NHL CBA - Lockout. UPDATE(1/11) The Season's Back On! Let Fantasy Hockey Begin

[BDL]

Hi all:

Some of you may have followed my Boston Bruins thread and know how passionate a B's and NHL fan I am. Here we are, less than 2 weeks to the lockout deadline (Sept 15th) and all we hear is buzz words like "equitable" and "profitability". But today a new word fills up the headlines. "STALLED"!

So I'm starting this thread so anyone that wants to can voice their concerns and/or anger. Whether you think the players are at fault or the owners, let it fly...

I'll start.

Having lived through the last lockout under the waterfall of lies and false promises from Jeremy Jacobs, I lay the whole problem at the owners' doorstep. In back to back seasons they have seen their ratings and profits go up. Even in non-traditional hockey markets like Nashville. Also the return of the Jets to Winnipeg...

They couldn't WAIT to pull out the master locks because the beating they handed the players in the last lockout.

Look... Take your Winter Classic and Heritage Classic money... Bask in the fact that for the past 3 yrs, that the NHL Playoffs have been usurping NBA Playoffs ratings-wise...

AND GET THE DEAL DONE! Before soccer, NASCAR and any other sport try to take your place as a top 4 sport and attendance at the arenas is less than minor league baseball game being played in England.

There's my rant. Let's hear yours.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Claiming my spot!!

I don't know what to think of the lockout.

Heck, we are cutting cable this week, so I can't even think past finding a place to view the games online.

 

[declansdad]

I don't think this will be a long lockout if it happens but I am all in favour of firing Gary Bettman. He hasn't wasted much time letting everyone know how well the players did under the last CBA with average salaries going from about 1.5 million to 2.5. What he hasn't told people is that his salary has gone from 2 mill to 8 mill per year.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Why doesn't hockey just admit they have several clubs that aren't viable and either move or contract them? They aren't viable now. They won't be viable after another concession by the players. And they certainly won't be viable with a long lock out. All lock out after lock out will serve to do is alienate the casual observers that hockey desperately would like to turn into fans. And it's the very teams that need to do this the most that will be hurt the most by a lock out. Ironically, it's those same teams that are leading the charge for a lock out.

 

[minniebeth]

I admit I'm not a hockey fan, but we have free tickets to a pre-season game. I'll be really sad if we can't use them because honestly, we can't afford to take our whole family to a hockey game "just because".

Cannot_Wait_4Disney, I'm thinking the Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the teams that you are talking about~

I hope it all works out for all of you who are true fans!

 

[minniecarousel]

I say the only good thing about football season starting is that hockey isn't far behind. huh, maybe not this year!

Did they not learn anything in the last cancelled season? I think it's crazy that the individual teams did as well as they did after that disastrous deal. If they think, that in this economy, that we will be as forgiving - they are going to be surprised.

It sounds to me like the owners are just plain greedy SOBs.

But I did not know that Bettman's salary was that high! yikes! He certainly isn't earning his keep. I wonder what it would take to fire him?

 

[jcc0621]

I put the blame on the players. They get 57% of the revenue share. Excuse me, in what world do these guys live in that the workers get more profit than the owner of a company!

http://proicehockey.about.com/od/nhlnewsscoresstats/a/Nhl-Lockout-In-2012-A-Look-At-The-Issues.htm

And I agree withe the poster that said the smaller franchises need to fold or move.

 

[kimblebee]

We just got our Jets back! I want hockey!

I do think concessions need to be made on both sides but neither side wants to 'blink' first.

 

[Geoff_M]

And I agree withe the poster that said the smaller franchises need to fold or move.

I generally agree that the player's union needs to give a little, though some of the problems (like the mega $$$ decade-plus long contracts were the owners' own making). I've read that last season only 11 of the 30 NHL teams were "in the black" financially. It's also not just the 'Yotes and Nashville small-market teams that are in trouble. NJ is another team that's circling the financial porcelain... Which is pretty bad given that they were a 2012 SC Finalist.

But if a lockout happens.... A pox on both of their houses (owners and players)!

 

[declansdad]

I agree that both sides need to take the blame on this one. And what is with the owners signing all these long-term deals lately? These deals have never worked out in the past so why do they think they are a good idea now. Remember Rick Dipietro??

 

[BDL]

Personally, I would LOVE contraction. Minimum of 2 teams need to go. Which 2...? That's open to debate.

I put the blame on the players. They get 57% of the revenue share. Excuse me, in what world do these guys live in that the workers get more profit than the owner of a company!


And I agree withe the poster that said the smaller franchises need to fold or move.

JCC... You can't look at this as labor vs. management/ownership. It's a little more coplicated. Admittedly, this comes from a guy who is not in business or finance and had only taken cores of those studies to get my Psych/Soc degree. But here's my interpretation.

In most structures, you have management/ownership hire labor to produce a product and a majority of the return is put back into production of the product (either to make more or better quality).

In this case, labor and product are the same thing. And literally, without labor, there is NO product. A product that is just starting to get its legs under it again.

That is why I have no problem with the 57%. Ownership, should've sat back and enjoyed the profits. Renewed the CBA for 5-10 yrs. Then, if they wanted a lock-out, the last lock-out and all the damage that it did to the NHL wouldn't be as fresh in everyone's minds like it is now.

 

[FireDancer]

I am not a hockey fan at all but follow professional sports. I think the league needs to contract. If a team can't make money in a market that market doesn't need a team.

The worst thing any pro league can do is strike or lock players out but this is especially true of one that is not all that big in many of their own markets in this country let alone in areas with no teams. It just seems pathetic when the millionaires and billionaires have to battle it out in the media.

I have no idea what markets make or lose money but there really should be less teams. From the outside looking in I don't see hockey as all that big outside of the big hockey markets (NYC, Detroit, Phily, Boston, and Canada). Someone mentioned it losing it's spot as one of the big 4 and I think it already has. You have pro and college football, baseball, basketball as what I would consider the big 4 and if you combine pro and college football into one sport I personally think Nascar has already moved in as the next biggest sport in most of the country (and I hate Nascar so it isn't my personal preference).

I think I know literally one person who is a big hockey fan and even they would say it is their forth favorite sport behind football, baseball, and Nascar.

 

[minniecarousel]

You wouldn't think that San Jose would be a viable market, but they generally sell out all their games. Maybe we have a lot of "transplants" in the Bay Area which would account for the major interest in hockey. Few people around here even remember the team that was in Oakland (The California Golden Seals) in the late '60's to the mid '70's. We lived without hockey for around 15 years until the Sharks arrived. They draw better than the NBA team in Oakland.

 

[jcc0621]

NJ is another team that's circling the financial porcelain... Which is pretty bad given that they were a 2012 SC Finalist.

NJ's biggest problem is the Rangers. Most of the fans there are Rangers fans 1st. Not all, there are alot of hard core NJ fans, but many that are RAngers fans who follow the Devils if the Rangers aren't sdoing well.

But if a lockout happens.... A pox on both of their houses (owners and players)!

Agreed

my Psych/Soc degree.

Sorry...I read this really quick and had to back to re-read. My brain read Psycho degree....

CBA for 5-10 yrs.

Unfortunately this will never happen becasue both sides are greedy

They draw better than the NBA team in Oakland.

There's an NBA team in Oakland

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I have two school of thought.

On the minus side:
neither side will give an inch, so therewill be a lock out.

On the plus side:
neither side will want to lose the Winter Classic or the All Star Game so I think it will be over fairly quickly.

 

[design_mom]

Hockey is our family's favorite sport. We were fans before we had a team (Columbus, Ohio).

The last lock-out was very bad for our team. When the BlueJackets started playing in 2000, there were very few people in Columbus who knew *anything* about hockey. By the lockout in 2004, fans were starting to become more educated... but then there was a lockout and some of the hype died. The lockout, combined with our team's poor performance, has led to declining attendance, etc. I still think that if they could put a *decent* team together, the city could/would support it... but our team has not been competitive in years. Sigh.

I really really hope there's not another lockout. Columbus is supposed to have the All-Star game this year. And if that fails, it'll be another nail in the coffin.

Hockey, in general, has gained a lot of traction since our team was founded. There are lots of youth players and almost all the high schools now have teams. (When I was growing up in this area, I only knew one high school that had a varsity team. They traveled to Cleveland to play.)

 

[SharonZ]

I think both sides need to recognize the damage that another lockout will do to the sport of hockey, in general. And, I've already paid an arm and a leg for this seasons tickets - they better play!!

 

[CamColt]

I think both sides need to recognize the damage that another lockout will do to the sport of hockey, in general....

Well said!

I really thought there was hope last week, until the players gave up at Friday's meeting.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

My son and husband are die hard Blues fans...with season tickets, jersey's etc. If there isn't a hockey season, I need to find another place to live this winter as there will be no joy in this household...just grumpy hockey fans who will be impossible to live with!

 

[bellanotte10]

I think both sides need to recognize the damage that another lockout will do to the sport of hockey, in general. And, I've already paid an arm and a leg for this seasons tickets - they better play!!

My thoughts exactly. The sport is just becoming huge. Why ruin it by risking new fans.

 

[declansdad]

Here is a bit of interesting news.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/quebec-labour-board-stop-lockout-023714678--nhl.html