Hockey

[skura]

Speaking of the Sen's the past few years (where they were very successful), they've been in debt for 3 - 4 years now...the league was actually giving the team bonus' whenever they scored a goal...I'd be willing to bet that everyone who played for the Sen's (and some other players on other teams...especially the rookies) would take a pay cut just so they could continue to be play for the love of the game...but yes, 31 million is extremely low...maybe somewhere around 50 million??

 

[Torlyn]

50 million USD??  How many teams can afford that?  And while yes, Calgary had a great run this previous year, (as with the Lightning, the jerks) it's not sustainable.  That's the FIRST time we've been to the playoffs in what, 10 years?  Will we make it back?  We already lost a few players because we cannot afford their salaries after such a run.  I mean, if Turek hadn't taken a paycut, we would have lost Kipper.  (Not that it matters now...)  If you look at the teams that CONSISTENTLY make it to (and a fair ways in) the playoffs, they are the big market teams.  (NEw York is an anomaly.  I think they're cursed)

I do like the positive spin we get from this...  For Calgary, anyway, we're lucky enough to have the WHL hitmen.  GREAT hockey, GREAT price!  If given the option, I'd rather watch them play than the Flames.  They're hungrier, and it shows on the ice.  While the talent isn't as good as the NHL, it's pretty damned close, and I'd rather shell out $15 a game for GOOD seats rather than $50 to sit in the nosebleeds...  Either way you look at it, it rests on us, the fans, to decide where hockey is going.  If we pay to watch, they'll keep increasing salaries.  The NHL might very well end up being the AHL, with no Canadian teams.  A return to the CHL wouldn't be a bad thing, I don't think...

T

 

[Piccillo]

Im a big toronto fan myself. They always play well, and they have made it into the playoffs for the last few years running.

i think this whole thing is kind of stupid to be honest. teams go bankrupt and move, its what happens. it sucks if you like that team, or live in that area but its better for the team in the end of it all. i know right now that if they put a celery cap on alot of the good teams like toronto will have to cut alot of players, because the cap will be just to damned low. the players earn every doller they play for. hockey is dangerous and they train day in and day out, then pratice all the time. they are away from there friends and extended family half of the time and all it takes is a broken wrist, fractured jaw, injured knee to take them out of the game, and off the ice for weeks even months! this hurts there chances of getting re-signed and they dont like just sitting around, because they DO play because they love the game.

Let the teams that are looseing money go belly up and move back up to canada, where fan support will ALWAYS be stronger. hell, lets go back to an all canadian league like in the good ol days. if the teams that are looseing money move to a new city, and begin to bring in money then the NHL will no longer loose money. no sence in dragging this out, and making a HUGE change to a game that has been great for 100 years. let nature run its course, the weak teams will die out and the strong teams will win. this is how things work and this is how things should be. there is just to many teams right now, and to many crappy teams out there sucking up all the money and looseing the NHL all its money. no sence to make the good teams suffer.

 

[Korus]

THe other day, a local radio station (100.3 the bear) held a food drive, and collection of money donations to help out the starving Hockey players. They went on to explain that, yeah, they may have yachts, but they need to store it with exotic foods and drinks, then pay for people to serve them on the yacht, etc etc etc, and that is why they needed the money, and why they were accepting donations. It was actually rather quite hilarious.

In the end they donated everything they collected to the foodbank.

 

[skura]

Let the teams that are looseing money go belly up and move back up to canada, where fan support will ALWAYS be stronger.

It's not fair to say that the fan support in Canada will ALWAYS be stronger then it will in states, there are American fans just as hockey crazy as us Canadians. Do you know why the Nordiques left Quebec?   NO FAN SUPPORT!   Know where they ended up?   Hockey crazy Colorado.   Winnipeg Jets also left Canada and became the Carolina Hurricanes, remember all this now?

because they DO play because they love the game.

If that's true then howcome certain superstars will refuse to sign with the team that they just won the Stanley Cup with because the owners won't pay him $12 million USD a season?   If they always played for the love of the game then money wouldn't be an issue.   Most NHLers played minor hockey growing up, some played since they were 5 years old, did they ever earn a penny playing then?   No.   Does it make that much of a difference now?   In a way I suppose since they now have families to support, but look at the men and women who quit their jobs because they won $2.5 million CAD in the lottery.   An NHL superstar earning $3 million USD could still have as much fun as he did earning $13 million USD.

the players earn every doller they play for. hockey is dangerous and they train day in and day out, then pratice all the time. they are away from there friends and extended family half of the time and all it takes is a broken wrist, fractured jaw, injured knee to take them out of the game, and off the ice for weeks even months!

Don't you think they understand these risks when they sign their contract?   Remember that even if they get injured they are still on contract with that team, and will still earn his contract money even though his career may be over (which is why a $50 million USD salary cap would work, the player earns a little over $2 million USD a season.   The cap could always be upped another $10 or $20 million USD, however).   Some players play injured as well, Brodeur played with an injured wrist (possibly fractured or sprained) and won the gold medal for Canada, and way back when (I forget the date and unfortunatly the player, I'll post if I remember), a Maple Leaf blocked a shot, broke his leg, came back that same period and scored the GWG.

50 million USD?? How many teams can afford that?

No one seems to think so far that a $50 million USD salary cap would work...I already said I think it would, I also said maybe upping it another $10 or $20 million USD would help, but no one has any idea of what they think would work?   Anyone else have their own opinions as to why their idea for a salary cap would work?

 

[condor888000]

It's not fair to say that the fan support in Canada will ALWAYS be stronger then it will in states, there are American fans just as hockey crazy as us Canadians. Do you know why the Nordiques left Quebec?   NO FAN SUPPORT!   Know where they ended up?   Hockey crazy Colorado.   Winnipeg Jets also left Canada and became the Carolina Hurricanes, remember all this now?

How many Caanadian teams have moved? 2. How many American? North Stars, Atlanta Flames, and Colorado Rockies. I thought for 2 seconds and came up with more. Though there may be some American fans hockey crazy, the majority don't care. A much smaller segment of Canadians feel the same. Nordiques may have left because of lack of fan support, but the Jets left because the mayor charged excess taxes, and they moved to Phoenix, not Carolina.

way back when (I forget the date and unfortunatly the player, I'll post if I remember), a Maple Leaf blocked a shot, broke his leg, came back that same period and scored the GWG.

It was a leaf in the 50's and he scored not just the GWG but the Stanley Cup winning goal. And another example would be Jacque Plante, got hit in the face with a hard shot and smashed his nose. He came back, granted with a mask on, the same game.

 

[skura]

Yeah a lot of American teams have moved, but they moved from state to state, not country to country.

My bad on the Winnipeg call...it was Hartford that moved to Carolina, not the Jets.  It was only an example of another Canadian team that moved, I should of spererated it some how to show that why they were moved wasn't related to fan support.

 

[Cliffy433]

It's everybody's fault...

The owner's screwed themselves and the players are a bunch of whiny, spoiled brats.  Too many "stars" held out for bigger contracts - and instead of being shunned by the entire league (player's and owner's alike - they were offered what the wanted and welcomed back with open arms)

Profit sharing, salary caps, and hold-outs be damned!  Yes, the players should get the lion's share of the revenue - they provide the entertainment - but they should be reasonable.  The league is losing money, and bad, and Gary Bettman has yet to admit southern expansion and sky-rocketing salaries are all his fault and bad for the league.

If the owner's are serious, they should call up the Juniors and European leagues and play.  Go to an international size ice surface, eliminate the red line, and fire Bettman.  The true hockey players will come back, and happily take a paycut.  The whiny spoiled brats will stay away, and GOOD RIDDANCE!!

Players on strike?  WTF?  You play a GAME for a living and make more than life-saving ER doctors and nurses!  Shut up, lace up, and play!

 

[Jarnhamar]

Millions of dollars to chase a stupid puck around. Thats crazy.  Everyones fault is right.. Their both greedy and seem to care about money more than anything else.  Players know the owners need them to make the money. They charge more for their "services".  Owners know they need players to make money so they pay the players prices. Now the owners are starting to realise their big mistake.

Players upset their not making 10 million dollars? God where can I send in a donation. I can't believe were at a point where sports players make more than doctors. I've never really liked sports, this just reinforces that dislike.

What are the games actually like? I haven't gone to a hockey game in probably 12 years or more.  Is it anything like concerts?  I just went to a concert in kingston to see the hip.  No cameras, no chairs to sit on, no back packs, not even allowed waterbottles.  I remember paying $6 for a bottle of water at a creed concert. The security at this concert was just retarded. From MPs at roadblocks looking like they were holding jerry cans under their arms to security people walking around giving people the evil eye like their some kinda hard core fbi profiler. Wasn't very fun at all. Are hockey games that strict?

 

[condor888000]

Just want to make a few comments about hockey in general...

If the owner's are serious, they should call up the Juniors and European leagues and play. Go to an international size ice surface, eliminate the red line, and fire Bettman.

Just for info, Hockey Canada is eliminating the red line up to, and including all junior leagues as of, I believe, Sept 1st. Currently, the leagues with a red line are the NHL, pro leagues with their own rules, and any league under the direction of Hockey USA. These leagues will very likely change to this format soon. I however doubt anyone will change to the IIHF standard ice size. It's too big. It causes an emphasis on passing, something that todays NHL could do without, and a lack of big hits, which is what draws the big bucks in. Bettman is an idiot and should be fired.

Also in some provinces you can't hire other players to play, it is considered breaking the union and is prohibited due to the labour laws.

What are the games actually like? I haven't gone to a hockey game in probably 12 years or more. Is it anything like concerts? I just went to a concert in kingston to see the hip. No cameras, no chairs to sit on, no back packs, not even allowed waterbottles. I remember paying $6 for a bottle of water at a creed concert. The security at this concert was just retarded. From MPs at roadblocks looking like they were holding jerry cans under their arms to security people walking around giving people the evil eye like their some kinda hard core fbi profiler. Wasn't very fun at all. Are hockey games that strict?

Depends. At the Canada-USA and Canada-Slovak exhibitions in Ottawa, there wer cops walking around. At the Sens-Leafs series in Ottawa,there were armed guards and eveyine was searched. Why? To make sure there were no riots. A Leafs fan in front of me was escorted away after he swung at someone. Now, you're allowed almost anything, provided you submit to it being searched, if you don't, it is put in storage and you can pick it up at the end.  Before it was a lot stricter to get in but they dropped most of it in the past year. Water is $4 for a bottle at the Corel Centre and you can't keep the cap.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I'm all for a players salary cap, but having said that there should also be an owners salary cap. That is having a profit margin set and anything beyond that is restructured the next year into lower prices. Complex but I believe doable and for once the fans don't take the kick to the head.

 

[condor888000]

That's a really good idea! Somehow, I don't think it would be too popular withthe owners though... :crybaby:

 

[Jarnhamar]

Isn't making players pass better?

Funny war story  :warstory:

Some friends and me were in Croatia and decided to go to a soccer game. It was split vs germany.  Germany had a few fans there that were blocked off from everyone else. The rest of the stadium was packed with croatians.
Pretty good game. People still snuck in bottle rockets and were launching them every now and then at the golaies. They have amazing accuracy with them. We were dead center in the croatian side.  My dumbass friend (From the algonquion regiment if he ever reads this ) loves gambling and decides to make a little bet.  His clever bet is that germany will score the first goal, no big deal.  Sure enough germany scores the first goal and he jumps up and yells
"Yeaaaaa whooohoo!!!!"
Atleast 3000 people turned and looked at at once and they weren't too happy. It was like the whole stadium went quiet.

We spent the rest of the game keeping low and going nuts when croatia scored a goal. We decided to leave 20 minutes eairly  anyways and ran all the way back to the hotel  ;D

 

[dutchie]

Sure enough germany scores the first goal and he jumps up and yells "Yeaaaaa whooohoo!!!!"

LMAO

;D

that's gotta be worth a couple a pivos at least.

 

[condor888000]

Isn't making players pass better?

Yes, and no. I'll use an example I'm most familar with. When the Sens have a power play, they take about 10-15 passes before attemping a shot. See the problem? Passing is good, but you need to shoot to win.

 

[from darkness lite]

Despite all the chest thumping of the NHLPA, ultimately time is on the owners side.  Imagine this scenario...  Next Oct the NHL can declare an impasse, reopening the NHL season and imposing their last offer on the NHLPA (yep its legal, Gary Bettman eluded to it when he announced the lock-out).  Although the union may say no one goes back to work (breaking legal contracts, etc), I believe most players will go back to their teams and the BIG money.  What would you do, play in Europe (if you're lucky) for $10,000 a month (for big-name players), or go back to a team that has a contract with you to pay 1.8 million a season???  With the exception of the big-name stars, the majority of the players in the NHL have a limited shelf life, and they would naturally want to save/make as much money as possible before they retire/are replaced by a younger, better player. Plus new draft-picks would quickly make their mark, still having the desire to play in the NHL. 
Although the quality of play may decrease for a short-while (some of the richer players may hold out longer), most player would probably return.  We dream of playing in the NHL for the Stanley Cup, not the Swedish League for the ????? Cup!
At the end of the day, I hope there is some form of cap. Unless you're Wayne Gretzky/Mario Lemieux calibre, no player deserves $5-6 million a season. 
My 2 cents worth.

 

[M.O.]

The whole topic is general and so this is Canadian. We are the best at this sport, yah! I suppose discuss your thoughts on hockey in this forum part. Thingsa such as your favorite team, and if you even like or dislike hockey and what you would add or change, that sort of thing.

 

[Great Harveney]

   Its sad I'm the NHL's worst nightmare I'm watching the World Series and getting in to Soccer and the NBA. I miss hockey, the only thing that reminds me of the greatness of the game is my NHL 2004 game. The players are greedy who steal jobs overseas from young Europeans to play for 1/10 of what they made in the NHL and blame the owners, the owners are dumb and overpaid the players and blames the players. There should be a salary cap at $1 million it wont happen but it should. Sure they risk there body but so does the army and most workers at their jobs doing things that take just as much skill as shooting a puck and hitting a guy when hes not looking.

   People say "Oh but were entertainers we should be making lots of money like Jim Carey and P Diddy" :crybaby:. That shows how screwed up things can be in life and how the whole system of entertainers getting millions for just making us laugh and cry is very farfetched. While all the nurses, Educators, Chefs, Truckers, and troops are making less then $100, 000.00 for doing something WAY more important then scoring hockey goals or shouting out crappy rap lyrics.

   Then there's the thought of the CHL which sounds cool at first BUT would be a very dumb idea because the most electrifying players in the NHL are Europeans. Canadian players are all grit and bashing noggins while you see the Europeans getting the fancy goals and top scoring ranks every year for the past 20 years. I remember games with North America ~vs~ The World and how the Europeans would dominate with all the fancy goals and the North Americans would get these lucky bounces or flukey goals. ^-^

   All in all i can see this lock out going on for a very long time without a salary cap ever happening so i really hope just the whole idea of entertainers getting a million a movie or Concert would end very soon. I dont knodon't its just me but just the thought of somone bsomeoneble to just score a goal or pretend to be in love will make more then what i will make probably in my lifetime.

   I don't like to bitch and moan about things but i want my hockey back with Forsberg scoring and Colorado winning like always. ;D

Great harveney

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I saw an article on the front page of the National Post [while I was buying my Ottawa Citizen] , that caught my eye.
Apparently the NHL does not own the Stanley Cup, in fact it was donated to Canada and is run by a board of governors. It is to be given to the champions of Canada, but is under contract to the NHL.....BUT, one of the stipulations is that the league must stay operational, and it isn't at the present time, so why not have an amateur tournament for bragging rights to the cup this year?
The wording of what I posted might not be exactly as the story quoted but when I went to read it on their website...$$$$$$$$ :  so if anyone has read it please fill in anything I missed.

Interesting

 

[Big Foot]

Well, if thats the case... Calgary Hitmen for the Cup!