Whoa, Canada!

I'm still amazed that a team with the strong tradition of the Canadians would trade Mark Recchi to Philadelphia. At the same time, I'm not surprised that economics were a big part of that trade and the Theo Fleury trade from Calgary to Colorado, because economics are a huge factor in how Canadian teams will operate in the coming seasons--to the point where we might see another team or two leave Canada.

A big part of this crisis is the exchange rate--the Canadian dollar was worth 66 cents American as of last Friday. There's much discussion in Canada about whether the government should intervene. But unless there's some sort of resolution, the ability of all six Canadian teams to compete is in doubt.

The Senators, a young team with a small payroll, are having great success. They are first in the Eastern Conference. And yet, management wonders if it can continue in Ottawa because the franchise continues to lose money.

The Maple Leafs are the strongest of the six Canadian teams financially, and even they have concerns--they just moved into a new building yet their ticket prices are steep. The Senators also are in a new building, but ownership is on record as saying the team might not be able to stay in Ottawa.

Will Canadian teams be forced to operate at minimum budgets, and in effect be little more than farm teams for their American counterparts? Will they be forced to leave Canada for better deals in the U.S.? For the sake of hockey, I hope not.

The Senators, Leafs, Oilers and Flames are doing a good job of competing. But we don't see the hope at this point of a Canadian team being a perennial powerhouse.

Edmonton G.M. Glen Sather has done a great job with limited resources in Edmonton. But after last season, the Oilers lost Curtis Joseph to free agency, and Sather had to scramble again to find a No. 1 goalie.

The Oilers' dynasty of the '80s was broken up because the team could not afford to retain players such as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. That's a shame, because they could have won more than five Stanley Cups in seven years had they not scattered players. It has become increasingly more difficult to put a team in place, much less keep it together.

That's not to say small-revenue American teams don't have problems as well. Salaries continue to rise, arbitration increases salaries and free agency puts veteran stars out of reach for more than half the teams. This problem grows and grows.

More than any rules change in the coming seasons, the problems facing Canadian teams must be addressed by the NHL soon.

Former NHL coach Mike Keenan is in his second season as an exclusive analyst for The Sporting News. E-mail him at keenan@sportingnews.com and look for his weekly e-mail bag at sportingnews.com.

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