The Couch Slouch aka Norman Chad, has published a 10-point plan to save the NHL:
Get rid of the Canadian teams. It's too far north and it's far too cold up there. Sure, Canadians are some of the nicest people in the world, but we've been carrying the load for them for too long. (We gave them Coca-Cola and Madonna, they gave us Labatt's and Celine Dion.) Plus, if memory serves correctly, I don't think they lifted a finger when we invaded Iraq.
Don't say Don Cherry didn't warn you. But wait, there's more:
Let's also lose the Sun Belt teams. What, folks in Carolina, Florida, Nashville, Phoenix and Atlanta want to watch hockey in May? I think not. And let's not stop with the Sun Belt -- why does Southern California have the Kings and the Mighty Ducks? L.A. needs two hockey teams like Switzerland needs two navies.
Well, I have seen a hockey game in LA -- on a Sunday afternoon when the outside temperature was somewhere in the vicinity of 70 degrees. But buried in the Shecky-like pitter patter is some hard truth:
Plus, it makes no sense to interrupt a season that people might not return to. If you take, say, a Blue Jackets-Hurricanes game away from the public, I'm not so sure they'll be lined up around the block to see that baby when it's rescheduled.
Yep, the truth hurts.
I read that article earlier and thought about saying something about it and then didn’t bother. Thanks for saving me the trouble.
In a testament to how much the Couch Slouch knows about hockey he suggests getting rid of the Canadians teams and also going back to the Original Six, 2 of which are Canadian. Obviously the article is tongue-in-cheek but he does have a few decent points.
Seems like “folks in Carolina” loved watching hockey in May (and June!) a couple of years ago. And with the warm weather, the tailgating was world class… mmm, NC barbecue.
If I were Norman “How Do I Talk With My Tongue In My Cheek” Chad, I’d suggest dropping all the American teams except the ones that border Canada (the Red Wings exemption clause). Maybe they could be generous and expand to New York, Boston and Minnesota.
Philly’s more of an AHL town, anyway. So is Chicago.
With the number of transplants from the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Canada in Atlanta now vs. when the Flames were here — the numbers are staggering — I have a tough time believing the town won’t continue to provide at least the amount of support the team has gotten in what has been five seasons of disappointing hockey.