Winter Classic will be canceled by November as a negotiating tactic

Submitted by soupsnake on

Toronto Star’s McGran: Winter Classic will be canceled by November as a negotiating tactic

 

The NHL’s New Year’s Day Winter Classic between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings is on the chopping block, a potential early victim of the lockout.

 

A league source told the Star that, barring a settlement, commissioner Gary Bettman plans to cancel it in November — to take away any advantage the players may have at the bargaining table because of the game’s popularity.

“Gary told (the board of governors) he was going to cancel the Winter Classic in November because he didn’t want the players to use the game as leverage,” the source said.

 

Really hope this gets settled so we can see an awesome hockey game in the Big House this winter.

MGoblu8

September 21st, 2012 at 9:04 PM ^

I hate to say it, but I've been thinking that since the lockout started. I heard Barry Melrose say "This is something all leagues go through, as we just saw with the NFL." What a load of shit. I'm tired of having to read about how millionaires and billionaires can't agree on how to split up the dough. I'm just done. I love the Wings, but the NHL as a whole is making itself easier for me to live without.

Tater

September 22nd, 2012 at 9:37 AM ^

My main problem here is that I want to know why millionaires need a union and why people who make more in one game than many minimum wage workers make in a year are given the benefits of labor law.  

I think any income discussion should come after expenses are taken out, such as cost of the stadium, the staff, office rent, marketing, etc.  Players in all sport expect owners to lose money for the privilege of giving them a place to play their favorite sport.  

Worst of all, when multi-millionaire players and agents get together to drive up prices, it's called "free market," but when owners try to drive the prices back down, it's called "collusion" and is seen as "unfair labor practice."

 

phork

September 22nd, 2012 at 2:15 PM ^

You mean those owners who locked them out last time because they could no longer afford the rich contracts that they themsleves lavished on the players?  The same owners who, after the last lockout, said to the owners "OK We got our spending in check, lets move on", and yet continued to spend frivolously anyways?

Owners like in baseball who all decided to stop ridiculous contracts and then Reinsdorf goes out and breaks the bank on Frank Thomas?  The owners that don't know when to say when?

Those owners?

TTUwolverine

September 21st, 2012 at 9:01 PM ^

We all know that hockey is a distant fourth in popular major sports in America... so let's cancel it for a year!  That'll show them what they're missing by not watching!  Shit, lets demand an extra 10% cut while we're at it! Sounds good eh buddy?" 

In conclusion, Fuck Gary Bettman™

jdon

September 21st, 2012 at 9:22 PM ^

I love hockey but they have been steady killing the nhl.

 

Look at the minnesota team that just dropped 200 fucking million on two players and now the league wants to act broke.

 

It's a shame because hockey is an awesome sport but it has always had the worst marketing possible.

 

LSAClassOf2000

September 22nd, 2012 at 7:26 AM ^

In the 72 hours prior to the lockout, teams and players signed about $200 million in contracts, some of them beyond the maximum cap Bettman wants on deals, which is five years (i.e., a few players signed six year deals at least). That doesn't make a lot of sense to me on the surface.

I guess it seems to me that if teams were really that upset about the 57% figure on hockey-related revenue in the last CBA, they would not have made some of these deals. In any event, one of the more interesting developments right now is that the Edmonton Oilers are trying to get the Alberta Labour Relations Board to declare the lockout illegal under Alberta law, despite the NHL stating that it cannot operate under the labor laws of two countries. The Canadiens are trying to do the same thing in Quebec, I believe.

As for the Winter  Classic, it would be a shame for both the owners and players and, most importantly, the fans if this doesn't happen. It is popular and makes the NHL money and introduces hockey to potential new fans. 

shorts

September 21st, 2012 at 9:33 PM ^

That's an interesting negotiating ploy -- canceling the one thing the league can't afford to lose (from a marketing standpoint) just so the other side can't bring it up in negotiations. Not sure that makes sense to me.

Cancel the winter classic and they might as well cancel the regular season entirely, because interest will be nil since they'll have missed their window betwern football and baseball/march madness.

Blueisgood

September 21st, 2012 at 9:42 PM ^

The whole season may be cancelled. Jimmy D of the Wings did an interview today that really didn't make it sound to promising. I don't remember it all but he said that people can blame Bettman all they want, but he works for the owners. The owners voted 30-0 to lockout the players. I also just seen a tweet from the same interview where he said that "there is no way in hell it ends without the players taking a pay cut.



Sac Fly

September 21st, 2012 at 10:18 PM ^

The owners voted to lock the players out, but how many owners were invited to CBA negotiations? According to some of the players, only four owners were invited to sit in during negotiations. The Rangers will lose 160 million if the season locks out, we did not have a representative.

Ed Snider was there. He's a chairman for Comcast, who will get paid a full year of TV rights if they lockout, and an extra year of lost service. Jeremy Jacobs was there too, he owns the Bruins. He is also the guy who got the players to drop HRR by 14% last lockout.

You can see the kind of guys Bettman is bringing to the table, that's why nothing is getting done.

Leaders And Best

September 21st, 2012 at 9:39 PM ^

Cancelling the Winter Classic only affects 2 rosters: Toronto and Detroit. The rest of the NHL players could care less. And as much as the players enjoy the game, I doubt it is very high on the players' priorities when it comes to negotiations. Detroit's players have already played in one.

Cancelling the Winter Classic affects the league and the 2 organizations involved far more than the players. I'm sure Winter Classic tickets were a big selling point in season ticket packages.

Sambojangles

September 21st, 2012 at 9:43 PM ^

First, I'm not sure it's really a negotiating tactic. I think the NHL, and the university, probably have a date in November/early December by which time they have to know whether the game is actually going to happen or not. Think of all the extra staff who will want to know if they will be needed on Jan 1 to work the game. Nobody wants to leave them hanging until the last minute. The University/NHL staff will, I think, probably need something like 30 days notice if they will not be needed to work, and some sort of estoppel (I'm not a lawyer, but I did take a class last year) if the game is cancelled late.

Second, even if the WC is cancelled this year, it will be rescheduled. In fact, if this season is lost or even shortened, then a Detroit-Toronto game at the biggest stadium in North America is a great way to try to win back some of the fans who are pissed that the lockout happened.

Finally, and totally selfishly, I'm kinda hoping that the game is cancelled. I can't make it this year, so if the lockout costs Michigan Stadium the Winter Classic this year, hopefully next time it will be when I actually have a chance to attend.

Sac Fly

September 21st, 2012 at 9:59 PM ^

It's too much for me, I just don't care anymore.  After two months of casual negotiating they didn't gain any ground, because they don't care either.

If the NHL wants to pay less for player salaries, what stops our European players from going home and playing for the same amount?

wings97

September 21st, 2012 at 11:10 PM ^

...like me is getting tired of the greedy owners trying to make more millions when I can only afford to go to 1 or 2 games a year. Even that hurts me in the pocketbook. OHL and Michigan hockey is a better deal and more family friendly. Take your time owners because I am losing interest.

Clarence Beeks

September 21st, 2012 at 11:38 PM ^

It's easy to say "greedy owners", but it's not really the case. This time it's the "greedy players". It's the players that want to keep receiving 57% (!) off of infrastructure improvements that generate revenue (ie revenue that they did nothing to generate and did not put capital at risk to generate). When it boils down to it, it's a 57% tax on the owners by the players. Continuing to pay that rate, on that revenue, is insane. If the players win on this point, it's the fans that lose because owners won't continue to make those improvements.

Seth

September 22nd, 2012 at 1:30 AM ^

Because he works for the owners, not the fans, and he is a fucking bulldog for them. Frankly he could give two shits for hockey--Bettman is an NBA guy anyway. Anyway you can't deny he did well by the owners with the last lockout, and the fans call came back en force after that, so why should this be any different?

Fortunately we have college hockey, where there's plenty of incompetence but I think at this point I prefer incompetence to Bettman uber competence.

I mean, CCHA Legacy Packs: http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/091912aac.html !!!

Have you ever heard of a league that realigns, and then says "here, purchase a ticket pack where you can see all of the old rivals." No. They have marketing gurus who will tell them the way to force fans to forget the past and embrace the new is to feed them none of it ever. But hey there fan, want to see Miami, ND, WMU, Bowling Green, Alaska, and Ferris State come to town like pissed off ex-wives? Hells yes we do!

Bando Calrissian

September 22nd, 2012 at 2:46 AM ^

This league has cancelled like five times as many games in the last decade as the rest of the major pro leagues have combined over their entire histories.  How anybody takes the commissioner's office seriously anymore is completely beyond me.