No NHL
 

:( Yeah this kinda sucks since I like hockey. There prolly won't be a season at all, stupid players and owner.

They actually think that it could last more than just one full season, but that is just preliminary talk of course. I think there will just be a shortened season that will start in January or so, but that could just be wishful thinking.

Not much of a hockey fan, so I don't really know what happend. Are the players just going on strike or something? If that's the case, it really pisses me off. These players probably don't even deserve the money they're getting (they're good no doubt, but should they really make 10 million dollars?) and they are so avaricious as to ask for more? God. I remember when it happend to the NBA as well. Pissed me off so much.

Actually owners want to put a $31 million salary cap for all teams, and greatly cut down on player salaries, or so I think at least. Neither side is willing to budge, and this has been under debate for quite some time now.. :(

Yeah, that's the situation, though I'm not sure on what the actual cap is set at.

Why shouldn’t professional players get big dollar contracts? Given the circumstances I think they have earned it. Sure the dollar amounts are absorbent but if you look at the big picture I would rather they get it than the owners.

For example: Say the LA Lakers as an organization make 200 million a year in profit. If the entire team salaries total only 80 million then that would mean the owner/owners make 120 million for that one year. I don’t see how that is fair. Sure the owners have to put their asses on the line year to year because they’re profit dollar amount is not guaranteed, but really, they should and are greatly compensated for this. More than half of organizations profit money should go to the players. They are the ones who bring in the fans. The fans are the people that pay the money. The owners are really just playing the role of the pimp.

The situation can also take a swing in the other direction. Say the Organization only averages 50 million a year profit. The player’s salaries would need to reflect this. There shouldn’t be a huge change in numbers from team to team though (except for baseball, baseball is fucked up). The largest portion of a team’s money should come from association. The TNT, ESPN, and NBC contracts all need to be with the sports association (NBA, NFL, etc.). They would then in turn distribute the cash accordingly to the various teams.

This also rings true for other sports like hockey, football, and baseball. Same rule applies. This is the way I see it. If my logic is wrong then please point out my flaws. I want to understand why you think they do not deserve it.

I am greatly upset with this, Hockey is my number one sport.

Titus, what you just said is what happened 10 years ago, they went on lockout and made a deal. The season than started in January. I hope it happens this time.

Baseball did this.

MJ, thats one of the problems with the current NHL deal. The teams aren't making a lot of money. It was said that over the entire league for last year all the teams total lost like 200 million dollars. I am sure that some made money but overall the league was losing.

The Owners want a cap put on and the NHLPA just want a luxury tax, and neither side is moving. Also the TV deals that the NHL is in right now suck. The money they get from like ESPN2 is chump change compared to the NFL Fox deal, like some odd billion to a couple hundred million. Either way I just want some hockey.

no hockey fucking sucks man. all those greedy sons of bitches r ruining/have ruined the game

Ok, well, I don't know much about hockey, so I'm going to stick with basketball.

First of all, it's absurd that a basketball team can make as much as it can. Nothing against the players, or owners, but 200 million dollars for 164 hours of entertainment (plus playoffs, perhaps) is way too much. Do they deserve money for being the best at what they do (and recent evidence may point otherwise)? Yes, they do. But do they deserve as much as some of them make? Not in my opinion.

But I'm not here to debate about how much basketball players are getting. The point is, these players are already getting big bucks. Now, to deprive their fans of 32 games in a season because of some frivolous technicality is unacceptable.

And as for the management part, well, that's how it works in the real world as well. The managers, or owners decide how much money an employee gets, not the other way around. Now the employees may do most of the work, but the management does in fact get the money. That's just the way capitalism works. If you want to go on strike, because you honestly don't believe you're making enough money, and you really are underpaid, then go for it. But if you're making 10 million dollars, you're not underpaid. If you believe that you're underpaid, then take it up with the management, but a lock-up in such situations should be unacceptable, and any player that participated in it should be reprimanded.

That's all fine and good, but it's not the fans' fault that the NHL is not making a lot of money. They shouldn't withhold the game from being brought to the fans. Perhaps they need to find a way to appeal to a broader variety of fans. Perhaps they need a new marketing scheme. Perhaps the money that their teams are getting isn't much compared to what other professional sportsteams are getting. It's still no reason to take the game away from the fans. I'm sure they're still making enough money to live an opulent life.

How many teams are their, and how many players play on a team, by the way?

Well, I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, and I don't feel like looking it up. I just wanted to say that I do agree with you. If the salary cap comes into play, which it should, they will be losing a lot of money. IMO, who the hell cares? They will still be getting paid such a shit load amount of money that they will live like kings for the rest of their lives anyway.

It's the greed of the players to not want to budge that is not only causing a lock out, but it is causing a lot of prospective NHL players from even getting a chance to perform and make a living for themselves as the players that are striking have been doing for years upon years. Wow, so some players will go from making 8 million to say, 2 million. Big fucking deal! Only 2 fucking million dollars for playing a sport! Wow, sucks to be them...

Its 30 teams, I think and 25 players per team. Also I think that 2 or 3 teams made some money last year, but as a whole the league lost. I mean there should be a cap, Even if they put it at a higher figure than 31 million. I mean the league average is 1.8 million and the players union was offering to go down to 1.3. Also hockey isn't really marketed where an NHL team doesn't exist, with the exception of Canada. I mean there just isn't a big market for it, IMO.

Even if you wanted to you wouldn't be able to watch any hockey games here in Hawaii. All the show is the frickin All-Star game, which in my opinion isn't a true representation of real hockey. Just as the NBA All-Star game isn't a true representation of the NBA, it's more like And1 with NBA players.

My brother used to get a friend in Cali to tape the Kings games, back when Gretzky was playing there, and send them via mail. So I have watched a few real hockey games. I enjoy the sport and if the opportunity arose I wouldn’t hesitate to become a born again fan. I don’t see it happening though the way things are going. Seems to me hockey is less popular now than it was back in late 80’s – early 90s.