Davidson's Sale Of Lightning Another Reminder: NHL Is Shooting Wide Again

If only it were so easy to fix the NHL.

If only we had a commando-type commissioner that would gather the owners of the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Atlanta Thrashers, and Phoenix Coyotes together in a room.

"I'm really sorry," the commando commish would say, "but the league is revoking your ownership and holding it in trust until new owners can be found."

"Wha--??," the owners of the above-mentioned clubs would say, but they'd be cut off.

"We're placing your teams in Winnipeg, Hamilton, Kansas City, and in two locations TBA."

Then the commando commish would walk out while the owners picked their jaws up from the carpeted floor.

You read correctly. Put a fresh coat of paint on the Winnipeg Arena, if it's still there. If it's not, construct a new one, forthwith. Throw a few bucks and some reassuring promises to the owners in Toronto and Buffalo and place an NHL franchise in Hamilton, Ontario. Against my earlier wishes, give Kansas City another whirl; maybe the first try wasn't done properly. Then put the other two franchises up for grabs, with the first two NORTHERN cities placing the highest bids getting them.

Bill Davidson, in a surprise move, sold his Tampa Bay Lightning to three men -- one of whom is former NHL coach Doug MacLean. The trip vows to keep the Lightning in Tampa. Curses. Commando commish needs to step in and strip them of ownership until they say "uncle" and retract that statement.

We don't need the NHL in Florida. We don't need it in Georgia, or in Arizona. It's OK in southern California because it's been there for 40 years and somehow it seems to work. We certainly don't need it in the college town of Columbus, or in the country music capital of the world -- Nashville. We need hockey where hockey is appreciated -- not where it's treated like a curious sideshow. And if that doesn't sit well with the sport's enthusiasts in my targeted cities, I'm sorry. You're collateral damage, I'm afraid.

Enough with this approach that tries to prop up the NHL as a sport of the masses in North America. There's nothing wrong with being a niche sport -- as long as you recognize that and market it accordingly. I'd rather see the league put concentrated marketing and grass roots efforts in the smaller, hockey-loving towns than have their work get diluted and swallowed up in big cities that wouldn't know a hockey puck from a day-old doughnut. The NHL is like a dropper full of dye in a swimming pool when it tries to peddle itself in cities like Phoenix and Atlanta and Nashville. It needs to be a basting tube in a shot glass, like it would be in Hamilton and Winnipeg and Saskatoon and even American cities like KC and Seattle and Milwaukee.

I know I've gone on this rant before, and I apologize. But reading of Davidson's sale of the Lightning -- expressly done because of the simplest of reasons: the team annually hemorrhages cash -- illustrated my angst all over again.

The NHL needs to go where it's wanted and needed -- not exist on life support where it deems to be liked.

While we're at it, let's see if we can give the Colorado Avalanche back to Quebec City.