IIHF announces NHL-European Victoria Cup
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Gozer
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On international rink size, with international rules, and the approach that nhl players likely would have for a game like this (the european teams would probably be more motivated), I doubt that half of Philly would kick anyones arse. And games like this have been played before in the preseason, and there are
not all onesided games.This is a lose lose situation for the NHL.
You either beat up on bunch of players who can't make the NHL and you look like a 5th grader beating up a first grader, or the NHL team loses and that 5th grader just got his butt kicked by that first grader. I suppose this could play well in Europe but in the states the media will have a field day they love anything they can do to bash hockey.
You either beat up on bunch of players who can't make the NHL and you look like a 5th grader beating up a first grader, or the NHL team loses and that 5th grader just got his butt kicked by that first grader. I suppose this could play well in Europe but in the states the media will have a field day they love anything they can do to bash hockey.
Yes, the IIHF was founded by Europeans in Europe for the good of the game in Europe. However, it has since become the sanctioning body of GLOBAL hockey, not just European.
Did you know FIFA awards a European champion as well and has a tournament just for European nations? I doubt soccer fans would argue that FIFA is not the international sanctioning body of soccer though.
Not sure what anything in your post has to do with the subject. All your ignorant opinions aside, the facts are: The IIHF IS THE GLOBAL SANCTIONING BODY OF ICE HOCKEY. Therefore all INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS such as this one should pertain to those rules set aside by that previously mentioned organization. End of story.
Well, I don't see the NBA buckling under media pressure to fold or cease operations after the Toronto Raptors lost to an Israeli team, or the Philadelphia 76ers lost to a Spanish team. (Though the media likes to hate on hockey more, true)
I doubt the media will even realize this "tournament" exists. It's just a pointless pre-season thing. I don't think anyone is going to put pressure on the NHL teams to do well.
They COULD be good games. And it might actually become interesting and one of the yearly highlights in the hockey world. But it remains to be seen. We can only wait.
Gozer
Registered User
Well, I've got a hard time seeing them making any kind of fuss about a tournament like this, win or lose.
Replace 'europe' with 'outside north america' and you get closer.
NHL and IIHF isn't the same sort of organisations.
NHL is commercial entity selling their main product, proffesional icehockey, to a mainly north american market base (but they don't mind getting a bigger base if they can).
IIHF is the governing body elected by all the national hockey federations, with their goal to spread the game of hockey on all levels and on all continents.
IIHF appears 100% european because the only stuff we see or hear about is Olympics and the top division. And of the normally 16 teams qualified, 2 are north american, the remaining 14 are european (or possibly one asian if Kazakstan stays in the top division) but it's not by selection, it's by qualification.
But there's 3-4 more divisions, who also play IIHF world championships (which also act as qualification to Olympics) but we never see or hear anything about it except possibly for a short notice stating which two teams that will have spot 15 and 16 in the 'real' tournament.
IIHF works to develop hockey in asia, aussie/nz, south and central america, africa and under developt (hockey wise) parts of europe.
NHL on their hand works to develop their product and markets.
The reason we see all the clashing between NHL and IIHF is that they are the two big and influential organisations.
Until quite recently all the european national leagues was run by the national federations, but the top leagues are becoming their own commerical entities, and they are growing in power.
The russian hockey federation isn't dictating anything for the RSL anymore, rather the reverse. SEL and others are also shifting power away from the federations. They still (except the russian) are still using IIHF as negotiations vehicle, because they aren't big enough on their own, but this might change. We might get a 'european prohockey association' or something, made up from the proffesional leagues, not the federations.
And that's something that IIHF fears more than anything.
If this 'EPA' would form, owned by the top euro leagues, and do their own negotiations directly with NHL, IIHF would become a lame duck. Just as the US and Canadian hockey federations are today.
That's why IIHF is pushing the new champions league thingy, trying to stay in control, and on the good side, of the euro leagues.
The IIHF probably sees this as something that will pay off years or even decades from now.
Some of the best teams in Europe (especially in Russia) are already holding onto players that would normally go to the NHL because they can offer better salaries with less tax. If that trend continues, or even goes further, it's just a matter of time before the best of the RSL could beat NHL teams. You might well be mistaken that no team in Europe could beat a team from the NHL already.
It's seems more like of a question of how high salaries could go in Russia, especially if their economy continues to improve. There might even be some Russian multi-billionaire out there willing to pay enough money to put together a team that could beat the NHL Champions..
Personally I would love to see the day when a CSKA 'Red Army' Moscow or some other Russian team gives the Stanley Cup Champions a scare, or even beat them. It will be a great day for Hockey.
Judge the value of the Victoria Cup in 15-30 years, but not now because this is just the first step.
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Muscle Bob
Registered User
I edited my post, forgot to say that.
Question: What are the highest team payrolls in the RSL right now?
What one could ponder is how long the current economic situation will continue.
Having strong owners is one thing. But most owners doesn't want to bleed for too long.
Where is the money coming from? TV rights, sponsors or audiences?
The tax cut is a good one, they are actually discussing new rules for swedish athletes. Basicly the same as for businesses, you can 'fund' money for later (and leaner) years instead of having to pay income tax on every dime the year it's earned.
So yes, I think that europe will get closer, some day.
Love guys who come out hard, with nothing to back it up.
What "Euro rules" are you talking about?
The redline? Yeah, Bettman almost destroyed the entire game in the NA waiting 8 years before taking it away after IIHF had taken it away.
BTW, last time I checked IIHF stood for INTERNATIONAL ice hockey federation, with the US and Canada getting as much say as the rest.
The touch ice, that have been talked about beeing removed in the NHL. Big ice, well thats how the arenas are built over here, the NHL to my knowledge would like to make the ice in the NHL a bit bigger, but can't since the arenas are too small. Though thats a diffrence.
Special Euro medals was given out to the European Champion, since the WCH overtook that tourament. I don't think Canada cryed for not winning the European Championships...
If you knew anything about sports outside the US, you wouldn't bring up the all euro thing, it wheren't. It was a no-pro thing, which Canada didn't want to participate in. Someone working 40 hrs a week to make a living as a carpenter or something doesn't compete at the same level as someone who is getting paid a ton for playing hockey, thats a fact. The Russians got around that creating a military team, no money, but a ton of practise. But thats on their accounts, not some IIHF conspiracy, that everyone was thrilled about.
Any rules I missed? Can't use your feets on faceoffs, if you drop the helmut you gotta make a linechange. I think its about the same besides thoose "major" diffrences...
Very good points.
Also, on the competetive thing. I think a few fans in NA are kind of not used to watching low-skilled teams playing against the best.
We are not talking about Mystery Alaska here, the European teams are pretty proffesional, in some aspects more so then the NHL teams. NHL teams are prohibited to a ton of things due to the CBA, in Europe many teams run off season training as a team for example. Like 2 weeks off in May, then 2 weeks off in late june. The rest of the summer together as a team working out. Defenitly something allot of coaches in the NHL wouldn't mind, if they had the option... Instead of sending a 19 y/o home with a ton of paper on how to work out, they can supervise things 24/7 throughout the summer.
Anyway, back to the original subject. I think many belives that a NHL team would go 82-0 in the AHL. I defenitly don't think thats the case, more like 62-20. Its small marginals in sports, on a bad day, when the other team gets the bounces, allot can happend.
So I do think the European teams got a shot. Though I think it will take awhile before it becomes interesting. I defenitly think you make a really tremendous point on the time frame, 15-30 years. Thats what we are talking about.
Hockey as a sport needs to grow, we need to make thoose kind of investment. Thoose who will pay off 15-30 years down the road.
I think the Olympics is another one of thoose investments that can be made. Look 30 years down the road. When you least expect it you got Mircle on Ice all over again in the US, 80m infront of the TV's watching hockey. If not that, it might happend in Germany, the 3rd biggest market in the world after the US and China. You never know. Don't look at it as a matter of Vancouver 2010 and the NHL season in 2010, or 2014. Look at from a perspective of 2010-2040, are we best in or out?
Snap Wilson
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- Sep 14, 2003
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I think this is a stupid idea. When teams should be in training camp, rounding into shape, they're going to fly across the world to play subpar competition? I have nothing against the European leagues, but this is a pointless waste of time. If the NHLPA still had a backbone, it would never have happened.
Well actually it's only one team that will.
Which has happened several times over, including the upcoming visit to London.
The only difference this time is that instead of meeting some local team, or some combined national hotshots, they'll meet the winner and runner up from the euro champ league.
You might also notice that the NHLPA is made up from players in NHL, and about 1/3, or a bit under, of them are euros.
So calm down, a single game, 6 timezones away, isn't that much worse than several 3 timezone travels during a season.
Snap Wilson
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- Sep 14, 2003
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I know it's happened before, and it was as dumb an idea then as it is now. It's good that only one team is going to have to go through with this. It sounds like more than a single game from the article.
And the season has actual meaning, as far as that goes, while six timezones back and forth for however many exhibition games is a waste of time and energy.
Nope, it's called 'promotion'.
And as with most commercial enterprises it's regarded as an important part of business.
NHL as a business doesn't only want to sell TV rights in europe, they also want to continue to promote their product as the best league in the world. So they can attract the best players and continue to stay the best.
And NHLPA supports their employer in this case, better league, more money in, more money available for players.
Snap Wilson
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- Sep 14, 2003
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Yeah, I know the motive for doing it, thanks. I don't think it's worth throwing a wrench into a team's preseason for this sort of promotion. Do what baseball does and have an All-Star tour after the regular season ends instead.
Who, among people who know anything about hockey, doesn't realize the NHL is the best league in the world?
They can do that by paying the highest salaries. Much more effective than exhibitions.
Slitty
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- Oct 23, 2005
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This is not true, FIFA and UEFA are seperate bodies.
The payroll of Ak Bars Kazan is currently around the $30 million USD mark.
Letang fan 58
No More Fleury
Nice posturing move by the NHL to allow this tourney to happen........of course they will never send a good team to compete until they force the Russians to sign the transfer though.
