchful eye on the rest of the kids. Hungarian palaczinta (crepes) one weekend; Greek baklava the next...with Italian pastries on the menu for the following. German strudel would be traded for Scottish fern cakes, and bonds were knit and friendships created. Today’s it’s just as likely to be Aloo Gobi and Couscous on the menu for the end-of-year banquet.

Canadians – of both older and newer vintage – have always undergone a similar conversion process. NO, not a religious conversion or an American-style melting pot. A sporting conversion that starts with bewilderment and ends in ecstasy. Hockey, remarkably simple and fluid for devotees, can be equally remarkable in complexity, for those new to the game. With a child playing the game, a parent reluctantly begins to grasp the nuances and attributes of the sport...and, in time, starts to follow the nearest big-league team (if so lucky) that he/she hears about at work.

Saturday nights were – up until the early 1990s – a time in Canadian households to hear the phrase “Quiet, the game’s on” spoken in languages that covered most of the UN. And then, at that time, things started to change.

Yes, the demographics of Canadian immigration changed. By the mid 1990s, the average new Canadian was less likely to have come from a country with even a passing experience with snow, let alone hockey. That was a big change from the European-fuelled immigrants of the post-WWII years. But that fact alone should not be the reason for the death of hockey in Scarborough.

Immigrants from Greece or southern Italy had no experience with hockey – nor did many others for that matter. And while some may have slipped on the ice that occasionally fell upon the more northern European cities, hockey shouldn’t be considered ‘genetically predisposed’ to those from colder, northern countries. It was an acquired taste for the parents, a rite of passage for the kids, and an essential part of becoming part of the Canadian experience.

But a more fundamental – and far more lethal – cause is the rising cost of the sport of hockey, which has an even more damaging effect on new Canadians. Bas Balkissoon, long-time Member of Provincial Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge River, had this to say about the role cost plays in dissuading new Canadians from the game:

“The cost of hockey is prohibitive; most immigrants can't afford to pay $1,000 every winter to put a child in a hockey program. In contrast, a summer of soccer costs as little as $100.”

The SHA’s Kelloway added:

"They're not making sixty and seventy thousand dollars.... They're first generation Canadians who are at minimum wage positions with multiple family members, who won't spend the limited resources they have on two or three kids in a hockey program at the expense of other members in the family."

The sticks and skates that are worn (for a price) by today’s NHLers influence what is the fashion (and cost-of-entry) for minor hockey families across Canada. In days past, a stick and a pair of skates were affordable for most Canadian families, new or otherwise, and skills could be honed on ponds and community (FREE) rinks well in advance of parents needing to make more serious investments. Hockey was – up until recently – a true, blue collar sport, appealing to all Canadians and well within the financial reach of most if not all who wanted to participate. As young mister Abdelwahed has attested, that’s not the case any longer.

***

Gary Bettman was hired by the Board of Governors of the NHL to make the sport more successful in the United States. That was his mission – and he embarked upon a strategy to achieve it. To the casual Canadian fan, who secretly harbours dreams of ‘making it big in New York’ or whichever US city represents the nexus of greatness in their chosen field, watching a good Canadian sport like hockey make it into the Big Leagues of the American sporting consciousness would be the ultimate sign of ‘yep, we’ve finally made it’ or, to paraphrase Sally Fields, ‘you like us, you really, really like us!’.

Bettman came from the NBA, where he was part of the executive team that rescued that dying sport and managed, with the assistance of the divine intervention that was Magic vs. Bird AND MJ, transformed a marginal loser into a high-profile winner. Pro basketball had drifted in the wilderness for much of its existence, a marginal sport (big in certain pockets; low national interest) with a troubled past that included an unwitting role in the Civil Rights movement (ABA vs. NBA) and, more recently, a blatant drug culture that threatened to overshadow and overwhelm the nascent achievements of Bird, Magic and, a little later, MJ.

NBA Commissioner David Stern and his team, including Bettman, instigated a complete overhaul of pro basketball, from rules punishing ‘inappropriate behaviour’ to the overall positioning of the sport of basketball. Positioning is a marketing term meaning how the product – and yes, a sport/league/team is just another product to be sold – is ‘packaged’ to be sold. It impacts all elements of the game, starting with the people that you hope to buy your tickets or watch your broadcasts.

The NBA – who many perceived as a ‘rogue league’ prior to the new management team’s installation – was now more cuddly, kind of like the Cosby Kids. In fact, with their beaming smiles and winning personalities, Bird, Magic and MJ became the perfect ambassadors of the ‘new’ NBA. Fierce but clean competitors on the court, people that you’d like to be friends with off the court. The ‘Dream Team’ entered American sporting lore thanks both to their winning Olympic achievements and to their winning and positive work as role models for the NBA and America.

The plan worked and the sport of basketball was successfully and profitably repositioned. The NBA became rich and powerful – and so did those associated with it.

So the scene was set. Bettman was hired and those both ‘in the know’ and the average fan both shared the hope that hockey was now destined for the star treatment that was witnessed with the NBA. Gary brought in a team of experts – business experts but not really hockey experts – who looked at the sporting landscape in the US and realized that the only market segment (ie., group of potential customers) not really served by the current offerings (NBA, MLB, NFL) was the more affluent, more suburban audience.

Basketball was younger, more diverse and less affluent. Football was a true blue-collar sport, with reasonable ticket packages affording even the most average of Joes to partake in 8 home games. Baseball was greying fast (this was prior to McGwire/Sosa), with declining participation and relevancy.

Hockey would be – Team Bettman decided – be repositioned. In Canada, the sport of hockey was always more blue-collar, despite its lofty beginnings at the universities in Montreal and Kingston. All you really needed – to make it big – was a pair of skates and a stick and you could hone your skills for hours on the ponds or backyard rinks that dotted the landscape. That’s how Gordie Howe made it – and so did Gretzky.

But, in American broadcast terms, the blue-collar market segment was already dominated by the NFL – and the NHL made the decision to skew the sport, both subtly and explicitly, towards a more white collar audience. Suits and ties replaced jerseys (in some ways fitting, given that jerseys had replaced the mandatory suit-and-tie that was the ‘uniform’ for going to a sporting event pre-1970s). Cheap seats and standing-room-only spaces were converted to higher revenue-generating corporate boxes and sponsorable media. The average fan was nudged out the arena and would soon be nudged out of the game.

Those that made their living from hockey all agreed to this strategy – after all, it meant more money in everyone’s pockets. The NEW NHL meant that it was okay to price a jersey at $200 – it indicated how ‘special’, ‘premium’ and ‘elite’ the overall sport of hockey had become. Sticks, skates and all the other equipment and merchandise quickly followed along.

The average Canadian family now faced a daunting task of finding a way to afford to keep their kids in the game. In the end, with local hockey costs rising in concert with the Big Leagues, many low-income families could no longer sustain the investment and pulled their kids from the game.

Effectively, Team Bettman replaced Tim Horton’s with Starbucks. And, if you can’t afford to buy a $5 latte – and are not given the choice of buying a more reasonably-priced competitive product – you stop buying coffee. And the price of hockey started to go up – and just keeps getting worse every day.

Adding insult to injury, to increase the game’s appeal to potential broadcasting partners, a decision was made to actively redistribute teams from traditional Canadian markets (which don’t count in US ratings) to deliver a broader, more complete American footprint. Goodbye Winnipeg and Quebec City; hello Phoenix and Denver. And the insult continued as Bettman granted expansion franchises only to those markets that would help to fulfill his strategy. No new Canadian teams; instead, teams in ‘hot’ markets like Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and, by way of migration from Hartford, Carolina.

The game got further and further away from the average Canadian fan – less and less hockey, fewer local role models. Costs rocketed upwards – and participation started its current downward trend. After all, the love of a sport is akin to a ladder – it’s all about the connection between the bottom rung (the young player just starting out) and the top, the Big Leagues. If the top step is too far removed from those below it, it becomes illogical to continue to attempt to climb it. You stop – and find another ladder to climb.

More than the changing patterns of immigration, the reason for the death of hockey in Scarborough is the rising cost of the game and the growing distance between the sport and its average Canadian fans. And the person responsible for those two phenomena is Team Bettman. They decided to reposition the sport to appeal to the rich and snobby. They allowed a gap to become a chasm, removing teams and ignoring the faithful.

After all, the etymology of the names on the back of the jerseys, worn throughout the rinks and arenas of Canada throughout the years, has always coincided with the patterns of immigration and immigrants. Each new wave would, in time, generate its own stars.

Terry Sawchuk was the son of Ukrainian immigrants. Phil Esposito the son of Italian immigrants. Scottish-Canadian kids grew up with a natural inclination towards cheering for any player with a Mc or Mac on the back of their jersey, including Afro-Canadian Tony McKegney! To most, having a successful NHLer bearing a name that was ethnically-similar to yours meant a little more respectability at work or on the playground. These players broke barriers and helped carry their communities a little closer to the heart of the Canadian experience.

And, as Nazem Kadri’s experience would suggest, that ability is still alive and well today.

***

Nazem Kadri, to the uninitiated, is a talented young hockey player selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in this year’s Rookie Draft. His on-ice credentials more than sealed the deal – a teammate of phenom John Tavares, Kadri’s combination of skill and tenacity have some comparing him to Canadian legends Bobby Clarke and Bryan Trottier. He had a sensational training camp and came THISCLOSE to making the big team before being sent back to juniors for a bit more seasoning before embarking on what most are expecting to be a long and successful career.

Kadri’s father, Sam, came to Canada in the 1968 at the age of 4 from Lebanon. His family, fleeing the coming civil war, settled into the London, Ontario area, soon grew to six kids, and the bustling household and limited income in the early years made it impossible for Sam to afford to actually play the game, although he became an ardent fan. When he married and had children, he promised himself that he’d do whatever it took to afford his children all the opportunities to feel truly Canadian:

"I had Nazeem skating at 3. A lot of it was I was envious of my friends in high school. Hockey is a fabulous game, and I wished I could play it, so that's why I got him started.”

Nazem’s grandparents had no experience with hockey in Lebanon but that didn’t stop them from learning as their grandson progressed in the game:

"When their grandson is playing, they're going to be into it. But the rules and stuff, we had to explain it to them slowly. When someone gets a penalty, they would say they're going to jail. But they’re getting the hang of it now. They definitely are very happy and celebrate when he does score.”

So hockey, for the Kadri family, became a pathway to the Canadian experience and culture. And while Nazeem succeeded because of his father’s earlier sacrifice, Nazeem repays that investment every time he pulls on his Leaf jersey and inspires that next generation of young Canadians to follow his path. For every new Canadian kid whose name is a lot closer to KADRI than KENNEDY, Nazeem is a role model, a source of pride and an inspiration to all in his – and our – community.

As we said, immigration is not killing hockey in Canada. Gary’s failed US plan is directly to blame for the death of hockey in Scarborough. Money, effort and interest were diverted to assist the NHL’s US expansion strategy – all of which SHOULD have been spent helping to reduce costs, not conspiring to increase them.

Without the interference of Team Bettman, the NHL (and by extension, all of hockey) would still be more family-friendly and affordable, priced so that anyone with a dream could chase it. Without Team Bettman, there would be more franchises in Canada, not less, with a greater chance for the players and fans to connect and interact. There would be no gap between the game and its fans. Hockey in Scarborough would still be alive, would still have 10,000 young hockey players – and more kids like Nazeem Kadri would be streaming through the system, ready to take their place alongside earlier multicultural hockey pioneers.

So the enforced-apathy and monopolistic, exorbitant pricing created by the now-discredited strategies and conspiratorial plans of Team Bettman have been exposed as the causes of death for hockey in Scarborough. And they threaten hockey in the rest of Canada with a similar fate. Unless we act now.

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

"NAME, RANK AND NUMBER"

Those were the last words of Major Fred Hodge of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. He and more than 200 of his fellow Canadians paid the ultimate price for freedom - they paid with their lives, gunned down by sadistic SS officers and Hitler youth. Their crime? They refused - led by the words of Major Hodge, issued as a Luger was held to his temple - to turn their backs on freedom.

These brave Canadians - who had penetrated deeper than any Allied unit on D-Day +1 - were captured, and Major Hodge, as the most senior POW, was privy to secrets that could have, if divulged, endangered the entire D-Day operation. As he refused, for the last time, to divulge the locations of the various beachheads, he turned to his assembled men - under the menacing gaze of multiple SS machine-gun crews - and reminded them that, as POW, their only obligation under the Geneva Convention was to provide their Name, Rank, and Number. He repeated the last four words - and was shot to death. And his soldiers, almost to a man, joined him moments after in that fate.

Every Canadian patriot - be it hockey or otherwise - should take the time to visit the Canadian cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. It is a truly beautiful location, immaculately kept by the combined efforts of Canadian and French memorial groups. Among the more than 2,000 headstones, you'll find Major Hodge, enjoying a hero's rest.

***

We at the Canadian Revolution are always reminded of the sacrifices that have been paid by Canadian heroes - both known and unknown - in the cause of freedom. Those sacrifices continue to this day. In many ways, the story of Canada IS the story of sacrifice. Sacrifices made - and dangers faced - in the journey to Canada. The sacrifices made as homesteads were carved out of wilderness.

Today, all around the world, Canadians are working for freedom, helping those who need help and battling those that challenge freedom. These are real-world stories of everyday Canadians dedicated to ensuring that everyone has a chance to enjoy a life as good as any Canadian. We appreciate what we have - and are only too quick to understand the consequence for all of us when many are denied what is possessed by a few.

Today, Canadians are champions of Equality, of Liberty, of Freedom. And we have proven that we are prepared to pay the price to protect these sacred underpinnings of our worldview of an ideal society, a model society built BY and FOR Canadians.

The price of freedom - in the BIG picture - is measured in tears as well as treasure. We at the Canadian Revolution have a more modest mission - Canadian Hockey Independence. Granted, WE believe that the cause is critically important to all Canadians, hockey fans or not. We have seen - and explained - how the American NHL is destroying hockey in Canada, a fundamental element of our national sporting identity. In our eyes, Canada and Hockey are worth fighting for.

However, you'd be surprised how many Canadians - all of us, in fact - are complicit in this EXPLOITATION (really, there's no other word) of Canada to the tune of $500MM+/year. Take the CBC, for example....our beloved national broadcaster, an arm of the Canadian people, pays Gary and the American NHL in excess of $100MM/year for the 'privilege' of broadcasting such questionable CanCon as consecutive Pittsburgh and Detroit/All-American SCFinals.

As we have stated frequently, this discussion - Canada vs. U.S. & the NHL - comes down to economics and business fundamentals such as return-on-investment (ROI) and choosing between two vastly different business model, one that's been proven suspect (if not completely erroneous), the other harnessing the power of hockey in Canada and, thus, BUILT to succeed.

The price of freedom when it comes to the Campaign for Canadian Hockey Independence is approximately $180MM/year, for the next five years - or $800MM in total. Five years of break-even or better financials, supported by youth-focused player development initiatives should secure the Canadian League a definite stability and security for years to come - and platform for further expansion.

One hundred and eighty million dollars - generated from 45,000 STHs paying $4000/four pack in 12 Canadian markets - effectively covers the wages of 300 Canadian hockey players (earning a very competitive annual salaries while enjoying a collective 'seat at the ownership table'). Hockey in Canada will be protected from decline and disinterest that has developed due to Gary's refusal to 'reinvest' in Canada and Canadian hockey.

In fact, hockey in Canada will grow by leaps and bounds, as grassroots and the Big Leagues get closer together. Fan bases multiple, revenues grow (didn't the American NHL admit that a Hamilton franchise would instantly be the 5th most valuable), costs decrease, participation increases...nothing but positives.

But $180MM sounds pretty expensive - until we consider the fact that we already GIVE Gary's American NHL over $500MM/year...and get nothing in return. Costs more, delivers less. Compared to the opportunities presented by the Canadian League - not to mention the positive ROI due all Canadians - Gary's American NHL is looking like a less-and-less worthy place to be investing our money.

The price of freedom - freedom for hockey in Canada, or as we like to call it, the Campaign for Canadian Hockey Independence - would seem to be slight in compared to the benefits, let alone the historical sacrifices made for other worthy missions. Imagine a day when Halifax competes with Victoria for the Stanley Cup? Oh, did we forget to mention that?

In addition to the legal infrastructure being put in place to house the future Canadian League, we have a team of legal volunteers pouring over the historical and legal claim that the NHL has on the Canadian Stanley Cup. Never forget the dedication TO THE PEOPLE OF CANADA TO BE AWARDED TO THE CANADIAN CHAMPION.

The 1947 agreement - amended in 1961 - gives the American NHL preferential rights to a Canadian national treasure. The World Hockey Associations - playing on both sides of the border - attempted to challenge for the Cup, but the trustees (true keepers of the Cup; the American NHL is currently effectively just a licensee) rejected the WHA's challenge.

A Canadian League - with ownership that includes the people of Canada (fans as represented by the Ministry of Sport or, dare we dream, Ministry of Hockey?) as as well as the office of the Governor-General of Canada - playing exclusively in Canada and employing a vast majority of Canadian professionals would more than qualify by its original and most important granting to the people of Canada. And it's doubtful that any court in Canada would side against our legitimate and historically-significant claim.

So the stars would seem to be aligned, the competition is dazed and confused, the cause is more than worth fighting for - and yet....

***
"Hockey will not work in the South. Mr. Bettman's plan is not working out. You've got Phoenix, you got Dallas, you got Atlanta, you've got Tampa Bay all in trouble. ... These teams have got to move north where everybody loves hockey."

Jerry Moyes, current Coyotes owner.

"I've learned that the NHL has some bizarre, mystical hold on Canadian government officials," said Stephen Ross of Pennsylvania State University. "Can you imagine another industry which is of huge importance to Canadians, where Canadian consumers are being denied access to a product that they vigorously demand, all because of an anti-competitive agreement between 30 wealthy owners, 24 of whom are American?"

Professor Ross' comment THE NHL HAS SOME BIZARRE, MYSTICAL HOLD ON CANADIANS was the topic of conversation with a media friend, John Biggs from the John Biggs Show on Hamilton's Talk 820.

For too many Canadian hockey fans, the hostage psychosis, Stockholm Syndrome, is the closest analogy to how Canadians feel and act in response to nothing but continued negative stimuli from the American NHL. Oh, you want more teams? Take that, we'll smear your best-and-brightest. The Stanley Cup was competed for throughout WWI and WWII - only once stopped due to a worldwide flu pandemic. So what, we'll cancel an entire season for a Pyrrhic labour victory.

But because THEY SAY (the Canadians complicit in Gary's hockey-industrial-media complex) has been repeated, ad nausea, that we've come to accept it as a truism, regardless of the bountiful evidence to the contrary. Again, take the case of Halifax, a city that the American NHL would deem too small to warrant consideration for membership - yet the population of Halifax is equal to or greater than both of the American cities that hosted Finals games. Ask the people of Halifax and in most cases the first reaction would be resigned agreement.

But it makes no sense - no hockey sense, no business sense -to continue the failed relationship with the American NHL. And Canadians have more than enough natural resources - hockey and otherwise - to create and nurture a nascent Canadian League to success.

In many ways, the problems that seems to afflict the vision of most hockey-loving Canadians is similar to the more-national impairment, best embodied by the dynamics of MY AMERICAN COUSIN, a wonderful Canadian movie from the 1980s set in the early 1960s. In it, the Canadian cousins, already finely attuned to all things AMERICANA by their televisions, magazines and radios, longingly await the arrival of the suave, cool American cousin. Now, they assure themselves, REAL fun can begin.

Every Canadian schoolchild is reminded that almost 90% of the Canadian population lives within 100 miles/160 kilometers of the American border. Because of the relative size disparity, Canadians have always spent an inordinate amount of time 'looking over their neighbours' fence'. THEIR house was bigger. THEIR car was newer and shinier. THEIR style was 'au courant'. THEIR celebrities were bigger. THEIR politics more dynamic, more impactful from a realpolitik perspective.

It remains the dream of many Canadians to make it big in the US in their chosen field of employment. In most cases, these dreamers will return within five to ten years, wisened and perhaps enriched, but most definitely more appreciative of Canada's quiet, unique comforts.

But perhaps now, given the challenging state of affairs facing our now-embattled American cousins, we Canadians should divert our glare and allow them the time and space they need to resolve their issues in private. And, while they are doing that, we can then direct our attentions and energies to more fulfilling endeavours - like creating a new link in the national fabric of this country. A Canadian League that connects all Canadians to the game we love.

The price of inaction is more exploitation by Gary's American NHL and less hockey for all Canadians. And eventually, the destruction of the game at a grassroots level - the penultimate step in the downfall of Canada as a world hockey power.

The price of freedom, by comparison, is both affordable and unavoidable.

The question becomes: Do Canadians want to work proactively towards their hockey independence while all the 'cards are stacked' in our favour? Or do we wait for the future bankruptcy of the American NHL and try to pick up the pieces, after it's become too late to staunch the real damage?

We're sure, if we could ask Major Hodge and his boys, their answer would be to STRIKE NOW, AND STRIKE HARD because the potential rewards more than outweigh any price that might need to be paid.

O NO CANADA! 9 of 10 Hockey Powers have their own League. Except us.

As tempting as it might be to get caught up in the spinning mess that is the ongoing saga of the Phoenix Coyotes, there is a fundamental argument and discussion that needs to take place in Canada...about Canada...and for the betterment of Hockey in Canada.

The image that is posted to the left of these words is there to serve a purpose - a reminder that while we Canadians have a great deal of love and fondness for the American NHL, there is no denying the fact - enhanced and emphasized by recent events - that the NHL is without a doubt an enterprise set up for the betterment of Hockey.... in the United States.

For more recent recruits, we utilize a common refrain: AMERICAN NHL. The reason is simple - Canadians love to think that we have some say in the game, some involvement in its future direction and course. That belief is based upon our historical investment in the sport - from players to owners to executives to the dollars that serve and served as the lifeblood of the American NHL consistently and frequently was written from Canadian bank accounts.

Unfortunately, for Canadians, the sad truth is the the NHL long ago became American... we just refused to believe it. The League offices moved to Manhattan in the early 90s under Ziegler's direction. The majority - 80% - of its franchises/outlets are based in the US. It's stated mission is to foster the growth of the game in the US - at the direct expense of Canada.

We in Canada kid ourselves when we say 'we have 6 teams'.... there are simply outlets to sap the national sporting reservoir of much needed capital. Each and every year, the American NHL takes approximately $500MM out of the Canadian economy - and returns next to nothing. The only time that Gary Bettman has passed the Stanley Cup to a Canadian team as in his first 'season', 1993. Since then, no Stanley Cups... and fewer teams on a proportional basis.

The trickle-down of the move to reposition the sport to appeal to a niche American consumer segment (white, rich, suburban) resulted in hockey sticks costing $150+ and skates that cost $500+. Ice time is expensive - because those $500MM are not being reinvested back into Hockey in Canada. Few new rinks are being built - and participation is waning.

There are fewer jobs in the American NHL for Canadian players - down to 50% (2009 draft) from 65% (1996 draft) - and fewer opportunities for Canadian fans in legitimate hockey markets to see the game they love. One of the most heartbreaking moments of this summer was the scene of Sidney Crosby's triumphant return to the metropolitan Halifax community.

Yes, Sid the Kid brought the Cup for all the see - and the fans and the community came out in the thousands to greet him. And yet, lost among all the excitement, there was a simple, sad reality. Sid the Kid, pride of Cole Harbour (a Halifax satellite community), had to leave the comforts of home to seek his BIG LEAGUE dreams.... in a market that is smaller than his own, home market. Pittsburgh has a population that is 60,000 less than Halifax. But Halifax is considered TOO SMALL to deserve a team in Gary's American NHL. Why? Because it's a Canadian market - regardless of the fact that fan avidity in Halifax vastly outweighs that of the average sporting fan in Pittsburgh.

But enough about that - has anyone been watching the Olympic preparations? Of particular interest to us Revolutionaries is the fact that, apart from Canada and the US, all the other teams are composed of players from the American NHL as well as their own, national professional league. The Russian team boast almost a 50/50 NHL/KHL split in terms of the player representation. And all the other Euro teams are similarly constructed - the average is about 50/50 when looking at the top 8 Euro hockey powers.

The American team boasts 100% from the American NHL - so they are bit of an anomaly, but a good anomaly from a national sporting perspective. Canada? Well, all of our teams play in the American NHL.... with no other national sporting representation. What's that old saying about 'putting all your eggs in one basket'?

***

So why have a separate, national professional league? Based upon the European experience, the benefits would seem to be:

• Strong, secondary source of players for the national teams
• An easier introduction to professional life for younger players - thereby enhancing the likelihood of successful career
• A place for veteran players, tired of the American NHL, to return to as their careers start the turn to Autumn
• A refuge in case of labour strife and/or fiscal suicide on the part of the American NHL
• An opportunity to reinvest back into the national hockey communities
• An affordable sporting option for the national hockey fan base
• A strong national conduit through which the youngest fans gain early and frequent exposure to their sporting heroes...which enhances and furthers their desire to continue in the sport

There are, in fact, many more benefits to a national league in addition to whatever becomes of the American NHL. For Canada, we have none of those benefits, because our national hockey fortunes, hopes and aspirations are tied to the decision-makers at the American NHL. And, based upon recent events, the quality of those decisions - and decision-makers - need to be called into question.

Fundamentally, this is a question of ROI. Does Canada get enough back from the American NHL to warrant the continued investment of $500MM+ each and every year... for demonstrated diminishing returns? Can Canada continue to make that investment, knowing that the effect is a negative one on the Canadian hockey community?

***

In the past, we've talked about the 'future of the American NHL' and its move to BUY AMERICAN. That will mean fewer and fewer jobs for Canadian players - and there is no 'safe refuge' for them to return to.

There is no league that currently provides the benefits or the ROI that are needed to continue to claim our place as the the world's leading hockey nation. In the face of the current evidence, that statement is a lie or at best a sham that we perpetuate upon ourselves.

From star power, it would appear that the Russians are the leading contenders for gold in Vancouver - and that's backed up by the performances of their national team at the world championship. Yes Canada has an advantage at the junior level - but that advantage isn't translated once the 'boys' become 'men'.

Canada IS the only hockey power without its own national professional league - and the obvious and multiplicitious benefits that arise from having said league. The American NHL is happy to exploit Canada's hockey passion - to the tune of $500MM a year.

Just, for the record, it would cost approximately $180MM a year for the next five years to firmly and permanently establish a strong national league... a Canadian League. A Canadian League that would become - at once - the second most powerful league in the world.... and one that within an additional 5 years would probably overtake the NHL for leadership in the global, professional ranks. In fact, in all likelihood, the American NHL, deprived of Canadian dollars and players, would wither back to third place, behind the KHL and the world's true #1, Canada.

That's the reality - if we simply could see the obvious truths standing naked before us. We've sent our best-and-brightest, our shining industrial Princes to beg for teams... and we've been shunned and shunted. Like paupers, we beg at the feet of a foreign potentate who ignores our wishes .... but continues to exploit us.

That is not the role normally played by the world's best hockey nation. But, under the current situation, there would seem to be no other choice. And there's that word again: CHOICE. A choice needs to be made at all levels of the Canadian hockey community: Is it in the best, long-term interest of Hockey in Canada to continue to tie our hopes to the American NHL?

If the answer is NO, than the solution is the Canadian League. And we at the Canadian Revolution, the Campaign for Canadian Hockey Independence, are dedicated to its creation. And Canadian hockey fans will soon have a choice to make - as will prospective cities, owners and players.

Continue to support the exploitative American NHL - or switch allegiances to the Canadian League, a league that will cost less but deliver more. Simple enough.

HEY FANS - HOW DOES 50.5% 'OWNERSHIP' OF THE GAME SOUND?

One of the unique benefits of 'starting from scratch' when embarking on any new project - whether your building a new home or building a new Canadian League - is that you can correct some of the core failings of their earlier iterations and versions.

In the case of hockey - most sports, in fact - Leagues and franchises talk lovingly of the special bond, the connection between the fans and the teams. And, historically, there has been merit to that point.

The Montreal Canadiens franchise became the embodiment of francophone pride when stars like Richard and Beliveau hit the ice to thundering applause. These gentlemen literally became ambassadors for their city, their community...and their team.

Talk to fans in Quebec City or Winnipeg, and you'll get a different sense of 'that special bond'. That bond was knowingly, willfully and deliberately broken by Gary Bettman and the American NHL's Board of Governors. Spouting platitudes and a seemingly 'born again' nostalgia for Winnipeg are simply tools to deflect attention away from the obvious. Canada will not - under the reign of GBB - ever regain another franchise.

We've already illustrated - clearly - both the evidence and the unfortunate reality facing the American NHL, having staked its future on the US expansion strategy. It's an ALL OR NOTHING bet - and the odds are against it. Allowing the natural hockey equilibrium to take place, and move dying franchises to markets that are dying for them, would make sense to every business person on the planet - except if you've staked everything on the contrarians' perspective.

So, in the American NHL, there is no respect for the bond of fan-to-sport, no respect for cities that pour their emotional heart-and-soul into their teams' fruitless runs at an unwinnable Cup. There is no respect for communities like Halifax, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Saskatoon, Regina or Victoria, major markets all compared to Pittsburgh or Detroit (both cities have populations under 350,000.... with a Hockey Avidity Quotient lower than their Canadian counterpart cities).

There is no respect for this history or heritage of the game - of which, the Canadian hockey fan has played a leading role in assuring success throughout the years.

Those are but a few of the faults in the current model. As has been stated - ad nauseum to some - the American NHL hockey model is broken and doesn't fit the market realities of the Canadian hockey-consuming marketplace. Canadian consumers are demanding more - and the American NHL is giving less. And, eventually, the Canadian consumer will stop buying the American product in favour of an upstart Canadian competitor.

We've seen that in the foodservice industry - TIM HORTON'S OUTSTRIPPING McDONALD'S IN TERMS OF FRANCHISE GROWTH - and we've seen that in other fields like telecommunications, banking/financial, healthcare....you name it, chances are there's a better Canadian competitor. And soon - by November 2010 - there will be a Canadian competitor to the American NHL. And the Canadian League will be built upon a winning foundation - by including the fans into the 'ownership of the game'...literally!

***

As was stated off the top, there's a great joy that comes with 'building new' as opposed to trying to renovate an existing structure. New foundations, new supporting structures, new techniques and technologies that save time and money.

When it comes to professional hockey - and specifically if we're to learn from the mistakes of the current model - there would seem to be three or four major areas of improvement:

1) Better Labour Relations
2) Better Franchise Placements
3) Better Customer Relations
4) Better Business Fundamentals

In terms of the Labour Relations issue, we at the Canadian League believe in fairly sharing the day-to-day revenues... and more importantly, giving the players and their collective representative body at seat at the ownership table commensurate with their 'investment'.

Franchise Placements will not be an issue - there are currently 25 Canadian cities that are large enough to support a Canadian League franchise, with half that many ready to go by November 2010.

Better Customer Relations and Better Business Fundamental are symbiotic concerns. When the game is priced and positioned as an elite sport, catering to a select rich few, there is very little in the way of opportunity or incentive for the 'masses' to support the sport. At least that's the NHL's experience in their expansion follies.

When the average hockey-playing family can no longer afford to attend ONE game let alone be the rightful owner of season's tickets, there is no 'long-term' success scenario that works in the American NHL's favour.

And, most importantly, when you have a large market that is 8-10X the consumer of the product - and has the latent talents and resources to support your business.... AND YOU REFUSE TO MOVE DYING US TEAMS TO CANADA, that is a complete and undeniable fatal flaw to the fundamentals of the sport.

The good news?

With the Canadian League, our game is built upon the simple premise that Hockey is more than a business, it's an integral part of our national cultural fabric. Fans aren't just consumers - we are the lifeblood of the game. While we may not bleed on the ice, we've known more than a few fans who've developed bleeding ulcers following the ups-and-downs of their favourite Canadian team.

So BETTER CUSTOMER RELATIONS and BETTER BUSINESS FUNDAMENTAL will mean that the game is within reach of the vast majority of those who are demanding the game. Canada really is an untapped market for professional hockey - and by starting with the right foundation, the game's success in Canada will guaranteed by a strong, vibrant Canadian League.

The ownership structure of the Canadian League is pretty simple: 33% each (collective) for the Canadian Owners (private/public partnership), Canadian Players and Canadian Fans (held/governed by an appropriate public body). The other 1% will be held by the Governor General, in thanks for the donation of the Stanley Cup.

So, when you think of it, the FANS will own not only their 33% but also half of the OWNERS stake as well (the city will be an equal partner)... which represents an additional 16.5% ownership. Add in the GG's stake, and now the Canadian fans of the Canadian League will, in effect, hold controlling interest in the sport of professional hockey in Canada.

That's right, FANS WILL OWN 50.5% OF THE CANADIAN LEAGUE... which will ensure that BETTER CUSTOMER RELATIONS and BETTER BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS (like pricing) will dovetail perfectly with the needs and expectations of the everyday fan.

***

There are, of course, many other benefits to the Fans ownership stake in the game. As the game grows - and with expansion to 24 teams on the 5-year horizon, the game WILL grow - the revenues and fiscal benefits that accrue can be directed to projects of national hockey interest.

Need more rinks to make icetime more affordable? Now there's a fund for that. Need to work to reduce the costs of the basics of the game? Now's there a fund that can work with manufacturers to unleash the power of Canadian innovation on the game of hockey.

Need greater opportunities for players of both genders? Great, now there's a fund that can be utilized to support and foster women's hockey throughout the spectrum... which gives hope to those longing to see the day when a woman player raises the Stanley Cup and passes it to her male teammate. Again, now all do-able.

And, for our long-suffering friends in Winnipeg and Quebec City, the new ownership structure pretty much guarantees that we will never again see a franchise torn from the loving embrace of its city and its fans. After all, when you hold the controlling interest, it's difficult to rule against yourself!

***

The Magic Number for Canadian Hockey Independence is 45,312 = 45,000 STHs, 300 Players and 12 Owners.

At last count, there are more than 300,000 Canadian millionaires - so we should have the 12 OWNERS covered off....plus we've already identified 15-18 markets that could be ready for FIRST GAME, November 2010.

As to PLAYERS, there are currently 280+ in the American NHL earning less than the Canadian League average. Add in the 120 unsigned players, the 300 or so in the AHL and another 300 playing globally, and you've now got a talent pool of 1000 to draw the 300 best.... and we haven't even mentioned the 300 players who graduate each from from junior hockey. Again, no problems with the players.

The biggest hurdle is US... as in you/I/me/we. Don't get us wrong - there are plenty of Canadian Hockey fans - 20 million by last count. There are already 25,000 - 30,000 STH (to the American NHL) paying considerably more than what a Canadian League STH package would cost. And, every week, millions of Canadians tune into their Saturday night 'religion'. Lots of customers - and millions more waiting for a chance to play.

But US/WE need to come to terms with our relationship with the American NHL - and understand that our paths are no longer complementary. The American NHL is committed to a strategy that is deliberately biased and bigoted towards Canada. The Canadian hockey fan loves the game - and will consume more if allowed. But we Canadians continue to support a destructive habit.

The Canadian League will be afford all Canadians with a chance to change the game for the better. And, with dual responsibilities of fans and owners, the Fate, Future and Fortune of Canadian Hockey Independence rests in our hands. We will buy the tickets, we will watch the games, we will buy the merchandise and WE, the Canadian hockey nation, will own and benefit from that investment.

Sounds like a winning formula to us!