Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader must concur with most of what the AirMarshal writes below. Your Maximum Leader stopped being enthused by hockey around 2000. No particular reason or trigger event. It was as though the game wasn’t as fun to watch or go to as in the days of your Maximum Leader’s youth.

The NHL needs a few things in your Maximum Leader’s opinion. First is a salary cap. Second is adoption of international rules concerning ice size. And third is contraction.

Numbers 2 and 3 are really hard for your Maximum Leader to say. He prefers the smaller “Canadian” style ice. And he prefers the Canadian game - which is rougher. But the international game is more appealing to many because it is wide-open, fast paced, and goal oriented.

As for contraction… One of the reasons for people losing interest in hockey is that the games are boring. They are boring because too many teams rely on defensive schemes to win games. They do this because there aren’t enough really talented players to make an aggressive offence work. This is the case because there are too many teams. Your Maximum Leader suggests the following teams be contracted: Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina, Florida, Washington, San Jose, Calgary, Nashville, Columbus, Phoenix, and Anaheim. That is 11 teams. If your Maximum Leader had to choose a 12th it would be Dallas. Or if he could only pick 10, he would keep Washington - mostly for sentimental reasons.

The league only works when salaries are less than 75% of league revenues, and when league revenues are gate/stadium driven. Hockey, due to the need for ice and the lack (compared to Football, Baseball, and Basketball) of youth involved in the sport, keep the appeal of hockey limited. Geographic locations that are naturally suited to hockey being played are naturally the areas that should keep their teams and hope to thrive.

Who knows what will happen.

Carry on.