Author Topic: Is the NHL Dead? (Read 6374 times)

Darth Spice · « **on:** October 08, 2004, 12:30:02 AM »

With the lockout in effect, I read today the Chicago Wolves signed Chris Chellios to a contract. Can Hockey recover if this goes on for a prolonged period of time? I mean they were barely keeping their heads above water, (IMO) and there is nothing like a strike to alienate your fans! What do you guys think, hockey around here sucks, thanks to the jag-bag Wirtz but will it survive??

dustrho · « **Reply #1 on:** October 08, 2004, 09:20:03 AM »

I used to be a huge fan of NHL hockey back when I was in high school & college (early to mid 90s), but after I graduated from college I kind of gave up on hockey. Not really sure what it was that made me do that, but I just stopped watching hockey. I'll tell you this though, it's more fun going to the minor league hockey games versus an NHL game (excluding playoffs of course), because the crowd gets into the game much more than an NHL game. I love going to see the Chicago Wolves, and I'm happy for Chris Chelios landing a gig with them. Very cool!

habs98 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 08, 2004, 11:04:22 AM »

Looks like I'll be going to a lot of AHL games this year. The crazy thing is these games are just as good just without all the big names.

daytrip903 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 08, 2004, 11:53:26 AM »

I just hope they can come to an agreement before Jan 1. I miss the NHL b/c now all Sportscenter will have to show is Basketball highlights all winter. I like B-ball but they can only show me so many dunks and such before I get bored.

The Ghost of QG · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2004, 06:48:13 PM »

Yeah, but it gives ESPN to show the best sport there is: College Basketball. I personally cannot stand hockey. Just not my bag. It doesn't bother me about the strike, but I do feel for the fans of NHL teams.

daytrip903 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 09, 2004, 07:42:15 AM »

College B-ball is fine until the let the escaped mental patient talk. By the way his name is d**k Vitale. I like how he goes on and on about some guy, whom is good in college, but winds up being a water boy for an NBA team.

I will get back to the NHL now. I found out that KC recently got an IHL team!!! Its hockey to me and a lot of fun to go watch.

Darth Spice · « **Reply #6 on:** October 09, 2004, 02:58:28 PM »

Seems that if the NHL isn't careful the IHL will be the premier Hockey league in the country. While I feel only a few of the NHL franchises like the Leafs, Flyers, Devils and Rangers are the only ones showing profit. NHL is on some thin ice!!!

Lt. Starfox · « **Reply #7 on:** October 09, 2004, 06:02:21 PM »

I don't know if the NHL is dead, but at our local arena, we've had 3 different semi-pro teams in the last 8 years....they work good the first year then the money falls short after that and they close up shop during their 2nd season.....if just doesn't stick here in Texas as well. Good luck to you hockey fans!

Arani Torwyn · « **Reply #8 on:** November 26, 2004, 11:48:09 AM »

I guess NHL players just don't get paid enough, poor wretches...

When was the last time you made a couple of thousand bucks just stepping on an ice rink?

Jobi-Wan Kenobi · « **Reply #9 on:** December 21, 2004, 08:20:43 PM »

I love hockey. I have been strictly an NHL fan for close to ten years (especially the Redwings). I do see a major decline in an already low product. It might be close to the end for thr NHL, but as long as one of the other leagues steps it up, I'll be happy. I love Hockey.

Darth Spice · « **Reply #10 on:** December 22, 2004, 12:55:27 PM »

It appears it's pretty much done for this year, I just can't imagine any other sport falling off the way Hockey did. I think it's been dead around here for years (Chicago) but it's too bad when two parties can't agree on things. Especially when it could ruin both owners and players alike.

Major fett · « **Reply #11 on:** January 05, 2005, 06:37:49 PM »

I heard a Rumor that they were canceling Hockey all together?

dustrho · « **Reply #12 on:** January 05, 2005, 06:40:12 PM »

Quote from: masterfett on January 05, 2005, 06:37:49 PM

I heard a Rumor that they were canceling Hockey all together?

Do you mean they're going to kill the entire league, and never have an NHL game ever again? That is so f'n stupid! I used to love the NHL about 8 years ago.

Major fett · « **Reply #13 on:** January 05, 2005, 08:52:19 PM »

Quote from: dustrho on January 05, 2005, 06:40:12 PM

Quote from: masterfett on January 05, 2005, 06:37:49 PM
I heard a Rumor that they were canceling Hockey all together?

Do you mean they're going to kill the entire league, and never have an NHL game ever again? That is so f'n stupid! I used to love the NHL about 8 years ago.

Yeah, The story I heard was that due to the declining ratings the league is going to be dissolved?

Darth Spice · « **Reply #14 on:** January 08, 2005, 11:46:34 AM »

I simply can't believe WE haven't had a resolution to this problem by now. So lemme get this straight they just aren't going to play hockey this year???

Lt. Starfox · « **Reply #15 on:** February 08, 2005, 04:25:50 PM »

more news:

Locked-out NHL fans falling away fast
UPI Sports

OTTAWA, February 08, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX)

OTTAWA, February 08, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A poll of Canadian hockey fans shows this year's NHL lock-out has so far cost the league more than 16 percent of its fan base, the Ottawa Sun said Tuesday.

A national SES/Sun poll of 1,000 people found 629 who said they were fans of the Canadian-based league.

But when asked how much NHL hockey they'd be watching when the lockout ends, 16.4 percent of fans planned to look for something else to do.

"They're giving up on the NHL," said SES president Nik Nanos. "From a strictly business point of view, can the league sustain a potential loss of 16 percent of its market?"

Fans in the country's most populous province, Ontario, harbor the biggest grudge, with 21.8 percent seeking alternatives.

The poll was conducted between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Rabid Ewok · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2005, 04:06:48 PM »

I hope the NHL does come back, I just recently started watching, and liking the game, and now it may never come back? Bull! I think that the only reason some people are losing interest in hockey is because they (not the fans) are becoming wusses. If hockey was brought back, they would probably get all or most of their fans back.

Hockey is pretty damn popular (especially in Canada), so it's a bit hard to imagine it disappearing.

dustrho · « **Reply #17 on:** February 10, 2005, 09:50:10 AM »

I still cannot believe what has happened with this season.

NHL Needs Deal by Weekend to Save Season

Thu Feb 10, 7:41 AM ET
By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer

By this weekend, the NHL will either have a surprising deal that saves the hockey season or a dubious place in history.

The long-awaited deadline is set. If the league and the union can't hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement in this last round of talks that started secretly in Toronto on Wednesday, commissioner Gary Bettman will pull the plug.

The NHL would then have the distinction of being the first North American sports league to lose an entire season to a labor dispute. Bettman would rather not have that mark on his record, but said the right deal is necessary in order for the NHL to survive.

"This has just been a very difficult, frustrating process and again we're sorry we have to go through it," he said. "But we had no choice."

The lockout reached its 147th day Wednesday. If a deal is reached, Bettman said, there would be a 28-game regular season and the 16-team playoff structure would be preserved.

"It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document by this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of a season," Bettman said. "Obviously we will listen to everything the union has to say, but we've given all we can give and gone as far as we can go."

Bettman and NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly visited the players' association office in Toronto. The union made it clear that it wasn't going to initiate new talks this week, so the league took a new offer to the players.

It wasn't received well.

"It's really not whether there's a better deal or a worse deal, it's the right deal, it's the fair deal," NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow said. "We've always been focused on those principles."

The NHL handed over a brief concept that it called "a compromise proposal."

It presented the idea that a new deal be made using the players' association's proposal from Dec. 9 that included a luxury-tax system and a 24 percent salary rollback on existing contracts.

But if any one of four financial conditions set forth by the league were exceeded, then the NHL's salary-cap offer from last week would go into effect the following season. Teams would then be forced to spend at least $32 million on player costs but no more than $42 million, including benefits.

"The NHL delivered a one-page concept to us which they tried to suggest represented a compromise," Goodenow said. "The league's proposal was a transparent attempt to impose on our Dec. 9 proposal the effects of their twice-rejected Feb. 2 triple-cap proposal."

Goodenow said that one of the four limits would immediately be exceeded if this deal was put in place, and others could be easily reached.

The union asked Bettman and Daly to stay in Toronto through Thursday for negotiating sessions. The men who hold the season in their hands went out for dinner Wednesday and planned to talk again.

Goodenow said they would try to figure out new ways to get over the main stumbling block of a salary cap, but added that the players' association won't hand over a new proposal Thursday.

"We'll have conversations about these difficult areas and see if we can't come up with an idea, a framework or a mechanism for some common ground," Goodenow said. "The prospect that we'd be able to conclude an agreement by the end of the weekend is very daunting.

"It is possible, but I don't want to discuss the levels of probability."

The lockout has wiped out 813 of the 1,230 regular-season games, as well as this weekend's scheduled All-Star game. If the season is canceled, there is no telling when there will be NHL hockey again.

"The deal can only get worse, from a technical matter and as an economic matter, the longer we go without a new deal," Bettman said. "That's not a threat, that's simply the reality of where we find ourselves."

It was believed that there had been no contact between the sides since last Friday when talks broke off after three straight days of meetings.

The bulk of the negotiations since mid-December were conducted mostly by Daly and players' association senior director Ted Saskin.

Bettman and Goodenow were invited by the union back to the table last week for two days of talks after the union rejected the league's previous proposal.

The NHL has been intent on making a deal that provides a link between league revenues and player costs. The players' association has steadfastly refused to accept a salary cap as a solution to the stalemate.

"We really gave this our best shot," Bettman said. "This is what we really believe we need."

Darth Spice · « **Reply #18 on:** February 16, 2005, 09:30:49 PM »

We got our answer today and Sports History as well. So listen Troopers if your on Jeopardy or something just remember "The team that won the Stanley Cup in 2005"

"Who is Nobody!"

dustrho · « **Reply #19 on:** February 17, 2005, 07:16:09 AM »

I think this image sums it up best...

Jedi Scholar 8 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 09, 2005, 11:05:09 AM »

I seriously doubt that the NHL will come to an end alltogether. There is still big money to be made in the sport which grows in size and popularity every day. They ARE going to take a pretty big hit on this one, and will take something big to bring it back. Much like the '94 baseballl strike, which made baseball suffer until '98 with the home run records. Canada brings a lot of the problems because their revenue is brouth in as Canadian money, but pay the players in American dollars which are worth more than Canadian. That puts a hurt on not only those Canadian teams, but it does trickle down into the rest of them. They need damage control. Last I had heard, due to the lockout, the contract with ESPN may be in jeopardy.

Pat

Weez · « **Reply #21 on:** June 09, 2005, 11:42:58 AM »

Actually, believe it or not, I heard TODAY that they have settled on a seperate salary cap for each team! Those this is NOT official and has not yet been confirmed, this is what I read in today's sports page. Anyone heard anything else?

Lt. Starfox · « **Reply #22 on:** June 09, 2005, 04:55:18 PM »

Quote from: Weez on June 09, 2005, 11:42:58 AM

Actually, believe it or not, I heard TODAY that they have settled on a seperate salary cap for each team! Those this is NOT official and has not yet been confirmed, this is what I read in today's sports page. Anyone heard anything else?

a separate salary cap for each time? never will happen!

Trooper Larry · « **Reply #23 on:** June 09, 2005, 08:26:26 PM »

I have been a die-hard fan since I was 10. I have played since I was 11. It saddens me to know, that because of greed on both sides, they have all but killed this game. It will be a very difficult road even after they come to an agreement. They have alienated fans, and pushed all the sponsers away. They were able to come back after the strike shortened season, but I am not sure if it will be able to be done this time. In some ways, I wish this would happen in every major sport, so that it might bring these million dollar crybabies on both sides, back to reality.

Lt. Starfox · « **Reply #24 on:** June 09, 2005, 08:44:34 PM »

Quote

In some ways, I wish this would happen in every major sport, so that it might bring these million dollar crybabies on both sides, back to reality.

well said!

dustrho · « **Reply #25 on:** June 09, 2005, 09:18:48 PM »

Quote from: starfox on June 09, 2005, 08:44:34 PM

Quote
In some ways, I wish this would happen in every major sport, so that it might bring these million dollar crybabies on both sides, back to reality.

well said!

VERY well said indeed! I can't stand the fact that we bust our ass at our jobs for less than $100k/year, and these guys are b*tching because $40-million for say 5 years isn't good enough. Those friggin' selfish and greedy bastards. We're all part of the blame though, because we support those teams and sports, and without our support there would be no huge money-makin' players, teams and leagues out there.

Lt. Starfox · « **Reply #26 on:** June 10, 2005, 06:33:21 AM »

Quote

We're all part of the blame though, because we support those teams and sports, and without our support there would be no huge money-makin' players, teams and leagues out there.

that's why I quit having anything to do with baseball when the Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez several years back

Trooper Larry · « **Reply #27 on:** June 13, 2005, 03:37:56 PM »

Quote from: starfox on June 10, 2005, 06:33:21 AM

Quote
We're all part of the blame though, because we support those teams and sports, and without our support there would be no huge money-makin' players, teams and leagues out there.

that's why I quit having anything to do with baseball when the Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez several years back

251 million to play baseball is a joke. I dont care how good you are. I'd rather pay 20 bucks total, for two tickets and parking to see a minor league game, and palyers that actually give everything they have just to play.

scalperhunter1 · « **Reply #28 on:** June 20, 2005, 07:46:37 PM »

That's why I love our United States Hockey League team. Young men (17-21) playing the game for the love of the game. Their only concern is winning. And a possible college scholarship. Reminds me of why I got into athletics when I was in school.

dustrho · « **Reply #29 on:** June 20, 2005, 08:12:03 PM »

So is the NHL going to be back for the next coming season? I really would like to go to a Blackhawks game again.