WHA ramping things up - No Salary Cap

[Mess]

So let me get this straight,

• The players, fresh off trying to break a 2.1 billion $ top hockey league into bankrupcy, go looking for new owners for their WHA. (After seeing the current state of the NHL, if I'm an investor, do I ever want to invest in a WHA hockey team!)
• The owners, trying to break the union, go to the AHL (and maybe Europe) to find replacement players.
• Us fans are left watching this great game of hockey get turned into a complete circus and the laughing stock of the sports world.

I think that somes it up pretty well ..

 

[Drury_Sakic]

At best..

The WHA does OK.. and actually manages to get a few games played, which puts a bit of extra pressure on Gary and the NHL to get a deal done...

While at the same time, the players get to see how good they had it in the NHL and how hard it is to do what the NHL and its owners do..


At worst..

It makes for some interesting speculation, and perhaps gives a few cities a bit of hockey entertainment..


So more power to them either way..

 

[Jag68Sid87]

• Team captains will be appointed and they will draft rosters of roughly 14 players and a Team Strategist (coach-GM). Smith says 28 players are already confirmed, including Roenick, Chris Chelios, Sean Burke, Mark Recchi, Robert Esche and Jim Cummins.

Jim Cummins??? To quote Jerry Seinfeld, "Oh yeah, this can't miss."

 

[David Puddy]

The WHA is "currently accepting applications for franchises in North America, Europe, Russia and Japan." Here's the link. Maybe Sydney Crosby's children will play in the inaugural WHA-II season.

The XFL was the one operating with the replacement calibre players. If the XHL was the one with the top quality players, they would get a credibility.

Have you ever heard of the USFL, Herschel Walker, Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie (the greatest player in CFL history,) Reggie White, et al.?

But the Oilers don't want to play for the Cup. For crybabies like Cal Nichols and Kevin Lowe a salary cap is more important then the Stanley Cup.

I'd rather watch a league were I'm not sure if the owners have a love for the game instead of the NHL where I know the owners all care about the money, not the game.

The Edmonton Oilers aren't going to be playing for anything if the NHL doesn't get a new financial structure. There will not be an Edmonton Oilers.

. . . .= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back"
-- Herb Brooks (Krurt Russell) in Miracle (2004)

 

[me2]

Your Plan is to Crush the Group (Bain Capital Partners and Game Plan International) that made an 3.5 Bil offer to Buy the NHL (now talking to the WHA) by opening up the NHL again with Replacement ECHL players .. ???

No, by opening the NHL for business as usual. Let every team bid on players as per normal. WHA crumbles. NHL lockouts the players out again.

 

[Mess]

No, by opening the NHL for business as usual. Let every team bid on players as per normal. WHA crumbles. NHL lockouts the players out again.

Have you forwarded this to the NHLPA or would you like me to Memo them ..

All kidding aside ..

Open for Business how ??

If you lower the lockout , and sign players it implies that you have agreed on a CBA .. You can't sign players under an expired CBA ??

Or it meant you have declared an Impasse and imposed your final CBA and open for business .. This would allow you to sign players .. but they would have to cross NHLPA picket lines to do it ... Even if this happened and some players returned ..

You can't once again Lock out the players again with a CBA in place .. and if the NLRB is currently ruling then these kinds of tactics even if they were allowed would certainly be considered the most obvious BAD FAITH BARGAINING in the HISTORY of Union Labour Disputes. The courts would tear the NHL apart with anti-trust suits and award likely every single NHLPA member damages ..

NO CBA = NO SIGNINGS ... & - or ..... VALID CBA = NO LOCKOUT

You might have to rethink you strategy ..IMO

These Heartless tactics even if they were allowed, which they aren't seem awfully extreme even for you ..

 

[Hasbro]

Have you ever heard of the USFL, Herschel Walker, Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie (the greatest player in CFL history,) Reggie White, et al.?

Lasted three years playing in the spring, had some tv deals and banked everything on an antitrust suit against the NFL, where they were awarded $1. I loved the USFL, but it was fools paradise.

Last Rival League to force a merger was the original WHA in 1979. The ABA did two years before. However both leagues only got 4 teams into the established league, the casualty rate is daunting for the odds of succes. the only rival league that was a complete success was the AFL and that's been 40 years.

 

[dakota]

does anyone know the revenues generated by the IMG world stars tour that went through Europe? Did they make any money doing this? Is so how much and is the information public... did the money goto charity? Was it considered successful? I dont remember seeing it on TV i remember it was reported it was pay per view... I wonder how much that part generated?

This would good information to have as it is similar to this tournament idea that is being proposed in Hamilton in the summer... was the games more like an all star game? Was it competitive?

 

[PecaFan]

You said fans follow the better product. The team name, logo, atmosphere of the nhl is part of the product. So the question is, is the NHL brand with players who you may have heard of but haven't seen in action a ton a better or worse product than players you have seen playing in an atmosphere with no brand recognition.

One need only look at the Indy Racing League to see this. When they started up, they were a complete joke, lousy drivers, etc. But they had one thing, the Crown Jewel - the Indy 500. This startup joke of a racing circuit has practically bankrupted the Big Fish, gutted them of most of their drivers etc, purely because of the draw of that one thing.

The fans didn't care that CART had the better drivers. They only cared about the Indy 500.

The fans won't care about who has the better players. They'll care about the Stanley Cup.

Some of us that are older have lived through the WHA days of the 1970's..

The WHA had so much influence on the Hockey nation that the NHL merged with the WHA as part of the agreement and the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers and the Quebec Nordiques became a part of the NHL, as they had to stop the bleeding that the WHA was causing. The NHL knew it had no choice as its watched its Franchise values get washed away by the loss of its stars ..

Talk about revisionist history. I was around at that time too, and the WHA was never that huge. It hardly made a dent on the NHL. Yes, they lost some players, but *nobody cared*. Yes, fans came to watch in those cities, because they didn't have NHL hockey.

It was the *WHA* that was bleeding, and led to the merger. They simply couldn't afford to keep up the big spending.

 

[Mess]

Talk about revisionist history. I was around at that time too, and the WHA was never that huge. It hardly made a dent on the NHL. Yes, they lost some players, but *nobody cared*. Yes, fans came to watch in those cities, because they didn't have NHL hockey.

It was the *WHA* that was bleeding, and led to the merger. They simply couldn't afford to keep up the big spending.

Well I gues that is what you meant by NO one cared .... Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Plante, Gerry Cheevers, Paul Henderson . Where not nobodies they were the Stars of the NHL .. They the robbed Gretzky and Messier at 17 and Rob Ramage, Craig Hartsburg, Michel Goulet, Rick Vaive, the best young prospects because they were to young to be drafted yet into the NHL .. Then the Euro stars like Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson and others joined the WHA ..

The NHL was losing talent from everywhere and every angle .. In order to stop this they had to Merge with the WHA and the 4 WHA teams joined the NHL as a result .. If you where around your memory and impact that the WHA had on the NHL is failing you ..

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

But the Oilers don't want to play for the Cup. For crybabies like Cal Nichols and Kevin Lowe a salary cap is more important then the Stanley Cup.

I'd rather watch a league were I'm not sure if the owners have a love for the game instead of the NHL where I know the owners all care about the money, not the game.

huh? the reason Cal Nichols want a cap is because he wants to SAVE the game....not just in Edmonton, but in Calgary, Ottawa, Buffalo TB etc...

the salary cap is imortant because the Oilers want to win the Stanley Cup again....in the old NHL, there was no way we could even compete with Detroit, Toronto, Philly even when our building was at 100% capasity...

if the WHA were to open, the only players playig would be the money hungry players who care more about the money than the cup...

 

[Cawz]

The NHL was losing talent from everywhere and every angle .. In order to stop this they had to Merge with the WHA and the 4 WHA teams joined the NHL as a result ..

"By 1976, it was evident that the WHA's franchises were teetering on the verge of existence, with stable teams few and far between, and that the combined efforts of the NHL and WHA effectively sucked the talent pool dry."

"by the end of the final season, only six teams remained. Facing financial difficulty and unable to meet payrolls, the WHA and the NHL came to an agreement on March 22, 1979, where the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL while the Birmingham Bulls and the Cincinnati Stingers were paid generous amounts of money to fold."

The NHL was losing talent from everywhere and every angle? To a league dwindling down to 6 teams? Really?

http://www.answers.com/topic/world-hockey-association

 

[ladybugblue]

Good find. I didn't think it happened the way Messenger remembered. If it had wouldn't the NHL have merged with the WHA? Also do you really think the players don't care about playing for the Stanley cup?

 

[PecaFan]

Well I gues that is what you meant by NO one cared .... Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Plante, Gerry Cheevers, Paul Henderson . Where not nobodies they were the Stars of the NHL .. They the robbed Gretzky and Messier at 17 and Rob Ramage, Craig Hartsburg, Michel Goulet, Rick Vaive, the best young prospects because they were to young to be drafted yet into the NHL .. Then the Euro stars like Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson and others joined the WHA ..

All you're doing is listing a few great player's names. We can play "dueling stars" forever. I can list off dozens of stars and Hall of Famers that were in the NHL at that time. You're attempting to make it sound like the NHL was losing all their players, and it simply isn't true. By far, the NHL *dwarfed* the WHA in talent.

If you truly were around at that time, you must have been in a WHA city. Because everywhere else, the WHA was *clearly* seen as a massively inferior league. A pimple on the butt, so to speak. A joke. Teams were folding, or moving, or changing names like it was going out of style.

"1973: I'm a Philly Blazer fan!"
"1974: No wait, now I'm a Vancouver Blazer fan!"
"1975: Ok, now I'm a Calgary Cowboy fan!"

The only impact the WHA had on the NHL was to raise salaries far beyond what was reasonable, simply to keep up.

But go ahead and delude yourself into thinking it was the NHL that "caved" and was forced to merge with the WHA.

 

[YellHockey*]

huh? the reason Cal Nichols want a cap is because he wants to SAVE the game....not just in Edmonton, but in Calgary, Ottawa, Buffalo TB etc...

Spare me the rhetoric. The game is fine in those cities. He just sees an opportunity to make more money since he knows Oiler fans are gullible enough to believe his garbage.

the salary cap is imortant because the Oilers want to win the Stanley Cup again....in the old NHL, there was no way we could even compete with Detroit, Toronto, Philly even when our building was at 100% capasity...

If they want to win the Cup so badly why don't they hire a competant GM?

No way you could compete? Sounds like someone's been brainwashed by people looking to make excuses for their failures. Tampa Bay could compete with those teams. Ottawa could compete with those teams. But Edmonton no way? What a cop out.

if the WHA were to open, the only players playig would be the money hungry players who care more about the money than the cup...

No. Its about players playing for the love of the game and not giving into greedy liars who think they can get whatever they want just because they're filthy rich.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

For those who believe in this fairy tale:

Anastasia-Priscilla (Mike Modano's fantastic giant poodle) is the official mascot for the fabulous new league. Since I have been looking after this super animal so well while Mike's been a bit "short on dog food money", the league has asked me to be the treasurer. For season's tickets to the new WHA, send money (cash only please) to Bring Back Bucky in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Thanks in advance, please allow 10000 light years for delivery.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

. Ottawa could compete with those teams. But Edmonton no way? What a cop out.



No. Its about players playing for the love of the game and not giving into greedy liars who think they can get whatever they want just because they're filthy rich.

No, Ottawa couldn't compete with those teams, they needed:

a) to suck horrifically enough to zing off that many 1-3 picks in the entry draft. Shame on the Oilers for being competitive every year instead of reeling off 48 point seasons.
b) to get bailed out of bankruptcy in order to not bounce paycheques

Yes, heaven bless those players for wanting to play for the love of the game. May they all one day know what it's like to be able to have a hot meal with meat, vegetables and a healthy drink.

Spare the rhetoric??? Spare the foolishness.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Spare me the rhetoric. The game is fine in those cities. He just sees an opportunity to make more money since he knows Oiler fans are gullible enough to believe his garbage.



If they want to win the Cup so badly why don't they hire a competant GM?

No way you could compete? Sounds like someone's been brainwashed by people looking to make excuses for their failures. Tampa Bay could compete with those teams. Ottawa could compete with those teams. But Edmonton no way? What a cop out.



No. Its about players playing for the love of the game and not giving into greedy liars who think they can get whatever they want just because they're filthy rich.

game is fine? you seem to know....please, I love to know why Buffalo and Ottawa needed new owners, or why Calgary lost 30 mil over 7 seasons....

sure Tampa Bay can compete, so can Ottawa with those players for now...but how long until they're UFA and they can't afford them anymore? it's just a matter of time before Philly and Detroit steal them away (like St.Louis and Dallas did when we traded Weight and Guerin cause we couldn't afford them)

That last sentence had me laughing :lol If they love the game so much, why not come back and play in the NHL?? That time I checked, the "greedy" owners OWN the NHL so they realized that the system was losing them billions...shame on them for trying to earn a dollar like the players!!

 

[Mess]

All you're doing is listing a few great player's names. We can play "dueling stars" forever. I can list off dozens of stars and Hall of Famers that were in the NHL at that time. You're attempting to make it sound like the NHL was losing all their players, and it simply isn't true. By far, the NHL *dwarfed* the WHA in talent.

If you truly were around at that time, you must have been in a WHA city. Because everywhere else, the WHA was *clearly* seen as a massively inferior league. A pimple on the butt, so to speak. A joke. Teams were folding, or moving, or changing names like it was going out of style.

"1973: I'm a Philly Blazer fan!"
"1974: No wait, now I'm a Vancouver Blazer fan!"
"1975: Ok, now I'm a Calgary Cowboy fan!"

The only impact the WHA had on the NHL was to raise salaries far beyond what was reasonable, simply to keep up.

But go ahead and delude yourself into thinking it was the NHL that "caved" and was forced to merge with the WHA.

Yup Growing up in Winnipeg .. The Jets with Bobby Hull was the home team and arguably the best of all the WHA teams ..

Peter Pocklington signed Wayne Gretzky to a personal services contract .. I wonder how the NHL would have turned out without the Great on ever being a part of it .. ??

Please explain how 4 of these Poor Pathetic teams then got themselves NHL franchises ???

 

[me2]

Have you forwarded this to the NHLPA or would you like me to Memo them ..

All kidding aside ..

Open for Business how ??

If you lower the lockout , and sign players it implies that you have agreed on a CBA .. You can't sign players under an expired CBA ??

I can't see why not. So how do other companies do it?

December 2, The San Francisco Multi-Employer Group agreed to end the lock out and allow the workers back to work while the union and the hotels continue negotiations. Convincing the hotel companies to put employees back to work and putting an end to the lock out was a victory in the eyes of the workers and the union. However, the union and the employers have not settled on a new contract for the members of Local 2.
----------------------------
Locked-out members of Teamsters Local 533 expressed guarded optimism after Thursday afternoon's surprise announcement that the Reno area bus lockout has been unilaterally called off by management.
----------------------------
The case stemmed from a strike that began during contract negotiations. The company continued to operate during the strike, and although the union ended the strike after two months and made an unconditional offer to return the work, the employer declined the offer and instituted a lockout of all workers who had stayed out on strike for the duration. The company’s position was that it would not allow striking employees to return to work until a new agreement was ratified.
-----------------------------
http://www.supportlahotelworkers.com/pressroom/articles/041206lat.html
http://www.nevadalabor.com/unews/lockend.html
http://www.kullmanlaw.com/pubs/client_nov04.cfm

Plenty of unions strike after a CBA expires to make their point, then return to work during further negotiations. It would be the same for a lockout.

Now this is getting into an area there doesn't seem to be a lot of easily accessable internet information on. Does the previous CBA then come back into force by both agreeing to use it as stopgap measure, does it come back by default, is it a free for all?

Or it meant you have declared an Impasse and imposed your final CBA and open for business .. This would allow you to sign players .. but they would have to cross NHLPA picket lines to do it ... Even if this happened and some players returned ..

There is the option in some places to hire replacements during a lockout. No impasse, no implementation, just add replacements (no NHLPA members can cross). It may be something the NHL is considering.


Hiring of temporary replacements during defensive lockout not per se unlawful
Legality of hiring of temporary replacements during an offensive lockout where there is no antiunion animus unclear
Per Se Unlawful
7th Cir. (Inland Trucking, 1971)
Not Per Se Unlawful
8th Cir. (Intercollegiate Press, 1973)
Board (Harter Equipment, 1986)


As the current lockout stands its an offensive lockout, therefore no permanent replacements but temporary ones are OK. If the NHL lifts the lockout and union strikes stikes, then it could perhaps start a defensive lockout in retailiation and bring in permant replacements.

If the owners ended the lockout the players might return to work under the old CBA but may strike instead. Then we get some more interesting situations

http://web.missouri.edu/~labored/1997-25.html

It may even be Bettman's plan to make the union strike. This would likely be considered an economic strike not a ULP strike so the NHL could hire permanent replacements. After 12 months off the job the NHLPAers would lose their rights to vote on CBA issues leaving the replacements will all the voting power.

Permanently replaced workers with future reinstatement rights have the right to vote for one year. If they have not been recalled within that one year, they lose the right to vote.

So the NHL can bypass some of the implementation/impasse dangers. But that brings us all the way back to decertification.....

You can't once again Lock out the players again with a CBA in place .. and if the NLRB is currently ruling then these kinds of tactics even if they were allowed would certainly be considered the most obvious BAD FAITH BARGAINING in the HISTORY of Union Labour Disputes. The courts would tear the NHL apart with anti-trust suits and award likely every single NHLPA member damages ..

NO CBA = NO SIGNINGS ... & - or ..... VALID CBA = NO LOCKOUT

You might have to rethink you strategy ..IMO

These Heartless tactics even if they were allowed, which they aren't seem awfully extreme even for you ..

Why would the NHLPA back the WHA? Answer: to break the NHL and force them to cave on demands. If they succeed? The NHLPAers then dump the WHA to die a fast and expensive death. Now that is heartless. Convince the WHA to start up on the promise of players and then stab it in the back.

NHLPA uses WHA to screw NHL, NHLPA screws WHA, NHL screws NHLPA.Heartless? Just business.

 

[vanlady]

I can't see why not. So how do other companies do it?

December 2, The San Francisco Multi-Employer Group agreed to end the lock out and allow the workers back to work while the union and the hotels continue negotiations. Convincing the hotel companies to put employees back to work and putting an end to the lock out was a victory in the eyes of the workers and the union. However, the union and the employers have not settled on a new contract for the members of Local 2.

Locked-out members of Teamsters Local 533 expressed guarded optimism after Thursday afternoon's surprise announcement that the Reno area bus lockout has been unilaterally called off by management.

The case stemmed from a strike that began during contract negotiations. The company continued to operate during the strike, and although the union ended the strike after two months and made an unconditional offer to return the work, the employer declined the offer and instituted a lockout of all workers who had stayed out on strike for the duration. The company’s position was that it would not allow striking employees to return to work until a new agreement was ratified.

http://www.supportlahotelworkers.com/pressroom/articles/041206lat.html
http://www.nevadalabor.com/unews/lockend.html
http://www.kullmanlaw.com/pubs/client_nov04.cfm

Plenty of unions strike after a CBA expires to make their point, then return to work during further negotiations. It would be the same for a lockout.

Now this is getting into an area there doesn't seem to be a lot of easily accessable internet information on. Does the previous CBA then come back into force by both agreeing to use it as stopgap measure, does it come back by default, is it a free for all?




There is the option in some places to hire replacements during a lockout. No impasse, no implementation, just add replacements (no NHLPA members can cross). It may be something the NHL is considering.


Hiring of temporary replacements during defensive lockout not per se unlawful
Legality of hiring of temporary replacements during an offensive lockout where there is no antiunion animus unclear
Per Se Unlawful
7th Cir. (Inland Trucking, 1971)
Not Per Se Unlawful
8th Cir. (Intercollegiate Press, 1973)
Board (Harter Equipment, 1986)


As the current lockout stands its an offensive lockout, therefore no permanent replacements but temporary ones are OK. If the NHL lifts the lockout and union strikes stikes, then it could perhaps start a defensive lockout in retailiation and bring in permant replacements.

If the owners ended the lockout the players might return to work under the old CBA but may strike instead. Then we get some more interesting situations

http://web.missouri.edu/~labored/1997-25.html

It may even be Bettman's plan to make the union strike. This would likely be considered an economic strike not a ULP strike so the NHL could hire permanent replacements. After 12 months off the job the NHLPAers would lose their rights to vote on CBA issues leaving the replacements will all the voting power.

Permanently replaced workers with future reinstatement rights have the right to vote for one year. If they have not been recalled within that one year, they lose the right to vote.

So the NHL can bypass some of the implementation/impasse dangers. But that brings us all the way back to decertification.....





Why would the NHLPA back the WHA? Answer: to break the NHL and force them to cave on demands. If they succeed? The NHLPAers then dump the WHA to die a fast and expensive death. Now that is heartless. Convince the WHA to start up on the promise of players and then stab it in the back.

NHLPA uses WHA to screw NHL, NHLPA screws WHA, NHL screws NHLPA.Heartless? Just business.

One flaw in your theory, Permanent replacements are completely illegal in every province in Canada. It also violates every Canadian Supreme Court decision and the Canadian Labor Code, on the subject. So translation no hockey in Canada under your scenario.

 

[ladybugblue]

Spare me the rhetoric. The game is fine in those cities. He just sees an opportunity to make more money since he knows Oiler fans are gullible enough to believe his garbage.



If they want to win the Cup so badly why don't they hire a competant GM?

No way you could compete? Sounds like someone's been brainwashed by people looking to make excuses for their failures. Tampa Bay could compete with those teams. Ottawa could compete with those teams. But Edmonton no way? What a cop out.



No. Its about players playing for the love of the game and not giving into greedy liars who think they can get whatever they want just because they're filthy rich.

Actually you know nothing of the Edmonton market. Yes they could "compete" using the trap like other teams have...however the fans in Edmonton wouldn't put up with it and the ownership would lose out with fans turning on the team. This is a City that had many cups and got hooked on offense first and still play that way.

Name calling the owners as "greedy liars" shows how limited your arguments are. It is no different than others calling the players "greedy" but the system proposed by the players is outdated and everyone but the players, Goodenow, and few PA supporters know it. Not to say the owners have the answer either but they are far closer to reality.

 

[kdb209]

Quote:
Originally Posted by PecaFan
Talk about revisionist history. I was around at that time too, and the WHA was never that huge. It hardly made a dent on the NHL. Yes, they lost some players, but *nobody cared*. Yes, fans came to watch in those cities, because they didn't have NHL hockey.

It was the *WHA* that was bleeding, and led to the merger. They simply couldn't afford to keep up the big spending.

Well I gues that is what you meant by NO one cared .... Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Plante, Gerry Cheevers, Paul Henderson . Where not nobodies they were the Stars of the NHL .. They the robbed Gretzky and Messier at 17 and Rob Ramage, Craig Hartsburg, Michel Goulet, Rick Vaive, the best young prospects because they were to young to be drafted yet into the NHL .. Then the Euro stars like Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson and others joined the WHA ..

The NHL was losing talent from everywhere and every angle .. In order to stop this they had to Merge with the WHA and the 4 WHA teams joined the NHL as a result .. If you where around your memory and impact that the WHA had on the NHL is failing you ..

Oh yes the WHA was doing so well and had the NHL completely at its mercy.

Let's see:

Which league had contracted half its teams from it's '74-'75 peak - the WHA.

Which league actually folded a team during the season in its last season - the WHA.

Which team was a never ending flurry of relocating franchises, abandoning markets where they just couldnt compete with the NHL - the WHA.

Which league abandoned two of its franchises in order to grab the life preserver of merger - the WHA.

Look where the WHA had teams in the end:
Edmonton Oilers
Quebec Nordiques
Winnipeg Jets
New-England Whalers
Cincinnati Stingers
Birmingham Bulls
Indianapolis Racers (Indianapolis suspended operations 12/15/1978).

Look at the franchises/cities in the WHA Graveyard:

Alberta Oilers 1972-73
Birmingham Bulls 1976-79
Calgary Cowboys 1975-77
Chicago Cougars 1972-75
Cincinnati Stingers 1975-79
Cleveland Crusaders 1972-76
Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics 1975-76
Edmonton Oilers 1973-79
Houston Aeros 1972-78
Indianapolis Racers 1974-79
Los-Angeles Sharks 1972-74
Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades 1974-75
Minnesota Fighting Saints 1972-77
New-England Whalers 1972-79
New-York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights 1973-74
New-York Raiders 1972-73
Ottawa Civics 1975-76
Ottawa Nationals 1972-73
Philadelphia Blazers 1972-73
Phoenix Roadrunners 1974-77
Quebec Nordiques 1972-79
San Diego Mariners 1974-77
Toronto Toros 1973-76
Vancouver Blazers 1973-75
Winnipeg Jets 1972-79


Yes, the NHL lost some stars to the WHA, and some younger players and Europeans because of it's lower draft age, but they weren't worried in the least about losing talent. They had some concern though about the WHA driving up salaries, so they decided it was cheaper for them to allow 4 WHA teams to merge, rather than wait a few more years untill the WHA died on its own.

 

[ladybugblue]

Yup Growing up in Winnipeg .. The Jets with Bobby Hull was the home team and arguably the best of all the WHA teams ..

Peter Pocklington signed Wayne Gretzky to a personal services contract .. I wonder how the NHL would have turned out without the Great on ever being a part of it .. ??

Please explain how 4 of these Poor Pathetic teams then got themselves NHL franchises ???

The WHA was not what you are making it out to be. My brothers all went to lots of WHA games and the seats were empty and tickets were cheap. But it wasn't the highest league and they still watched the NHL. The say the WHA was better than the NHL is laughable...wasn't it Bobby Orr (Bruins), Philly and Montreal that won during the time period...and what teams won what in the WHA?? and you know there is a trophy they give out that is pretty famous...each player gets a day with it now and the media even talks about the day with this trophy...guess the trophy is pretty meaningless huh??

 

[Habs Icing]

Well I gues that is what you meant by NO one cared .... Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Plante, Gerry Cheevers, Paul Henderson . Where not nobodies they were the Stars of the NHL ..

If you were really around at the time of the WHA, you'd realized that those names were stars yes but were stars a decade before it started. When they played in the WHA, Howe was in his 50's, Hull, Keon, Mahovlich, Plante, Cheevers late 30's, early 40's. Henderson was the spring chicken - early 30's.

That's like saying the new WHA will sign Chelios, Yzerman, talk Bourque, Gretzsky, Roy and Lafleur out of retirement. And if they're really daring, they may ask Gordie Howe to come back.

please check your facts before posting.