from Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun,

Save for a couple of innovative ideas like the Winter Classic – which unfortunately is being milked to death – the NHL is probably the least cutting-edge professional league in the world: Same ice size for 100 years. The same boring TV angles that slow the game down. Dumb all-star game formats. Tight, boring checking systems.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the game and grew up following the NHL as close as any other kid in the neighbourhood, but I don’t buy the myth that the NHL is going through some kind of Renaissance and people around the world are starting to embrace the game like they’ve embraced basketball in places like China and the Philippines.

The big talk in the NHL these days is expansion. The NHL seems bound and determined to expand by at least two more teams, further diluting and already diluted product - all for the sake of greedy owners getting a one-time expansion fee. Never mind that adding two new teams will likely hurt the game long-term when fans realize that the guys on their favourite team playing on the third and fourth lines should be in the AHL. And to expand to a place like Las Vegas is just stupid and short-sighted.

Instead of expanding, why not invite some of the already established and healthy franchises in the Swedish, Swiss, Czech or German leagues to join the NHL?

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