Fan response is overwhelmingly on the owners side

Take a look at the fan responses to these comments from Bryan McCabe

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=109041&hubName=nhl

I read the 1st 20 or so responses, and only one was in support of the players. The majority were overwhelmingly critical.

This didn't seem to be the case just a couple of months ago where you would see a lot more vocal player support.

The players have lost the hearts and minds of the fans in the PR war, no doubt about it. They need to come to the table and hammer something out.

Can anyone envision a scenario where the players will get a better deal by not negotiating now and saving the season?

How on earth can it benefit the players to miss an entire year of salary? I just don't understand how much better of a long term deal they think they are going to get that would justify losing that much money in one year...

For instance, I make 5 million a season. I could negotiate a deal now that would pay me 3.5 million a season, or, we can do nothing and I can miss out on 5 million this year. Let's say that later a deal with the league is worked out next year and I get to make 4 million.

I just lost 5 million dollars in order to make an extra 500k per season. In what world will that ever work out to my benefit?

These guys need to understand that salaries of 9 and 10 million dollars/season are not going to happen again for a long time, unless the league gets a lot more financially healthy.

The owners are united, and it's clear now that they are not going to cave in. The players are going to have to come back and play for less money if they want to play hockey for a living, period. The longer they wait the more they lose. It just doesn't make any sense.

 

The players are being terribly misguided. Whatever happens, they will be the ones that will pay for the waning fan support. If the revenues are lower, their salaries will be lower. The longer they wait, the lower the revenues, the lower their salaries. Plus they don't earn anything this season when they could have earned over a billion dollar. To get that money back over 10 years, their next deal has to get them on average close to $200M per year more than the best deal they could get this year if they had negociated more and earlier.

They don't have the fan support because the owners approach seems reasonable; while they offer a paycut, they still offer the bulk of the revenues to the players. On the other hand, the player's approach has been one that is seen by fans as blinding themselves and asking for the continuation of something that just can't go on.

Hence the question, when are the players going to wake up? The agents don't help. I was listening to Bob Perno and kept asking myself how this guy could be an agent when he obviously know little about economics.

 

The fans are the ones being misguided here. We're being lead to believe cost certainty will improve league competitiveness and lower ticket prices. Fans will be disappointed when this doesn't happen as significant revenue sharing is needed for the health of small market clubs. Cost certainty only serves to put more money in the back pockets of large market club owners at the expense of the fans and the players. Moreover, its such a kick in the arse knowing that fans are providing great incentive for this lockout to continue. As Bob McCown likes to say...WE FANS ARE DUMB! We're absolutely stupid consumers of a bad product.

 

The PA needs to budge now. They can redeem themselves by moving over to cost certainty. I don't want to say I am on thw owners side, although I will say that i find the players position, and there extreme lack of leverage or any real cause for hope in their position is really quite ridiculous. The PA needs to realize that negotiating inevitable cost certainty is better than having cost certainty jammed down your throat. Until they can comprehend that, and take action on that notion, then they will recieve the support of the fans for rinally coming into reality.

The PA has a lack of support because they are being terribly mislead. Bob Goodenow is a very smart man, and in the last negotiations, he got a steal of a deal for the PA, but thats over now. He has left himself no exit strategy to eventually negotiate cost certainty, and thats what leads me to believe that right now, Goodenow's job is in more jeapordy than Bettman's. I think comments like McCabe's are stemming from the frustration of defeat, deep down, they know they are beat. They can see the resolve and will of the owners, and the complete lack of any type of motivation for the owners to open their doors. Hell, some owners are making money NOT PLAYING.

If Goodenow doesn't negotiate cost certainty, he will lose his job. Even if the NHL doesn't get their impasse declared, the owners will still be able and willing to go 2 years or even more to fight this, and I don't think the PA is willing to go down a path that lengthy. These are all reasons why I can't support the players, they just don't seem to succumb to the obvious, and the inevitable. Educated hockey people have been saying this for a while now, the owners will get cost certainty. It's not an if, it is for certain. Why wait for the season to be cancelled and then negotiate cost certainty? Why wait for 2 seasons to be cancelled to negotiate cost certainty? Why not do it now and still come out ahead of the NFLPA?

When the PA can answer those questions, I'll respect their position a lot more. McCabe's comments are ridiculous, once again the PA resorts to personal attacks when they know they are done in these negotiations. It's over for the PA, they can't win, and that message is finally starting to frustrate some players, especially some guys like McCabe who will be hit a decent amount in the bank by cost certainty.

Boys, the gravy train is over. Message to Goodenow: Get to the table, and discuss cost certainty, if you can get the owners up to 40 - 42 million, you've done your job. Instead of having a cap of 30 million implemented without the PA's say on the matter. Oh and Bob, these pipedreams like Players starting their own leagues, and players leaving the NHL and staying in europe are just that, pipedreams. It takes a big man to accept defeat graciously, be the big man Bobby.

 

We will be watching a new league by then.

 

New leagues don't happen overnight. It would take at least 2 - 3 years to get this new league going. And are you telling me this new league which would be in its startup phase of operations would be willing to pay NHL salaries? I highly doubt that, even with a salary cap in the NHL, this new league wouldn't generate the kind of revenues to match the salaries that a capped NHL could provide.

 

so can all of us fans be wrong?

perhaps, but i highly doubt it. the owners WON'T BUDGE. it's in the players best interests to get a deal out now before revenues potentially drop even more.

and the "well, i'll play in europe instead" option isn't quite as glamourous as they first thought it would be. it's great.

sooner or later they'll realize a cap isn't the end of the world.

 

If the players want to play in europe, thats quite hypocritical considering the salaries they make there are far less than what the NHL just proposed. Goodenow and the PA need to negotiate a cap instead of letting this season become a wash.

 

reading all those fan responses brought a tear to my eye. a tear of happiness no doubt, at the amount of people who called mccabe out for being a whiny brat.

they say that all publicity is good publicity, and in this case it worked out very well for the owners. mccabe shouldda kept his mouth shut, or at least been diplomatic, only a fool would say crap like that in the open.

let's just let the scabs play and see how the fans respond, i say. enough of these whiny misguided overpaid underachievers yapping about the dim-witted commish. let them eat cake for all i care.

mike

 

No, that's not what I'm telling you. What I will say is that the NHL stands to lose a lot as well as the players. Hardball is a 2 way street. The NHL cannot win a 2 year lockout. It's a lose/lose situation. So why should the NHLPA knuckle under?

 

Well said... one thing though, McCabe,Roenick,Pronger and a few others have given the players a bad rep... not all the players are like these loudmouths.

 

Brian McCabe as a spokesperson for shoelaces would be bad enough.. Goodenow must cringe every time he opens his mouth.

 

Like the WHA?

 

Simple. The NHLPA should raise the white flag since the average NHL career is under 8 years. Refusing the NHL's offer will mean no NHL for 2 years. That's giving up over 25% of their career earnings, and any thing gained during that time will be insignificant when you consider the millions of dollars that the players lost out on. The NHLPA will cry "uncle" if the season is cancelled.

 

The sooner the NHLPA concedes the cap issue and demands concessions as a quid pro quo, the better. Unlike most labor actions, in this case (IMO) the longer they wait, the less leverage they'll have.

 

The thing is that the NHL cannot lose a lockout, no matter how long it goes. Even if the market for NHL drops, they'll be able to make a profit even if the revenues greatly drop down.

 

Yes.

 

Newsflash, the WHA is dead and buried. Look at their website, and draw your own conclusions. Hasn't been updated in 2 months, and they want to start playing in 3 weeks??? Might as well wait for another "alternative league" to spring up...