On the NHL's "Sun Belt Strategy" (Montreal Gazette)

From the Montreal Gazette:

By Jack Todd
March 10, 2008

After 15 years of a concerted strategy aimed at giving the league a truly national presence in the U.S., the NHL still has no profile whatsoever in significant portions of the U.S.

"There is no megabucks contract, a half-dozen sunbelt teams are tottering (hello, Nashville), viable markets in Winnipeg and Hamilton still don't have teams and the NHL is still babbling about Kansas City and Las Vegas".

"...But the simple truth is that the league has failed to reach the U.S. market outside of the franchise cities and the game is not faring much better in those sunbelt cities that have NHL clubs...."

"....While Bettman has pursued his desert mirage, the game has become more popular than ever in its birthplace - Canada. The commissioner would do well to let some of those franchises wilt on the vine (does the NHL really need two teams in Florida?) and find a way to bring teams to Winnipeg and Hamilton...."

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/sports/story.html?id=b0c4e480-441b-4247-9054-2da639d79fbe