Cropduster said:
what scares me is that we are going to lose this season because of pride, of "not giving in"-Iam afraid they won't be "smart"
I agree with you totally. The pride of the NHLPA will cost them in the end.
The NHLPA just don't get it. In the past, billionaire owners used hockey franchises as "toys", not running them in the same way they ran their primary businesses. Now their primary businesses aren't doing as well so they have to run their hockey franchises like regular businesses. Winning is important but now so is the bottomline.
And don't kid yourselves, we're talking about very wealthy business people who do understand the bottomline.
In the end, it will be about pride for the NHLPA but for the owners its not personal. Its business. That's why they can lockout the players for 2-3 years if necessary.
Message to the NHLPA: This mountain cannot be climbed. You will still get paid a very good wage. Even low end guys will get 150-200K/season, which is fair for depth players and a no.7-8 d-man. Guy Lafleur would have loved playing for that kind of money.