[NHL] Season (or lack of) Update

[CatnipOligarchy]

anyone see JR on Sportscenter last night? He thinks the season is over. Dan Patrick basically bashed hockey for most of the interview, calling the sport boring, and saying that most people dont even know that hockey isnt being played right now. This 24 percent rollback sounds like a big step. maybe, just maybe, theres still a shot.

[neowin_hipster]

The NHL players' association offered an immediate 24 percent rollback of salaries Thursday, the centerpiece of a proposal to the league that it hopes will result in an end to the season-long lockout. The sides agreed to meet again on Tuesday.

The moment i read that i thought.... how much are the decline in ticket sales and memorobilia gonna be once this lockout resumes.... This is more like the players still wanting status quo but conceding to the fact that this lockout is hurting sales.

I hope someone in the media picks up on this soon and calls them for it. I'm pretty sure the owners will beat them to it however.

Edited December 10, 2004 by Goalie_CA

[CatnipOligarchy]

roenick also mentioned lowering ticket prices so the average family could go see a game. (Y)

[shmengie]

a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak year. good ol' bettman'll f*ck it up though. i don't think he''ll drop the whole salary cap issue. still, reason to hope...

[Fred Derf Veteran]

The owners are idiots. They've always had the tools to lower salaries but they couldn't control their own pocketbooks.

[Favvi]

The owners are idiots.  They've always had the tools to lower salaries but they couldn't control their own pocketbooks.

585079710[/snapback]

what are these tools you speak of?

[neowin_hipster]

Bankrupted canadian, and now american, teams can surely cut ticket prices... by cutting salaries... thus becoming ****tier by not being able to keep good players.... hence no one goes to watch the games because people who only care about having best/winning teams won't go...sadly that's about as much as many people care about hockey.

Ever since the early 90's million dollar salaries inflated amazingly. That is where hockey screwed up.

[CatnipOligarchy]

The owners are idiots.  They've always had the tools to lower salaries but they couldn't control their own pocketbooks.

585079710[/snapback]

no, thats when the players union will pull the collusion card.

[Hills420]

I blame both side owners and players there both greedy but I back the owners on this one if there is not a cap many teams in Canada will be gone with in 5 years. Plus the player talk about there union and how there total behind it and how they don?t want t lose there union jobs but have no problem going over to Europe and taken other players jobs over there.

585041815[/snapback]

You can't blaim the players. If you walked into work tomorrow and asked your boss for 200K a year and he said YES, are you the bad guy or him? Think about it.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

what are these tools you speak of?

585079745[/snapback]

no, thats when the players union will pull the collusion card.

585080498[/snapback]

The Boston Bruins top my list of the best of and worst of when it comes to controlling player salaries.

The best:

The Boston Bruins are the only club to walk away from salary arbitration rather than accept whatever salary the arbitrator decided. They've done it twice.

The worst:

Signing a third line player (Martin Lapointe) for US$5 million dollars per year on a four year deal (a US$20 million dollar contract). Did I mention he plays on the third line (or at least he should)?

[Hills420]

The Boston Bruins top my list of the best of and worst of when it comes to controlling player salaries.

The best:

The Boston Bruins are the only club to walk away from salary arbitration rather than accept whatever salary the arbitrator decided.  They've done it twice.

The worst:

Signing a third line player (Martin Lapointe) for US$5 million dollars per year on a four year deal (a US$20 million dollar contract).  Did I mention he plays on the third line (or at least he should)?

585080536[/snapback]

I'm sure its political.

[shmengie]

The worst:

Signing a third line player (Martin Lapointe) for US$5 million dollars per year on a four year deal (a US$20 million dollar contract).  Did I mention he plays on the third line (or at least he should)?

585080536[/snapback]

ya know, i've never agreed with the idea that just because a players is on the 3rd line, he's not (as) good. you want examples? marion hossa on the 3rd line for ottowa or john madden, 3rd line for the devils. sometimes the coach does that to spark a line. even though lapointe's gettin' up there, he's still an awesome player. look what luc did for the kings last year. look at the leadership andreychuk, messier and yzerman provide. i think boston is lucky to have a guy like lapointe, and he's got the stanley cup rings to back that up! but, he'll probably be 65 years old by the time this is settled!

anyways, i don't think the league can afford $5mil per year for any players anymore if they wanna stay in business. as much as you and i love hockey, john and jane america watch...gulp...baseball.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

ya know, i've never agreed with the idea that just because a players is on the 3rd line, he's not (as) good. you want examples? marion hossa on the 3rd line for ottowa or john madden, 3rd line for the devils. sometimes the coach does that to spark a line. even though lapointe's gettin' up there, he's still an awesome player. look what luc did for the kings last year. look at the leadership andreychuk, messier and yzerman provide. i think boston is lucky to have a guy like lapointe, and he's got the stanley cup rings to back that up! but, he'll probably be 65 years old by the time this is settled!

anyways, i don't think the league can afford $5mil per year for any players anymore if they wanna stay in business. as much as you and i love hockey, john and jane america watch...gulp...baseball.

585080669[/snapback]

I get your overall point that some coaches like to balance out the top three lines so it is very possible that a "top six" guy could end up on the third line with a particular team. Toronto's Pat Quinn likes to do this, for example.

What I was suggesting was the Martin Lapointe's numbers are more indicitive of a typical third line player. He may very well play on Boston's second line for all know (or can remember at this point). That's why I went out of my way to say that if he isn't on Boston's third line then he should be. US$5 million is waay to much for Martin Lapointe even if he is good at defensive zone draws.

[Hills420]

Anyone read the latest news on the talks today? It seems as if there is no end to this damn lockout...

[neowin_hipster]

The nhl became ****ty when people decided to make it like other "american" pro sports. Now we got nothing but a bunch of egotistical players prancing around complaining about 24% paycuts from their 8 million dollar a year salary. It's not like sundin and the likes don't have a nice nike contract! Hell that was the players own offer..

I've wanted a bloody salary cap for years. Nice and low to keep ticket prices down and teams in canada where they belong! It ****es me off how arizona, georgia, texas, north carolina, and other red/hick states have hockey teams while winnepeg lost theirs and other canadian teams in peril.

Well you know what, if they don't settle by the time next season comes around Disband the NHL!!! the stanley cup was never for pro sports anyways. It was for the top amateur team in canada. It was not Lord Stanley's intention to have money greedy spoiled brats play/pay for a cup using $110 ticket prices as revenue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Cup

I'd personally rather see smaller leagues, like the ones in europe. Canada has a hell of a crop of players that could probably still make a decent million a year. Teams in winnepeg, quebec city, victoria, halifax, vancouver, edmonton, calgary, toronto, ottawa, montreal, st johns, saskatoon, or whoever else will have one!

[greatestfall]

some of the best hockey teams are in the US, and they're not all canadian players.. you can't justify moving it out of the US totally.. i may hate hockey with a passion, but the fact remains..

[neowin_hipster]

So.... I never said I wanted the best teams and best players blah blah blah... it's not about that (though we could still make a hell of a league!). I just wanted good and affordable hockey for the fans and players. Canadians love hockey and we deserve more teams and more affodability. So ya. i can justify it because frankly, i think the fans up here deserve it.

[Ayepecks]

FYI: When LaPointe signed that deal, he was coming off his career year. It's always easier to say what you should and shouldn't do with foresight.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

FYI: When LaPointe signed that deal, he was coming off his career year. It's always easier to say what you should and shouldn't do with foresight.

585112967[/snapback]

The signing was lambasted at the time as I recall clearly.

[KZWings]

I started this thread over 3 months ago. I'll now end it. The season is officially over with. Can they get their act together for a 2005-2006 season?

[Thread closed. Lack of any business sense.]

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I started this thread over 3 months ago.  I'll now end it.  The season is officially over with.  Can they get their act together for a 2005-2006 season?

[Thread closed.  Lack of any business sense.]

585482362[/snapback]

This thread would have stayed buried if you had not resurrected it with a lame attampt to close it.

[KZWings]

This thread would have stayed buried if you had not resurrected it with a lame attampt to close it.

585482383[/snapback]

I don't get it.

Would you rather have me create an entire new thread? I woulda got yelled at about that too.

[scsgoal31]

Or post in the other 2 already running

[KZWings]

Or post in the other 2 already running

585482826[/snapback]

Or they coulda posted in this thread......or they could be combined......this one was created months before..... :rolleyes:

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Or they coulda posted in this thread......or they could be combined......this one was created months before.....    :rolleyes:

585482831[/snapback]

And it should have been left there. We had a new thread for the NHL cancellation.

It would be one thing to ressurrect an old thread to offer something rather than use one of the other two threads for that purpose.

Instead, you brought a thread back to say [Thread closed. Lack of any business sense.]

That was pointless.