Ottawa-based Public Policy Forum President David
Zussman said that federal and provincial governments "should
meet to break the logjam that is jeopardizing" the NHL in
Canada, but he admitted that four months of talks since the
hockey summit in June "have failed to come up with [a]
deal," according to May & Armstrong of the OTTAWA CITIZEN.
Zussman met with each level of government, team owners, the
league and the NHLPA. Zussman, who was hired by Federal
Industry Minister John Manley, is "expected to release" a
report on those talks "within the week." May & Armstrong
write that Manley will "await" Zussman's report "before
deciding whether to call a meeting" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 10/15).
BRYDEN SITS AND WAITS: In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch cites
reports that the Senators "could be put up for sale" in
after league meetings in December without "some kind of tax
relief" (OTTAWA SUN, 10/15). While Senators Chair Rod
Bryden "did not deny" that "lack of government support would
force" him to sell the team, he said the reports of no
government assistance "are inconsistent with indications
received by me from the four levels of government" (Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL, 10/15). In Toronto, Madelaine Drohan, on a
new NHL lottery: "There is something deeply flawed about a
government encouraging young people to gamble in order to
'save' the Canadian clubs in the NHL" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/15).
FANNING THE FLAMES: Flames President & CEO Ron Bremner,
on the NHL's impact throughout Canada: "Hockey is more than
a game to us Canadians. It runs through our veins and our
history, much like democracy, fairness and decency. Yes,
nobody can deny the emotional impact of this game on our
country. But there's more than emotion to this game --
there's lots of economics involved. ... We're not asking for
handouts. All we're asking for is fairness. Treat us the
same as the book publishing industry" (CALGARY SUN, 10/15).
In Denver, Terry Frei writes that "talk is picking up again"
about Canadian franchises possibly relocating and adds, "An
NHL team will be in Portland within two years. And it could
be the Senators or the Canucks" (DENVER POST, 10/15).
ICE CHIPS: In a Sports cover story, USA TODAY's Kevin
Allen reports that shots on goal are up to 6.1 per OT during
the NHL's new 4-on-4 OT format, compared to 3.4 in the same
period last year. Allen: "More importantly, the excitement
level has increased significantly." Canucks GM Brian Burke:
"There is definitely more electricity in the building" (USA
TODAY, 10/15)....The NATIONAL POST's Alan Adams writes that
with new rule changes, the NHL "may not be quite as bad as
feared." Adams: "Through the first 13 days of this season,
goalscoring is up, games are shorter, and penalty minutes
are down" (NATIONAL POST, 10/15).
