Sidney Crosby Defeated by the Almighty Canadian Dollar

When you think about influential figures in Canadian sports and the world of hockey, who comes to mind? Gary Bettman? Brendan Shanahan? Sean Avery? Chris Chelios? Sidney Crosby?

While all five of those men have had quite an impact on our favorite sport, it seems that none of them is considered the most powerful force in Canadian sports, bowing down to the almighty Canadian dollar on The Globe and Mail's Power Players of 2007 list.

While Sidney Crosby has single-handedly forced the NHL to change its unbalanced scheduled, convinced many kids to buy the numerous products he endorses, sold a plethora of NHL merchandise, and shell-shocked many an NHL goalie, the one thing he cannot do is effect the economy of an entire country.

The impact of the loonie, which hit par this year and exceeded the value of the American greenback before falling back, was profound.

For professional clubs, which earn Canadian money but pay out in U.S. salaries, it produced millions in additional revenue. It helped clubs pay off debt. It turned the Southern Ontario market ripe for NHL relocation. And it made the pursuit of a NFL franchise for Toronto even more attractive.

For years, Canadian teams had to suffer with a very weak dollar, and it made it hard for them to compete with their American counterparts for free agent signings. The Oilers could not be on 'par' with an American club if they were both offering $6mil to some young man. Now, the tide has turned, and Canadian clubs are raking it in.

Other NHL people on the list: Gary Bettman at #5, Chris Chelios at #8, George Gillett Jr. at #10, Jim Balsillie (wanna-be owner) at #11, Colin Campbell at #15, and Eugene Melnyk at #21.