@chicopee-john said:

Well, as I said, the head scratcher is the competency of the organization. Based on what I read the Canadian teams make just as much or more than the American teams. Is it just a fluke that this year not a single Canadian team is competent enough to make the playoffs? Or is there more at work?

I guess the Canadians will just have to be happy watching their basketball team in the playoffs.....the Toronto Raptors being one of the major challengers to the Cavs in the East.

Maybe for the same reason there isn't an NHL team in Cleveland.

Westside has stated several times that the Cavaliers franchise(the Gunds in particular) has - pretty much - kept competition away.

Maybe they consider ANY competition during the winter months to be a 'threat'.

@the-gipper said:

I know the tax system in Canada is unfavorable compared to the U.S. but that is usually taken into account when negotiating contracts.

The NHL has an open Draft System so the organization plays a big part in determining whether or not the team is successful.

Certainly, most people would rather live and play in FL, LA, etc. rather than Ottawa, etc. I am not saying the Canadian Cities arent good places to live.

I don't pay much attention to the NHL but I don't remember hearing any noise about playing in Canada vs. the U.S.

I believe it comes down to money - for both the owners and the players - and the competency of the organization Or, these play a significant role.

@the-cysko-kid said:

If soccer were played the way hockey is played it would be a vastly superior experience to view.

Actually.....that sort of thing WAS done. Remember the Force, the Crunch, fairly popular teams around here

I see that there still is an Indoor Soccer League with a number of teams: I am just wondering why there is no team in Cleveland since it was popular for a long time here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Arena_Soccer_League

Edit: After further review it appears that there were teams in Northeast Ohio in the recent indoor soccer league:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Freeze

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Vortex

And apparently there will be a future team:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youngstown_Nighthawks

But these teams never played in a major arena like the Force playing at the Richfield Coliseum....nor did they get the crowds of the old MISL...which averaged about 12,000. These teams are now only averaging about 2500.

@chicopee-john said:

Well, what I meant by the Canada thing is that, from what I can tell, there is a certain bias in both the MLB and NBA against playing in Canada.....because almost none of the players from that sport grew up in Canada. But the same does not hold true for hockey. While there are more American/European players in the league, most of them are not going to say "I don't want to play in Canada" they way many may say in the other sports.

@the-gipper said:

I'm not so sure that Canadian-born players make up a large majority of NHL players any more. At the very least, the percentage is significantly down from years ago.

Many more US-born players are in the NHL as are a large number of European players.

Any way, there is a difference between where players are born and what teams they play for - the minor league system, development coaches, Front Office, etc.

This game - like all major sports - have entered the Entertainment Industry, with a focus on sports. Therefore, there are teams in the places you mentioned.

Any way, I don't much care for the NHL since the Whalers moved from Hartford.

To me - and not unlike Soccer - I find it a great game to watch live. The flip side, is it is a terrible game to watch on TV (IMHO). Brushing aside the difficulty in seeing the puck - an old excuse - I wonder if having TWO long intermissions takes away from the game on TV.

Just some thoughts................................

Not sure why Canadian hockey teams are having such a hard time of it. Is it the money issue? Do players get less pay from the Canadian teams, thus no like FAs want to go there? Do all the Canadian teams pull in less revenue than American counterparts?

It can't be lifestyle choice......most hockey players are still Canadian born from what I understand.

Here is a lengthy article from just a few years ago that goes into great detail about the issue:

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/why-cant-canada-win-the-stanley-cup/?_r=0

WSS