Check out this article: My Plan To Save Hockey
When I first saw the article I was confused by the title and had no idea why the NHL would ever need or want to resemble pro soccer in England. But after reading the article, the guy has a point. In short, he believes we need to cut down the number of teams in the NHL, which is a valid point, but how do you do that without looking like the NHL is holding on for dear life? And how do you do that without infuriating the dwindling group of pro hockey fans still tuning in?
Well, you do what English soccer does and after every season bump teams to lower divisions if they don't perform or to the higher divisions if they do. The article suggests that in the first two seasons you bump five teams down to a lower division each year, which leaves you with the top 20 teams in the league. In the seasons following, you bring the best three teams up from the lower division and bump the three worst teams down. It could be a crazy idea, but it's worth reading and it might just save the NHL.
I'm a Philadelphia Flyers fan and know that if each game played a role in determining the status of my team in the following year, I might pay a little more attention to not only my team, but the other teams in the league too.
