Don Cherry Correct For Once

The rant from Don Cherry at last nights hockey game between Toronto and Montreal was right on .He shared the view of many hockey fans in Canada and Ontario in particular when he showed the makeup of the Toronto team. Of 23 players this game not one was from Ontario. Ontario produces the major number of hockey players for all teams in the NHL. Every team in the NHL has players from Ontario and not one is playing for Toronto.

Mr Burke is an American general manager and seems to pick players from American universities. This may be OK but for Ontario's Team the Maple Leafs to be shut out in this department seems a little strange. Not one boy from Ontario made the grade. There was a time not long ago when the team was made up of Canadian boys and the majority were from Ontario.

I personally feel the league is better because of the infusion of players from the whole world but I would like to see some balance. In the NHL some teams have 8 and even more players from the GTA and Northern Ontario but the only players who made the Leafs in training camp are playing in the American League. This in spite of the fact that the team is fighting for a spot in the post season.

Maybe , just maybe the NHL is being taken over by the businessmen from America who see the rich potential for profits . The commissioner is an American and militates against Canadian teams and in actual fact the Canadian Teams help support the teams in America who are unable to support themselves. We no longer have a hockey league which is Canadian and we may as well  get used to the fact that the NHL is big business and less a sport representing the hopes and wishes of cities who wanted the Cup for bragging rights.