Quote:
Originally Posted by Biyaaaah
On ice product has been steadily improving since the 2004/5 lockout and now the league is set to dilute the product again? The last round of expansion led to 10 years of poor product. Unfortunate that the league is only interested in the $$$ and not the fan experience(not that this is a surprise). There should be a number of teams looking to relocate rather than expanding the league.
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No, the trap led to ten years of bad product. The talent pool in the 90s and early 2000s was a high as it has been since 1967. But people often confuse the two because of a myth that it was only teams with no talent that trapped. Problem is, it takes skill to effectively pull off a defensive system. That's why the Devils won three Cups. It is also why the left wing locking Flames of the late 90s went seven years without sniffing the post-season.
The 1990-2000 expansion cycle coincided with a massive increase in talent available to the NHL. Eastern Europe opened up. Scandanavia was heavily mined where it had previously only been lightly picked at. The Miracle on Ice generation grew up and hockey exploded in the US. The population of the countries where the NHL draws talent from easily tops 1 billion. If you want to see expansion causing massive talent dilution, look at the 1967-1979 expansion phase where the NHL went from six teams to 21 with no significant growth in the pool. A Canadian population of just 25 million had to supply virtually that entire growth. As a result, the 1980s was easily the NHL's lowest point in terms of talent pool.