Do You Miss Hockey?

[Ravenseye]

Poll question: Do You Miss Hockey?

Now that football season is over, are you missing hockey? Do you not care? How do you feel about the dispute?

[Davion]

1. I think my avatar shows my view...

On edit, the owners are right... a salary cap will make the NHL more competitive, like the NFL has become (Pats aside hehe).

[Ravenseye]

7. It's Gotta Be Hard On You

The Avalanche are a really great team to root for. Great players, seems to be a great hockey town with great fan support.

How are people in Denver reacting to it?

[Davion]

12. Couldn;t tell you, really

I moved my sorry ass to San Diego a while ago, but team loyalty doesn't change. But Denver likes all their sports teams (except those Nuggets), so my guess is they aren't taking it all that well (especially considering the Pepsi-Can, er Center, they built) :)

[Ravenseye]

16. Was it intentional...

do you know, if they changed the exit for the Pepsi Center to 16-W purposely or did that just happen by chance?

[Davion]

18. Pure coincidence, I'm sure

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/2001/playoffs/

[Ravenseye]

19. That was great when Ray Bourque Hoisted the cup.

Really great moment in hockey. My wife cried, and we're not Bruins or Avalanche fans.

[Davion]

22. Hell, everyone in my living room welled up

Of course, it was a bunch of homos, most of whom had never watched hockey before and just came over because they had nothing else to do, but it was a helluva moment! I won't forget "Auto-Joe" handing The Cup right to him.

And yes, the only time I have ever became emotional due to a sporting event was when the Broncos beat the Packers. :)

[Ravenseye]

25. Yeah Joe handing the cup right over

That was aweome. Shows what a great guy Sakic must be. He didn't even lift it over his head, as I remmeber it, just got it and practically threw it at Bourque.

[Davion]

27. Of course, my heart will always long for another....

Who will probably never return

http://www.coloradoavalanche.com/team/player.asp?PID=13

[Ravenseye]

28. Yeah Forsberg...I knew it before I clicked the link.

Ya still got Tanguay though, he's good and should be for awhile right?

[Davion]

29. Yes, he will be around, and the Avs will win again

But I meant I'll miss him for more carnal reasons! :evilgrin:

My straight friends don't get how I can love sports on two levels at once! hehe

[LisaM]

2. I miss it dreadfully (and did before the football season ended)

Sadly, my Gary Bettman voo-doo doll is not working. I'll stick some more pins in it.

[KamaAina]

40. That may explain why New Orleans never got an expansion team

when seemingly every other Southern city with at least three Waffle Houses got one.

my Gary Bettman voo-doo doll is not working.

Owners' plan: Corporate welfare for all those Sunbelt fishes out of (ice) water. Players' attitude: Sucks, but remember, this is a lockout, NOT a strike, and thus management is ALWAYS wrong.

[Ravenseye]

43. It's not just the Sunbelt teams in trouble

Teams That Made A Profit Last Year (2004) - And How Much (in Millions U.S.)

Toronto Maple Leafs 14.1
Minnesota Wild 11.5
Chicago Blackhawks 9.4
Tampa Bay Lightning 8.6
Montreal Canadiens 7.5
Nashville Predators 6.2
Edmonton Oilers 3.3
Boston Bruins 2.3
Calgary Flames 2.3
San Jose Sharks 1.3
Vancouver Canucks 1.3
Columbus Blue Jackets 0.9
Atlanta Thrashers 0.9

Teams That Lost Money Last Year (2004) - And How Much (in Millions U.S.)

Dallas Stars -0.3
Pittsburgh Penguins -0.6
Colorado Avalanche -1.1
New York Rangers -3.3
Florida Panthers -3.7
Philadelphia Flyers -4.1
Ottawa Senators -5.0
Los Angeles Kings -5.3
Phoenix Coyotes -7.8
New York Islanders -9.5
Buffalo Sabres -10.5
New Jersey Devils -13.9
Washington Capitals -14.7
Detroit Red Wings -16.4
Carolina Hurricanes -18.2
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim -22.4
St Louis Blues -28.8

[Ravenseye]

3. I Want Hockey Back

I miss hockey alot this season, however I feel that the owners have a point. If they don't put in salary control a few billionare owners are going to ruin it for everyone else.

I normally support union workers, but players who make an average salary of over a million dollars a year don't get alot of compassion from me, when ticket prices are so high it's hard to afford to go to many games, and smaller market teams without a billionare owner just can't compete.

[LisaM]

13. If it weren't for some greedy owners salaries wouldn't spiral

out of control. No one forced them to start the bidding wars. This is always the excuse. And Bettman thought he could raise it to the level of other major league sports - he was wrong, and he's essentially ruined hockey in the process. They were all quick to jump on board thinking all the teams needed to be moved to the Nascar cities and they thought they would get big bucks from Fox - the owners certainly didn't turn any of that down.

I'll also throw in, even if teams operate at a loss, they are an investment and no one has EVER lost money on a pro sports franchise when they sold it.

[Ravenseye]

21. Bettman is a problem

There are so many reasons I dislike Bettman's decisions I won't even get into them. with most hockey fans it's just preaching to the choir.

I agree that it's the fault of just a few greedy owners, then there are a few more competitive owners who try and stay in the game, and a few more dumb ones who just have no clue. Then the rest of the teams get all their talent pilfered from them.

I bet you that if someone tried to sell a hockey franchise now they'd lose some money. That's not the poitn though. These teams SHOULD operate with a profit. It's a business. Teams shouldn't be forced to each have a billioare owner who treats it like a toy.

And I agree. The Hurricanes should move back to Hartford, the Thrashers should move to Winnipeg, and so on, and so on. The thing is without a fair and balanced revenue sharing CBA I don't see that ever happening.

[LisaM]

31. Revenue sharing, what a concept

that would change everything.

And, you forgot, send the NORDILANCHE back to Quebec.

[HEyHEY]

4. Of course - I couldn't care less about football

But the NHL and NHLPA held another secret meeting in TO today...and nothing was done.

[Ravenseye]

8. Do Canadians Support a Salary Cap?

Toronto I would guess wouldn't cause they make a ton of money, but what about Ottawa, Edmonton, etc.

Yes Calgary made it to the big show, but don't you think they'd be better off with some sort of salary control? Wouldn't that help canadian teams in general?

[Oreo]

5. I like it - I miss it.. .nobody's right

I slightly lean toward the players b/c they're the only ones that have put a halfway decent offer on the table.

I predict that we won't see the NHL until next January at the earliest and when it does come back, at least 3 teams will be gone. They're already talking about the Ducks being controlled by the NHL if Disney dumps them for cheap.

I thought college hockey would keep me satisfied here in the Mpls but no such luck :P

[LisaM]

6. This poll is being FReeped!!!!!

Everyone is on the side of the owners, except me.

[Ravenseye]

14. I side with the owners

I'll tell you why. Look at the NFL. Parity has only made that league better and more widely followed. The problem comes when teams have such widely divergent payrolls. Even if a small team like Tampa Bay can win the Stanley Cup they'll be eaten alive within a year or two by free agency. All their good players will be gone to a handfull of teams who can afford to pay, oh say 10 million a year for Bobby Holik.

Sports leagues are about competition, but you can't have good competition without each team having a chance. With parity bad teams can't blame it on money. People know that you get a new coach, you make some good trades, and any team can win the championship every year. The current NHL setup is terrible for this. You'll have exceptions but those teams that do rise will be decimated shortly after.

I think the players are being unreasonable.

[realisticphish]

9. NHL, yes; but i still have my CCHA hockey

seriously; feeling down? check out your local college, see if they have a hockey team...you can find some great games that way

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Ravenseye]

15. Robert Morris here in Pittsburgh has a new team

Division I team. Brand new. Hard to watch them though cause they have a brand new team and they're going to suck till they get some seniors on their team.

[realisticphish]

23. hey

at least its hockey:)

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Ravenseye]

26. Loosely Defined

They also don't really play anyone good, which is probably good for them right now, but eh....going to see a Robert Morris University hockey game against Alabama-Huntsville...is that REALLY hockey?

Yeah I guess it is. I wonder if they have nachos.

[AVID]

10. what happened to hockey . . . seriously???

[Ravenseye]

17. CBA Came and Went

The players want more of the same, though are willing to take large current rollbacks of salary. The owners want a salary cap that's tied to revenues, with a minimum and maximum roster salary for each team. I think they also want a hard cap on player salary at 6 million maximum.

Basically it came about because something like 70% of NHL teams are losing money and they need some sort of revenue control. Player salaries are taking up close to 80% of league reveneues, which are hurting also from very high ticket prices. Spending is out of control.

Many team owners will lose less money by not playing under the current system, than by actually playing the games.

The players don't believe their accountants.

It's pretty nasty. So no hockey this year.

[beyurslf]

11. Other: I don't miss it....I didn't know it was gone.

[MrSlayer]

20. I miss it more than ever now that football is over.

I couldn't vote in the poll because I don't agree 100% with one side or the other. The first thing they should do is get rid of Bettman, he has totally destroyed the sport. They need to cut the league back to 21 teams and restore the game as it once was in the glory days of the 80's and early 90's. Get rid of the trap, get rid of the stupid instigator rule and put the nets back on the spikes. There should be a real price to pay when you crash the net, you shouldn't be allowed to run the goalie over. It was a much better game when it was played from the wings in instead of plowing the net. The sooner they realize they will never be the NFL or even the NBA the better off they will be. The players are going to have to take reduced salaries and the owners will have to share revenues. It wouldn't be difficult to make this work as long as everyone approaches it realistically.

[Ravenseye]

24. I basically agree with you.

I think you nailed it though when you said they have to realize that it will never be the NFL or the NBA.

It's basically a regional sport, and will, in many markets, never be the number 1 sport in town. They can't have players making what they do and expect to get away with it.

I think a big problem is with the ref's, and for that I blame Bettman. If they'd just ENFORCE the rules in the books about clutching grabbing holding and so on the game would be better for it.

Remember how the past few seasons they kept saying they'd enforce the rules and they would for like 15-20 games and they'd be exciting and high scoring, but then the refs would start not calling the penalties, and nothign happened, so they just stopped.

Why don't the refs call the games right? What's going on there? If Bettman said that they were going to review the games and fire refs who didn't call the plays..and actually did it...the game would be better off for it.

[MrSlayer]

30. The reason for the grabbing is because of inferior players.

With the league expanded so much there are way too many players in the NHL that should still be in the minors. All the clutching and grabbing is because these players simply cannot compete with those who actually belong in the NHL. I hate watching someone like Forsberg have to carry two nobodies on his back the whole game because they have no other way to stop him and it's especially frustrating when the refs don't call it. If the refs do call the game straight then it's a constant powerplay with very little 5 on 5. Reducing the teams to a sane number would eliminate most of this slogging play and open up the ice. It would also allow more teams to have multiple stars which creates much better games. Even the bad teams in the 80's and early 90's had a couple 50 goal scorers.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

32. The players are stupid and greedy

they think they can make the same salaries as Football and NBA, but there is nowhere near that amount of money in hockey.
The TV markets and overall audience and sponsorship is just not the same- not even close. They stupidly, greedily killed off the season.
And this is all endorsed from VERY expert opinion- my neighbor Stan Fischler.

[kick-ass-bob]

33. don't forget, the owners are greedy and stupid.

They are the ones who inflated all those contracts.
They brought it on themselves.

And they outright rejected the players offer to cut higher salaries by 40%.

I didn't vote, because both sides are to blame - but its mainly 2 people Goodenow and Bettman. The animosity between the two are about to murder the sport.

Way to go guys.

[HuckleB]

34. I like it. I miss it. I don't know who's right and who's wrong.

[BTFSTL]

35. Serious puckhead here!!

I LOVE it - I MISS it - and both Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenough both need to GO!!!

As usual, it's Joe Sixpack Fan who gets the shaft - the ones who are REALLY the game.

I'm thinking it's time to head to both NHL and NHLPA headquarters en masse and demand both their heads. It's time to take the game back!!!

[njdemocrat106]

36. I miss it

I don't know who to side with. I just hope that we'll have a season next year (supposedly even that might not happen).

[Hokie]

37. Deadline - Again!

How many deadlines is the NHL going to set? I think we have gone through at least a dozen in the last few weeks.

[Ravenseye]

38. Just a Matter of Time

The owners and players both are screwing themselves. The players especially. I see the NHL as doing this so they can show they tried to negotiate in good faith, doing everything they could to have a season. That way next year they can use replacement players.

I read an article saying it was a possible conspiracy, and that Bettman was partly standing so tough for his friend at the NBA who has a CBA coming up fairly soon. Make the NHL set the precedent and miss a season, so the NBA won't have to.

It's a foregone conclusion though that we won't have hockey this season. It sucks.

[slestak]

41. Bettman will cancel the season tomorrow (2/15)

Link to story at ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1991361

[KitchenWitch]

39. Wild fan here

Miss it a lot. There are reports of restaurants in St Paul needing to go out of business, due to the lockout. What the greedy owners and players fail to realize is that there are the "little people" whose livelihood relies on having hockey/or whatever sports games.

[Ravenseye]

42. The Ref's Union agrees

They're pleading with both sides to come to an agreement. The Refs are barely paying rent right now. I feel for them. They're being twisted between two sets of greedy millionares barking for dollars.