Canada deserves more NHL teams

Hard to argue with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who would like to see more NHL teams in the land of the maple leaf.

Canadian fans watched two franchises relocate to the U.S. -- Quebec to Denver and Winnipeg to Phoenix (now Glendale, Ariz.) -- in the mid 1990s, and BlackBerry mogul Jim Balsillie was thwarted in his attempts at bringing an American franchise to Hamilton, Ontario.

You probably could build a hockey rink in the middle of nowhere in Canada, and the team would sell out every game.

Of course, a fan base has never been the problem in Canada. The Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets did very well, thank you, drawing fans to their respective arenas.

But the problems were two-fold: both cities had antiquated buildings, and the teams didn't have enough corporate support.

That isn't necessarily the case today.

The old Winnipeg Arena, which featured perhaps the best press box view in the league and a large picture of Queen Elizabeth, has been replaced by the 15,000-plus seat MTS Centre, which opened five years ago. The American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose call the place home, and it'd be a fine place for an NHL team.

Over in Quebec City, Mayor Regis Labeaume has hired an engineering firm to conduct a feasibility study regarding a state-of-the-art arena to replace Le Colisee, once home to the Nordiques (and the best hot dogs in the NHL or any other league). The Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League now play in the arena.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, in a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, said "the door has always been open (to Canada)," adding that the league isn't planning at the moment to move any teams.

"But if we relocate or if we expand," Bettman continued, "we are going to consider all of the opportunities in Canada that should be considered, assuming people want to own franchises in any one of the possible markets."

Interestingly, Bettman has met with Mayor Labeaume, he said, "because he asked for a meeting and we were interested in what he had to say."

Said league deputy commissioner Bill Daly: "We are encouraged by the mayor's announcement on the new arena and we believe it will be a very good thing for the city of Quebec. While there are no guarantees that an NHL franchise can return, certainly a new arena will enhance those prospects significantly."

Plenty of U.S. franchises are experiencing problems on and off the ice, including Atlanta, Florida, Nashville, Phoenix and Tampa Bay.

A brand new arena is sitting in Kansas City and there supposedly are plans to build one in Las Vegas, but if any of these troubled teams have to relocate, Canadian cities ought to get first dibs.