Take a team like Ottawa, Detroit, Toronto, you can even add Colorado and Vancouver if you'd like. They post great seasons but fail to win a Stanley Cup, and all of a sudden it's Armeggedon. Fire the coach, blow up the team, and start again.
Is it playoff success that makes or breaks it? Is a team like Anaheim of last year, or Carolina of the year before the model of success because they made it to the cup finals with a low payroll? Given the fact that both those teams failed to even make the playoffs the following year, one would have to say not.
The game takes on a different complexion come playoff time. Entertainment value erodes, scoring is down, cheap hitting is up. Players are tired, and they play that way. The Refs swallow their whistles.
I think that there is so much work ahead of the league and the NHLPA, to make this a legitimate sport. They need to shorten the season. They need to move the trade deadline to January at the latest. They need to impose some type of cap, and revenue sharing deal. And most of all they need to somehow someway get some cheerleaders out there.
Is it playoff success that makes or breaks it? Is a team like Anaheim of last year, or Carolina of the year before the model of success because they made it to the cup finals with a low payroll? Given the fact that both those teams failed to even make the playoffs the following year, one would have to say not.
The game takes on a different complexion come playoff time. Entertainment value erodes, scoring is down, cheap hitting is up. Players are tired, and they play that way. The Refs swallow their whistles.
I think that there is so much work ahead of the league and the NHLPA, to make this a legitimate sport. They need to shorten the season. They need to move the trade deadline to January at the latest. They need to impose some type of cap, and revenue sharing deal. And most of all they need to somehow someway get some cheerleaders out there.