I think the people who deny the possibility of a future where European teams compete for the best talent in the world are whistling past the graveyard. Don’t think in terms of 2005; think in terms of 2010, 2015.
Where will the 200 best hockey players in the world play in the future? Concentrated in a North American league? Concentrated in a European league? Scattered across many leagues? Concentrated in a league with teams in both North America and Europe?
A Super League wouldn’t need to compete with the salary structure of the “old†NHL, those days are over. A Super League wouldn’t need 30 teams, 30 state of the art arenas or 30 billionaire owners. 6-12 teams are all that’s required to concentrate the best hockey players in the world into a single league. If arenas don’t exist today, they can be built in the future. In 2015 Crosby and Ovechkin might be playing in a Super League with teams in cities like Toronto, Montreal, New York, Moscow, Stockholm, Berlin.
The NHL has said it cannot continue to exist without their mythical cost certainty. The players have shown no desire to agree to cost certainty. If the NHL is telling the truth, and they are unable to achieve cost certainty in the future, then the logical conclusion is that the NHL will simply fade into oblivion.
Jarome Iginla is one of the best hockey players on the planet. He’s looking for a job and the Flames don’t have one to offer. Iginla will not be flipping burgers next year, he will be playing hockey in Europe, and he will be well compensated for his services. The best hockey players in the world will not have trouble finding jobs in the short term or the long term. They won’t make $10 mil per season, but they will make handsome money, they will have careers playing hockey, and they will have enough money to live happily ever after when they retire from the game.
The NHL has created a vacuum, and that vacuum will be filled. Maybe the NHL can get its act together before it’s too late. Maybe the NHL can re-fill its self-created vacuum. But it’s dangerous to create such a vacuum; it just might be filled by a different league, a different group of owners.