I do agree with you, and maybe I misstated my true feelings. I was a huge basketball fan until I read an SI article comparing Ed Jovanovski to the #1 NBA Draft Pick of the same year (it escapes me now). The said that before even playing a game the NBA kid was getting a 10-year $100 million deal, while Jovanovski would likely get $350/week and spend the next 2 or 3 years in the minors. It really hit home when Modano signed his huge contract and then said that he finds it hard to get up for games knowing that he is making this sort of coin. Now, in his defense, he is the only one (besides Esche) who is playing worth a shit on the US World Cup Team this year. I don't believe that the Rangers players give a shit anymore, as evidence by Kovalev's performance with the Habs this year in the play-offs (former Ranger), because of their huge contracts. With the Rangers being the exception to the rule, I find that most hockey players still play for the love, or would if they made $2-3 million a season versus the retardly high wages they now get.
When you think of the Canadian teams that moved to the US, they are polar opposites. The Jets (not unlike the Sens over the last few years) had poor finances, but huge crowds (the get 15000+ for Moose games). The NHL elite decided that they should be moved to a more marketable area... like the hockey hotbed of Phoenix. Quebec, well, it is Quebec. They stopped supporting the team, and it was tanking. What sickens me is that Columbus, even though I love the city, got a franchise before Hamilton (politics) and/or Saskatoon (who had a bid in to buy St. Louis when they were struggling in the 80's, but was stymied when someone bailed them out). Carolina still draws less than 10,000 a game, while Halifax packs in almost 10,000 (rink capacity limits them) for major junior games. What Bettman does not realize is that the game will sell and market itself well in Canada, and those teams can also market their wares internationally too. A case for the US is Seattle/Portland. When my cousin was with the Thunderbirds, and my other cousin was with the Winterhawks, they were playing in front of 12000+ almost every night. Why can't they get franchises instead of the fringe cities? Because they love the game for the game. Bettman is trying to ghetto'ize the sport just like the NBA. The NBA is more about selling shirts and shoes than it is about great basketball. Hockey is heading the same way.
I hope Bobby Hull can get his WHA2 off of the ground this year. That will show those greedy fucks in the NHL.