Boston Globe: Players, Own Up to the Fact You Got Beat

[nhlfan79]

A long article, but it's a *great* read. One of the best columns on the lockout I've yet read.

...

All the players have left now is to ruminate over words of union boss Bob Goodenow months ago, when he rolled out the old bromide about beware what happens when goading a hockey player into a fight. Well, they got the fight, but who goaded them? The owners simply and flatly stated that it was time to enter an era of cost certainty -- an era that already has served the NFL and NBA pretty well -- and the union interpreted that as a crime against humanity. The one true crime was that union leadership refused to face up to the reality of modern-day sports economics, and only kept saying no, no, no, until all that strategy did was get the players no deal, no work, and no money.

...

All these months later, feeling beaten and brainwashed, the players will sign a deal that will drastically change the game's economic dynamics and dramatically alter their own pathways to fortune. There will be goods and bads for both sides. The good news for the players is that a lot of them will still make a lot of money. The owners, finally, will have a system in place that will allow most, if not all, to make money and see their franchise values grow.

By and large, the players remained silent and entrusted their careers, finances, and general well-being to union management. The few who spoke up were cowed into taking back their words. None of the game's marquee names -- not one -- raised a hand publicly and spoke from either head or heart.

They all went along, just saying no, watching as the season drifted away and a fan base crumbled. The players forever will remember what happened to their paychecks. Will they remember the cost was directly linked to their silence and submission?

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey...ayers_own_up_to_the_fact_you_got_beat?mode=PF

Click to read more...

 

[vopatsrash]

The good news for the players is that a lot of them will still make a lot of money.

No...

The good news for the players is that all of them will still make a lot of money.

 

[GSC2k2*]

No...

The good news for the players is that all of them will still make a lot of money.

Not the ones whose careers will be over ...

 

[ScottyBowman]

Not the ones whose careers will be over ...

We all get old.

 

[cjbhab*]

Not the ones whose careers will be over ...

It had to come sometime, some players are getting old, and some players just suck!

 

[cecilnyr]

It was inevitable to have this article posted..I've been reading this board for a long time now and finally joined up What i've noticed is that most of you post anything that is anti-player/pro-owner and then applaud/cheer the writer for great work

But when anything is posted that is pro-player/anti-owner gets slammed by a majority of the people on this board...Why is that? Yes the players were wrong but so were the owners...the lockout boils down to this...they both wanted to stuff their pockets (the owners wanted more money the players wanted to keep getting paid how they were)while holding US the fans hostage. There are no winners here and the only "losers" are US the fans. Bashing either side is just not going to heal the wounds any faster.

And for this article the guy cautions the owners not to "pile on" etc.. then he proceeds to do just the same to the players (not just 1 page but 4 pages!)...the very same thing he cautioned the owners not to do. This guy has been pretty good for his Sunday articles during the lockout but this one was off-base. Again there were no "winners" here the only people who lost were US! All of US on this message board and across the hockey world not to mention all of those who lost their jobs due to the lockout

 

[rwilson99]

But when anything is posted that is pro-player/anti-owner gets slammed by a majority of the people on this board...Why is that?

Because the players we're wrong... duh.

 

[barnburner]

.they both wanted to stuff their pockets (the owners wanted more money the players wanted to keep getting paid how they were)while holding US the fans hostage.

Yes, the owners and players both want to make as much money as possible. Nothing wrong with that.
It's not quite that simple in this case, a more accurate recap might be that, the owners wanted to stop losing millions of dollars, while the players wanted to keep the existing financial climate while they ignored the fact that it might well destroy the league that made them millionaires.
The players wanted to retain mlb type salaries even tho 70 cents on the dollar of league revenues was going to player salaries - an impossible figure.
It didn't take an accountant to figure out that the league was headed into a suicide dive unless cost certainty was adapted. Goodenow told them that if they followed his lead, he could get them another great deal. They knowingly chose that approach, with it's consequences, rather than a more moderate one that addressed the future of the game.
The players refusal to bite the bullet and face reality stopped sincere negotiations from taking place in a timely manner, and saving the season.
That is why this lost season is their fault.

 

[FlyersProspect2]

Because the players we're wrong... duh.

Certainly the majority opinion here but shouldn't there be room for a differing viewpoint ?

 

[Mighty Duck]

A long article, but it's a *great* read. One of the best columns on the lockout I've yet read.

...

All the players have left now is to ruminate over words of union boss Bob Goodenow months ago, when he rolled out the old bromide about beware what happens when goading a hockey player into a fight. Well, they got the fight, but who goaded them? The owners simply and flatly stated that it was time to enter an era of cost certainty -- an era that already has served the NFL and NBA pretty well -- and the union interpreted that as a crime against humanity. The one true crime was that union leadership refused to face up to the reality of modern-day sports economics, and only kept saying no, no, no, until all that strategy did was get the players no deal, no work, and no money.

...

All these months later, feeling beaten and brainwashed, the players will sign a deal that will drastically change the game's economic dynamics and dramatically alter their own pathways to fortune. There will be goods and bads for both sides. The good news for the players is that a lot of them will still make a lot of money. The owners, finally, will have a system in place that will allow most, if not all, to make money and see their franchise values grow.

By and large, the players remained silent and entrusted their careers, finances, and general well-being to union management. The few who spoke up were cowed into taking back their words. None of the game's marquee names -- not one -- raised a hand publicly and spoke from either head or heart.

They all went along, just saying no, watching as the season drifted away and a fan base crumbled. The players forever will remember what happened to their paychecks. Will they remember the cost was directly linked to their silence and submission?

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey...ayers_own_up_to_the_fact_you_got_beat?mode=PF

You forgot to mention, " Paid for by Jeremy Jacobs, Owner of the Boston Bruins", whose team will take up permanent residence in the NHL basement. The only free agents who sign with this team are the players who are passed over by every other team in the NHL, and just ahead of him by a point will be Bill Wirtz's Chicago Black Hawks.

 

[Mess]

You forgot to mention, " Paid for by Jeremy Jacobs, Owner of the Boston Bruins", whose team will take up permanent residence in the NHL basement. The only free agents who sign with this team are the players who are passed over by every other team in the NHL, and just ahead of him by a point will be Bill Wirtz's Chicago Black Hawks.

That would be funny if the players purposely avoided the hardliner owners and Bettman's death squad of 8. Only going there as a last resort and only for the money when all other avenues are exhausted .

Once there adopt a more Yashin like care free friendly approach to the game, that it really isn't about winning but rather about the $$$ which they are so often accused of.

Bettman wishes are for Parity on the ice, so you do want your opponent after all to win from time to time so they can gain more fans .. Some teams already received revenue sharing $$ and players, its only fitting that teams now take it easy on them during the game to give them a better chance at winning and fulfilling Bettman's vision and dream for the NHL.

With guaranteed contracts and buyouts counting against the Cap .. Go ahead **Buy me out ** could be their new motto .. I dare you ..

There are some bitter players out there don't put it past them to put in for early retirement, while still dressing for 80 games..

Payback can be a Bi-atch after all .. That is what the Owners were asking for going into the battle .. Maybe they will get more then they bargained for in return ..!!!!!

 

[chiavsfan]

Certainly the majority opinion here but shouldn't there be room for a differing viewpoint ?

There is room for the viewpoint...unfortunately, the FACTS always get in the way of the PA spin, and they get proven wrong over, and over, and over, and over again.

 

[chiavsfan]

That would be funny if the players purposely avoided the hardline owners and Bettman's death squad of 8. Only going there as a last resort and only for the money when all other avenues are exhausted .

Once there adopt a more Yashin like care free friendly approach to the game, that it really isn't about winning but rather about the $$$ which they are so often accused of.

It would be hilarious, while they get passed over by the other owners too, and then go to play in Europe because no one wants them. Hysterical I say.

 

[Mess]

It would be hilarious, while they get passed over by the other owners too, and then go to play in Europe because no one wants them. Hysterical I say.

Don't UFA have the last say as to which teams they will offer their services to ??

Its easy to spot Hard line Owners .. How do you spot Hard line players ??

Are they the ones with agents that attempt to get them maximum salaries just like the old CBA ??

 

[rwilson99]

Certainly the majority opinion here but shouldn't there be room for a differing viewpoint ?

No one is stopping you.

 

[Mighty Duck]

It would be hilarious, while they get passed over by the other owners too, and then go to play in Europe because no one wants them. Hysterical I say.

Yep, it will be hilarious when players pass up the NHL to play in Europe when no NHL team can afford to pay the players demands. The NHL are the only people who think they are big league, but in fact, they are just another pro hockey league. Europe is fast becoming an viable option for pro hockey players, and may some day, be a better option than the NHL. Will the NHL ever see Crosby or Ovechkin? Hysterical I say.

 

[txomisc]

Yep, it will be hilarious when players pass up the NHL to play in Europe when no NHL team can afford to pay the players demands. The NHL are the only people who think they are big league, but in fact, they are just another pro hockey league. Europe is fast becoming an viable option for pro hockey players, and may some day, be a better option than the NHL. Will the NHL ever see Crosby or Ovechkin? Hysterical I say.

Europe will never have the leading hockey league as long as the United States is around. We have too many people and too much money to compete with. Oh and we are right next to this little place called Canada which is only the greatest hockey nation there will ever be. North America will aways be the it place for hockey.

 

[Gee Wally]

folks ,

a few things here.

1- stay on topic.

2- If somebody wants to rant with no knowledge ( looking at Mighty Ducks )..use the rant thread.

3 - DKH,,,don't throw out challenges

4- profet - don't respond to stuff that has nothing to do with the topic or you.

There, I think that covers it.

 

[HotToddy]

I'm tired of people piling on the players. For the record we didn't lose the season because the players were mis-guided or dumb. You cannot blame the players for not wanting to sign a deal tha will cost them millions, without giving a fight. It would have been irresposible of any union on earth to roll over and sign the deal they are about to sign without first taking the fight to the wall.

You can be pro-Owner all you want, anyone who doesn't realize that the owners had a cancel season policy and were using that to break the will of the union, didn't pay atention to the last 10 months.

Fact - The owners locked out the players.

Fact - the league was in dire straits due to the actions of a dozen or so irresponsible owners.

Fact - Bettman won the negotiations when he instituted the 8 owner super minority. He simply had control of the negotiations from that point on. History will show that the NHLPA had factions within that undermined the authority of Goodenow and company. It was simply too hard to control the moral of 700 members who were losing pay cheques.

Fact - Bob Goodenow didn't tell the players that good times were ahead, if your read what he was saying pre lockout, he was expecting a 2 year battle, if the players wanted a good deal.

Fact - The new CBA is about resposibility, the players are now resposible for keeping salary costs within reason, an H&R Block employee could run the finances of an NHL team now. Which after witnessing the tragedy that was NHL ownership over the past 12 years is exactly what Bettman wanted.

The league is moving forward now. The new CBA will be great for the fans, great for the owners and not so great for the NHL players (especially the 3rd and 4th liners, not the stars who will still make their money).

Just don't blame the players for what has transpired.

 

[Crazy_Ike]

I'm tired of people piling on the players. For the record we didn't lose the season because the players were mis-guided or dumb. You cannot blame the players for not wanting to sign a deal tha will cost them millions, without giving a fight. It would have been irresposible of any union on earth to roll over and sign the deal they are about to sign without first taking the fight to the wall.

You can be pro-Owner all you want, anyone who doesn't realize that the owners had a cancel season policy and were using that to break the will of the union, didn't pay atention to the last 10 months.

Actually the evidence is pretty clear it was the *PA* that had the cancel season policy. The players themselves have now admitted it was their strategy and that it failed. It was actually obvious *before* the lockout which side was using the season being cancelled as their leverage - all ownerside quotes had them saying the lockout would continue "until a cost-certainty system was in effect". The PA quotes, on the other hand, all said the lockout would last "perhaps a year or two", with no established goal.

In other words, had a cost-certainty proposal been agreed on at *any* point of the lockout including beforehand, the lockout would have ended/never happened. Therefore, the lockout and its length are on the heads and hands of the NHLPA. The NHLPA used the season as its leverage, and lost.

Fact - The owners locked out the players.

Fact - the league was in dire straits due to the actions of a dozen or so irresponsible owners.

Further fact - the owners would not have locked out the players had they negotiated from a realistic standpoint earlier. The *state of the league* was the fault of a few irresponsible owners coupled with the central control of salaries by the NHLPA. The *lockout* was the fault of the NHLPA who refused to embrace any system that would have *fixed* the state of the league.

Fact - Bettman won the negotiations when he instituted the 8 owner super minority. He simply had control of the negotiations from that point on. History will show that the NHLPA had factions within that undermined the authority of Goodenow and company. It was simply too hard to control the moral of 700 members who were losing pay cheques.

It would have been less hard to control the morale of the 700 members if they thought they were actually still fighting for a reason. When it became obvious that the PA leadership had lied about the books and given in on the so-called "principles", what was the point in not negotiating on the owners terms any further?

Fact - Bob Goodenow didn't tell the players that good times were ahead, if your read what he was saying pre lockout, he was expecting a 2 year battle, if the players wanted a good deal.

Further fact - Goodenow and the players failed to realize the owners were NOT lying about their books, and therefore all further deals would simply get worse. This lies on the head of Goodenow and the executive committee alone, and establishes them as the worst union negotiators in the history of pro sports.

Fact - The new CBA is about resposibility, the players are now resposible for keeping salary costs within reason, an H&R Block employee could run the finances of an NHL team now. Which after witnessing the tragedy that was NHL ownership over the past 12 years is exactly what Bettman wanted.

It was, in fact, the only means Bettman had to stop those owners, something lost on so many Bettman-haters, but that is a subject for other threads.

The league is moving forward now. The new CBA will be great for the fans, great for the owners and not so great for the NHL players (especially the 3rd and 4th liners, not the stars who will still make their money).

Fully agree though in the long term the players will also be well served by this CBA.

Just don't blame the players for what has transpired.

Actually, collectively they are fully to blame. Individually, not so much.

 

[snakepliskin]

i will welcome the game back and its players but until someone from the pa can prove that the league was making money before the lockout i will hold them responsible for this lost season--it was the league in february that put forth an effort to save the season and the pa that made a farce of the meeting that included gretzky and mario. also even if it was goodenow's strategy to wait it out for 2 years to get a "winning" deal how in the hell can anyone figure that missing 2 seasons of paychecks and then winning the war is a win. 1 season of a carreer will be impossible to re-coup much less 2. the PA strategy from the beginning was a loser.

 

[cecilnyr]

Certainly the majority opinion here but shouldn't there be room for a differing viewpoint ?

That'd be nice, but look at the response I recieved... Not just 1 but about 4 or 5 people felt the need to go on the offensive...noticed they missed the part where I was saying the only losers were us and those who lost their job due to the lockout.

I don't really care if the owners make money I also could care less if the players make any money, I just want a Stanley Cup winner this is what I care about and most of you do. But if you own a pro-sports team and you can't afford a 20-25 million dollar payroll chances are you should check w/ your financial/accounting guy because you don't have enough cash to own/run a successful pro-sports franchise.

 

[snakepliskin]

That'd be nice, but look at the response I recieved... Not just 1 but about 4 or 5 people felt the need to go on the offensive...noticed they missed the part where I was saying the only losers were us and those who lost their job due to the lockout.

I don't really care if the owners make money I also could care less if the players make any money, I just want a Stanley Cup winner this is what I care about and most of you do. But if you own a pro-sports team and you can't afford a 20-25 million dollar payroll chances are you should check w/ your financial/accounting guy because you don't have enough cash to own/run a successful pro-sports franchise.

affording a 25 mill payroll is not the problem---no businessman invests millions into a project to watch his team lose $$$$ year after year and the value of his franchise drop. even billonaires do not buy franchises to lose money.

 

[cecilnyr]

affording a 25 mill payroll is not the problem---no businessman invests millions into a project to watch his team lose $$$$ year after year and the value of his franchise drop. even billonaires do not buy franchises to lose money.

Exactly why wasn't it? I believe its always been about players salaries and how they were too high and that is under the payroll part of the expenses. So that'd be the only way they could lose money no? So exactly what then if not the payroll was the problem that caused this lockout snake?

 

[snakepliskin]

we should all care that the owners make a profit but most of all the players should care because the owners write their checks.