Decius wrote:

] There is no easy answer to this problem for the NHL. It will
] take a generation to fix these numbers, and they will have to
] make salary cuts in the mean time in order to handle it. They
] need to promote street hockey and youth hockey leagues.

you're correct about the cultural significance of hockey in the US. There is none. But the NHL has been aggressive in it's targetting of youth. In fact, the article points out that only 35% of the NHL's audience is over 12. That makes the other 65% under 12.

Youth hockey has exploded all over the country. USA hockey has over 500,000 registered players, and the fastest growing segment is girls and women (with a 600% increase in the last 5 years). Hockey as a whole, is growing faster than even NASCAR in terms of audience.

But the article does show the growing pains, namely financial. You can't pay your players $1.6B when you're total revenue stream is only $2B.

RE: NHL at the Brink