The Jets, the Nordiques, and lets’ give Saskatchewan a team

Jun 19, 2008 | By Jordana Kalenchuk | Articles Articles Archive

OK, so what is up with the NHL having more Hockey teams in the US as oppose to Canada? Like, what is truly up? (Besides the obvious reason of “power and money”) But really. An ex Chicago Blackhawks player once told me that the reason why Wayne Gretzky left the Oilers for the Kings, was because Hockey was “dying” in the United States and he was going to be the one to revive it. But whether or not hockey was dying in the states, is almost irrelevant because the real truth is, is that in the US, hockey will always take a backseat to Baseball, Basketball, Football, Golf and even Racecar driving. So why is it so important that Hockey lives abundantly in the US? Would the majority of people living there even recognize Wayne Gretzky?

While, here, in Canada, Hockey is life for a lot of people, obviously. We drink beer, watch hockey and complain about the weather. That’s what most of us do, well, along with that other life stuff. So why is it, that only 6 teams out of 30 NHL teams, have a home here in Canada? Not to mention that 70% of the teams are made up of Canadians and the rest Europeans.

So, everyone who misses the Jets say “holla!” and anyone who misses the Nordiques, say, well, however you would translate “holla” in French. And all the people of Saskatchewan who wait patiently through an eight-month winter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders to take the field, how much would you love to have something else to cheer for, and talk about? Besides, don’t most of the good players these days come from that prairie? Taylor Field is usually sold out. So, why would we believe that if there were an arena for an NHL team in say, Regina or Saskatoon, why would we presume that the league would lose money?

Now, not to put down any of these organizations… but, Columbus Blue Jackets? Really? And Phoenix Coyotes? Common now. Lets not kid ourselves into believing just because they exist in the USA, they are better off. And the league is better off. I thought that we have lock out seasons to discuss caps and make improvements… but man, it always worries me because we live in a world full of crooks… Would Winnipeg not be able to give as much money to their players, under-the-table? Or if Sidney Crosby played for Saskatchewan, would he lose all of his endorsements? Lets give some of these provinces credit. It’s like we don’t even give them the chance to make it onto the Map.

Hockey is a Canadian sport. Why did we ever sell out to the states? Winnipeg has an arena waiting, Quebec needs to get on that, and I’m sure if Saskatchewan were given the go ahead, they’d have the whole province laying down bricks and freezing ice. And I’m positive they would all do it for free.

The Jets, the Nordiques, and lets’ give Saskatchewan a team

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