No one seems to care much in the USA, but with all the Canadians on the board I was curious to hear what they thought about the situation...

Any Hockey fans out there?

Well that is a intresting topic here at work. But I do not care to much. I think they are over paid as it is. But I am just not to sure on the story of the owners. They are saying that they are losing all this money. I just not to sure to beleive them or not. If they are telling the truth then I am behind them. But I have not seen the books. So what ever there is other hockey out there to watch. :D

I've seen this happen before in the NBA and the MLB, both the owners and the players, who all literally swim in money, squabling over a few million more, or less. It's disgusting, and there won't be any winners when this is all over. There will be only losers, the fans.

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">I would like a salery cap.

But most importantly teams should share the wealth. Right now only home teams get to pull in the profits from that nights game. But it should be both home, and visiting teams that divide the loot from what they pull in that night. Is it any wonder that only big city teams, or teams that make the finals can make a profit. This would give smaller franchises a better chance to survive, and they could even bring back the Winnipeg Jets damit. Why should owners send players to play in another city if they are not going to be getting any of the wealth from playing, it is just stupid business. The system right now is outdated and needs an overhall.</font>

[ 10-01-2004, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

In the US, hockey is so far behind the other 3 major sports in terms of fan attendance and television revenue that I can't see them ever really bouncing back from a season long work stoppage. Even baseball had major problems until Mark McGuire broke the home run record and rekindled a lot of lost fan interest, and that's the "American Pastime". We're building a new stadium in downtown KC and are rumored to have an inside deal to bring an NHL team here (leading contender - the Mighty Ducks) around 2007 and I'm curious about what the state of the league will be by then.

[ 10-01-2004, 02:15 PM: Message edited by: Marathon ]

The Philadelphia Flyers have a considerable following, but like what you said, Marathon, it is the smallest of the draw when it comes to the other big 3, football, baseball and basketball. Some are even contending that NASCAR has actually jumped in popularity and has passed the NHL.

The problem is that with the majority of teams being in the US, and the fact that Americans don't appreciate a good sport like hockey, TV contracts are next to nothing.

A think a cap is a necessary and for the most part I agree with the owners. Some players are just far to greedy which unfortunately makes the entire league look good when a lot of players just want to play.

Take Kariya last season signing with the Avs for something like $2mil. Any team would have jumped at the chance to get him for 6-7mil, but he justed wanted to play with Selanne, he didn't care about the money.

What gets me is that the players who say they won't play under a cap are more than willing to go to the WHL for the duration of the lockout. [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] Last time I checked, the WHL has a salary cap.

What does the 'W' stand for? I can think of two possible alternatives but neither of them seem very likely.

Western Hockey League