Tampa Bay!!!!

Having Calgary and Tampa in the finals really screwed the players argument of not having a salary cap to have competitive teams. Two of the smallest markets were able to get to the finals and beat of the high salary teams proving teams can win with young underpaid talent. I have a feeling we won't see any hockey next year regardless.

The league is loosing money because of low ratings. The ratings are so low that a locally televised Philadelphia Eagles preseason game gets better ratings than a nationally televised Stanley Cup Finals game. That's just rediculous.
I love hockey, it's my favorite sport to watch next to football. They should downsize the league by at least 5-6 teams. There's no reason to have teams in nashville, atlanta, columbus, miami and the like. People just don't go to the games or watch them on T.V. Who wants to watch nashville play columbus. It's a shame, but I think it has to be done.
The NHL should go back to their roots and allow the fighting when the sitution occurs. Having the instigator rule prevents players from protecting teammates which leads to incidents like Bertuzzi's. Right now they're abandoning the NHL fans that have been there and are loyal reducing their ratings even more.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Did you forget about rugby? I am pretty sure rugby is a much rougher sport than hockey.

[/ QUOTE ]


NEWS FLASH!





You're wrong!

[/ QUOTE ]


Rugby really isnt that rough of a sport... they dont wear pads because, well they dont have to. If they didnt wear pads in football or hockey, well, there would be a few more deaths.
 
[ QUOTE ]
It's impossible to get tickets to most games once the season is going on (or so I've found, if you've got the right connections you can get hooked up), and they tickets you do find are pretty expensive. The fan base is ultra loyal, and they'll pay the big bucks to go see Wing's games. That's not true for all teams.
Cheers


John Herreshoff

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed Wings tickets are about as rare as Rocking Horse Manure. And no team has a more loyal fan base. The few times that I've sprung for Wings tickets it cost me a deep excursion to the bank.
 
I am not a big hockey person but what I got to see of the games were cool. Lots of defense by both teams but I am glad Tampa won.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Having Calgary and Tampa in the finals really screwed the players argument of not having a salary cap to have competitive teams. Two of the smallest markets were able to get to the finals and beat of the high salary teams proving teams can win with young underpaid talent. I have a feeling we won't see any hockey next year regardless.

The league is loosing money because of low ratings. The ratings are so low that a locally televised Philadelphia Eagles preseason game gets better ratings than a nationally televised Stanley Cup Finals game. That's just rediculous.
I love hockey, it's my favorite sport to watch next to football. They should downsize the league by at least 5-6 teams. There's no reason to have teams in nashville, atlanta, columbus, miami and the like. People just don't go to the games or watch them on T.V. Who wants to watch nashville play columbus. It's a shame, but I think it has to be done.
The NHL should go back to their roots and allow the fighting when the sitution occurs. Having the instigator rule prevents players from protecting teammates which leads to incidents like Bertuzzi's. Right now they're abandoning the NHL fans that have been there and are loyal reducing their ratings even more.

[/ QUOTE ]

If that's your stance, I would say that Philly doesnt deserve a baseball team. Its easy to say, take away someone else's team... The thrashers are pretty well liked in Atlanta, it just hasnt caught on as much as it will. But to hear people say that people in the south dont need hockey because they dont have ice.... that's just stupid.
 
Here in ATL we just have to get use to hockey. I think last season was a good start. A few set backs but on the right track.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You have teams like Detroit that spend what two or more teams spend on players. That’s why they won the west this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd actually like to point out that Detroit called up more players from the minors this year than any other team due to injuries, and still won the west. Also, the core group of guys on the team have been there for a long time, players like yzerman, lidstrom, mccarty, draper, maltby, holmstrom, dandenault, shanahan etc and while some might be getting paid a decent amount, others aren't and they have all been there for a decent amount of time, showing player loyalty. I believe that Shanahan and Lidstrom even took a pay cuts to stay with the Wings.

Also you have a bunch of young guys like Datsyuk, Devereaux, Williams, Zetterberg, Fischer who are getting paid poop compared to some of the superstars. Regaurdless, I don't want to see a salary cap on hockey. There are other athletes out there that do way less and get paid way more (baseball anyone?) Hockey players are some of the classiest guys off of the ice (with a few exceptions) I know a lot of the wings go to Detroit Children's hospital a decent amount to visit with kids there. That doesn't happen that much with football or basketball.

just my 2 cents.
 
Now, Emily, you know that I am no fan of management keeping salaries down, especially when they are patting themselves on the back with HUGE bonuses.

But for hockey, the economics just do not work. The money just isn't there.

If revenues were increasing at the same rate as salaries, I'd say that the owners just had to eat it.

And you know what? Back in the day when their stock portfolios were going through the roof, I bet they would have. Ted Leonsis, when he signed Jagr, was asked about how much money he spent to do it. He said that AOL stock went down and he lost twice as much money on that than he spent on Jagr. Must be nice to have $50 million be a rounding error.

Well, that was then. This year, he said, I can't afford to keep on losing money on this team.

I hope that both sides in the labor dispute realize that they have a good thing going and find a way to keep it going instead of getting into a peeing contest and killing the season.
 
But in the case of the Wings, the money is there. In a few other teams, the money is there. Why stop these guys from making as much as they deserve? If the team can pay it, the team can pay it. If the team can't pay their players a ton of money, then tough crap; you don't get paid as well. If you're a better player, you'll go to the better team with the better pay. Teams can't outspend themselves in the same way I can't run up a credit card and expect not to pay it. If you don't have the money, you don't have the money. If you do, you do.
 
also, another thing real quick...why do they move hockey teams (or put expansion teams) into places where there is no fan base? Like Florida...they have 2 hockey teams, and until tampa started doing good i bet they barely had any fans (at either arena). so obviously they aren't going to be making any money...but maybe that is a PR problem more with not marketing the team to the public...i don't know.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Did you forget about rugby? I am pretty sure rugby is a much rougher sport than hockey.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have played both. Rugby is nowhere near the brutality. Ground is much softer then the ice.
 
[ QUOTE ]
why do they move hockey teams (or put expansion teams) into places where there is no fan base? Like Florida...they have 2 hockey teams, and until tampa started doing good i bet they barely had any fans

[/ QUOTE ]
Skibum - you're partially correct in that before the Playoffs began, the Lightening did not sell out one game this year (to my knowledge).

But, there is a HUGE NHL fan base down here in FL due to all the northerners and Canucks that inhabit this state... so, expanding the NHL into this market was a no-brainer... PLUS, because the team won the Stanley Cup, there are some (myself included) that will begin watching hockey where we didn't before.

So.... there ya go.
laugh.gif
 
They put teams in places that don't have hockey to generate support for the sport.

We have kids in Tampa playing hockey now. 20 years from now, they will be hockey fans that watch hockey on TV, or go to games. They are building a fan base. That is why they move into places like Tampa and Nashville. The last thing the league should do is contract. If anything, there needs to be more support for the AHL and the ECHL. They can expand to small cities that can't support the NHL. If the league abandons building its fan base it will fail long term. i don't think it can become a dominant sport if it is contained to Canada and the Northern states.

Hell, their plan is working. We have college hockey here in Charleston SC. Who could have imagined that 20 years ago.

A salary cap is needed and it needs to be tied to the Leagues revenue. Something along the lines of a teams combined player salaries can't exceed x% of league wide revenue in the previous year. If the players do a good job of building fan support, league revenue will go up and they can get higher salaries. Team by team is crap. It is not working because even though you are right John in saying a team can't spend the money they don't have, they are trying to do just that to remain competitive. I suppose they are hoping that they can bring in more revenue, or they will charge the fans an arm and a leg to pay for those star players.

If they sign a contract that gives the players a salary based on the performance of the league, the league will prosper. It will be able to expand and gain a better share of a national audience.

In any case, I hope that both sides work this out. I want to see some hockey next year. I don't want to look at the cover of EA sports NHL 2005 and see a picket line.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Ground is much softer then the ice

[/ QUOTE ]

Two things,
1. Go play roller hockey sometime. You don't slide when you fall. Friction sucks!

2. Play rugby on the non-skid surface of an aircraft carrier sometime.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hell, their plan is working. We have college hockey here in Charleston SC. Who could have imagined that 20 years ago.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yup, ditto here, there are high schools down here who now have hockey teams, there are youth hockey leagues and even adult hockey leagues.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Next year will go to the Devils!


[/ QUOTE ]
Not real sure there's gonna be a next year for the NHL.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Next year will go to the Devils!


[/ QUOTE ]
Not real sure there's gonna be a next year for the NHL.

[/ QUOTE ]

When there was a lockout in 1995, the Devils won the cup in that shortened season
frown.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top