On the NHL Lockout
A few minutes reprieve as I wait for the new InCourt demo to go live.
So what better thing to do than to write in my site about that most Canadian of topics - the NHL Players Lockout. So what's the issue? The NHL Franchise Owners (aka The League) and the NHL Players Association cannot come to an agreement as to the future division of NHL revenues. The League wants more money and the Players want more money. The League wants a salary cap - the Players want something else. The League is arguing that it has lost $billions in part due to the last collective agreement and they maintain that a salary cap will sort out their problems (their magic number is $32M, which is half the wage bill for the Rangers or Red Wings). 20 of the League's 30 teams are losing money, Tampa Bay is only in the black this season following their Stanley Cup win. Good thing there was that expansion in the 90s, eh?
The long and the short of this scenario is that it's a giant frigging disaster for Hockey Fans. Or maybe not. I am certainly not going to say that a guy with a stick should be making $9M. But at some point in time there does have to be a line drawn in the sand or we recreate the problems of other pro sports - creating a gulf so wide between the rich and poor clubs that their isn't much serious competition within the League. That said, this mess is also in part due to the greed of the league to increase their franchise licensing revenues - there are simply too many teams. And let's face it - the owners are in it for the MONEY, not the sport. That's where we all get screwed - we love the game, the owners and players profit from our emotions and sentimentality.
My solution? Nationalize it.
[More on my Grand Hockey Strategy to Follow]
So what better thing to do than to write in my site about that most Canadian of topics - the NHL Players Lockout. So what's the issue? The NHL Franchise Owners (aka The League) and the NHL Players Association cannot come to an agreement as to the future division of NHL revenues. The League wants more money and the Players want more money. The League wants a salary cap - the Players want something else. The League is arguing that it has lost $billions in part due to the last collective agreement and they maintain that a salary cap will sort out their problems (their magic number is $32M, which is half the wage bill for the Rangers or Red Wings). 20 of the League's 30 teams are losing money, Tampa Bay is only in the black this season following their Stanley Cup win. Good thing there was that expansion in the 90s, eh?
The long and the short of this scenario is that it's a giant frigging disaster for Hockey Fans. Or maybe not. I am certainly not going to say that a guy with a stick should be making $9M. But at some point in time there does have to be a line drawn in the sand or we recreate the problems of other pro sports - creating a gulf so wide between the rich and poor clubs that their isn't much serious competition within the League. That said, this mess is also in part due to the greed of the league to increase their franchise licensing revenues - there are simply too many teams. And let's face it - the owners are in it for the MONEY, not the sport. That's where we all get screwed - we love the game, the owners and players profit from our emotions and sentimentality.
My solution? Nationalize it.
[More on my Grand Hockey Strategy to Follow]
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