The NHL said that it "will consider allowing Canadian
teams to receive a cut of revenue from sports betting" to
improve their financial situations, according to Michael
Grange of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. NHL VP/PR Frank Brown
said that the league is "totally committed to any measure
... to secure the long-term health" of Canadian franchises,
and a lottery revenue scheme "would be considered if it were
presented." But, Brown added, "Bear in mind that we're not
comfortable generally with gambling." Grange writes that
the provincial governments, which administer Canada's five
regional lottery corporations, would have to recommend any
plan "that would call for the redirection of sports lottery
revenue." The lotteries "gain a significant portion of
revenue" from sports-betting, with the NHL being "the most
popular betting property" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/29).
BAD OMENS: In Ottawa, Jack Aubry writes that the
majority of Dennis Mills' "Sport in Canada 69" subcommittee
recommendations "have been deferred or flatly rejected" by
the Liberal government, including a C$64.3M "annual tax
credit" for parents with children in sports. Opposing MPs
said that by "rejecting" amateur funds, the government "will
be hard-pressed to provide any financial breaks" for NHL
teams (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 4/29). In Toronto, Richard Mackie
writes that the "beleaguered" Senators "cannot expect any
help" from the Ontario budget to be released Tuesday.
Finance Minister Ernie Eves: "I think that the NHL has to be
prepared to demonstrate that it is concerned about its
problem ... before it starts knocking on the doors of
governments" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/29).
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: The TORONTO SUN today features a 16-
page special report on the state of pro hockey in Canada
titled, "A Matter Of Time: Are Canadian NHL Teams Facing
Extinction?" Sun Media President & CEO Paul Godfrey, on the
supplement: "There's nothing that gets the Canadian public
more excited than Canadian hockey. ... We may have sat back
too long as it is" (TORONTO SUN, 4/29). Meanwhile, a
TORONTO STAR editorial questions why Industry Minister John
Manley agreed to consider financial assistance for Canadian
teams when the NHL "could protect small-market franchises if
it wanted to." Any NHL team that left Canada would be "a
loss, certainly, but no match for the daily tragedies the
government tolerates" (TORONTO STAR, 4/29). In Toronto,
Stephen Brunt writes that until the league and NHLPA are
"willing to forgo dollars in order to underwrite" Canadian
teams, "the sport will simply keep growing until it reaches
its market-determined limit." Brunt: "Let's see just how
willing the NHL and the players are to share the pain with
the people of Canada. Don't hold your breath" (GLOBE &
MAIL, 4/29). In Toronto, Eric Reguly calls Canadian NHL
owners request for assistance "nothing more than emotional
blackmail. ... Don't shed a tear for [Senators' Rod] Bryden.
No one ordered him to buy a hockey team and put it in a city
that's too small to support one" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/29).
