NHL season in jeopardy?

[Ernest Jones]

Lots of bluster coming from the Buttman. I would have to think that the owners would be suicidal to risk another season to a lock-out. Not good for growing the game.

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/news/cba-talks-turn-sour

[GaijinGolfer]

Its not just the owners.  The players are being greedy too and not wanting to give anything up.  IMO, the owners have some legit gripes.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  A lockout would be bad for the game but honestly, if there is no NHL season I will just watch more minor league and college hockey.  Theres more to hockey than just the NHL.

[x129]

Given how much the players gave up last time, I can see a lot of resistance to giving up much.  I can't imagine any union going along with a 20% reduction in pay without a ton fighting.

The just need to get back to the free market (in all sports). No salary caps and (this is just as important) let teams more where ever they want. if NYC ends up with 6 baseball teams, so be it. If toronto has 3 hockey teams good for them.

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Its not just the owners.  The players are being greedy too and not wanting to give anything up.  IMO, the owners have some legit gripes.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  A lockout would be bad for the game but honestly, if there is no NHL season I will just watch more minor league and college hockey.  Theres more to hockey than just the NHL.

[GaijinGolfer]

Considering how many teams are struggling financially, Id say its time for the players to give more up.  Im not a fan of the free market idea because the cost of the league is going to spiral out of control and it will make it almost impossible for the smaller market teams to be competitive.  Having 6 NYC teams and 3 Toronto teams would not be good for the league.

[laconic517]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Considering how many teams are struggling financially, Id say its time for the players to give more up.  Im not a fan of the free market idea because the cost of the league is going to spiral out of control and it will make it almost impossible for the smaller market teams to be competitive.  Having 6 NYC teams and 3 Toronto teams would not be good for the league.

Why not?

The Salary cap can cripple a team far longer than not willing to spend the money.  A lot of places, its not that they cant necessarily afford it, its that they dont want to.  Look at Kansas City in baseball.........they spend jack shit but Kansas City is a big market......theres no excuse.  Same goes for Cleveland.  Look at the Marlins, they finally started to spend this year!

The salary cap is brutal and BS to fans IMO.  The NBA has a cap, do you think it matters?  Look where everyone is going to play (major markets to get shoe deal money)  If anything not having a cap would help since smalelr markets could overpay to offset some of the shoe deal money.  Look at the Knicks who have been bad for over a decade.

If you cant afford to pay/attract players you shouldnt be able to compete IMO.  Its part of the cost of running a team.  Contrary to what everyone thinks, not everyone will spend 1 billion on players even if they can.  Even the Yankees are starting to trim some salary now.

[x129]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Considering how many teams are struggling financially, Id say its time for the players to give more up.  Im not a fan of the free market idea because the cost of the league is going to spiral out of control and it will make it almost impossible for the smaller market teams to be competitive.  Having 6 NYC teams and 3 Toronto teams would not be good for the league.

[CDNinATL]

First off, I'm a HUGE hockey fan. I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (the Oilers) but moved to Atlanta back in 2000 (I'm 45 now). When I moved to the US, between the state of the Canadian dollar and no cap being in place, there were 3 teams in Canada that could have easily been moved after 2 had already left Canada. Then the lockout of 2004/2005 hit. I was firmly in the owners corner during that lost season. At the time, payroll for the players compared to income was around 77%. Seriously WAY too high. And the last thing I wanted to see was my Edmonton Oilers move.

Now we're down to 57%. The NHL while saying 46%, will take around the 50/50 mark. And when you look at the NFL, NBA and even MLB, they're all around that mark.

That said, I agree with the players should not be taking a pay cut. They gave back a lot after loosing the season back in 2004/2005. And I agree with increased revenue sharing. But the cap is what keeps teams like the Rangers and the Leafs don't spend huge amounts trying to buy a team. It's what allowed more parity in the league.

What I think what will end up happening, is sliding scale over the next few years decreasing the players share while not hitting them with a pay cut. The only question is if they will have an agreement before September 15 when the owners WILL lock out the players. There is no way will the league let Donald Feur take the NHLPA into a strike as playoffs are coming up. He did that with the MLB and the owners will never let him that kind of power.

[agoodmanmbk]

WHO CARES!!! the nhl will always be compared to the soccers and the tennis games of the world

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by agoodmanmbk

WHO CARES!!! the nhl will always be compared to the soccers and the tennis games of the world

Back under your bridge, troll.

[newtogolf]

The problem with the NHL is they can't gain enough traction in the United States to get those big broadcast television deals MLB, NBA and NFL have.  The total revenue the NHL has to split is lower but the current salary caps per team are actually higher than the NBA (likely to cover the larger roster size).

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

The problem with the NHL is they can't gain enough traction in the United States to get those big broadcast television deals MLB, NBA and NFL have.  The total revenue the NHL has to split is lower but the current salary caps per team are actually higher than the NBA (likely to cover the larger roster size).

Very true.  The NFL is a juggernaut and it doesnt help that hockey starts during the heart of the NFL season, World Series and that baseball is just starting during the Stanley Cup Finals.  Hockey had been growing in recent years and had been bringing in record revenue.