Why the NHL’s Sun Belt Struggle Might Be Its Greatest Untapped Opportunity
In what felt like overnight, the league went from having one warm-weather team, in Southern California, to double digits. For the most part, these new clubs lost a ton of games too. Between 1991-92, when the Sharks arrived in the Bay Area, and the 2003-04 season, only the Stars managed to post a top-15 record.
Fittingly, in 1999, Dallas became the first Sun Belt club to win the Stanley Cup. Then, after the Lightning won in 2004 to join the Stars, the league went through a full-season lockout, which led to a hard salary cap and revenue sharing, increasing the chances of success for its fledgling markets. Over time, these markets finally started to win — and win big: heading into next week’s Stanley Cup Final, where the Panthers will be looking to repeat, nine of the NHL’s last 20 winners (and four of the past five) have hailed from the Sun Belt.
Post Comment