MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 6th, 2013 at 11:02 AM ^

I can't wait for my first email from Olympia Entertainment expecting me to be so excited for hockey's return that I'll lap up every ticket offer they throw at me.  I'll still come running back like a good Pavlov's dog, but TV only, and hate myself for it, but I just wish there was a way to write a nasty reply to those ticket-selling emails that would ever reach someone other than a low-level sales monkey just happy to have his or her job back.

Tater

January 6th, 2013 at 11:48 AM ^

You can't totally blame Bettman for this.  I put more of the blame on the NHLPA, who have proven that, even though they are supposedly a players' association, they are reduced to the role of sock puppets for their agents.  Too many owners are losing money under the current setup.  

What other business model allows employees to receive a percentage of the gross while they are actually losing money?  All the players really "gained" here was a percentage of a "pool" that isn't going to increase anytime soon.  

Where is the money going to come from when both sides have damaged the game to a point where a lot more people don't care about them anymore?  If they really wanted to do something constructive, they would have gotten together and tried to figure out how to make their sport attractive enough to get a decent TV contract.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 6th, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^

If the players hadn't brought in Donald Fehr I would probably put 90% of the blame on Bettman.  But Fehr has now orchestrated protracted and spiteful labor stoppages in two sports now, so yes, fuck him equally along with Bettman, who doesn't know any way to get a deal done other than to murder the sport.

ndscott50

January 6th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^

Is not really valid. Pro sports in the US don't operate like a free market. Salary cap and draft limit the ability of players to market their skills. I see the revenue split as a price the owners have to pay for the lower risk offered by the salary cap and other provisions. If the owners did not want to have a defined revenue split they could get it but then everything would be an open market.

Monocle Smile

January 6th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^

Too many owners are losing money under the current setup.

I blame Bettman for this. He expanded the NHL into regions where teams are not garnering enough interest to make money. People parade around how the NHL is so much more popular and generates more revenue than before, but now we have eight or nine teams losing money because no one cares.

Also, the owners agreed to the old contract, so they don't get to whine about it until they can re-negotiate. Not in my book.

goblue20111

January 6th, 2013 at 11:43 PM ^

Dude, they didn't just sign the contract.  They got EVERYTHING they wanted.  What idiots did they have working on their side that didn't catch the frontloaded contract loophole? They got the cap they wanted and it was supposed to be labor peace for decades to come.  "Oh yea, sorry guys, we fucked up last time we locked you guys out for an entire year, we gotta do this again".  Sorry, I really don't blame the players.  Owners want to be saved from themselves.  No one forced you to overpay for your POS franchise in the middle of nowhere and no one forced you to sign 2 guys for $200MM.  How can the owners be signing these deals and then want to rescind them a month later and be trusted? How can you trust a proven liar sitting across the table from you?

goblue20111

January 6th, 2013 at 11:35 PM ^

Owners losing money is a load of crap for the most part.  Look at the Panthers for example.  The owner is crying poor.  Yeah, the Florida Panthers hockey team probably costs him money but what the Panthers got him is a lease on a publicly funded arena which he rents out and fills on a near nightly basis for concerts and conventions when the Panthers aren't in play.  He makes bank off that.  He got that arena deal due to this ownership of the Panthers.  Look at the main figures of the lockout---Jeremy Jacobs of Boston and Snider of Philly.  You think those locales are hurting for money? This is the same Jeremy Jacobs that made memebers of stanley cup winning staff pay a $7K tax on their rings and when some couldn't afford it, the PLAYERS that people love to deride stepped up and paid for those low-level staff memebers because they knew how important they are.  Fuck the owners.

Big House Fair

January 6th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^

I think it's funny to read from people who say they couldn't care less whether the NHL returns. Obviously they care enough to login and post comments which seem to imply some kind of superiority on their part.

MosherJordan

January 6th, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^

The NHL season has always been at least two months too long anyway. I mean, hockey from Mid-October to mid-June is a bit much. Half the league makes the playoff anyway, so losing two months off the regular season isn't a bad thing, IMO.

BallZDeeP210

January 6th, 2013 at 12:46 PM ^

Earlier on the ESPN front page they had a poll about your excitement for the return of hockey and 56% said they were not excited. Why would ESPN waste time on a league that 56% of their audience was not excited to discuss?

Edit: this was meant as reply to the posters commenting on ESPNs lack of NHL returns coverage

the Glove

January 6th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^

Like the NBA strike I would have been fine if it wouldn't have came back. I actually prefer college hockey over NHL. Yet, congratulations to the hockey fans out there.

G0B1U3

January 6th, 2013 at 1:14 PM ^

I really don't get why people feel so personally insulted. If you love hockey, watch it and attend the games. Was the lockout shitty? Yeah, absolutely. Did they forget about the fans in pursuit of the best CBA possible for them? Yep. But they're back now. Hockey wasn't on so I haven't watched, but it's back now so I may as well watch it. If you love it, you'll watch. Anyone saying that they feel personally disrespected needs to get real, the NHL is a lot bigger than the percentage of fans that won't come back, and most of them will eventually come back anyway. All I'm saying is that the NHL is a business and they had an unfortunate business dispute, but they're back now. Also, none of this excuses how poorly either side handled the Lockout, but it's over now so be happy and watch rather than hold a pointless grudge which will most likely eventually end anyway. Happy hockey-watching.

Buck Killer

January 6th, 2013 at 1:36 PM ^

Because they strike every 5 years since the cap. It is ran by Gary the fuc$stick. I agree with you, but it is a league getting run into the dirt. I was once a season ticket holder in Detroit. There are about 15 too many teams of watered down talent now. Go Wings beat Toronto! I will watch the cup games only if Detroit is playing.

UMxWolverines

January 6th, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^

I lost a lot of interest in hockey after the 2006-07 season. I'm not even really sure why. I used to watch almost every wings game, but for some reason I just stopped caring.

Doc Brown

January 6th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^

My personal lockout starts now. I am locking the NHL for an equal amount of games that I lost. I love Mike Illitch, but him and the NHL is not getting my attention and money. Unfortunately, the board of governors are too shortsighted to see the damage Bettman has caused the league from his mismanagement.