With the changes to the regular season schedule from the 1991–92 NHL season onwards, the two teams no longer played each other 8 times a year (falling to only 4 times a year by 2016–17), causing the rivalry to cool off. Changes in the playoff format also reduced the opportunities for the two teams to meet in the intensity of a condensed seven games in less than two weeks—in fact, they have not met in a playoff series since 1991. As the NHL expanded in the United States, Canada declined from 7 of 21 league teams in 1990–91 to 6 of 30 by the 2000–01 NHL season. The two Alberta franchises faced financial hardships, since they were among the smallest markets in the league, restricting their ability to pay for higher quality talent and further reducing the competitiveness of the Battle of Alberta games and their ability to reach the playoffs. The situation would not be addressed until June 2005, when the NHL became the last major North American professional sports league to introduce a salary cap, coupled with improved revenue sharing.