The decline of the American dollar has led to a trade imbalance north of the border, on the rinks of the National Hockey League.

Over the past two decades, the Canadian teams in the N.H.L. were considered poor cousins of their colleagues in the United States. Some floundered financially, others packed up and moved south. The league even created the Canadian Assistance Program to subsidize the country’s struggling teams.

But the landscape in Canada has changed drastically, because of a rise of more than 50 percent in the Canadian dollar since 2002. A stronger currency has made it cheaper for the six Canadian teams to pay their players in United States dollars and to reduce debts. It has also inflated the revenue of the six Canadian franchises and, in turn, the league’s revenue. That has hurt some of the weaker teams in the United States by pushing up the minimum amount teams must spend on payroll.

“The Canadian teams went from being very weak to the crown jewel in a short period,” said Rob Tilliss, the founder of Inner Circle Sports, which advises owners and teams. “There are cycles, of course, but there’s enough interest and enthusiasm in Canada that this isn’t going to reverse” anytime soon.