The Show.

The picture* to the right was taken during the second period of a Phoenix Coyotes game on October 21st. The Coyotes beat the Kings that night 4-2 in front of a crowd that didn't quite reach 7,000 people. For a team that went to game 7 and nearly upset Detroit in the first round of last years playoffs, that number is frankly embarrassing. However, Phoenix isn't the only team to boast a crowd lower than 10,000 this week. Atlanta had two games last week in which less than 10,000 people showed up. On Wednesday, Oct. 20th, the Thrasher's suffered a 4-1 loss to Buffalo in front of just under 9,000 people, and just two days later in a loss to the Lightning only about 9,100 people showed up. Columbus had a game against the Ducks last week where 9,800 people showed up. People may think that this is a coincidence or just a fluke that will happen once in a while, but the fact of the matter is that there are too many hockey teams in unmarketable, apathetic cities, and that if the NHL wants to grow it's going to have to make some adjustments. Keep in mind that the season is less than a month old; what's going to happen if these teams are ten games under .500 40 games into the season and their playoff hopes are gone?

To put things in perspective and to think about the way things could and should be, consider this: there are six Canadian teams in the NHL. According to ESPN's attendance statistics, five out of those six teams averaged 100% capacity at their home games during the 2009-2010 season. The one team that didn't average 100% capacity was the Ottawa Senators, who averaged 98.8% capacity. In the same year six American teams averaged under 80% capacity. Perhaps even more astounding is that the Toronto Maple Leafs averaged a 102% capacity rate during the 09-10 season, despite finishing the year as the second worst team in the league. The worst team in the league, the Edmonton Oilers, averaged 100% capacity. This has to tell you something. Canadian teams will sell out whether their team is the best in the league or literally the worst in the league. The Leafs and Oilers were not even close to making the playoffs, yet every seat was filled in their rinks. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Coyotes, who were a playoff team, had the worst attendance in the league, averaging under 12,000 fans a game. In fact, of the ten teams with the worst attendance in 09-10 (all of whom are US teams), four were playoff teams. So when the worst teams in the league can average nearly twice the crowd of certain playoff teams, it tells me one thing: hockey isn't dead, it's just in the wrong places.

As hockey's crowds have diminished over the past couple years it's evident that there are certain US markets where a hockey team isn't practical, such as Phoenix, Atlanta, Florida, and Nashville. People will argue that these markets have been good at some point or that they have the potential to be better, and these arguments may be true, but when you consider what these teams could be if they moved to different markets, the comparisons aren't even close. It's one thing to have a great year and have great crowds during a playoff run, but it's a completely different thing to have sold out crowds regardless of how good or bad your team is. Imagine if the league cut four of its US teams and put them in Canada. Having two teams in Ontario, two teams in Quebec and two teams in British Columbia, for example, could do wonders for the game in terms of the rivalries and interest that would inevitably spike. Hockey's goal should be to bring the game to the most passionate, interested, and marketable cities possible. The league has accomplished this in many US cities, such as Detroit, Philadelphia and Chicago, however many US markets diminish the impact these cities have been able to make on the game. Although seemingly a contradiction, moving the teams from non-viable markets to more legitimate markets (perhaps in Canada) could effectively make hockey more prevalent in the US. Hockey is thriving in Canada as it always has, but in certain places in the US it is merely surviving. However, we're starting to see a trend that could ruin hockey in much of the US. Changes need to be made by the NHL to ensure that hockey doesn't fade in the US, but rather begins to thrive.

Going back to the Phoenix Coyotes game against the Kings in which less than 7,000 people showed up, Paul Bissonnette (BizNasty2point0), a Coyotes winger, said on twitter after the game, "...Thanks to the 5000 fans that showed up. Did people think it was 11 o'clock start?" and later said, "...Guess we actually had more then 5000 fans for our game. Didn't realize it was dress like a seat night. Close to a sell out." Although making light of the situation, the fact that Phoenix is a terribly suited market for a hockey team remains. Certain people may blame the game of hockey but it's not the game's fault, rather it's the market's fault, and if you think there's any doubt about it being the market's fault then watch the Coyotes play in front of 21,000 people Monday night in Montreal. Upon seeing this it becomes evident that to Montreal fans, much like the fans in other legitimate hockey markets, it doesn't matter how good or bad their team is or who's coming into town to play them. All that matters is that there's a hockey game.




*Picture courtesy of James Mirtle twitter (@mirtle)