This years All-Star Game has reached new lows, first a garbage draft by the players that even the NHL whipped media had a very hard time promoting. Next up the "Guardian" project, a collection absolutely stupid cartoon characters that represent each NHL team. This is just beyond sad for any professional league to sink this low in a pathetic attempt to promote itself. Again Bettman and the NHL fail to understand that improving the game on the ice is the best way to to increase the games profile, NOT cheap ass gimmicks.
As if this humiliation wasn't bad enough if you look back since Bettman took over the NHL one can see the slow destruction of the game's integrity and any respect of its roots.
The systematic destruction of the game of hockey and it's Canadian roots can easily be chronicled here and I hope to show you how and why.
First off the focus of the NHL has been US expansion in hopes of landing the big US TV contract that still eludes the NHL. The majority of the new teams play to empty buildings, have a zero fan base and even less in local TV coverage but Bettman and the NHL are still hellbend on keeping teams in these non-hockey markets like Nashville, Florida (2) Atlanta, and of course the well documented Phoenix disaster. The NHL and Bettman have a strong dislike of the canadian market and is easily seen by the refusal to move these failed franchises to a viable Canadian market. This weekend Bettman again showed his hatred for Canada by refusing to go on live with Hockey Night in Canada during the All Start Game broadcast. To read more on this read this great post; on the Bleacher Report Blog - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/590060-its-time-for-canada-to-say-goodbye-to-the-nhl
Media Control - The NHL keeps very tight dictatorship style controls on how the media, players, teams can comment on anything that is not positive for the NHL. While this is a bit understandable the NHL fails again by not allowing debate on the game in the media as other leagues have such as the NFL, MLB and NBA has. Open debate on officiating, rule changes etc has made all those leagues better. Rumors abound that if any media types "dis" the NHL their press passes will be revoked and players, coaches teams get heavy fines for saying anything that does not fit in with Bettman's and the NHL propaganda guidelines. This media control does more harm then good for the game of hockey.
Biased Officiating - This is perhaps the 2nd biggest issue facing the NHL and is tied in closely with the #1 issue facing the NHL. To be honest and to be blunt the officiating in the NHL is a joke on many levels and has the appearance of being corrupted to such a point it is manipulated as to effect the outcome games and playoff series. Again with the media controls put out there by the NHL it cannot be criticized publicly without fear of losing your press pass or big fines. But yet the NHL fails again to learn from other leagues where honest criticism is welcomed and acted upon.
The media is just as much to blame with it's most insulting excuses for bad officiating, "well it evens up", "he is a veteran so he will get that break". All of which is just BULLSHIT! A call is a call, it should not matter id it was by a veteran or a rookie, in the first minute or last minute and make up calls are total garbage, it doesn't even and if anyone thinks it does they are total idiots. When team gets a few penalties early in the game in a row and finds itself down a couple of goals because of those bad calls the make up calls in the final couple minutes mean shit but look good on the stat sheet at the end of the night. There also never appears repercussions for bad officiating. the the NFL, NCAA, MLB bad refs gets fined, suspended, banned from playoff games but not in the NHL.
Fixing of Games - Yes the NHL fixes games so they get the results they want, it is hard to say but when you look at the history of certain playoff series and games it leaves no doubt. The obvious distain the NHL and Bettman have for Canada and Canadian teams and with the 100's of millions of dollars the NHL has has invested in non-hockey markets the NHL will do anything to help those markets, even if it means fixing games with biased officiating, scheduling irregularities and anything else they can do. The worst thing that could happen to the NHL and what they fear most is to have two Canadian teams in the cup final. The ratings in the almighty US market would plummet and the NHL will do anything to prevent it.
This is evident with the last three times a Canadian team made it to the Stanley Cup final. In 1994 it was Vancouver against the NY Rangers. The NHL was desperate for the Rangers to win that cup, what great news it would be for a huge US market and raise the NHL profile in the US. Well the CanucksCanucks found themselves penalized early many times in a row early in the game on very questionable calls and soon a 2 goal deficit they couldn't overcome even with a few make up calls late in the game that made the game stat sheet look good but sealed the win for the NHL and the Rangers. This was again repeated in 2004 when the Calgary Flames forced a game 7 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Again that series was plagued by bad calls, questionable allowed-disallowed goals that mostly went in favour of Tampa. this thought was echoed by coach Sutter of the Flames who did get a huge fine by the NHL for saying so. Again the NHL was desperate the "Bolts" win the cup in order to increase the NHL profile in a loser hockey market where they had to give tickets away to cup final games. Again the final game was decided by one sided, strategic timed penalties in favour of Tampa. The last time a Canadian team made it to the Cup final was in 2006 when Edmonton Oilers went against Carolina. The Oilers climbed a huge mountain to get there throughout the playoffs with many games in previous series tainted with corrupted officiating. For example in one game against Anaheim the Oilers set a record for most 2 man down penalties in a period, the media didn't report it that way, they reported on the record 5 goals in one period by the Ducks not the garbage calls that lead to so many 5 on 3 for the Ducks. Then in the finals, game one a direct run at the the Oilers goalie that put him out for the series, no call. Through out the series there were many questionable calls and when Oiler's coach MacT questioned this he too was fined like Sutter was two years before. Through careful manipulation of how the refs call the game the NHL was able to have these series go to 7 games and assure the end result was a win for a US based team all with the goal of increasing the NHL profile in the US and in non-hockey markets.
No one to admit it but it does, there is too much at stake for the NHL, too much money and they are willing to do what ever it takes. Bettman himself has said in the past his ideal NHL would only have 2 canadian teams and he seems hellbent on achieving that goal.
As a season ticket holder for the Oilers I know myself as do many other Canadian team season ticket holders it is getting harder every year to renew. It is NOT because of how our team is doing but because of how the NHL is destroying the game.
Stay tuned for part 2 on this where I will break down the issues with the NHL rule changes and inconsistent officiating that is leading to the destruction of hockey in the NHL
NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!
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