Lost College Grad

The NHL Blues

I guess it’s time to say good-bye finally to the NHL. After months of procrastination in the eleventh hour they try to strike a deal. This deal had a compromise the league backed off the revenue sharing and the players accepted a cap. A cap that they refused to accept since the last lock out they finally gave in.

So is there a season? Well, no.

Players want the cap at $52 Mill and the league wants it at $40 mill. $12 million apart, not a shabby agreement, if they would have come up with this in say September. Then all could have been worked out, but everyone was stubborn. So as I reflect on what may happen here’s how I see it!

Eventually this will be resolved I think the cap should be $40 mill. I have to agree mostly with the owners here because; there is not much passion for hockey in the states as the rest of the world.

Two, if there was a season most players went somewhere else to play hockey and would not have returned to those players I saw don’t come back. Why? Well it seems greedy to go overseas and play hockey for nothing, but when you come back you want millions of dollars. Well salaries due depend on revenue and in most towns, like Pittsburgh, that’s not much. I think the Pens are lucky their games are carried on or tv stations.

Three, I see some teams not coming back the Pens are endangered because let’s face it; you got to win back a lot of fans. And I know most of the people at the games last year were their on comp tickets. I was able to get free tickets to any home game last year, which was great for a college student. But that doesn’t bring revenue. Say good-bye to some other teams’ maybe Florida or San Jose.

And finally four, Go ahead take a year off but take that time to also refine the game. Go with wider rinks show what skill players have. Challenge them. That’s why Olympic Hockey is so good. Fix the minor flaws, tweak things.

It’s going to be a rough journey for the NHL to reach high popularity, but let us hope it finds a solution for those waiting to watch.

Later!

posted by iBlog Stuff Blogger @ 2/15/2005 01:46:00 PM