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Since the inception of "Screen Shots" just over a year ago, we've received a lot of mail. Some folks appreciate the way we organize words; others write to wish us the very best in our endeavors, but only if those endeavors involve never going near a keyboard again.

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In any case, there are times a topic will trigger so much reader correspondence we feel obligated to share it with you and hopefully further the debate in the process. A couple of recent columns did just that, so brace yourself for a glimpse into the fascinating and not-altogether-rational world of some of your fellow hockey fans.

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First, we ran a piece a couple weeks back on the Chicago Blackhawks, surely the toughest sell in the NHL since the ill-fated campaign to repair Alan Eagleson's reputation. The umpteenth hiring of Rent-a-Hawks-GM Bob Pulford was the latest, we argued, in a horizon-long line of stunningly inept management moves made by owner Bill Wirtz. It was impossible to find anyone who disagreed:

I am a longtime Blackhawks fan and have been exposed to the shenanigans in Chicago for too long. I wish somebody in the front office would really listen to the fans and understand that while we know you can't spend money with no rhyme or reason like the Rangers do, we want an owner and management that really cares about the team performance as well as the team economics.

Diehard Hawks fans can string together a ton of great players the front office let go (for whatever reason), including Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek, Bobby Hull, and Phil Esposito, among others. And don't forget how the Hawks fired coach Billy Reay­ on Christmas Eve with a note under his door.

While I am encouraged about the youth of the Blackhawks, I don't believe anything is going to really change until Mr. Wirtz gives up his ownership and the Hawks start fresh. This is the Harold Ballard era of Chicago Blackhawks hockey...

Michael Vogl
Chicago

The sad thing is, Michael, the Hawks' inability to retain their talent doesn't stop with the players or coaches. Firing director of player evaluation Marshall Johnston was the piece de resistance in the franchise's latest mulligan of a season. Here's a guy who played a major role in constructing the current powerhouses that are the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils, and he gets summarily swept out the door simply because he was associated with Smith. Whichever team Johnston winds up with should slip a note of thanks under Wirtz's beloved door. If we're lucky, it might have the same end result as the unfortunate demise of Mr. Reay.

Here's another way the Hawks reward their fans for daring to show an interest in the team:

I'm a former season ticket holder who had seats for a dozen years before I gave them up. (The United Center is not the same as the old Chicago Stadium.) I e-mailed the Hawks this year to ask about purchasing one of their 11-game ticket plans.

I asked for two seats near center ice in the 300 level (roughly worth $40 a ticket), the kind of seats I used to have when I was a season ticket holder. A team representative told me those were only available for full-season ticket plans and offered me $40 tickets on the corners where I would have to look through the protective netting the whole game.

Even when an old season ticket holder wants to come back the Hawks will only take you back on their terms. The Hawks are one generation away from having no fans that care about them. With no home games shown on TV and the team paying for their own radio time this year, in a few more years no one will know or care who they are.

And, most sadly, no one will miss them when they're gone.

Gerry Schlichter
Chicago

Well put, Gerry. The Hawks are selling a product only they seem to appreciate. They make it accessible only in ways they deem appropriate. They'll sell you a seat, but only the bad ones, as the good ones are reserved for fans who aren't coming. Gary Bettman can talk all he wants about players knowing they're overpaid, but until he talks about the owners he must realize aren't fit to run a fantasy league team, it'll be hard to take him seriously.

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Then there was our take on the possibility of relocating teams with poor fan support back to places like Winnipeg and Quebec City. We thought it a sound idea to replace empty seats and warm weather with a built-in fan base and cultures centered around the sport. Dozens of e-mails later, we're even more convinced of the concept.

A note from Kyle Adam was reflective of the positive response most readers offered, if not the most verbose:

Adam,
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GO JETS GO GO JETS GO
GREAT ARTICLE ADAM!!!!!!!!!!!

Er, thanks Kyle. Such unabashed fondness for our work more than made up for William Parenti's e-mail, wherein he took exception to our argument that unrestrained capitalism has hurt the league:

I thought the loss of NHL hockey in Quebec was a tragedy, and I'd love to see the Nordiques return, but before you blame capitalism, let's remember that it's capitalism which provides the multimillion dollar salaries players receive.

It's the lack of capitalism that has rendered the NHL nearly impotent. If true capitalistic principals were currently in place, the league would be thriving.

While William's defense of capitalism would make Alan Greenspan proud, we think he's missing the point. Any successful pro league (read: the NFL and NBA) has at its foundation the intent to create a level playing field for all of its teams. Each league arrives at that end by placing restrictions on the ruthlessly capitalistic tendencies of its owners. That's not capitalism at work, but rather a convoluted socialism model, which is based on the understanding that for each team to be successful, all teams must be competitive. If you want an idea of what unbridled capitalism does to a league, look no further than Major League Baseball, where the Yankees are fitted for World Series rings before the first pitch is thrown in spring training.

But in our haste to get teams back in Canada, we forgot an American city that deserves another chance as well:

Great article on returning the NHL to Winnipeg and Quebec. Just one question ­ what about Hartford? The city is clearly the best alternative of all three towns, as it has a) the money, b) the fan base, c) the largest market.

To not mention Hartford is an insult to the many NHL fans in Hartford like myself who are hoping for a more favorable CBA that will allow the NHL to return to Connecticut. Former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin has said he is interested in returning to run in hockey in Hartford in some capacity and that he could see the NHL returning if there was a more favorable CBA. Do us favor and help us out in Hartford! Steve Gibelli,
Portland, Conn.

Consider yourself helped, Steve. If more than two current teams relocate, Hartford certainly should be in the mix. Goodness knows Whalers fans paid their dues watching those preposterous green uniforms all those years.

E-mail Adam Proteau at aproteau@thehockeynews.com.

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