Hockey bump?

I'm not convinced the NHL will get a huge lift from the Olympic hockey. The gold medal game between Canada and the US was great. It got a huge rating. But as the regular season for the NHL resumes Monday night, we're not going to be watching All-Star caliber players anymore. The good teams have two lines of very good players, but the vast majority of the teams struggle to put one very good line on the ice. You try to watch Carolina and Nashville play and then convince me that is as good as the Olympics.

Shrink the NHL, get rid of Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Phoenix and Dallas and move some teams back to Canada. At least our neighbors to the north appreciate hockey. With fewer teams the quality players will rise to the top and the energy from the fans in Canada will help generate some passion.

The Olympics were very good, and I'm anxious for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the NHL will quickly return to the after-thought sport that it currently is.