A little noted discussion in the March 3 edition of The Hockey News should be a wake-up call for hockey fans. Something I have been talking about for quite a few years now may be coming to fruition. Look, I’m no monetary expert, a quick look at my checkbook will tell you that, but I do know that things do go in cycles, and the value of the Canadian dollar is doing something that a lot of people more intelligent than me have expected for quite awhile. After peaking at 1.08 in late 2007, the overall trend in the value of the Canadian Dollar vs. the US dollar has been in decline, falling to as low as .88 cents in the past month.
So Paul… I hear you ask… what the hell does that have to do with the NHL? Well my friends… a lot.
NHL revenues have soared over the past few years, thanks to good marketing and a better product on the ice, but the great and mostly unsaid reason for revenues jumping has been the strength of the Canadian Dollar. There is actually a fairly cogent analysis of this in the March 3rd edition of The Hockey News. It’s a good read and explains the impacts well.
If the Canadian Dollar continues its drop, it could have a significant impact on league revenue and the salary cap. The impact could be huge on Canadian teams, it’s not too far back to remember teams struggling to keep up with the Canadian Dollar being as low as .63 vs. US as recently as 2001. That situation caused all kinds of havoc for teams in Canada not named Toronto or Montreal. It was a main reason behind Gary Bettman’s Canadian Assistance Plan in the 90’s. a plan that saved a couple of Canadian teams.
Having the Canadian Dollar within a few cents of par is probably the best thing for the league and both countries’ economies. It will behoove some markets struggling to sell tickets to up their game in order to protect themselves from this potential hit to revenues.
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Random Notes
- I appreciate a team sticking up for one of its players, but the whining coming out of the Washington locker room about the Rich Clune / Patrick Wey fight is over the top. Wey asked for it, he got it… and BTW, Rich Clune chose not to fight a second time because it was at a time that would’ve be advantageous to the Caps. Smart move from the Clunatic Fringe…
- This does not look like a good year for Canadian franchises, for the first time since 1973 it looks like only one Canadian team will make the playoffs, unless something crazy happens.
- Wow, what a comeback in Anaheim last night. The Ducks are for real and the Jets… well… the Jets remain the Jets.
- Mark your calendar for Saturday May 3rd for Petey’s 5K Face-Off, the annual run/walk to support the Peterson for Parkinsons Foundation. It was a blast to do it last year so make sure to join the SlapShot Radio team for this fun event. More information is available at the PFP Website.
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