The NHL in the USA

Since Gary Bettman jumped over from the NBA to the NHL, his mission has been to make hockey a major sport in the U.S. So far his plan has been a total bust. The NHL has lost almost $2 billion over the past 10 years. Teams that lost money before the lockout are still losing money. Franchises are in markets where they don't belong (Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville). About 8 teams are for sale but there are enough rich Canadians around to buy them all up.

So last night was the start of the Stanley Cup finals. Of course the games will all be televised in Canada. Afterall, NHL hockey is one of the few profitable programs for the CBC. So I cruised through all the U.S. networks, Fox, NBC, etc. No one is televising the game.

I can think of one reason why hockey will never become anything in the US. Here is the reason. This is the roster of the Anaheim Ducks:


This is the roster of the Ottawa Senators:

How many American players do you see out of all those players? Exactly.