Beautiful, well said. Send this letter to the nhlpa so all can read, it is the truth! I would love to see a vote by the players and I am sure we are playing next month.
- flyerdude17

There will be no vote. Bettman said they removed all conscessions. The offer to "vote on" is gone. Time to go for the jugular.

Fehr is JUST WANT THE PLAYERS NEED.


Sorry Mr. Skywalker. Darth is not the bad guy. Unless you think that a 24% rollback last time was not enough or that it is NOT the GM's offering 126 year contracts or ... lets face it.... the last cancelled season was due to a money crisis.... this one is greed on the PART OF THE OWNERS

This is a lock out, not a strike.
- Beatle_john

STFU and GTFO

Comparing the NHL to the NFL, NBA, or MLB is assinine... and quite frankly the fatal flaw in the PA's logic. The pie, as it is, is finite...


- OilDerek

You're right on target on this. Here's what I found earlier today as for revenue for each league for their last season:

NFL: $9.5 billion
MLB: $7.7 billion
NBA: $4.3 billion
NHL: $3.0 billion (that's according to this site though I think it's $3.3 billion)

While I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are what they do show is just how much more the other sports bring in.

And yet the players continue to follow Fehr like lemmings straight to that cliff.

[edit]forgot to add the link.

http://www.plunkettresear...earch/industry-statistics
[/edit]

fehr has been a problem since day 1, and i don't know how the players can't see it. the guy is a narcissistic piece of poop, who only seems to be concerned with saying whatever he can to make the nhl look bad, and has zero interest in making a deal. I honestly think that less than 50% of what's come out of his mouth has been the truth.

the guy KILLED the game of baseball almost single-handedly, and is about to do 10 times worse to the NHL. if fehr goes, i bet there's a deal in place, that's good for both parties, in a day.
- sensarmy_11

What??

In the 10 years since, baseball demolished damage from its "labour disaster era" of 1981-1995. By 2010, revenues hit $7 billion and MLB just signed three new TV deals worth $12.4 billion through 2021. The playoffs are so incredibly good that you have to wonder when the devil's going to start collecting whoever sold their souls for this.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/...seballs-labour-peace.html

Hey Richards (D!CK) Please tell me why the players should bend to the owners will? They agreed to 50/50. Thats them giving up 7 percent. Thats alot of money. Its the owners who should bend. Its the owners who put these franchises in Cities that can not support them and now the owners want the players to pay for their mistakes??
- Brukie

Ryan Miller? Is that you?

I'm not saying that I disagree.

I find it amusing that the staunch PA supporters lay blame on the league for the lack of solvency and overall viability of some markets. Again I ask... do you (PA supporters) actually believe that the NHL wills these franchises to fail?

The real problem is that hockey is NOT as popular as football, basketball, baseball, golf etc. on the average to most North Americans. If the League and the Players Union want 30+ teams, then they must accept and expect that some franchises are going to struggle... thus limitng the leagues ability to generate revenue, thus limiting players salaries.

Comparing the NHL to the NFL, NBA, or MLB is assinine... and quite frankly the fatal flaw in the PA's logic. The pie, as it is, is finite...

Want to grow and develop the game and the league... accept what the market can bear and sustain. Until then, shut up, realize how lucky you are, and playing the franking game!

- OilDerek

Yeah, but the NHL has done a terrible job managing. do you honestly for a second think that phoenix sells more tickets than Quebec or Hamilton would? and the endless supply of terrible ownership? I for one think it's bad that Snoop Dog got more people out to see the ducks then their cup run? why isn't the NHL breaking through, the product is excellent, and common, a sport where you can drop the gloves and beat the living tar out of a guy Americans should be all over that!! who is charge of advertising, not the union.

people on this site are upset because they are fans, and want to see hockey, fair enough. but the truth of the matter is the players actually are in a stronger barging position, with or without fan support.
And lets be real when the player salary drops that 7% are we going to see any rollback in ticket price?
we don't see the entire picture from our perspective, so can we all quit it with the mob mentality, especially some of the actual bloggers, not like this site was overly professional in the first place but wow, the hissy fits are something else

Yeah, but the NHL has done a terrible job managing. do you honestly for a second think that phoenix sells more tickets than Quebec or Hamilton would? and the endless supply of terrible ownership? I for one think it's bad that Snoop Dog got more people out to see the ducks then their cup run? why isn't the NHL breaking through, the product is excellent, and common, a sport where you can drop the gloves and beat the living tar out of a guy Americans should be all over that!! who is charge of advertising, not the union.

people on this site are upset because they are fans, and want to see hockey, fair enough. but the truth of the matter is the players actually are in a stronger barging position, with or without fan support.
And lets be real when the player salary drops that 7% are we going to see any rollback in ticket price?
we don't see the entire picture from our perspective, so can we all quit it with the mob mentality, especially some of the actual bloggers, not like this site was overly professional in the first place but wow, the hissy fits are something else
- ky678468

No hissy fit here; I can assure you. I love the game of hockey, it has long been a part of my life... but there is more to life then hockey.

Let me be clear, I am not for a minute suggesting that the owners are not at fault for this mess. I just happen to be of the opinion that an owner has the inherent right to at least expect to have the opportunity to turn a profit. Furthermore, I believe that a player should make as much as the market can and will bear... it is the immutable laws of supply and demand at work. If you can't accept that the league as it is cannot sustain itself as part of it's current ecomonic model then contract. Fold the 16 or so teams losing money... and then lets see these players explain to the one another why 400 player jobs have been lost.

I am Canadian. Of course I would love to see the Nordique return... or Hamilton finally land a franchise. THe truth or the matter is, whether you choose to accept it as truth is that if these markets were sure fire, cannot fail revenue generating, gold mines there would be fanchises there already. The line of prsopective owners would be long... but they are not. There are many, many things to consider when investing huge amounts of capital into ventures such as these... things that you or I would have difficulty understanding (infrastrucure, leases, market volatility, Canadian dollar stability, etc., etc., etc.).

It is not as easy as you make it sound...

Yeah, but the NHL has done a terrible job managing. do you honestly for a second think that phoenix sells more tickets than Quebec or Hamilton would? and the endless supply of terrible ownership? I for one think it's bad that Snoop Dog got more people out to see the ducks then their cup run? why isn't the NHL breaking through, the product is excellent, and common, a sport where you can drop the gloves and beat the living tar out of a guy Americans should be all over that!! who is charge of advertising, not the union.

people on this site are upset because they are fans, and want to see hockey, fair enough. but the truth of the matter is the players actually are in a stronger barging position, with or without fan support.
And lets be real when the player salary drops that 7% are we going to see any rollback in ticket price?
we don't see the entire picture from our perspective, so can we all quit it with the mob mentality, especially some of the actual bloggers, not like this site was overly professional in the first place but wow, the hissy fits are something else
- ky678468

No hissy fit here; I can assure you. I love the game of hockey, it has long been a part of my life... but there is more to life then hockey.

Let me be clear, I am not for a minute suggesting that the owners are not at fault for this mess. I just happen to be of the opinion that an owner has the inherent right to at least expect to have the opportunity to turn a profit. Furthermore, I believe that a player should make as much as the market can and will bear... it is the immutable laws of supply and demand at work. If you can't accept that the league as it is cannot sustain itself as part of it's current ecomonic model then contract. Fold the 16 or so teams losing money... and then lets see these players explain to the one another why 400 player jobs have been lost.

I am Canadian. Of course I would love to see the Nordique return... or Hamilton finally land a franchise. THe truth or the matter is, whether you choose to accept it as truth is that if these markets were sure fire, cannot fail revenue generating, gold mines there would be fanchises there already. The line of prsopective owners would be long... but they are not. There are many, many things to consider when investing huge amounts of capital into ventures such as these... things that you or I would have difficulty understanding (infrastrucure, leases, market volatility, Canadian dollar stability, etc., etc., etc.).

It is not as easy as you make it sound...

Richard Cloutier: At Least We Know Who the Problem is Now
- Maxbone

Excellent blog

You're right on target on this. Here's what I found earlier today as for revenue for each league for their last season:

NFL: $9.5 billion
MLB: $7.7 billion
NBA: $4.3 billion
NHL: $3.0 billion (that's according to this site though I think it's $3.3 billion)

While I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are what they do show is just how much more the other sports bring in.

And yet the players continue to follow Fehr like lemmings straight to that cliff.


- cdninatl[edit]forgot to add the link.

http://www.plunkettresear...earch/industry-statistics
[/edit]

Very interesting link... thanks!

Fehr is JUST WANT THE PLAYERS NEED.


Sorry Mr. Skywalker. Darth is not the bad guy. Unless you think that a 24% rollback last time was not enough or that it is NOT the GM's offering 126 year contracts or ... lets face it.... the last cancelled season was due to a money crisis.... this one is greed on the PART OF THE OWNERS

This is a lock out, not a strike.
- Beatle_john

manny?

...the players will regret this.
absolute stupidity putting so much faith in a man who is without a doubt the worst thing to happen to hockey.

You're right on target on this. Here's what I found earlier today as for revenue for each league for their last season:

NFL: $9.5 billion
MLB: $7.7 billion
NBA: $4.3 billion
NHL: $3.0 billion (that's according to this site though I think it's $3.3 billion)

While I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are what they do show is just how much more the other sports bring in.

And yet the players continue to follow Fehr like lemmings straight to that cliff.


- cdninatl[edit]forgot to add the link.

http://www.plunkettresear...earch/industry-statistics
[/edit]

exactly.

I think a few facts have to be remembered.

The NHL locked out the players.

The NHL has chose expansion locations.

The NHL has done everything to keep a team that is bleeding red ink in Phoenix.

I am not nor will I be on the owners side until the owners take steps to accept responsibility for the money losing franchises.

The NHL has selected some very poor locations and the players shouldn't be asked to subsidize operations by taking less revenue. Current offers will simply allow profitable teams to make even more money. The first step in the bargaining process should feature more equitable revenue sharing agreement between the owners. Why should players playing in Toronto, New York and the other profitable franchises take less money in efforts for poor franchises to break even. Players with the Rangers work for a very profitable team. They agree to a smaller revenue share while their employers bottom line gets a huge increase. All these current negotiations represent is the greed of owners who not only don't want to help the struggling teams they want to increase their own revenues.

Putting a maximum contract length in the CBA is simply another move making players protect the owners who simply don't have to offer ridiculous contracts.

Leave all that crap out of the CBA so ownership can demonstrate some common sense and self control.

Donald is getting off on this... See!

I think a few facts have to be remembered.

The NHL locked out the players.

The NHL has chose expansion locations.

The NHL has done everything to keep a team that is bleeding red ink in Phoenix.

I am not nor will I be on the owners side until the owners take steps to accept responsibility for the money losing franchises.

The NHL has selected some very poor locations and the players shouldn't be asked to subsidize operations by taking less revenue. Current offers will simply allow profitable teams to make even more money. The first step in the bargaining process should feature more equitable revenue sharing agreement between the owners. Why should players playing in Toronto, New York and the other profitable franchises take less money in efforts for poor franchises to break even. Players with the Rangers work for a very profitable team. They agree to a smaller revenue share while their employers bottom line gets a huge increase. All these current negotiations represent is the greed of owners who not only don't want to help the struggling teams they want to increase their own revenues.

Putting a maximum contract length in the CBA is simply another move making players protect the owners who simply don't have to offer ridiculous contracts.

Leave all that crap out of the CBA so ownership can demonstrate some common sense and self control.
- Sabata

this is silly.

I don't think Fehr has had a particularly positive effect on anything, but come on, placing all the blame on him and calling him the worst thing to ever happen to hockey is blowing things out of proportion.

I think a few facts have to be remembered.

The NHL locked out the players.

The NHL has chose expansion locations.

The NHL has done everything to keep a team that is bleeding red ink in Phoenix.

I am not nor will I be on the owners side until the owners take steps to accept responsibility for the money losing franchises.

The NHL has selected some very poor locations and the players shouldn't be asked to subsidize operations by taking less revenue. Current offers will simply allow profitable teams to make even more money. The first step in the bargaining process should feature more equitable revenue sharing agreement between the owners. Why should players playing in Toronto, New York and the other profitable franchises take less money in efforts for poor franchises to break even. Players with the Rangers work for a very profitable team. They agree to a smaller revenue share while their employers bottom line gets a huge increase. All these current negotiations represent is the greed of owners who not only don't want to help the struggling teams they want to increase their own revenues.

Putting a maximum contract length in the CBA is simply another move making players protect the owners who simply don't have to offer ridiculous contracts.

Leave all that crap out of the CBA so ownership can demonstrate some common sense and self control.
- Sabata

I don't disagree with what you have said or suggested as a solution.

Sure, have the League impliment revenue sharing... they can try, but I am willing to bet that 7-10 owners will resist. There isn't a super lucrative TV deal to offset the sharing of revenue. This is not the NFL... it is a completely different animal. NHL owners will never adopt it IMO.

So whats the answer? Again; contract! Rid the league of its welfare franchises. How many player jobs will be lost? The PA will never accept it! The players cannot have both... SUPPLY AND DEMAND. The players can only earn what the market will allow.

Asking 5 owners to subsidize the losses of the remaining 80% of the league is ridiculous.

best blog uve written on the lockout brah

I don't think Fehr has had a particularly positive effect on anything, but come on, placing all the blame on him and calling him the worst thing to ever happen to hockey is blowing things out of proportion.
- Jack-artist

I can't think of anything/anyone worse. And if anyone says Bettman, they're wrong... He works for the owners, and he has done a great job of growing the league.

I don't think Fehr has had a particularly positive effect on anything, but come on, placing all the blame on him and calling him the worst thing to ever happen to hockey is blowing things out of proportion.
- Jack-artist

no, it isn't.

I can't think of anything/anyone worse. And if anyone says Bettman, they're wrong... He works for the owners, and he has done a great job of growing the league.
- laughs2907

Alan Eagleson? Peter Pocklington?

no, it isn't.
- Barx

If you have your head shoved far up the NHL's ass then sure.

Donald is getting off on this... See!


- laughs2907

God's talking to him.

Players will never agree to a deal that allows the Owners to take away all powers when negotiating a contract.

"Hey you know how you played really well? Wells here's this contract for 4 million. What? You're one of the top players in the league? LOL! Well too bad! Either take this or enjoy your 5 year contract! Want to get paid? Better go to a horrible team with lots of cap space!"

Players will essentially have zero power to get a new contract. Doesn't matter how well they play, too bad. And bad teams will have almost no power to land a top tier FA. Max of 5 years, what's the incentive? "Oh please come here to us, we can pay and extra two million. You just won't have any help at all and won't have a chance at a championship."

We'll have the same 5 teams winning and everyone else can go (frank) off. Essentially it'll be the NBA.