Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
A team's relationship with its customers - the season ticket holders - is its own business. If their fans are patient enough for a rebuild, then why should other teams care? If they're not, then ownership will find out in a hurry. It's worth keeping in mind that sustained mediocrity can turns fans off more than a team that sucks but offers reasons for optimism in the future. Fans around here, for instance, seem a lot happier than they were three years ago.
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It is its own business, yes.
But the product delivered by the other teams also affects that relationship.
Individual teams can do nothing to motivate other teams to ice a competitive product. So the league does it for them.
In another example, watching Minnesota can be painful (in past years anyway). I welcome rules changes that motivate teams like Minnesota to play a more entertaining brand of hockey.