the NHL and you: discussion
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elkid
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 Posted: 09/15/04 - 10:47 Post subject: the NHL and you: discussion
Your thoughts?
NHL lockout about to become reality (IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer)
TORONTO (AP) -- First, the talking stopped. Now, the games have, too. Hockey has run out of time and tournaments. All that's left is a lockout. Players from Canada and Finland spoke about being focused on the World Cup of Hockey's final game and not on their fight with NHL owners. But Canada ended that tournament with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. So amid the cheers, the beers and probably some tears, the questions turned to what was going to happen next.
The current collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. With no talks scheduled, a lockout is a virtual certainty once the NHL board of governors conclude a Wednesday meeting in New York. "We're supposed to be partners,'' said Mario Lemieux, the player-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "It's not a question of going to war or winning a battle, it's just a question of what makes sense for the business and what makes sense for the players.''
Training camps won't open this week and games -- slated to begin Oct. 13 -- will soon be canceled, too. "I think everyone is going to be on the same page and hopefully something is going to happen sooner than later,'' New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur said. "As for my plans, I'm just going to probably coach minor hockey, my kids.''
Wade Redden took off his practice gear unsure of when he'd have a chance to put it on again. His injured shoulder wouldn't allow him to play for Canada. The lockout will extend his rest time. "Tomorrow is D-Day and it's going to be probably the last time we get on the ice for a bit,'' Redden said Tuesday.
A bit would be an optimistic view. The sides haven't spoken since talks broke off last Thursday, when the players' association made a proposal of a luxury-tax system with revenue sharing, a rollback of salaries, and changes to entry-level contracts. The owners said that framework doesn't ensure cost certainty for its clubs, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the sides "weren't speaking the same language.''
"It's a sad situation but there's nothing you can do right now,'' free-agent forward Teemu Selanne said. "Everybody is expecting a long lockout, which is not good for hockey, but it's going to happen no matter what.'' That's what happened in the 1994-95 season when the game was shut down for 103 days and the schedule was cut nearly in half. If no deal is reached by January, as it was the last time, the season would likely be lost.
The message in the locker rooms of Canada and Finland was clear. Players won't accept a salary-cap system and they are prepared to wait as long as necessary to get a deal they can live with. Even if that means sacrificing a season or two. "I'd rather not miss a year in hockey when I'm 25,'' Dallas forward Brenden Morrow said. "I'd like to be playing, but I'm just one small piece of this whole puzzle. "So until we can divide up that pie and everyone be happy with their piece, we're not going to get too much hockey played this year.''
Ville Nieminen, a forward with the Calgary Flames, will join his hometown team in the Finnish Elite League that begins this week. European players have more options in that regard than their North American counterparts, who could join some optimistic startup leagues. "If I don't do anything, I can't play hockey ever again. I like food too much,'' Nieminen said.
Morrow has opportunities to play in Europe, but he has been reluctant to act on them because he has an infant at home and is not eager to go so far away. "I want to take a few weeks after this tournament, go back to Dallas and wait for a miracle to happen,'' he said. "If it doesn't, then I'll check over my options. "I don't think I'm going to go a year without hockey. I'm going to end up doing something, eventually. I'm just not doing anything tomorrow.''
On Monday, Nieminen took some of his younger Finnish teammates to the players' association offices and introduced them to representatives. His quiet, 20-year-old teammate Joni Pitkanen has just one NHL season under his belt, and the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman is not looking to return to Finland.
Pitkanen just got here and wants to get more comfortable with the smaller North American ice rinks and with English -- a language still quite foreign. "It was a big change for me and I don't want to take a back step and go home again,'' Pitkanen said. So, he will instead play with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' minor league team in the AHL.
Teppo Numminen's career might be over if the lockout stretches too long. He's 36, with 16 NHL seasons behind him. His time in North America might be done for good. "Maybe as a player,'' he said. "If this drags out, I might be back for vacation.''
It seems there'll be plenty of time for that.
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coachmarkos
my boys could swim
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 10:48 Post subject:
I hope they can settle their differences, but I've heard some really nasty things. Like there won't be any season at all. And that this could actually be the end of the NHL...and a new league would have to spring up if there would be professional hockey again.
 I don't know much. Where's blue at when you need him?
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RexRacer
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 10:52 Post subject:
"We're supposed to be partners,'' said Mario Lemieux, the player-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "It's not a question of going to war or winning a battle, it's just a question of what makes sense for the business and what makes sense for the players.''
So who does he caucus with during the negotiations?!
Not that I care, really. My interest in the NHL was waned pretty significantly. Still, I was surprised that players in that article said they would wait out a lockout for "a year or two!"
Are shades of Football's strike-year teams looming?
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MechEngDropout
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 10:57 Post subject:
I really don't mind. Not a hockey fan.
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Cappy
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 10:59 Post subject:
| MechEngDropout wrote: | | I really don't mind. Not a hockey fan. |
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Gogirlgo
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 11:01 Post subject:
oohay arescay
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Cappy
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 11:04 Post subject:
| Gogirlgo wrote: | | oohay arescay |
eh?
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suburbman
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 11:07 Post subject:
Now you're speaking my language. I'm a huge hockey fan and its the topic of the day around here (Canada, eh). As far as most people are concerned there will not be a hockey season this year. At least not a full season. Something might start back up again in January but from the talk on both sides, it seems very unlikely. It's a matter of who will cave first and need the money. The players claim that they can wait it out and have already started making plans for playing in other leagues. Now that might be easy to say for some of the wealthier players but for the ones making meagre sallaries in the 6 digit range, that might not be the case.
Here's where some of the players might be going to play this season:
www.oshl.ca
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gretriever
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 11:11 Post subject:
Even though it's two years away, it is reported that if this goes into effect, the players will not be given a mid-season break to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
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Pug
The Movie Geek
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 11:33 Post subject:
Not being much of a hockey fan, i can't say this impacts me too much. It's an interesting story, though.
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Floridaboiler
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 21:23 Post subject:
I am sorry to hear that it is going to happen. I am not a huge fan but I do follow the devils. Hopefully they can sort it out and save the league.
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copteacher
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 23:46 Post subject:
just like baseball many years back. It gives me a real bad taste.
If I am not mistaken, the NHL has the highest average salary per player of any sport.
awful.
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copteacher
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Posted: 09/15/04 - 23:55 Post subject:
nhl salary higher than nfl
| Quote: | Average major league baseball salaries
Year Average Increase/decrease Median
1976 $52,300 -- --
1977 74,000 41.49%
1978 97,800 32.16%
1979 121,900 24.64%
1980 146,500 20.18%
1981 196,500 34.13%
1982 245,000 24.68%
1983 289,000 17.96% $207,500
1984 325,900 12.77% 229,750
1985 368,998 13.22% 265,833
1986 410,517 11.25% 275,000
1987 402,579 -1.93% 235,000
1988 430,688 6.98% 235,000
1989 489,539 13.66% 280,000
1990 589,483 20.42% 350,000
1991 845,383 43.41% 412,000
1992 1,012,424 19.76% 392,500
1993 1,062,780 4.97% 371,500
1994 1,154,486 8.63% 450,000
1995 1,094,440 -5.20% 275,000
1996 1,101,455 0.64% 300,000
1997 1,314,420 19.33% 400,000
1998 1,384,530 5.33% 427,500
1999 1,724,310 24.54% 495,000
2000 1,983,849 15.05% 700,000
SOURCE: Major League Baseball |
baseball average salary for 2004
Despite the 3 percent drop from the start of last season, players on opening day rosters averaged $2.49 million, according to a study by The Associated Press.
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suburbman
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Posted: 09/16/04 - 08:29 Post subject:
| rtpd113 wrote: | just like baseball many years back. It gives me a real bad taste.
If I am not mistaken, the NHL has the highest average salary per player of any sport.
awful. |
Is that a fact? And they wonder why they're having these problems. Both sides just don't seem to understand that it's the fans that have to pay the ultimate price on both ends. We pay the big bucks to see the games and then we get screwed when they go on strike because they want more money. Puts a bad taste in my mouth. I live in hockey town (Toronto) and the average ticket price for a game is over $100. Now I'm you're average income earner but for me to take the family to a game, buy a few snacks and souveiners would cost me a freakin fortune. Do I have sympathy for either side? Hell no.
I think if they don't come to an agreement soon then the same thing that happened to baseball when they went on strike will happen to hockey. It will take years to regains what little popularity it has.
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elkid
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Posted: 09/16/04 - 08:35 Post subject:
| rtpd113 wrote: | | If I am not mistaken, the NHL has the highest average salary per player of any sport. |
Subdiscussion: NHL players SHOULD get more than NFL players.
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