What's Wrong with Assisting the Welfare Teams?

This post is going to be brutally honest but it needs to be said....

Welfare teams as I like to refer to those teams that cannot economically survive without outside assistance. They exist. Bettman coddles them. (I love hockey with every cell in my body, but one of my major peeves about Gary Bettman's NHL is how he assists the welfare teams.) The economically self-sufficient teams support them. But should they exist?

No. While the NHL is a sport it's also a business. And businesses cannot thrive if they continually pour money into failing ventures. It's just bad business sense.

I'm in no way disrespecting the players or their loyal fans. And perhaps they don't want it viewed this way but it has to be.

The league cannot survive the burden of supporting teams that are economically failing without risking the welfare of the league itself.

This leaves you with three options.

1. Move the teams to places where they will economically thrive and prosper. And, yes, in all likelihood this means Canada. (Deal with it.)

2. Revoke the franchises and contract the league. (Enough said there.)

3. Find a rapid solution to the financial problems and implement it immediately.

Do I think teams like Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Phoenix should have been or should be bailed out? No. Not at the expense of the league or to pro sport itself.

Sacrificing the whole for one franchise to exist in an economically hostile environment isn't just poor business sense, it's just plain stupid.

(Why do we keep going down this same road?)