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Hitting where it hurts...

September 15, 2012, 5:36 PM ET [36 Comments]
Paul McCann
Nashville Predators Blogger •Predators Radio Network • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The CBA negotiations have reached a dead end and the lockout is now inevitable. At midnight tonight, the symbolic padlocks go up, and the game we love will be officially shut down for the foreseeable future. The conflicting messages are baffling. Is there a “wide gulf” between the sides… you keep seeing that quoted repeatedly. The reality is, both sides know what will end up happening, but both sides have to play out the game.

It is painfully obvious that the players know they have to give up some salary.

It is equally obvious that the owners know they will have to increase revenue sharing.

Everything else is just smoke and mirrors. Wednesday’s exchange of proposals was rather distressing, and it has certainly driven the PR war to new heights. The spin has become strangely critical as both sides work the fans to capture the all-important “public opinion.” The mainstream media keeps track of who is “winning” the PR war like a game. The interesting piece of this is that the fans don’t really give a damn which side “wins” or what side “loses” that war… or the negotiations for that matter.

Quite frankly, the average fan is more worried about how to pay their bills, feed their families and trying to figure out how to pay for tickets… for a season that may or may not happen. A fan looks at this as simply silly, rich people fighting with richer people over a sum of money that is simply astronomical. A fan thinks “well, you guys keep fighting while I go to work… at my second job or my third job… and maybe… just maybe, I’ll use the money set aside for tickets for something else.”

I hate to be the one to break it to both sides… these type of discussions are not only happening on hockey sites like HockeyBuzz… but they are happening around kitchen tables all over North America.

A fan knows that both the players and the owners live in a different world, but I really wonder if both sides of this dispute have that knowledge, does the NHLPA and the NHL owners understand the sacrifices a lot of fans make to come to games? To buy the merchandise?? Do they? Because neither side is acting like they do. In case no one has let the owners or players know, the world is dramatically different now than when the last two lockouts occurred. The unemployment rate in 2004 was 5.5%, now… it is 8.1%. The price of a gallon of gas was $1.86 in 2004… and while it has been as high at $4 a gallon (July 2008) … it stands at $3.59 as I write this. The economy has been painfully slow in recovering in fits and starts for years now… disposable income is simply not as readily available. That is basic economic reality. It is a reality that needs to hit home, before irreparable damage is done.

We all know how the league recovered after losing an entire season and that, quite frankly, is what scares me. Cavalier comments from both sides about how the NHL recovered last time because NHL fans are the greatest fans in the world, yadda, yadda, yadda… OK… nice suck-up guys, but these type of comments indicate a real thought that neither side is really, truly worried about fan reaction.

Maybe they shouldn’t be. I mean let’s face it… the fans lost an entire season and they came roaring back and what’s more… they came back stronger. Revenues increased, salaries increased, ticket prices increased and to be fair, the quality of play increased. I’m left to ask this very simple question…

Why have this battle? I’m reminded of the computer in the old movie “War Games” … “A strange game professor… the only way to win is not to play.”

But the game is on… really on… and we now know, that barring a miracle… we will lose a portion of the season in order to get where we know they will end up, the players will get a deal less than what was offered on Wednesday … and the fans will continue to go to work every day, earning their living, missing their hockey, and quite possibly… figuring out somewhere else to spend the money they would have put in the players and owners pockets.

I hope that doesn’t happen, every dark night at every NHL arena will impact the people that work there and businesses that support it… I remember all too well how many downtown businesses went under during the last lockout. The lost season of ’04-’05 took down quite a few in Nashville, fans remember Wolfy’s… a former favorite post game hangout (of both players and fans) as one of the places that the 2004 lockout destroyed. Workers at Bridgestone Arena and NHL arenas across North America will begin to lose money with the cancellation of the first preseason game, every vendor, beer guy and contract worker will lose money. To some, this lost money is the difference between making the monthly bills and not, being able to pay for their kid’s college or even put food on the table.

The actions taken by both sides in this fight have real consequences to many more people than the members of the union and the owners of the NHL. There is a responsibility to all involved and it is a completely and totally shared responsibility… no matter how Mr. Fehr or Mr. Bettman spin it… there is no “good guy” in this scenario.

We have now gotten to the point where both sides had to get… Mr. Fehr, you have shown that the NHLPA will not be walked over, you have shown that the players union is stronger than it was back in 2004, congratulations… that is a large accomplishment. Mr. Bettman, you have shown that the owners need to fix some things in the model, you have shown that the league needs some changes in revenue structure for long-term success. Consider the messages sent, both sides can really declare victory… and declare victory right now.

The time for “message sending” is done… It’s go time… it is time to get deadly serious… open your minds, get creative and lock yourselves in a room in order to hammer this thing out, before the damage done to the NHL and the NHLPA gets set in concrete.

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Random Notes

- Nashville is rocking the “last-minute-before-the-CBA-expires-signings”… Kevin Klein for five years, 14.5 million. Craig Smith for two years, $4 million. Both great extensions… I wonder who’s next?

- Some improvements were announced to Bridgestone Arena, a new premium seating area called The 501 Club and a new HVAC system which should eliminate the need for additional air conditioning during the playoffs.

- The biggest improvement may be the new in-building training facility that will include a sheet of synthetic ice for face-off and shooting drills.

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ROAD TRIP!!!! Update!

We are heading to the Lone Star State! SlapShot Radio will be road tripping to Dallas for the season finale on April 13th. We have made arrangements for tickets and are working on the other logistics, bus, hotel, etc... depending on the MLB Schedule, we may even try to catch a Rangers game!

Circle the date and join the SlapShot Radio crew for a road trip to Dallas... 4/13/13. More information to come!

We just ordered our tickets… to order yours please contact Group Sales Manager, Stormye Stevens at (214) 387-5635, mention you're with the SlapShot Radio Road Trip and she'll get you set up.

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