No more than a 15-minute drive from his hometown of Nepean, Ontario, Jason York stands in the plush dressing room of the Ottawa Senators. The room is immaculate, matching the $200 million Corel Centre in which it sits.

But this being the topsy-turvy world of sports economics, York is talking about the Senators' possible move to a United States locale because Canadian teams are struggling to stay upright on a slippery economic surface.

"Hey I'm a regular citizen from Ottawa," the 29-year-old defenseman said. "I know what pro hockey means to this city. I simply can't imagine a day when this building would be empty and this team would not be here."

The six Canadian franchises that compete in the National Hockey League are facing increasingly drastic financial strains born from the country's weak dollar and heavy government taxing. Rod Bryden, the owner of York's Senators, recently culminated his yearlong public plea for $10 million to $12 million in tax relief with the announcement that he is entertaining offers to relocate and possibly sell his team.

Vancouver, with a mid-December announcement that its franchise is $22 million in the red, has followed suit with a request for government assistance.

The Calgary Flames, in town Thursday night to face the Blackhawks, are losing money. Team President Ron Bremner has lobbied for his country's teams to split a slice of the $171 million annually bet on hockey games through provincial sports lotteries. Montreal's municipal taxes on the Molson Centre totaled $11.2 million last season--more than the 22 U.S. teams combined.

Woe, Canada.

"We don't have to wait to see when Armageddon will occur. It has occurred," Vancouver General Manager Brian Burke, a former league vice president, told reporters. "If the government doesn't step up, I think we'll lose three teams, minimum, in Canada. We'll lose, I think, both our baseball teams in Canada. And I think we'll probably lose both our NBA teams. If that's what the government wants, then I say everyone start the clock."

Canada's government is taking the issue seriously. Mostly as a result of the efforts of Bryden, who has played this situation like a well-timed one-timer from the slot, Industry Minister John Manley is expected to unveil a federal assistance package for the country's NHL teams, possibly as early as Friday.

Other levels of government, mindful that Quebec City and Winnipeg have lost NHL teams to U.S. cities, already have signed off on tax relief. The City of Kanata, Ontario, where the Senators play, has promised a 72 percent property tax cut. The regional municipality of Ottawa-Carleton agreed to slash its property tax bill from $4.6 million to $700,000. The Province of Ontario has a plan to alter its tax structure that would save the Senators another $3 million.

Few politicians want the stain of their city losing a sports team on their watch. Especially a hockey team, since the game is part of the fabric of life in this country, from Moose Jaw to Montreal.

Manley recognizes as much, although he has stuck to a Cabinet mandate to find a national solution for the problem and not buckle to backyard pressure resulting from the Senators playing in the nation's capital.

"In the short term it may feel just as good to play for the Colorado Avalanche as it does to play for the Quebec Nordiques," Manley said. "But the long-term health of the NHL requires that the soul of hockey have teams, that Canadian teams are part of the reality."

Critics, of course, lampoon such pleas for public assistance as an example of the rich getting richer. An incredulous cry resonates: How can government give tax relief to a sport where multimillion dollar athletes are paid by multibillion dollar owners?

But Bryden and his counterparts counter they are merely seeking fairness similar to when international competition threatens other Canadian industries--agriculture, technology, aerospace--and federal handouts follow.

"Hockey needs something that is comparable to the way other industries get treated," Bryden said in an interview. "I can't levitate the Canadian economy."

That economy lags. The Canadian dollar is currently worth 69 cents to the American dollar, near its historic low. That discrepancy becomes even more glaring when Canadian franchises are forced to take in revenue from the Canadian dollar and pay player salaries in U.S. funds.

The NHL has in place a program called the Canadian Assistance Plan fund to address the disparity. Canadian teams that meet requirements, such as a certain number of season-ticket sales, are eligible for compensation. Furthermore if a Canadian team has a free agent who receives an offer from a U.S. team, the Canadian team is allowed to match the offer in Canadian funds and the league will make up the difference.

"That's been helpful to Canadian teams," said Bryden, whose team received $3.7 million under the league plan last season. "What the federal government should do is recognize that it, too, should offset some of the effect of the exchange rate, which benefits other Canadian industries and happens to significantly negatively impact this business."

Bryden's complaint appears to have merit. Ottawa is considered one of the more prudent franchises in hockey. The Senators' payroll ranks 23rd in a 28-team league and is $10 million below the league average. Their attendance ranks in the top 10 and suite sales are in the top five.

But with a tax bill of $34 million last season, Bryden is losing money. He estimates his losses, in the team's eighth season, at $40 million. Vancouver, too, faces stiff property tax bills in the neighborhood of $3 million for General Motors Place.

The Corel Centre was privately financed. Bryden even paid for a highway interchange so fans could drive to the stadium. Bryden has no problem continuing to spend his money to keep the team in Ottawa. He does have a problem spending his private money to pay rising public tax costs.