NC WINGS FAN

OBSESSED MUCH!!??

OBSESSED MUCH!!??

That does not matter. What he is saying is that Pittsburgh is a small market. It does not matter if everyone in Pittsburgh watches the SCF and only half of New York does. There are still more people in New York watching.
Also, what he was getting at is that Philadelphia and Chicago are bigger markets than Pittsburgh, which usually translates to more fans/potential fans.

I am with you here.
I guess I am one of those odd-balls who likes to root for our divisional opponents, and the O-Six, in the post season, especially when the Wings are done. I can understand why we Detroit fans hated Colorado in the 90s and Anaheim now, but Chicago? For what? Some unwritten rule that we must hate our divisional rivals or we are traitors? To me, it seems a tad sheepish.
Teams like Chicago winning are good for the league, and ultimately, the Wings. It would be nice to see Detroit, Chicago, and St.Louis all contenders at the same time b/c there was nothing more boring than seeing the Wings be the only relevant team in the division. Okay, there was Nashville to some extent, but no one really cares about them.

As much as I despise the Penguins, and I do, this actually makes perfect sense.
Face it, hockey is a marginalized sport, so that leaves only a handful of teams(8-10) that can participate in this game. That is good news, b/c we will be in another before too long.
How many people do you think would tune in to see Nashville and New Jersey?

Hockey and basketball are two very different sports. Hockey is much more of a team sport for sure. Look at the difference a Shaq or Lebron makes in a team's on court performance. You do not see that in hockey, so there is bound to be more parity in hockey, or baseball and football for that matter.
One can argue that since the cap, there have been dominant teams in the NHL. The same has become the case for the NFL over the last decade.
I like the ideas presented in this post for the reason that they would allow teams to keep their talented players that they drafted. It would reward good organizations rather than punish them. Despite the cap, you still have teams like Nashville and Phoenix barely staying afloat.

Double post.
I will agree that they seem to be aiming for quantity rather than quality, and that is, in my opinion, a detriment to the game and the league in the long run.
I think what Bettman must realize is that people prefer originality to commercialism, especially in a day and age where we are constantly bombarded with redundant ads and marketing gimmicks. Sure, clever marketing schemes and changing the game drastically may get people's attention at first, but people might eventually see the NHL for what it has become, something that is unoriginal rather than unique. In doing so, they run the risk of alienating traditional fans and boring new ones into extinction, similar to what happened with NASCAR.
They seem so caught up in marketing the game for what it could be rather than what it already is. How does Bettman expect anyone to respect the game when he clearly does not? That is simple psychology right there.

The problem I have with your post is the notion that the league wants the Redwings to lose. Why would they? They are one of the league's biggest draws.
Do you remember the Stanley Cup Finals from the years 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007?
All of those series were made up of small market teams where at least one of the contenders was from a non traditional market such as Anaheim, Carolina, and Tampa Bay. Who did they play? They played Calgary, New Jersey, Ottawa, and Edmonton respectfully, none of whom are big draws. Those lame match-ups, combined with the lockout practically marginalized the sport.
Do you remember what happened when the Redwings got back to the Finals? The ratings went way up.
Now with that said, if there were any conspiracy to help certain teams win, then I am sure it would lean more towards large traditional markets such as Detroit, Chicago, New York Rangers, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto.
Sure, they want to "grow the game", but the bottom line is television ratings and exposure.