Strachan has lost his mind

[CMUMike]

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/Sports/2005/03/09/954914-sun.html

The wall isn't crumbling yet by any means, but a number of owners at all economic levels -- top of the heap, mid-range and bottom-feeders -- have made it clear they could make money under a new CBA based on the players' Dec. 9 proposal. It offered significant rollbacks but no salary cap.

Some teams want to get back on the ice in a hurry. As Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillet said on Monday, "Because of fixed costs, such as the property taxes, the land lease for our building and the cost of servicing the debt on our building, we'd rather be playing."

He's not alone. Most of the higher-income teams feel that way. And so do many of others, assuming they could be given a fair deal -- a variation of the Dec. 9 proposal -- and not necessarily a salary cap.

Is he suggesting that the owners are off of the cap? Maybe I'm misreading, but there's no way they have dropped their cap demand. What is this guy smoking?

Click to read more...

 

[hockeydadx2*]

Frankly, I think he is lying. Why would the owners back down now, at this point? With the playoffs gone, the owners will soon gain the upper hand again.

If it's not lying, then it is at least wishful thinking. Maybe he wants to get back on the PA's payroll.

 

[eye]

Why even read his articles? He has a burr up his butt because Bettman put him in his place. Don't even open the link to his articles because every hit makes his boss think that people actually enjoy or believe the garbage that he writes.

Off the record I have spoken to over 700 NHL players and every one fo them told me they would have agreed to linkage at 55% and a hard 42.5. Just as credible as the garbage he spews off.

 

[CMUMike]

I don't know what he's doing, but I can't see how any logical person could think this was true.

 

[Hasbro]

He's making wild conjecture from that quote. I'm sure every owner would like to be playing hockey now... but not under those conditions.

 

[LadyByngJeanRatelle]

Anything Strachan hears from anybody, he will think it's fact and write about it. His material is so garbage, that it gets strong reactions out of people...which is why he still has a job.

 

[mooseOAK*]

The owners apparently have plenty of money left in their lockout fund to pay those bills. They have time to wait until they get their best deal.

 

[CGG]

He's not out of his mind, he's off his gourd.

That being said, the players won't lose another cheque until october, the owners want a new deal asap for the draft and sponsorships and season tickets. Pressure is on the owners. At the very least, that part makes sense. I can even buy the reasoning that the NHL didn't want hockey at all this year, and now a lot of contracts have expired. But to walk away from a salary cap now would be more idiotic than putting a team in Raleigh-Durham.

 

[ResidentAlien*]

Strach cracks me up, I love reading his stuff.
Betman put him in his place? I didnt see it that way, I think he pisses Betman off and that is funny, wish I could piss Betman off too :lol

I just got back from holidays in Cancun and met some very interesting people, Hockey Fans mostly. One older guy from TO, used to work on the board of advisors for the leafs, or so he said. Very knowledgable anyhow. He was at a dinner function not long before he got there and was talking to Sundin and Domi, his take was those guys (and im sure there are many more) dont care, they have money, to them this is a vacation.
Point is a lot of the players, just don't care anymore.
Anyone who thinks at this point the owners have the upper hand is fooling themselves.
Any leverage, albeit how little, is surely in the hands of the Union at this point.

 

[Motown Beatdown]

His trade rumors are more believable than this. Thats pretty sad.

 

[CMUMike]

Point is a lot of the players, just don't care anymore.
Anyone who thinks at this point the owners have the upper hand is fooling themselves.
Any leverage, albeit how little, is surely in the hands of the Union at this point.

The players have more money than the owners? They can wait longer?You sure about that? Last time I checked, the guys writing the checks have more cash than the guys cashing them. At least that's how it works in these parts.

While you are right that guys like Sundin and Domi don't care anymore, I don't believe that to be true for most of the players. Guys in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th years who don't make 4M per season certainly feel the pinch. Not only is it a money thing, but it's a career and longevity issue as well. Sundin and Domi have had their careers, they've had their day in the sun. The owners have a much much longer earning horizon than the player's do. If a NHL'er missed out on a year's salary, he has very little opportunity to make that money back, maybe 2 or 3 years. An owner, without a year of profits, has as long as he'd like to earn it back.

Lots of hockey fans in Cancun?

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Strach cracks me up, I love reading his stuff.
Betman put him in his place? I didnt see it that way, I think he pisses Betman off and that is funny, wish I could piss Betman off too :lol

I just got back from holidays in Cancun and met some very interesting people, Hockey Fans mostly. One older guy from TO, used to work on the board of advisors for the leafs, or so he said. Very knowledgable anyhow. He was at a dinner function not long before he got there and was talking to Sundin and Domi, his take was those guys (and im sure there are many more) dont care, they have money, to them this is a vacation.
Point is a lot of the players, just don't care anymore.
Anyone who thinks at this point the owners have the upper hand is fooling themselves.
Any leverage, albeit how little, is surely in the hands of the Union at this point.

Yeah , those two may be okay financially, but there are many NHLers currently enamoured with the giant fabulous poodle ownership fad. You may be unaware of this fact, but proper pampering of a giant poodle is not without expense...

 

[ResidentAlien*]

The players have more money than the owners? They can wait longer?You sure about that? Last time I checked, the guys writing the checks have more cash than the guys cashing them. At least that's how it works in these parts.

While you are right that guys like Sundin and Domi don't care anymore, I don't believe that to be true for most of the players. Guys in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th years who don't make 4M per season certainly feel the pinch. Not only is it a money thing, but it's a career and longevity issue as well. Sundin and Domi have had their careers, they've had their day in the sun. The owners have a much much longer earning horizon than the player's do. If a NHL'er missed out on a year's salary, he has very little opportunity to make that money back, maybe 2 or 3 years. An owner, without a year of profits, has as long as he'd like to earn it back.

Lots of hockey fans in Cancun?

Of course they(owners) have more money, but at this point, more pressure is on the league to get a deal done, (draft, advertisers etc ).
There are seperate issues here, yes the 4M/year guys dont care, they also may have a bigger voice.
Of course the guys at 3rd 4th liners are feeling the pinch, all I was saying there was that many guys are in the " dont really care mode"

Hockey fans in Cancun? Tons, not locals of course but every time i turned around there was someone wearing a Wings shirt, or a leafs hat, or habs shirt....it was pretty cool to be talking hockey, drinking cerveza, watching the Carribean sea come and go

 

[ResidentAlien*]

Yeah , those two may be okay financially, but there are many NHLers currently enamoured with the giant fabulous poodle ownership fad. You may be unaware of this fact, but proper pampering of a giant poodle is not without expense...

Thanks for the response but there are certainly more then those two that are in that spot, sure there are many more that arent. Not the point . Seperate issues really.

Anyway, your right i dont own a poodle....do you?

 

[Skylab]

I may be in the minority on this, but I'd guess there's more truth in his article then some of you believe.

The owners are not a homogenous group of same thinking individuals any more than the players are. There are owners who could live without a cap to get the game going and there are players who could live with a cap to get back on the ice.

 

[chiavsfan]

I'm glad they "don't care"...because that throws their "we're doing this for the future generation" crap right out the window. You should be doing it for your generation, the future generation are the one being hurt the most by this lockout, first and second year players who aren't making the money that idiots like Domi and Sundin are making.

I'm still not sure how anyone could be on the players side at this point

 

[CMUMike]

I may be in the minority on this, but I'd guess there's more truth in his article then some of you believe.

The owners are not a homogenous group of same thinking individuals any more than the players are. There are owners who could live without a cap to get the game going and there are players who could live with a cap to get back on the ice.

I agree with the fact that not every single owner has the same outlook, but why would any owner go back to the Dec. 9 rollback when they've already negotiated a better deal that included a salary cap and the rollback?

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Thanks for the response but there are certainly more then those two that are in that spot, sure there are many more that arent. Not the point . Seperate issues really.

Anyway, your right i dont own a poodle....do you?

I'm a bit confused.. how are they different issues? There are no doubt multiple NHLers who will feel the pinch if hockey doesn't resume in October for each Sundin or Domi who is feeling flush...

No, sadly, I don't own a fantastic giant poodle. Only the most exclusive pet owners, like Dallas Stars forward Mike Modano can pass the rigorous application process involved in becoming a fabulous farrah-fawcett haired dog owner. The point is that many NHLers are totally intoxicated by this splendid pet-ownership trend, and need the money to "keep up to the Joneses" with the pampering and spoiling of their exclusive pets...

 

[ResidentAlien*]

I'm glad they "don't care"...because that throws their "we're doing this for the future generation" crap right out the window. You should be doing it for your generation, the future generation are the one being hurt the most by this lockout, first and second year players who aren't making the money that idiots like Domi and Sundin are making.

I'm still not sure how anyone could be on the players side at this point

Well,,i just want these "idiots" to get back on the ice, unless you would rather want to watch the owners play
I dont get why some people seem to hate the players because of this lockout imposed on them.

 

[guymez]

I just got back from holidays in Cancun and met some very interesting people, Hockey Fans mostly. One older guy from TO, used to work on the board of advisors for the leafs, or so he said. Very knowledgable anyhow. He was at a dinner function not long before he got there and was talking to Sundin and Domi, his take was those guys (and im sure there are many more) dont care, they have money, to them this is a vacation.
Point is a lot of the players, just don't care anymore.
Anyone who thinks at this point the owners have the upper hand is fooling themselves.
Any leverage, albeit how little, is surely in the hands of the Union at this point.

If true, that speaks volumes about them. They got their millions...so who cares about the game and the fans that gave them the life they have now. Who cares about all of players who make less than the average salary. Oh...wait....they are doing this for the good of the game...for the good of future players in the league...for the good of their union brothers. What a bunch of hypocrites. If they do start their own league :lol ...who in their right mind would pay money to watch these jerks. The players can fry for all I care. Selfish doesn't even begin to descibe this.

 

[Drury_Sakic]

I have no doubt that there are a few owners who want hockey back NOW..

Colorado(Kronke needs the Avalanche to anchor his sports network he started last year)

Leafs(MONEY< MOENY< MONEY)

Rangers(uhm, you know)

Thats three teams I know NEEED hockey to come back ASAP.


Then include a few teams with owners with piles of cash, such as the Habs, that are ready to play and don't mind losing a bit of cash each year(but not piles like before).

The PA's proposal is not a BAD one, if you lower all the numbers in it by 10 million dollars. A Lux Tax with sharp enough teeth is just as good, if not better than a Hard Cap.

If the owners floated the idea of a lux tax with a topout around 40-43 million requiring a 2-3 dollar per dollar tax, it would serve as a Hard Cap, unless a team was UBER crazy.

Plus, if the owners actually proposed something like that, with a crazy dollar tax on the top end of the cap, and the NHLPA rejected it, it would REALLY give them another feather in thier cap for the NLRB case.

 

[Munchausen]

Frankly, I think he is lying. Why would the owners back down now, at this point? With the playoffs gone, the owners will soon gain the upper hand again.

If it's not lying, then it is at least wishful thinking. Maybe he wants to get back on the PA's payroll.

It's called word twisting and wishful thinking by one of the worst journalists to ever use that title.

Some teams want to get back on the ice in a hurry. As Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillet said on Monday, "Because of fixed costs, such as the property taxes, the land lease for our building and the cost of servicing the debt on our building, we'd rather be playing."

He sure did Al. Pierre Boivin also went on to say that the team cannot operate under the previous CBA and that they're not willing to concede much more than a 40M hard cap. But I guess quoting that part would have weakened your "argument", so I understand why it's not in there.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Well,,i just want these "idiots" to get back on the ice, unless you would rather want to watch the owners play
I dont get why some people seem to hate the players because of this lockout imposed on them.

I want these idiots on the ice for the right reasons, under the right CBA. That's all,
if your story is true, it shows they don't care about the fans or the game...

 

[Hasbro]

That quote is like a movie ad with the critics words taken so far out of context. "This movie is perfect... to illustrate how not to make a movie."

 

[Pepper]

Ask yourself this question: when has Strachan has been either a) right or b) coherent?

When you realize the answer, you know where to file this column...