Nhl (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Zambrotta
- Start date
So Canada wins the World Cup of Hockey against Finland 4-3, blah blah blah, yada yada yada. A day later, the NHL has 24 hours to figure out if the season would start or not, due to the NHLPA's (NHL Players' Association) disagreement towards a salary cap. The NHL is in a lockout! What the hell?!!!
What is your opinion on this?
What is your opinion on this?
Here's my opinion on all of this, since I'm a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan who feels like a jilted groom at the altar.
Here is the underlying problem with the NHL and its salary sturcture, and why I support the owners in this.
Unlike the three other major sports leagues in the US (MLB, NBA, NFL), where 35-45% of Gross Revenue is earmarked for player salaries, the figure in the NHL is anywhere from 65-75%, meaning that the players salaries are taking up nearly twice the gross revenue in the NHL than the other three sports.
That's a problem, especially when you consider the other remaining expenditures that an owner has to pay for, such as arena rental and upkeep, and salaries for coaching staff and the entire orginization. It leaves the owners with nothing, and in most cases, losing money.
The players want to be paid commensurate to what their counterparts in the other sprots are being paid, and that is understandable. However, its hard to pay these guys what they want when the league isn't making any money, and the other threee leagues ar emaking huge amounts of profit. I think that is what the players need to understand.
The game doesn't translate to TV very well either, which in turn makes it almost unwatchable if you are a casual fan. The ratings are abyssmal, and here's the reason why. The game is actually too fast for television. Its an incredible experience to watch it live, but televison contracts and revenue are what drive a league these days, and the NHL is getting very small returns on both.
3 things need to be done, in my opinion, to fix this league.
#1) A salary cap. Too bad if the players don't like it. They have varying types of a salary cap in the other three leagues, and it seems to work very well.
#2) Contract two or three of these teams who are an albatross on the league, such as Buffalo, Florida, Atlanta. Put all the players in an allotment draft, and the remaining teams will be stronger for it.
#3) Get rid of the Red Line. This will open up the game in so many ways, and allow for more odd-man rushes and a more exciting brand of hockey, without tarnishing its image, or giving the notion that they are trying to cheapen the game.
The season was supposed to start in a couple of weeks, and I'm bitterly disappointed that it won't. I love Juve, don't get me wrong, but the Montreal Canadiens are my true passion in sports, and this is killing me.
Here is the underlying problem with the NHL and its salary sturcture, and why I support the owners in this.
Unlike the three other major sports leagues in the US (MLB, NBA, NFL), where 35-45% of Gross Revenue is earmarked for player salaries, the figure in the NHL is anywhere from 65-75%, meaning that the players salaries are taking up nearly twice the gross revenue in the NHL than the other three sports.
That's a problem, especially when you consider the other remaining expenditures that an owner has to pay for, such as arena rental and upkeep, and salaries for coaching staff and the entire orginization. It leaves the owners with nothing, and in most cases, losing money.
The players want to be paid commensurate to what their counterparts in the other sprots are being paid, and that is understandable. However, its hard to pay these guys what they want when the league isn't making any money, and the other threee leagues ar emaking huge amounts of profit. I think that is what the players need to understand.
The game doesn't translate to TV very well either, which in turn makes it almost unwatchable if you are a casual fan. The ratings are abyssmal, and here's the reason why. The game is actually too fast for television. Its an incredible experience to watch it live, but televison contracts and revenue are what drive a league these days, and the NHL is getting very small returns on both.
3 things need to be done, in my opinion, to fix this league.
#1) A salary cap. Too bad if the players don't like it. They have varying types of a salary cap in the other three leagues, and it seems to work very well.
#2) Contract two or three of these teams who are an albatross on the league, such as Buffalo, Florida, Atlanta. Put all the players in an allotment draft, and the remaining teams will be stronger for it.
#3) Get rid of the Red Line. This will open up the game in so many ways, and allow for more odd-man rushes and a more exciting brand of hockey, without tarnishing its image, or giving the notion that they are trying to cheapen the game.
The season was supposed to start in a couple of weeks, and I'm bitterly disappointed that it won't. I love Juve, don't get me wrong, but the Montreal Canadiens are my true passion in sports, and this is killing me.
Good points Sergio. I agree that a salary cap should be introduced, as it needs to be to save the game.
As player of the sport for 8 years, I think that the disbandment of the Red Line would help the game, as the hated two line pass rules would be abolished. But then again that might put a negative affect on the game by teams trying to defend the lead, as they might tend to just sit back and crowd their own neutral zone.
Another possiblity I heard would be to extend the width of the blue line, to let players have more freedom when entering the zone.
Something needs to be done though. I always hear people say that the sport is boring and stupid, and that really makes no sense at all. Most of these people are baseball fans.
How long do you think they'll be out for Serge?
As player of the sport for 8 years, I think that the disbandment of the Red Line would help the game, as the hated two line pass rules would be abolished. But then again that might put a negative affect on the game by teams trying to defend the lead, as they might tend to just sit back and crowd their own neutral zone.
Another possiblity I heard would be to extend the width of the blue line, to let players have more freedom when entering the zone.
Something needs to be done though. I always hear people say that the sport is boring and stupid, and that really makes no sense at all. Most of these people are baseball fans.
How long do you think they'll be out for Serge?
++ [ originally posted by Andy ] ++
Good points Sergio. I agree that a salary cap should be introduced, as it needs to be to save the game.
As player of the sport for 8 years, I think that the disbandment of the Red Line would help the game, as the hated two line pass rules would be abolished. But then again that might put a negative affect on the game by teams trying to defend the lead, as they might tend to just sit back and crowd their own neutral zone.
Another possiblity I heard would be to extend the width of the blue line, to let players have more freedom when entering the zone.
Something needs to be done though. I always hear people say that the sport is boring and stupid, and that really makes no sense at all. Most of these people are baseball fans.
How long do you think they'll be out for Serge?
Good points Sergio. I agree that a salary cap should be introduced, as it needs to be to save the game.
As player of the sport for 8 years, I think that the disbandment of the Red Line would help the game, as the hated two line pass rules would be abolished. But then again that might put a negative affect on the game by teams trying to defend the lead, as they might tend to just sit back and crowd their own neutral zone.
Another possiblity I heard would be to extend the width of the blue line, to let players have more freedom when entering the zone.
Something needs to be done though. I always hear people say that the sport is boring and stupid, and that really makes no sense at all. Most of these people are baseball fans.
How long do you think they'll be out for Serge?
until January, at the earliest.
I'm assuming that extending the width of the blue line would in turn make it harder for an offsides infraction to be called. Makes sense.
). I'm a Leafs fan.