Wednesday, February 16, 2005
EuroUpdate: D-Day
I know some fans out there are still waiting with bated breath...watching the public exhange of love letters between Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow.
So, we'll keep this short and sweet.
TSN's Insider, Bob McKenzie doesn't see much hope, and either do I...
...and then he asks an obvious question
Lost Revenues
Lost Fans
Lost Games
Lost Cultural Relevance
Lost Players (some retire, some stay in Europe)
...and lost in all of this, is the fact that much of this nonsense could have been avoided had the NHL and its team knew how to better manage their on-ice and off-ice product.
So, here is the small EuroUpdate. I have a feeling I won't have to stop doing these for y'all.
In fact, since these leagues are almost ready for the playoffs (yeah, it's that late in the year), I may have a lot of goodies on the horizon.
Stats from yesterday's matches...
So, we'll keep this short and sweet.
TSN's Insider, Bob McKenzie doesn't see much hope, and either do I...
There is a huge gap here. The NHL proposed a $42.5 million hard cap vs. the NHLPA proposal of a $49 million soft cap that could be as much as $53.9 million depending on the circumstances.
Those are big numbers to crunch. Right now, I don't see the NHLPA making the move to $42.5 and I don't see the NHL making the move from $42.5 to anything - maybe $43 or $44 million. When you put it in that context, where do we go?
Nowhere.
...and then he asks an obvious question
It's sad to say but the time for creativity has passed. On Valentine's Day, the two sides finally got together and decided to make up. The league came off linkage and the NHLPA agreed to a salary cap. With the spectre of the season going down the drain they finally started to negotiate. Where the heck were they six months ago?Well, the fact is both sides figured they could hold out and make the other side sweat it out. Only now, perhaps, do they realize that they both made a critical error in that regard. Both sides will end up losing out...in more ways than one.
Lost Revenues
Lost Fans
Lost Games
Lost Cultural Relevance
Lost Players (some retire, some stay in Europe)
...and lost in all of this, is the fact that much of this nonsense could have been avoided had the NHL and its team knew how to better manage their on-ice and off-ice product.
So, here is the small EuroUpdate. I have a feeling I won't have to stop doing these for y'all.
In fact, since these leagues are almost ready for the playoffs (yeah, it's that late in the year), I may have a lot of goodies on the horizon.
Stats from yesterday's matches...
