• The American philosopher George Santayana made one of the most important observations of all time when he said, "Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it," and I tend to agree. Wether it be in war, economics, politics, or even bridge building, if the lessons learned by a previous generation are not heeded by its succeeding generations-- people that do not experience the causes firsthand, then the lessons must somehow be re-learned, and re-learned under eerily similar, yet even more tragic circumstances. This mantra also true when applied to the world of hockey, especially the business side.

• Let's take a look at the modern-day NHL. What are the problems, on the ice as well as off? Where does one start? For an unabashed hockey "purist" such as myself, I would list them as follows: watered down, defensive-minded play; a critical lack of offense; too many teams; skyrocketing salaries; increased financial burden on the fans, and a somewhat insecure internal league structure. A few years back, insiders and fans alike were upbeat over the overall state of the game. What recently happened to cause such a downward spiral? Let's take an arbitrary year when hockey looked like it was headed in the right direction. We'll use the 1991-1992 season.

During the 1991-92 season, the league was commemorating its 75th year. There were twenty-two franchises, of which included the San Jose Sharks, the first NHL expansion team in 12 years. The league had just completed what would become a pivotal season in its history. There was a ten day player's strike near the end of the season, which, fortunately, was quickly resolved and all but forgotten after a series of classic, seven-game playoff matchups. The result was one of the most memorable sweeps in Stanley Cup history, when an injury-plagued Mario Lemieux and his Pittsburgh Penguins trounced the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that had won 11 playoff games in a row behind the brilliant goaltending of 26 year-old phenomenon Ed Belfour.

• Individually speaking, in 1991-92 there were plenty of big-name stars to go around. Besides Magnificent Mario you had Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman, and Adam Oates, just to name a few. Many promising newer players such as Alexander Mogilny, Jaromir Jagr, Sergei Federov, and Pavel Bure were proving that the popularity of the game was not simply a North American phenomenon, but a burdgeoning international one as well. Things seemed to be as balanced as they ever were. Offense was strong, but defense was strong as well. The franchises themselves represented hockey and its fanbase extraordinarily well. Canada lay claim to seven franchises, the puck-rabid state of Minnesota had their cinderella North Stars, New York had a newly revitalized Ranger team led by legendary former-Oiler Messier, and the NHL's southernmost team, the Los Angeles Kings, had the biggest catch of them all, the Great One himself. Even the former "Mickey Mouse" franchise New Jersey Devils were fielding a competitive team. Hockey stood strong, well on its way towards continued future success, or so some thought. In actuality, and in hindsight, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. The 10-day strike, the first in NHL history and led by newly named NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow, was a serious issue that had to be dealt with sooner rather than later. The NHL president, John Ziegler and his "laissez-faire" ambivalence were on increasingly shaky ground with both the owners and the players, and just two years previous, in December of 1989, the NHL's board of governors, in a controversial decision, agreed in principle to expand the league to 28 teams by the end of the century.

• Wait, you say, what about all that "history repeating" stuff from the intro? What about lessons not being learned? Have no fear!! My analysis, I hope, will soon be made clear enough.

• Let's go back to the early days of the N.H.L. Let's pick an arbitrary season. How about 1923-24? Back then, the league was four Canadian franchises strong. The Ottawa Senators were defending Stanley Cup champions and had just moved into a brand new 11,000 seat arena. The Montreal Canadiens were set to move into their new home, The Forum, that following fall. The Sens' Frank Nighbor won the first ever Hart Trophy as his team cruised to a league best 16-8 record, but it was the Canadiens that won the Cup. Led by newcomer and future NHL legend Howie Morenz, the Habs finished ahead of the other two N.H.L. teams, the Toronto St. Pats and the Hamilton Tigers, and swept Ottawa to claim the N.H.L. title.

• Despite only four teams, there were plenty of big-name stars. 5' 7" powerhouse Cy Denneny of Ottawa averaged over a goal a game, while newcomers Morenz and second-year teammate Aurel Joliat gave the Canadiens some serious offensive punch. Hamilton had a young, prolific scorer in Billy Burch, and Toronto had the immortal Babe Dye, who, like Denneny had averaged over a goal a game over the past four seasons. And then you had the inimitable veteran superstar goalie Georges Vezina in net for the Canadiens. The six-year-old N.H.L.'s staying power was all but confirmed when it was announced that two new teams would be entering the league for the following season-- the Montreal Maroons, and an American team, the Boston Bruins. Throughout, the league was attempting to wrest full control of the Stanley Cup from the rival Pacific Coast League, the champion of whom the N.H.L. titlist still had to challenge in order to "win" the Cup. The N.H.L. stood strong, well on its way towards continued future success, or so some thought...

• O.K. why am I making this comparison of different eras in NHL history? Well, I just find them frighteningly similar, that's all. First off, check out the economies during these years. 1923-24 was right in the midst of a decade long free-for-all that would make thousands of investors rich beyond their wildest dreams. People partied like it was, er... 1999. America had Warren G. Harding in the White House, who was more concerned with getting underneath skirts of certain young women than running the country. Zip forward to 1992. Coming into the White House was a man, who, er... well, you know with whom I'm gonna do the comparison thing with Harding so I'll leave out all the well-known details. Anyhow, cellular and digital technology and the internet were about to take off and send the economy into another decade long free-for-all that would make thousands rich beyond their wildest dreams. People did party like it was 1999, cuz, well, it almost was! And in the midst of all this you had the N.H.L. and its aspirations of major league glory. Let's take a closer look at the roaring twenties version of the N.H.L. first.

• Following the 1923-24 season, the N.H.L. went on an expansion rampage that to this day is unmatched in sheer explosiveness. Besides the earlier-mentioned Montreal Maroons and Boston Bruins, you had the introduction the following year (1925-26) of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the mutation of the Hamilton Tigers into the New York Americans, followed by the birth of three N.H.L. stalwart franchises: the Rangers, Blackhawks, and Detroit Cougars (Red Wings) in 1926-27. That's a 150% increase in quantity of both franchises and players in a three year period. Though some of the expansion was due in part to the dissolution of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (P.C.H.A.) and its later rival, the Western Canada Hockey League (W.C.H.L.), it was mostly as a direct result of the booming economy and a new found time for leisurely pursuits in the post WWI generation.

• Now let's skip ahead 55 years to the seasons following the 1991-92 campaign. In 1992-93 the N.H.L. went on an expansion rampage that, next to the expansion of the 1920's and the long-overdue 1966-67 expansion, was the most ambitious the N.H.L. had ever seen. You had the introduction of the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning, followed the next year by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Florida Panthers, as well as the mutation of the Minnesota North Stars into the Dallas Stars. Though some of the expansion was due in part to the influence of the 28-team N.F.L., the 28-team N.B.A., and the soon to be expanding 26-team Major League Baseball, it was more directly the result of a booming economy and the coming of age of generation X, who, unlike any generation before them, were free to engage themselves in various leisure pursuits, which included watching hockey and buying its merchandise.

• The two eras sound familiar, huh! Wait, there's more. Let's look at the salaries. Before 1924, salaries were relatively controlled because there were only four teams in the league and theoretically were capable of at least a little bit of collusion. One of the finest NHLers of all time, Newsy LaLonde, made only $2,000 (Canadian) for the Canadiens in 1921-22. A player could earn a bit more, but chances were that he'd have to move out west and play for the rival P.C.H.A. or later for the W.C.H.L. to do so. By the expansions of the mid-20's, however, salaries rose dramatically and began to get a bit out of control. Fiscal constraints and a watered-down talent pool caused by the aforementioned expansion led the Pacific and Western Canada leagues to eventually close shop. Many great talents came back East, looking for meaty contracts like the ones they previously signed out West. The Bruins landed former Edmonton Eskimo and legend-to-be Eddie Shore. The fledgling Pittsburgh Pirates franchise signed Lionel "The Big Train" Conacher to a three year, $7,500 a year deal. Dunc Munro, a defenseman on the Montreal Maroons and a star of the recent 1924 Olympics, received a $7,000 a year deal. Increased salaries inspired the N.H.L. to install a $35,000 salary cap early in the decade, but, in 1927, due to a growing financial confidence which could be viewed more as arrogance, the League did away with the cap altogether. Within a half decade of the move, however, the promise of financial stability around the league waned and resulted in dire consequences for not only the players, but many of the N.H.L. teams themselves.

• Fast forward to the roaring 1990's. Let's check out the salaries. Of course, the salaries were starting again to get out of control. Hockey players were looking across the professional board to baseball, basketball, and football and saying, "hey, if they can, why not us?" It got to be such a problem that the N.H.L.., with the aid of newly appointed commisioner Gary Bettman, decided to impose a lock out upon the players following the 1993-94 season. In 1991-92, the average salary of an N.H.L. player was $368,000 U.S.dollars. By 1994-95 it was $733,000 U.S. or nearly double the previous amount. Adam Oates made $250,000 U.S. in 1991-92. He made $1,155,000 U.S. in 1994-95. Gretzky made $3 million U.S. in 1991-92. He made over $6.5 million U.S. in 1994-95. Even journeyman players received noticeable salary increases. Veteran blueliner J.J. Daigneault, for instance, earned $180,000 Canadian in 1991-92. By 1994-95 he was earning $600,000 Canadian. The league never did instill a salary cap, perhaps, in their confidence (arrogance) believing that increased marketing, ticket, and television revenue would compensate for the increase in player salaries, but that never really materialized. Now, several years later, the promise of financial stability around the league is waning and no doubt the consequences will be dire for not only the players, but for many of the N.H.L. teams themselves.

• O.K. I've looked at the business side of this mess. What about the on-ice stuff? Well, as I stated earlier, the defensive style of play that found increasing popularity amongst franchises around 1993-94 has made the N.H.L. offensively challenged for nearly a decade, yet the same problem arose back in the 1920's. Early in the decade, scoring was at the forefront, with many of the league's stars averaging well over a goal a game. In 1921-22 Punch Broadbent of the Ottawa Senators scored 32 goals in 24 games while overall his team scored 106 in 24, for a hefty average of 4.4 a game. In 1924-25, the first year of expansion, Toronto's Babe Dye potted 38 in 29 games while Aurel Joliat of the Canadiens managed 29 in 24 games. By the follwoing season, however, that trend began to reverse itself. Despite the facts that more teams were in the league, less-talented players lined-up against each team's superstars, and more overall games were being played by each team, scoring suffered and strong defensive play came to the forefront. Only two players in the 1925-26 season, Nels Stewart and Cy Denneny, managed to average over a point a game. The league's top offenses, Boston and Toronto, each managed to score only 92 goals in 36 games, for an pathetic average of 2.6 a game. The following year, in 1926-27, Clint Benedict, playing in only 43 games for the Montreal Maroons, registered 13 shutouts and posted an extraordinary 1.42 GAA.

• By 1928-29, the ten-team N.H.L. was really hitting the offensive skids. The league's top scorer, Toronto's Ace Bailey, managed only 32 points in 44 games. He was one of only two players that season to score over twenty goals. The league's top offensive team, the Bruins, averaged barely 2 goals a game. The offensively-challenged Chicago Blackhawks scored a pathetic 33 goals in 44 games. The New York Americans scored 53 in 44, and still managed to register a winning record of 19-13-12!! The most remarkable stats of that 1928-29 season belonged to Montreal Canadiens' goalie George Hainsworth, who registed a mind-boggling 22 shutouts to go along with an outrageous 0.92 GAA!!!

• After the season was over, the N.H.L.'s board of governors decided that enough was enough. Convinced that the league was strong enough to undergo a radical change, they decided to implement a system that would increase scoring. First, they decided to allow forward passing in the opponent's offensive zone. Previously, forward passing was only allowed in the defensive and neutral zones. To counteract the chances that a team might simply put one or more of their players in front of their opponents's net for the whole game, an "offsides" rule was added, where a player could not advance past the line separating the neutral zone and the offensive zone until the puck crossed it. The move worked wonders for offense, but, unfortunately, it was too late to save the league in its present incarnation. Within a year, Canada, the U.S. and most of the world was suddenly steeped in a vicious economic depression that would devastate the N.H.L.'s stability and send it careening towards near-financial ruin.

• Back to the happy 1990's. In 1991-92 the league offered a perfect balance of offense and defense. The league certainly had its offensive stars. Mario Lemieux avaraged over two points a game while St. Louis' Brett Hull averaged nearly a goal a game. Despite these hefty numbers, only 9 players registered 100 point seasons. On the other side of the coin, the Montreal Canadiens allowed only 2.6 goals per game with the Chicago Blackhawks not far behind with 2.9. Montreal's Patrick Roy won the Vezina Trophy with a magnificent 2.36 GAA and a league leading five shutouts. After a token offensive explosion in 1992-93, due largely to the addition of four extra games on the schedule and theexpansion teams from Ottawa and Tampa Bay, league offensive production began to slowly decline. In 1993-94 only eight players registered 100 point seasons, just over a third of those registered in 1992-93. Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek posted a 1.95 GAA, the first sub-2.00 average in 20 years. Nine teams allowed 3 or fewer goals per game, as opposed to 1992-93's two. By 1997-98, only one player, Jaromir Jagr, scored more than 100 points, and only three players (Pavel Bure, John LeClair, and Teemu Selanne) managed to crack the 50 goal plateau. Defensively, 11 teams allowed fewer than 2.5 goals a game. Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils finished with a sparkling 1.89 GAA and 10 shutouts. The Sabres' Dominik Hasek sported a 2.09 GAA and recorded 13 shutouts, the most in nearly 30 years, to go along with a spectacular .932 save percentage. For his extraordinary play, Hasek received the Vezina, Lester Patrick, and Hart Trophies.

• As was the case in the 1920's, vulgar expansion did little to reverse the growing defensive trend. By 2001-02, the League offered four teams-- the Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, and Columbus Blue Jackets-- all with three years or fewer beneath their belts as potential puck fodder, yet defense still reigned supreme. Not one player managed to register 100 points, the second time in three years (1999-00) that that had happened. Only one player, Jerome Iginla, managed to score 50 goals. Only four players, Iginla, Markus Naslund, Glen Murray, and Mats Sundin cracked the 40 plateau. Defensively, eight goaltenders managed to allow 2.20 or fewer goals per game. 10 teams allowed 200 or fewer goals against. The Vancouver Canucks, the league's highest flying offense, managed to score only 254 goals for a miniscule average of 3.1 a game. The Columbus Blue Jackets managed just 2 goals per game, yet won (expansion-wise) a respectable 22 games. As was the case in 1928-29, the N.H.L. heirarchy decided at the end of 2001-02 that rule changes were needed to spice up the offensive production. What was implemented was nothing as extraordinary as what was enacted in 1929-30. Instead of looking at bolder maneuvers such as limiting the size of goaltender padding or getting rid of the two-line pass, the league decided to crack down on obstruction-holding. While this has marginally increased production it still hasn't made the game more exciting. On the contrary-- more frequent game-stoppages due to penalty calls have disrupted the flow of the game tremendously. Despite this superficial tinkering, the League is where it was at back in 1929-30, teetering on the brink of financial annihalation.

• O.K., now comes the really, really depressing stuff. Just what happened to the League after 1929-30 and what is going to happen to the League from today onward? Like I noted in my introduction, "Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it". Repeat what? Well, get ready to be spooked. I believe the N.H.L. is headed down a rocky road. But this time, there might not be six teams who manage to hang on to form an "original six" for the twenty-first century.

• October 29, 1929. A black day in world history. The stock market crash. So much confidence. So much optimism. So much corruption and greed-- BAM! Exposed, deflated, and engulfed in flame like the Hindenburg dirigible. Initially, the depression hit the really wealthy who were the biggest investors in the 1920's outrageous prosperity. Little by little, however, the depression trickled down-- down onto middle class and working class folks who lost their jobs after their mills, plants, or offices closed their doors. The unemployment rate skyrocketed, and as a result, people became focused on basics, such as food, clothing and shelter. There was little or no time for leisure, and hockey, for all intents and purposes, was leisure. The first signs of real trouble became palpable in 1930, when the Pittsburgh Pirates, under financial stress and hurt by sagging gate receipts, were forced to relocate to Philadelphia, where they became known as the Quakers. A year later, After a terrible 4-36-4 1930-31 season and due to financial hardship, the Quakers' management asked the League for permission to cease operations. In modern hockey terms the move was simple: the team folded. Four years previous they were a winning franchise who finished only five points out of first place, employing all-time hockey greats Lionel Conacher and goalie Roy Worters. Suddenly they were the first hit in a long combination of serious body blows for the N.H.L. The Pirates, many argued, were just an expanson team and wouldn't be missed. The next team to follow them down the road to ruin, however, was a far more serious matter.

• The Ottawa Senators were one of three charter franchises of the League. The Senators finished in first place six times during the first 10 years of league operations, and had won the Stanley Cup four times. Even though the franchise remained a competitive franchise into the 1930s, the expansion of the League had taken its toll on the city, it being the smallest market of the professional circuit. At first, sensing financial pressure, Ottawa asked the NHL board of directors for increased percentages of gate receipts from road games. After that maneuver failed to help the team sufficiently, Ottawa began to sell off its star players to other franchises in the league. In 1928-29 it sent superstars Cy Denneny and Punch Broadbent to the New York Americans. Legend Frank Nighbor was next, going to Toronto. Finally the Sens sold off the jewel of their roster, King Clancy, to Toronto for $35,000, but it still wasn't enough. Before the 1931-32 season began, Ottawa,unable to continue in its present financial situation, requested a one year leave of absence from the League. For the first time in 40 years, a team from Ottawa was unable to compete for the stewardship of the Stanley Cup. The Ottawa players were divied up amongst the other franchises of the league. The following year, under new management, the team returned, but performance and support was so poor that the team was forced to relocate the following year to St. Louis, becoming known as the Eagles. The franchise spent one horrible year in the U.S. city, struggling on the ice as well as in the box-office before finally closing shop for good. One of the most storied franchises of the early N.H.L. was kaput.

• The N.H.L. had lost 20% of its membership within four years, but still managed to lumber onward. The depression got worse, and so did the widespread demand for hockey. By 1935, players were not allowed to sign contracts that exceeded $7,000. Many players such as Eddie Shore vowed never to take a pay cut, but when push came to shove, they put their tail between their legs, thankful to at least have a job in the worst economic catastrophe in history. By 1936-37, the N.H.L. was forced to take over operations of the troubled New York Americans franchise. The longtime Americans owner had been William "Big Bill" Dwyer, a notorious bootlegger during the prohibition era. Dwyer was formally associated with such mob heavyweights as "Legs" Diamond and "Dutch" Schultz. In 1927, he was sent to a Federal penitentiary for bootlegging convictions. After prohibition was repealed in 1933, Dwyer's financial power became muted and his team suffered as a result. The federal government won a lawsuit against him in in 1936 for over $3 million. Dwyer was broke, and as a result the league made its move. The Americans seemed on the skids, but another team, a Canadian one, would call it quits before them.

• The Montreal Maroons entered the league in 1924-25. The following year they won the Stanley Cup. For the next decade they were consistently among the League's best teams on and off the ice. In 1934-35 they won their second Cup, but attendance was poor and the Maroons, like their late, great Canadian counterparts the Senators, began to sell off their top players. All-star Hooley Smith went to the Bruins following the 1935-36 season, while N.H.L. stalwarts Lionel Conacher and goalie Alex Connell were persuaded to retire. At the end of an abysmal performance in 1938, were the team finished out of the playoffs for only the third time in its existence, the Maroons asked the league for permission to suspend operations for one year. A year later, the Maroons management notified the N.H.L. that it could not resume operations and would fold. The Canadiens were the sole professional team of Montreal once again.

• The troubled New York Americans franchise managed to hang around for another three seasons afer the Maroons, but the imminent war in Europe coupled with the fact that the team, still owned and operated by the N.H.L. had been playing second fiddle in both popularity and profit to the Rangers, led them to finally give up the ghost. 14 of 16 of the Americans' players were lost to the armed forces by 1940-41. The following season the team was renamed the Brooklyn Americans by newly named owner Red Dutton, a novelty move which didn't help things much. America entered the War halfway during the season and more players, as well as fans, went off across the sea to do their patriotic duty. As a result, the Americans were forced to fold before the start of the 1942-43 season and for the first time, the Rangers were the sole professional hockey team in New York City. N.H.L. membership stood at six. For the next 25 years, the league would neither add nor subtract from that number. Hockey flourished under the six-team alignment, and the damages that the depression era wreaked on the once-confident league faded with the memories of the players who played through them. The lessons were forgotten. And, now, here we are today.

• O.K. it doesn't take a brain surgeon to connect the dots here. The N.H.L. is again peeking over that precipice of oblivion, but then again, it has been for some time. Commisioner Gary Bettman, by no means a scapegoat for all of the problems facing the league, can still be held accountable for one glaring shortfall in his organizational philosophy: the failure of the N.H.L. to live up to its increasing hype. The league was already beginning to careen into disarray before Bettman came onboard, yet it was because of this great blunder that the N.H.L. didn't take care of the things that needed to be cared for. Instead, it tried to put the League on par with the other three ultra-successful major league organizations of Baseball, Football, and Basketball. While the N.H.L. was expanding, not just in numbers but in marketing stature, it was also internally collapsing. Within four years after the 1993 Minnesota franchise move to Dallas, three other teams decided to fly the coop to greener financial pastures. A talent-loaded Quebec Nordiques team moved to Colorado in 1996, became the Avalanche, traded for goalie Patrick Roy, and then proceeded to win the Stanley Cup. The Hartford Whalers and owner Peter Karmanos bought themselves out of the last year of their arena lease in 1997 and shipped themselves down south, where they became known as the Carolina Hurricanes. In 1996 Winnipeg's beloved Jets folded up the tents and moved to sultry Arizona where they became known as the Coyotes. The pull of hefty television contracts, the intoxicating lure of massive, untapped metropolitan populations, and the promise of shiny new arenas as well as lease and tax abatements had many owners looking to other cities, greedily licking their chops at the potential financial windfall that they might quickly achieve. New Jersey came close to moving to Nashville after their Stanley Cup winning season of 1995. Edmonton and Calgary, small market clubs who rely on the weak Canadian dollar, are brought up constantly in conversation when it comes to relocation. Much of this rabid, financial wheeling and dealing can be attributed to the marketing hype that former N.B.A. senior VP Gary Bettman brought into the N.H.L. in 1992.

• Bettman's method was quite simple. It is just an updated version of the used-car salesman's trick: if you polish the car to a high shine, it can increase it's value market value many-fold. Bettman proceeded to polish the N.H.L. to a high shine. Besides the shiny new arenas and the occupation of large untapped markets, other, more superficial methods were implemented to get people to buy into the hype. One was in team logo and uniform design. Much of the money the N.H.L. makes is in licensing deals for merchandise, namely hockey apparel and equipment. No fewer than 21 new uniform designs have been instituted since 1993. Uniform overhauls have been the norm rather than the exception. Buffalo, Washington, and Vancouver totally ditched their color schemes altogether. Most teams rely on these, as well as the sale of kitschy "third jerseys" to spruce up their merchandising incomes. The increasingly outrageous garb of the eight 1990's expansion teams and the uniform changes of the four relocated franchises mentioned earlier also can be thrown into the mix.

• Another form of superficial polishing that the league latched onto was to update its classical style of presentation to achieve a more "modern" feel. Organ music, oce the centerpiece of the aural hockey game experience, is seldom heard anymore at hockey arenas. Instead, guitar driven rock music is pumped in through high-tech speakers at blistering levels. Pyrotechnics, fireworks, and laser light shows precede almost every game, while flashy, quick cut media pieces of players crashing into one another, fighting, and raising their fists in clebration try to simulate the high speed nature of the on-ice action. Multi-million dollar center-ice "jumbotrons" have become the norm in arenas around the league. Many people who come to the game actually watch the whole thing on the jumbotron's television monitor. For all the flashiness inside the arena, nowhere is this MTV generation method more apparent than on national television. Under Bettman, hockey managed to secure broadcast contracts in the mid-1990s with Fox, ESPN, and ESPN2. Even Wayne Gretzky jumped on the "high-exposure" bandwagon, suggesting that Florida was a great place to sow the ballooning N.H.L.seed, citing, amongst other things, television market viability-- a very business-orientated opinion from a man who once lived, breathed, and slept "old-time-hockey". The increased exposure hoped to insure that hockey would soon be on par with the N.B.A. and perhaps, in the near future, Baseball and Football. Broadcasts effectively ignored the smaller market teams, going instead for the big ratings by showing teams who would pull in maximum viewership. New York, Philadelphia, Dallas and Detroit were frequent visitors to the small screen, but, despite the flashy production design, emphasis on speed and violence, and over-the-top pregame hype, the "Coolest Game on Earth" became just another tired sales pitch, especially after fans began to realize not only what slim-pickings the N.H.L. was offering them in terms of on-ice entertainment, but also what the League was doing to them in the pocketbook department as well.

• The most worrisome situations, however, that the modern League is facing are beyond the superficial hype of mass-marketing. In fact, both are going on as I write this article. The Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres are in serious danger of not only financial bankruptcy, but of folding completely. Back in the twenties, it started with the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, and then the original Ottawa Senators hit the skids. Now the new Senators are facing a similar doom as well. The most successful of the 1990's expansion teams, the Sens have built up a tight organization and team concept that has placed them consistenty amongst the upper echelon in the N.H.L. This year they are competing for best-record honors with the likes of Detroit and New Jersey. They employ the League's most prolific scorer, winger Marian Hossa. Last week, it was announced with much public consternation that the team could not make its player payroll. Despite this fact, the players gave a good face, and did not let the financial mess bring down their superior play. Team bankruptcy seems all but certain, unless a miracle bailout can be achieved. This bailout, however, is contigent on some rather disturbingly high numbers. The government of Canada, for instance, has offered $100 million in tax subsidies to the team and its owner, Rod Bryden. Rumors fly that the team is much worse economic shape than even that amazing sum can remedy. What might happen? Well, the N.H.L., for the second time in its history, will lose a competitive team from Ottawa, though this time they might not relocate. This time they might just simply fold and a dispersal draft would divy up the players to the rest of the teams in the league. Ottawa would be left with an empty arena and millions of dollars in lost revenue. History repeats itself...

• As far as the Sabres are concerned, the picture is a bit clearer, but still pretty bleak. The franchise has been one of the most competitive teams in the N.H.L. over the past thirty years. Two Stanley Cup appearances, a gaggle of legendary players, regular playoff appearances, and a rabid upstate New York fanbase are but a few of its well-known attributes. Unfortunately, the Sabres got the shaft from within and the team is in a shambles. John Rigas, who makes even "Big Bill" Dwyer look like a boy scout, embezzled millions of dollars and effectively drove the Sabres organization into the ground with his corrupt dealings. The 1920's era bootlegger Dwyer, if you recall, was the same type of desperate, jail-destined character, and eventually entered financial ruin and had his team taken away from him and run by the N.H.L. itself. Well, la-di-da, that's whats happening right now in Buffalo! Deja-vu all over again!!! The Sabres have recently managed to find a taker, local businessman Mark Hamister, but completion of the deal is contingent on a state aid package that is to the tune of around $25 million. Not as hefty of a sum as that of the the Ottawa bailout, but still pretty steep when you consider the fact that the state of New York is operating on a severe budget deficit and that the recent downturn in the economy has crippled upstate economic growth. If the deal falls through, unless potential savior Tom Golisano comes in with a last-minute bid, it is likely that the Sabres would declare bankruptcy and fold.

• Relocation, once a viable option back in the booming 1990's, is now a high-risk venture that few cities are apparently willing to take. Hmmm. Sounds like the 1930s all over again. If Buffalo and Ottawa both fold, it could set the stage for other teams to follow. With the events of September 11th and their devastating effects on the economy, as well as threats of impending war overseas with Iraq and possibly North Korea, the stage is set for another Great Depression. Already the early effects of the recession are being felt at box offices around the league. Attendance is down in almost every major market, as well as at critical mass in the smaller ones. Boston, usually money-in-the-bank when it comes to fan support, has seen half capacity crowds watching a team that is young and extremely competitive. Two more of The N.H.L.'s longest running franchises, Chicago and Montreal, have had recent problems filling the seats despite a quality product upon the ice. Pittsburgh's second N.H.L. franchise, the Penguins, despite being bailed out of bankruptcy a few years back by superstar owner/player Mario Lemieux, is still teetering on the brink. In such a small market as that of Pittsburgh it is hard to fathom the team flourishing after their legendary leader's final retirement, which may come any day. They could end up following the deadly path of their 1920's era predecessor. Nashville, Calgary, Edmonton, Florida, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina, and Anaheim all seem to be headed for the dustbin if things continue the way they have been going for the past few years. You will notice that many of the teams in trouble are the expansion teams of the earlier decade. One of the most successful, in terms of attendace, has been the Minnesota Wild, situated in a region that once had and lost the North Stars, but for the most part the high-shine is starting to wear off the Bettman-era N.H.L.

• Will we see a time in the not-to-distant future where the N.H.L. is forced to cut its losses, contract a few teams, and lower ticket prices as well as player salaries? Not as long as Bob Goodenow and the N.H.L.P.A. have a say in things. The upcoming expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2004 could spell the end of the N.H.L. as we know it. Maybe players will have to do what Eddie Shore did seventy years ago and sign a smaller sized contract in order to play. Who knows how long the current economic recession is going to last, but, if things are going the way they are, it seems that hockey fans are in for some hard knocks. It might come down to what it came down to back in the 1930's-- an extended global depression culminating in a World War; this time on "terror". This time, however, there might not be six North American cities left to house a new "original six" N.H.L. Hopefully, the two opposing sides, seeing the possible consequences of an unending standoff, will each give into concessions.

• Some more teams will go by the wayside, no doubt. Some owners will try to sell off their teams but will have no luck, and bitterly realize that the N.H.L. is one big "airplane scheme" and the time to get out of it was back in the late 90's. Due to what seems inevitable contraction, some N.H.L. players might have to play in the minors rather than sully the N.H.L. with their marginal talents. Teams might have to lower their ticket prices to lure fans back through the turnstiles. Hockey arena nachos might actually someday be cheaper than a pack of cigarettes! The N.H.L. Commisioner's office might have to make those drastic, before mentioned on-ice changes to enhance scoring and offensive flow. If this happens, we might have "old-time hockey" once again. There will be no more expansion. Teams will neither fold nor relocate. League parity will come again to the forefront, as well as a higher-level style of play that features more skating and less plodding, more sniping and less shooting, more passing and less dump-and-chasing, and more playmaking construction and less playmaking obstruction. The superficial marketing premises will probably stay the same, but perhaps they won't be so overblown, or so annoying. That, however, is for the future to decide. There might even come a day when the leasons re-learned after this mess is finally over are re-forgotten, and the league has start the vicious cycle all over again.

• There is always a possibility of that. As Santayana said, "those who do not learn from the past, are condemned to repeat it." And if that comes to pass again and again and again, then hockey, and us hockey fans, will truly have no future-- just one long, endless past.