Europe's not ripe for NHL conquest, and other notes

An occasional visit, like this one in 2004 by NHL stars who played venerable Swiss SC Bern at Bern Arena make the most sense.

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With NHL expansion now on the frontburner -- Las Vegas, here we come! -- it's no surprise that this weekend's two-game season-opener in England has re-ignited talk of Europe's potential as a future settlement.

May as well talk about slapping a few bionic parts on Bobby Orr and inserting him into the Bruins' lineup alongside Zdeno Chara. Because as much as I like the concept of twice-yearly barnstorming tours to exotic ports of call, the NHL isn't any more ready for a European division than Britney is for a life of mini-van driving, cookie-baking, clothes-wearing motherhood.

And, more important, vice versa.

The series between the Ducks and the Kings, already judged a success by the league despite the near absence of buzz in The Old Country, is an opportunity to slip on the rose-colored glasses, to dream about the Mighty Towers of London hosting the Montreal Canadiens on a Saturday evening (or morning, depending on which side of the Atlantic you call home). But it also tends to obscure a very important point:

We haven't seen any evidence that Europe is all that interested in becoming NHL East. And really, there's no reason for Europe to be interested.

I've been fortunate over the years to see games played in Finland's SM-Liiga, Sweden's Elitserien, Switzerland's Nationalliga A and even Denmark's Oddset Ligaen. These teams are an established part of the local sporting fabric. Some, like the Swiss SC Bern, have been around for more than 75 years and average nearly16,000 fans per game. Others are newer and less successful, but still generate a following that's arguably more fervent than anything seen this side of the pond.

No, it's not the NHL, but the dustbin of history is littered with superior products that were ignored for the familiar and comfortable. It's hard to imagine fans in Prague dumping Sparta and Slavia for a new team comprised mostly of foreigners simply because it bears the NHL seal -- except maybe when Jaromir Jagr or Sidney Crosby came to town.

So give them the once-a-year-special. Make it an event, a publicity-generating spectacle, that gets folks to sign up for a satellite TV package, click on a website, maybe even buy a jersey or two. Or work on a cross-branding deal that sees the SM-Liiga renamed NHL Finland (or Suomi, their choice) and let the marketers have a field day. Just drop this idea of conquering Europe.

If the NHL's seriously thinking about Las Vegas ahead of Southern Ontario, there are enough problems on these shores to deal with already.

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