question about canada and hockey
 

I'm wondering this as I watched the US team lose to Canada. If hockey is canadas sport and they dominate in it then why are so many Canadian based NHL teams either moving to the US or always talking about moving to the US?

Just a question.

Because the US has money to spend..

Cheers

Have a look at the exchange rate

yeah
alot of canadians go to play hockey in the united states because of higher pay, and playing with the team they fit in with

$$$$$$$$$$$ is the reason why

I recall one team from Atlanta being moved up to Calgary though. Teams leave their city when there isn't enough money to support them to keep them comepetitive. look at the Minnesota teams over the years, the North stars being sold off to Dallas, and now the Twins are going to be sold from what I hear. Gotta go where the money is, because if you can't afford the best players, then you don't win, and if you don't win then you don't get the fans coming out on a consistent basis.

It doesn't matter to Canada where our players play. We KNOW they are ours, and when it comes time for world championships or the Olympics, our players will always come back to their home and native land to kick ass for Canada. Same as the Russian, Finland, Swede and Czech players do for their countries.
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Almost all players, coaches and scouts in the NHL are schooled thru the Canadian junior system - even the younger European and Russian players. They start their career in one of the 3 biggies of junior hockey - the International Hockey League, The Quebec Minor Leagues or the Ontario Minor Leagues.

Some American colleges, especially in the Boston area are starting to catch up with first rate programs of their own, but they still have a long way to go yet.

The reason that so many Canadian players play in the US is simply because there are so many more teams in the US. The reason for that is twofold.

First it has to do with the business of hockey. In Canada the prime time hockey night is Saturday night when the game is on the CBC which is the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, a crown company that couldn't give a flying fuck about paying the league proper money to broadcast the games, so the tv revenues for Canadian and even US teams is not that great. There is also the problems of the tax situation in Canada. In the US a player or owner can claim and deduct much more than he can in Canada, a problem that has been refused to be addressed by Bob Goodenov who claims to represent the players best interests.

The second major reason is the population base in Canada cannot support so many teams. The majority of Canada lives in the south east - primarily in the area from Toronto to Montreal. This is a situation that not only affects Canadian hockey but all of Pro sport in Canada - witness the slow and iminent demise of the Montreal Expos.

Its a situation that some owners use to their advantage by making threats to leave in hopes of pressuring the local government for some sort of a tax break or other incentives to stick around, the latest case being the Ottawa Senators, you cant blame the owners since it is a business for them and they want to get as much out of it as possible.

Canada does not have that much - we are a very large country with a small population - around 30 million - pushed as far south as the border will allow - got to get away from the cold North. We have long miserable winters with great summers that are far too short - no time for football, baseball, swimming etc, but we do have lots of time for hockey. It is such an ingrained part of Canadian culture that it trancends sport. I imagine it is the same way with soccer in many other parts of the world.

If you are a hockey fan you loved the game today - if nothing else it showed the world the dominance of the North American style of hockey.

Wether any other Canadians want to admit it or not we all know that the US really rules the world and we are secretly glad about that - it could be a lot worse - however this is a great day for Canada, let us enjoy it.

paulW

Paul, that was without a doubt one of the best posts I've read on this or any other board. Well said brother, and you are pretty much bang on the money. When push comes to shove I've been known to defend the integrity of the USA. In the months after the Sept. 11th attackes they were widely criticized for many things (like Viet Nam, Kosovo, Desert Storm etc etc) and I definitely spoke up in defense of them, always will. The world needs a good cop on the beat, and the US has proved time and again that they are the best country for the job, and it's mostly because they fight on the side of people's rights and freedoms.

Damn good post, I hope a few people learn a little about Canada from it.
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