Tom_Benjamin
Registered User
Thunderstruck said:And this will really help their earning potential how?
Kill the golden goose? Great plan!
It isn't their goose, is it? The players didn't ask for this fight, but it cost the players $1.3 billion. Now it is the owners turn to pay. The players now have the leverage. They have the power to turn the owners $3 billion investment in teams and billions more in rinks into zero. They can kill the golden goose. Will they? A bluff?
Maybe. So the NHLPA is going to start whacking on the golden goose, just to make their point. It's already started. No playoff revenue, and no Stanley Cup. That's a huge hit to the brand. A forever stain. Refusing to meet with the owners until next September makes it very difficult to sell TV rights, sponsorships, or season tickets. And teams certainly can't expect the players to sell tickets for them.
And if anyone asks a player, they can solemnly say, "I don't expect any deal until January at the earliest. We're going to have to find out whether the owners are willing to tank a second season. I'm probably going to play in the WHA. Or Europe. When will the league start again? I guess when the NHL wants to make a fair deal. Will we stick it out? We'll see, won't we? How many seasons do they have to miss before the league is dead?"
If you think the majority of players will sit by while Goodenow tries to sell them that particular flavour of kool-aid, you are in for a rude awakening.
The majority of players are not sitting around. The majority are busy in Europe. Another hundred or so are in the AHL or still with their Junior team.
They stuck it out to this point hoping the league would cave. There are already numerous reports from trusted sources confirming a healthy % would agree to abandon the fight right now. If you really think they'll be able to keep everyone in line by next January, then you've had one sip too many yourself.
I'll believe this when I hear a single player representative or a single member of the executive committee express a doubt. The players elected Trevor Linden and they will not unelect him.
And hey, we don't want to comb through these boards and count the number of times a player capitulation was predicted by January 2005, do we? If I had a dime for every time I was told the players would collapse when they realized the owners were serious, I'd be a rich man.
Tom