Why does the NHL continue to make an effort to put teams in the U.S. there is clearly no interest!?

Answer 1

Two simple words (and I do mean simple) Gary Bettman.

The owners love him. The players and fans hate him.

I read somewhere Bettman was attacked by a Canadian Goose as a kid while swimming (it bit his unit) and he has hated Canada ever since.

Answer 2

There's plenty of interest here. Especially in Columbus, Ohio.. i personally dont think the team should be getting as much support as it's getting because of their performance, but they continuously sell out of seats, even for crappy games.

I know that hockey has exploded around here within the last 5-6 years, just because we got an NHL team. Between all of the ice rinks, we have 8 sheets of ice for rec hockey, and i know at the rink, we're continuously busy running games and routinely open until 11pm or 12am just running games that started at around 3pm.

Answer 3

THERE IS INTEREST HERE! I know a lot of youth teams around the US that are really good hell even california is starting to get better and more interest.(trust me i watched a video at hockey camp about some californian team that was amazing) Dallas youth hockey has really exploded and the stars are getting pretty popular there. True there are places that hockey just doesnt belong in the US but that doesnt mean that nobody is interested becaue trust me their is a lot of interest. I just recently a guy on here answered 1 of my questions saying he was a die hard caps fan from Hawaii. I live around the washignton DC area and though the verizon center never sells out unless its full of rangers, sabres or pens fans there is pleanty of caps fans here and youth hockey is growing here How do i know I play it.

Answer 4

Money. The owners make the call, and all they care about is lining their pockets. Every time a team is established, whether it be Canada or Chile, they get money. They get royalties, fees, advertising costs... and easy expansion teams to beat. When the teams move, they get paid for that, too. Anyone who has paid any attention to the league since the 1990s knows that most owners could care less about the sport. They just want to make a buck. Whether or not there are fans in any given area is irrelevant to them.

Answer 5

I know the Dallas Stars had a 'sold out' streak that lasted about 10 years. It was broken by the lock out. So don't say the southern cities do not support hockey. It's only certain franchises that have not caught the fancy of the city they are based.

But obvious answer to the question is MONEY!

Answer 6

Because the U.S. is where the money is. There is clearly more interest in hockey in Canada but there is simply not enough money to support more than 4 or 5 professional franchises up there. The whole damn league is on life support anyway, there is no chance that they will actually expand anytime soon, no one in their right mind would pay the expansion fee to start a new club.

Answer 7

there is interest in the US, it's just not there in southern cities. the truth is, even if only 20% of the people in, say, Kansas City, care about the team, it's still more than the 100% in Winnepeg. I know it hurts but its the truth. That being said, I'd still like to see more teams in Canada and northern US cities.

Answer 8

Because Gary Bettman hates Canada.

Answer 9

actually there is interest in the US...but not in the south...the northern teams have huge markets...philly, detroit, minnesota, new york, buffalo...just to name a few...

by the way philly, as voted by the players, has the most intimidating fans in the whole league...i figured i'd point that out before you go saying there is no interest in the US...

What they are trying to do is bring hockey to areas of the US that don't care...in some cases it is working...Carolina is becoming a rising market...tampa bay is starting to rise...of course these teams had to win the stanley cup for the rise to occur...but thats the same way philly and pittsburg became huge markets.

Answer 10

Because Bettman is a money-hungry a--hole.