Once again Canada will not be a part of dominating it’s own national game. The NHL Stanley Cup is now down to a Final Four: Chicago Blackhawks, LA Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins. Coincidentally, the past four Stanley Cup champions. And Canada is nowhere to be found.
The game invented by Canada and loved so much by Canadians everywhere has not been kind to Canada since 1993. That’s when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the LA Kings to claim the Great White North’s most recent conquest of Lord Stanley’s Cup. Why has Canada not sipped from The Cup since then?
What’s holding them back?
Money is a big issue. The New York Times has a great breakdown on why this is:
the N.H.L.’s economic structure changed at an unfavorable time for Canada. During the first half of the 20-year drought, the league allowed teams to spend freely, but Canadian teams were hampered by the weak Canadian dollar. Since 2005, the Canadian dollar has recovered substantially, and Canadian teams are now turning large profits. But they are limited in their capacity to invest those profits in superior players because the league has instituted a hard salary cap.
Obviously, there are a lot of other factors at work too. And I suggest you read the entire Canada piece from the NYT to explore this in more detail.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net. (“Quasi-endorsed” by Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly) He’s also an author who also contributes regularly to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker
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