I'm not a hockey fan, so I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I found this to be a somewhat persuasive argument:

http://www.slate.com/id/2175024/pagenum/2/

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Fire Phil Emery

funny, my dad and i were having this conversation about relegation only it was about baseball.

one of the most interesting games at the end of last year was watching west ham try to hang on to stay in the EPL, or be relegated, and they wound up winning, and celebrating like they won the championship because relegation is the worst thing that can happen, obviously.

it makes the end of the season seem more meaningful...

but it won't work in american sports because we're not set up in tiers, there's the majors and the minors, and without sponsorship, it really couldn't work. but it would be great if the kansas city royals were playing a series at the end of the year against the tampa bay devil rays, and whoever loses that series is dropped down to a AAA team, and an AAA team comes up.

They're in the minors for a reason. Go to a minor league game for the best team in the league at the time and sit a little farther back in one of the sections behind the nets, and watch the passing and speed of the game. Then go to the worst NHL team's rink and do the same. The NHL is at least a gear and a half above the minors speed wise, and the passing is far crisper.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

We're just not built for that, literally: the disparity in venues is such that it's nigh impossible to do promotions and relegations. We have Branch Rickey's farm system here, and I like it that way.

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Stink has it right, the minor leagues of hockey are a least a gear behind the bigs. To a novice the Wolves product and the Hawk product are probably carbon copies; five players aside, a goalie, some penalities, a fight here and there, it's all the same. Viewing the talent of a tenured NHL player from ice level tells the whole story.

As for the link above where it is pointed out hockey needs saving, nonesense. How do the Marlins draw? How did the Cardinals draw at Sun Devil stadium? Neither league ever considered changing the game to generate fan interest in those limping markets. Why should hockey? If one's only perspective of pro hockey is through Chicago eyes, yes, the game is dead, but go to other cities, every game, including the preseason sells out.

The game is healthy in many places, just not here. This is how hockey will always be, there are markets that will always draw and ones that might draw when their club is competitive. Making nets bigger, making goalie equipment smaller, eliminating the red line, cracking down on obstruction, speeding up breaks between whistles, and creating shootouts to guarantee a result are all in vain. Joe Bearfan from Naperville and his kid will never be lifelong hockey fans because of a few rule changes. If the league remains as is or reduces to 20 teams I don't care, the quality of play and the talent level of its players won't change.

I've always thought that hockey was my little secret, but the good thing is there will always be enough others like me (in Canada and other cold climates) to insure the game will always exist. Whether Joe Bearfan and his kid from Naperville ever become fans is of little consequence to me or the future of a functioning NHL.

I'm of the same mindset Fats, however, it does irritate me, as evidenced by my responses on this board, when the same tired cheap shots are taken at the sport.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

gee another sport comes to mind like that too...

Hey, I like hockey, when I can watch it.

I think the relagation system as proposed in the argument wouldn't really be about promoting minor-league teams so much, because it would toss quite a few of the major-league teams into a minor-league system, meaning that (at first) the teams that were promoted would just be old major league teams. Over time, the gap would start to close between the worst major-league teams and the best minor league teams.

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Fire Phil Emery

The worst team in the NHL would KILL the best team in the AHL. Trust me. I've got seasons 6 rows back for the Wolves, so am up close and personal for plenty of AHL hockey. Got tix last season about the same distance back (but behind the goal not center ice) for Hawks / Oilers last year. OH MY GOD! The 2 things that stood out where the same things that Stink talked about. The speed difference was sizable, and every pass was a bullet right on the tape.

There's also a lot more room for tiny guys to do well in the A. In Chicago we were treated to the MVP and ROY from the AHL last season (Haydar and Sterling respectively) Neither one of them are any bigger than me. As evidenced from the hardware, they ran circles around the AHL. This year up in ATL, they are getting knocked around quite a bit. Haydar looks about the size of a 7 year old out there, and all Sterls was doing was a good Theo Fleury impersonation (minus the scoring) until the got put in the Hossa line a couple weeks ago. It's just not even a contest in the level of play.

BTW: the Centre Ice package is the greatest invention EVER!

i like the current system