IT’S NOT LIKE THESE STORIES ARE TAKING PLACE IN ISOLATION.

in play here, one that should be troubling to hockey fans in this country. Maybe it reflects a level of paranoia, but look at it this way.

It’s not like these stories are taking place in isolation.

The business of the game has been moving a certain way for a while, but it took a major turn earlier this month with the announcement of the Seattle group’s bid to bring the NHL to the Emerald City. Given the numbers involved — a $600-million-plus reno of KeyArena, $650 million for the franchise — the plan seems audacious and more than a little risky. But when you look at the names involved — Rangers owner Jim Dolan, movie mogul Jerry Bruckheimer, billionaire David Bonderman, former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, music mogul Irving Azoff — the Seattle group figures to have the resources to meet any challenge.

This also seems to be the NHL’s new model and it tilts very much to the states. There are more billionaires south of the border. They seem more inclined to invest in new facilities for new ventures and government is more inclined to help them. That’s helped create an environment where Las Vegas now has a franchise, where Seattle may land one, where other American cities have expressed interest in the NHL.

On the other hand, Quebec City and a second franchise in Toronto are fading into the distance, the Senators are suddenly in trouble unless a new rink is built downtown and it’s the same story in Calgary, where the Flames are embroiled in a dispute with city government over a new facility. According to ESPN, the Flames rank in the top 10 in NHL attendance at 18,646 per game and sit mid-table in revenues. But they insist they aren’t viable in the long term at the Saddledome.

That just leaves one option and both the Flames and Senators haven’t been shy about raising the threat of relocation. In Melnyk’s case, the timing of that threat was interesting. Historically, the NHL would rather announce it’s moving to Saskatoon than upstage one of its cherished outdoor thingies unless, of course, it approved the message.

Was that the case here? Sorry, don’t believe in coincidences.

On some level, this hearkens back to those heady days of the mid-’90s when Winnipeg and Quebec City lost their franchises and Edmonton appeared to be moving to, ta da, Houston every other week. As a result, the Canadian teams petitioned the feds for tax breaks and other goodies to help them survive.

Remember how popular that was?

Some 20 years later, the salary cap, the rich TV contract from Sportsnet and a couple of other things have changed the economics of the league. But have they changed it that much?

For everything that’s happened over three lockouts, it seems the league is back in a familiar place and right now that place isn’t comfortable for some of the Canadian teams.