The NHL has announced it is looking to expand soon. As usual, Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL gets to call the shots. Quebec City, Seattle, and Las Vegas all submitted bids to host an expansion team. Of course, Gary Bettman, who has already lost credibility long ago in fans' and players' eyes, picks the least reasonable city, leaving Canadian hockey fans fuming in anger.
Gary Bettman came to power over the NHL in 1993, twenty-three years ago, when most of the current NHL players were just children. Since then, he has been sharply criticised for trying to "Americanise" the game. Instead of opting for traditional hockey markets in Canada and the northern United States, Bettman has started NHL clubs in unexplored territory. Since his tenure began, several of these teams have failed.
Let's be concise and upfront; sometimes, investing in a non-traditional hockey market pays off. For example, take a look at Los Angeles. When the Kings franchise started, fans were reluctant to support the new sport, deeming it a "Canadian sport." They wanted to stick with familiar territory: baseball, football, and basketball. "We're Americans," they thought, "proud of our heritage, and we're not going to be open-minded to this new Canadian sport that just popped up in our city." Nothing against Los Angeles, of course; I have been there and the people are wonderful and it is a great city. Yet, they were unwilling to open their minds to this foreign sport, until Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Kings.
In Washington, no one was interested in the Capitals until they drafted a Russian superstar named Alex Ovechkin. And in Tampa, interest wasn't kindled until their Stanley Cup run last year. In Anaheim, it was when Teemu Selanne arrived.
These are the rare examples of when hockey in a non-traditional market succeeds, but compare this with fans in Toronto or Montreal. The Maple Leafs have been mediocre at best these past few seasons, yet their attendance on an average game day is much more than, say, Dallas, which has been a red-hot team lately. In Montreal, passionate fans have stuck by their team through incredible highs; 24 Stanley Cup and a dynasty in the 1970's, then a twenty-three-year cup drought. As a matter of fact, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993, and yet, the country continues to generate more NHL interest than its southern neighbour.
On top of all this, the NHL once tried to expand to another non-traditional hockey market, Atlanta, Georgia, but it all blew up in their faces when it didn't work out and the Atlanta Flames left to go where they really belonged - to Calgary in 1980. After that fiasco, Gary Bettman decided to ignore all the warnings given to him, and during the 1999-2000 NHL expansion, decided to give Atlanta another hockey team, the Thrashers. Did that work out? In simple words, no, it didn't. The Thrashers left the area and moved to the true north again in 2011, this time becoming the Winnipeg Jets.
Then, of course, there are the teams that haven't quite failed, but I can't say they succeeded, either. There is the Hurricanes in North Carolina, who won a Stanley Cup in 2006. Interest picked up in the team around that time, but quickly disappeared once it was clear that the win was a fluke. Today, ask any resident of the Carolinas what their sports teams are, and you will probably not hear the Hurricanes mentioned. Another example of this is the Dallas Stars. Right now, they are generating interest because of emerging stars (pun intended) Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Of course, considering past cases, my inductive reasoning yells me that this interest won't last long.
Back to today, when expansion has been announced. Despite a clear, unobstructed view of these past cases of failure, Gary Bettman decides to close his eyes to what should be right, and, in his words, "popularise hockey in the States." However, it is clear that his plan is not working. Canadian hockey industries have clearly spoken and said that Canada as a country is able to support three more hockey franchises. One in Hamilton, one in Quebec City, and a third in Toronto. They wonder and ask, "Why does the Los Angeles area have two hockey teams but the Toronto area doesn't?"
Another question for Gary Bettman is: Why does Las Vegas deserve a hockey franchise? Bettman has given the go-ahead for Vegas to start their franchise, but has given Quebec City no better than a slap on the face with an adamant no, and has refused to grant Seattle their request. Las Vegas is known for this: nightlife, bars, and absolutely not hockey. So it is hard to understand why on earth Las Vegas is getting a franchise and Quebec City isn't.
The Québécois have been begging for a franchise in their area since the WHA folded and merged into the NHL and the Quebec Nordiques became no more. It would be great to revive that Quebec rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and whatever team ends up in Quebec's capital city. Seattle, as well, should get the go-ahead before Las Vegas does, as there is an American WHL team in the area and is doing perfectly fine and generating plenty of interest.
In conclusion, Gary Bettman is not a competent decision-maker for the NHL. He has angered fans many times, with his lockouts, ownership issues, and more. If only he would give in to what everyone wants, just this time, it would repair many broken cords with the people. If he doesn't, which is the most likely case, then the best thing to do is to hope he starts three more NHL teams in Atlanta. That way, Quebec City, Hamilton, and Toronto can get the teams they want and deserve.
Sources:
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/comish/bettman.html
https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=dw-canadianclubs
http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6610414
