mudcrutch79 said:
"They have threatened Bettman to get this done or they will seek legal action, possibly even split off from the NHL and form their own league next year."
It's stuff like this, supposedly from a source that makes me certain that this guy is full of BS. What in the name of God does he mean that they'd split off and form their own league? They don't own the logos or names of their teams-the NHL does. This "threat" is meaningless; does anyone think that the owners of the Maple Leafs or Red Wings are going to walk away from the brand equity that they have in their names? The rest of the owners would love it. All of a sudden, they'd have franchises that have historically been huge cash cows, and they'd get to sell them. How much money do you think you could sell the rights to a sizeable NHL market, contracts with good players, and brands with a truck load of value for? It'd be a massive infusion of free money for the owners that remained.
What grounds for legal action do they have against Bettman, to point out the other absurdity? Can anyone explain this to me?
While I don’t for a second think its even remotely a possibility, its not quite as crazy as you think. Supposed, just for the sake of argument, the six biggest market teams decided to form their own “Super League†with no cap. We’ll say Detroit, Colorado, Dallas, Toronto, Philadelphia and New York.
What could the NHL do? They’d have to find 6 new owners – pretty quickly – to buy these franchises. Even if they did, where would they play? All six teams own their arenas, and there is nothing that says they have to let the NHL play in them. Where would the NHL Toronto franchise play? Skydome?
Player wise, the Super League would very easily, and very quickly stock up on the best players in the world. Remember, these six all had massive payrolls anyways, so its not like it would be any different for them. $60 million is $60 million, regardless of whether you are spending it on NHL players or Super League players. They could bid on every free agent that comes available. Think of all the free agents that haven’t been signed from last season. Think of all the players whose contracts expire after this year/season. And we’re not just talking UFAs here. Restricted free agents would be free to sign with the Super League too. Like Kovalchouk.
Then there are the undrafted players, like Sydney Crosby. “Hey Sydney, you can play for the Nashville Predators, for a rookie-capped $800,000 a year, or you can play in Toronto, for $3 million.â€
If money is no object, the Super League would have no trouble finding players.
Now, the brand recognition. This is where the court fight could come in. Who owns the name “Detroit Red Wings?†Is it Mike Illitch, or the National Hockey League? When you buy a National Hockey League team, what exactly are you getting? Isn’t it the rights to all things Detroit Red Wing-ish? When Karmonos changed the name of the Whalers to the Hurricanes, did he need NHL permission to do so? I honestly don’t know, and I suspect a pretty good court case could be fought over the matter.
And is brand recognition all that important? Would you rather watch Pierre Dagenais skating for the Toronto “Maple Leafs†or Mats Sundin skating for the Toronto “Super Leaguers?†Some suburban rink, or the ACC?
These big market owners have listened to everyone, including Gary Bettman, tell them that they are idiots and morons, that they are ruining hockey, and can’t control themselves. And really, what have they done? Spend money to get the best players, to ice the best team, to give their fans the best chance at a Stanley Cup? Up until this year, fans always said Bill Wirtz and Jeremy Jacobs were cheap, greedy you-know-whats, who only cared about making money, and “not doing what it takes to win.†Now, all of a sudden, the “good†owners, who did do what it takes to win, are being called incompetent fools, while everyone is lining up to get on the Wirtz/Jacobs school of NHL team building?? From a pure ego standpoint, the rich owners might look at the profits they are making, the players they can sign, the arenas they own, the TV broadcasts they can make, and say “screw you, I’ll show you who the moron is.’
Like I said, I don’t for a second think it will happen. But its certainly not as crazy as some make it out to be.