Chelios says...

[Pepper]

This should of been done long ago, but Bettman just ignores the fact he screwed up by putting teams in weak markets. What Cheli is saying, if they can't cut the mustard were they are maybe they should find them a market where they can cut it, like back to Canada. DUH

You mean like Winnipeg and Quebec? Good point, never thought of that...

 

[Reilly311]

This should of been done long ago, but Bettman just ignores the fact he screwed up by putting teams in weak markets.

No, he screwed up not getting a cap last time.

 

[Brewleaguer]

No, he screwed up not getting a cap last time.

That might ALSO be the case, but you have to admit, putting a hockey team in a market that supports a sport like Nascar (Carolina) was not a smart choice. It would get a better following in a Winnipeg/Quebec/ etc....

 

[hyena]

That might ALSO be the case, but you have to admit, putting a hockey team in a market that supports a sport like Nascar (Carolina) was not a smart choice. It would get a better following in a Winnipeg/Quebec/ etc....

last time i checked, nascar has been exploding in popularity everywhere -- even (gasp!) north of the border. thanks for the opinion though.

 

[Brewleaguer]

last time i checked, nascar has been exploding in popularity everywhere -- even (gasp!) north of the border. thanks for the opinion though.

I see that you're from Carolina, didn't mean to imply that there is no interest there, it's just the popularity of hockey there can't hold a candle to those markets like Philly/Det/Tor/etc... Nascar is popular in some traditional hockey markets but apples to apples comparisons, hockey rules in those markets vs. Nascar.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I think it's you who's doing that, I've seen you post here on business boards for a while and it's pretty clear that you're totally chosen the PA's side in this.

FACT is that nobody else has made dumber comments than Domi, Richardson, Linden, Chelios, McCabe, Esche and Pronger. Owners don't have a complete gag order, they are banned only from saying negative stuff about players or negoatitions.

If you agree with Devallano and his "Hockey isn't important ..." ... I guess you can agree with that.

I myself, think that hockey is the most important thing.

 

[SENSible1*]

If you agree with Devallano and his "Hockey isn't important ..." ... I guess you can agree with that.

I myself, think that hockey is the most important thing.

Healthy hockey is the most important thing and that is exactly what Devallano was pointing out.

 

[habfan4]

They're the worst three players on the worst team in the UHL. Maybe they should broaden their career horizons.

Those three displaced guys are playing the game because they love it (for a paltry $500 a week), what the hell are they thinking???

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Healthy hockey is the most important thing and that is exactly what Devallano was pointing out.

That might have been what he was thinking, but that isn't what he said.

 

[SENSible1*]

That might have been what he was thinking, but that isn't what he said.

Post the entire quote and not just the first part of his statement and you'll see that is exactly the point he was making.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Post the entire quote and not just the first part of his statement and you'll see that is exactly the point he was making.

"Hockey isn't important, it's getting the right deal."

That says to me ... "The game doesn't matter, it's all about the money"

 

[Luc Labelle]

From the Detroit News story:
The Wings will play all home games. They plan to join their teammates on the bus for road games to Michigan-based teams (Flint, Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Port Huron). They do not plan to travel farther. The 14-team UHL extends as far west as Kansas City, south to Richmond, Va., and east to Elmira, N.Y.

Kris Draper: "Whatever the coach tells us to do, we're going to buy into the team. Just because we're in the NHL, we're not above anything."

We're not above anything... except traveling long distances like the rest of your teammate. Just a bunch of coddled greedy people out of touch with reality.

 

[jcab2000]

I see that you're from Carolina, didn't mean to imply that there is no interest there, it's just the popularity of hockey there can't hold a candle to those markets like Philly/Det/Tor/etc... Nascar is popular in some traditional hockey markets but apples to apples comparisons, hockey rules in those markets vs. Nascar.

Maybe you don't remember when Detroit was drawing about 3000 fans a game in the 80s.

 

[SENSible1*]

"Hockey isn't important, it's getting the right deal."

That says to me ... "The game doesn't matter, it's all about the money"

What did he say directly before this sentence?

 

[Hockeyfan02]

What did he say directly before this sentence?

This is the only other quote Devellano had in the article:

But even before Thursday's meeting ended, Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano said time had run out.

"The season's done," he said. "There's no chance that the right deal can remotely be done in the next little while. There's too much work to be done. There's too many I's to dot and T's to cross. You are not going to get this collective bargaining agreement done in two days, three days, one week or two weeks. It's over."

You can read the article for yourself here: http://www.freep.com/sports/redwings/nhl21e_20050121.htm

 

[SENSible1*]

This is the only other quote Devellano had in the article:



You can read the article for yourself here: http://www.freep.com/sports/redwings/nhl21e_20050121.htm

The answer was in the portion you quoted and this line which immediately proceeded the quote John Flyers is so fond of:

Bettman has said repeatedly that the league would worry about reaching an agreement, then worry about playing.

Devellano was restating the league's stance that getting the right deal was more important than THIS SEASON.

Note that he respresents yet another large market who fully supports Bettmans stance.

 

[Digger12]

No, he screwed up not getting a cap last time.

Personally, I think the owners screwed up in '94...not Bettman.

 

[NHLFanSince2020]

Nothing a player has said yet comes close to rivaling Devallano syaing "Hockey isn't important ....."

Suggestion; take things said in the context in which they were said. To paraphrase, he was saying that at THIS time, hockey is not of the utmost importance, getting a deal done is.

Thank you for taking comprehension 101.

 

[wazee]

OK. I read the whole article and I think he was saying that playing hockey THIS SEASON was not as important as getting the right deal. I also noticed that there were three dots following the quote which generally indicates the quote printed was incomplete. Time to stop taking this quote out of context and trying to use it against the owners.

Chelios' quote, however, is hard to ignore. He did not just make a brief comment that could be misinterpted, he picked up a shovel and kept digging a deeper hole.

 

[shakes]

Sorry, No one is listening. We're too busy making sense instead of siding with a bunch of hypocrite hockey players.

I honestly can't wait until this gets settled with a cap. Then I can watch all the big market teams fans who supported the owners ***** and complain when half the roster is gutted to get under the cap. Or when free agents aren't signed or players are traded solely for cap room.

I know that there should be some sort of drag on salaries whether it be a luxury tax or a cap, but some of you people are just too much and taking things waaaay to personal.

 

[Hunter74]

I dont know why everyone is bashing the expansion so much. If it wasn't for the expansion the NHL never would of got there Nation wide TV deal a couple years ago with Fox and other big time sports networks.

The biggest problem with expansion is that it watered down the talent pool. Which made teams carry more players who werent capable of keeping up wiht the elite players. Thats when coaches got smart and figured out how to make there lesser players more effective and teams started to employ the trap and increased the obstruction in the game.

The last i checked teams like Nashville were out drawing teams like Boston at the gate. Only 2 teams really come to mind when I think of a team that is haveing difficulty attracting fans. Carolina and Atlanta. Carolina was doing really well but they couldn't afford all there expensive players after there cup run and the attendance started to drop. Atlanta hasn't had a winning record since entering the league. I dont understand why people expect a new hockey city to have boat loads of die hard hockey fans right off the bat. Give these teams an equal playing feild and alittle success for a coupel eyars and they will develope those die hard fans that will support the club when its in rebuilding mode. Not every new club can be as lucky as Colorado and have an elite team right off the bat. Most new teams have to build form the ground up. Except Carolina who just have the worst hockey management team in the NHL.

Chelios is an idiot who says idiotic things.

 

[Pepper]

If you agree with Devallano and his "Hockey isn't important ..." ... I guess you can agree with that.

I myself, think that hockey is the most important thing.

The most important thing is not NHL hockey on short term, it's NHL hockey on long term.