A Solution For The NHL's Economic Woes

The time has come for the National Hockey League to take a page from society in order to solve its economic problem.
Psychiatrists and psychologists have been telling us for years its not about winning, its about participating. Educators have stopped giving passing and failing marks and have gone so far as to no longer mark papers in red pen because red is a sign of failure. How is it that the Toronto Maple Leafs wear blue? But thats another story.
So here is my solution for the National Hockey League.

1) All 30 teams make the playoffs every year. Its about participating and making money remember. Each participating team will get a miniature Stanley Cup. As part of the new 30 team playoff format and in the interest of fairness and everyone making money the 30th place finisher opens against the 29th, the 28th against the 27th and so on right down to 2 vs 1.
This will give the sad sack Phoenix Coyotes and opportunity to make the playoffs and really generate some excitement out there in the desert, a real hotbed for hockey.
Imagine first round the Coyotes facing off against the equally inept New York Islanders.
Then say Phoenix gets a win in that series, they would face the winner of 28th vs 27th. Likely Nashville or Atlanta.
Can you see the excitement pounding as Gary Bettman's National American Hockey League rolls on through the playoffs.

2) All series will be best of nine, This is about making money remember. As it stands now the National Hockey League wraps up sometime in early June. This will extend the season into mid July thus earning even more revenue for the NHL.

3) Salaries could be slashed drastically. Remember nobody wins, Its participating so now salaries could be cut back substantially. Say salaries could be somewhere in the range of what the President of the United States makes. If you didn't know thats $400,000 per year. If the most powerful man in the world only makes $400,000 per year why are these guys getting five or six million per year to shoot a puck. Ok lets be fair though. Mr. Obama lives in a nice big white house and has all his expenses paid for. So lets triple the NHL salaries. Each player would make 1.2 million per year. Everyone gets the same so no one has an advantage. Small markets like Edmonton can compete, draft good players and then hang on to them.

4) In the new affordable National Hockey League, ticket prices could be dramatically lowered so that a family of four could actually go to a game and not have to take out a second mortgage on their house. Another plus more Canadian teams could be added even in places like Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hamilton, Halifax and Saskatoon. I know that will have NHL President Gary Bettman running for the Pepto Bismal at the thought of Canadian teams competing but remember Gary, this is now a participation league. And anyhow Bettman could have what he's always wanted. An all American cities division competing against an all Canadian division. That way Bettman's "Americanization" could really show us Canadians.

So there are some new ideas for the NHL Board of Governors to kick around for the June meetings. And in keeping with the all participation theme, I won't even charge for these exciting, bold, dramatic and revolutionary ideas.
These ideas won't catch on with other professional league though. A spokesman for the National Football League and major league baseball says fans in their cities actually care about the game unlike hockey with Phoenix, Tampa Bay, and Nashville where to them ice is something you put in a drink.