Wow. Nice one. That was a serious smackdown.
BTW, even with selling out nearly every single game, the Caps still operated at a loss this year (and I don't have facts in front of me but I'd venture to say many team that sell loads of tickets are not in the black since all TV $$ is shared). All their season tickets are sold out for next year, and they don't expect to turn a profit then, either.
So unless you want to see the NHL go belly up sometime in the future all you elitests out there (i'm talking to you thousand made up loves) better be grateful for every new fan that gets turned on to hockey. Because the real road to prosperity in the NHL lies in a juicy TV contract, which they won't get if hockey is a "niche" sport.