Finish this statement and back it up

[MacDaddy TLC*]

The longer the strike goes, the __________ better for hockey fans.

Explain why you think this is the case.

Personally, I hope this goes at least 18 months, and could live with up to 3 years of no NHL hockey.... maybe even longer.

Click to read more...

 

[thinkwild]

Love hurts. It can make you do the most spiteful things when wronged eh.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

The longer the strike goes, the worse it is for hockey fans.

Every game that's cancelled is a game that won't be made up. Less and less chance to see the greats of the game entertain us and compete at the highest level.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

The longer the strike goes, the worse it is for hockey fans.

Every game that's cancelled is a game that won't be made up. Less and less chance to see the greats of the game entertain us and compete at the highest level.

NCAA
AHL
CIAU
OHL, WHL, QMJHL

These are all quality hockey and affordable costs for the fan. The NHL isn't the only game in town. On most nights it isn't even the best quality.

The NHL game is broke. Can they fix it? Do they care to fix it?

 

[John Flyers Fan]

NCAA
AHL
CIAU
OHL, WHL, QMJHL

These are all quality hockey and affordable costs for the fan. The NHL isn't the only game in town. On most nights it isn't even the best quality.

The NHL game is broke. Can they fix it? Do they care to fix it?

Depends on where you live ... for a lot of people they can't get those games on TV or see them in person.

In Philly I'm lucky that the Phantoms are in town, but otherwise I'd be screwed.

I'd also disagree than the NHL game is "broke". Do some things need to be fixed ??? Yes, but it's far from broke.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

I'd also disagree than the NHL game is "broke". Do some things need to be fixed ??? Yes, but it's far from broke.

After watching most of the games of the World Cup tourney, I have to strongly disagree. Oddly enough it was under NHL rules. Could the quality of the World cup game become the standard for the NHL game? With a lengthy lockout and a few tweaks of the rules and schedule, I believe so.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

After watching most of the games of the World Cup tourney, I have to strongly disagree. Oddly enough it was under NHL rules. Could the quality of the World cup game become the standard for the NHL game? With a lengthy lockout and a few tweaks of the rules and schedule, I believe so.

I actually didn't think that the World Cup games were all that great, other than Czech/Canada semi-final.

Rules and schedule changes can be made without a long lock-out.

 

[thinkwild]

I thought it was kind of interesting that even with a World Cup, which i agree wasnt that great, and the cream of the crop, there was still trapping. Kinda makes you wonder about the premise that contraction would open the game up on its own.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

I am hoping to see the death of about 6-10 franchises, not as a slight to the fans of some teams, but to see the quality of each team improve.

I want to see the schedule reduced to 68-72 games to keep the players fresh and give them a little more break between game time.

I want to see the regular season begin on October 01 and end on March 28.

I want to see the playoffs over before May 31.

An idea I am exploring in my Communications course right now is whether the CBA and NHLPA are even neccessary anymore. I cannot come up with a reason they are and do have ideas on how they can be replaced and future work stoppages will never happen. A lengthy work stoppage is the only way that the players can revolt against the PA.

 

[DownFromNJ]

he NHL isn't the only game in town.

It is for me.

I am hoping to see the death of about 6-10 franchises, not as a slight to the fans of some teams, but to see the quality of each team improve.

There aren't enough words to describe how mad you make me. Your the worst kind of fan.

 

[ACC1224]

After watching most of the games of the World Cup tourney, I have to strongly disagree. Oddly enough it was under NHL rules. Could the quality of the World cup game become the standard for the NHL game? With a lengthy lockout and a few tweaks of the rules and schedule, I believe so.

The quality of the World Cup games was so much better because all 4 lines can play. You don't have the 4th line plugs holding the boards up or the less skilled guys cycling for their entire shift. New rules won't change that.

 

[GKJ]

A lengthy work stoppage is the only way that the players can revolt against the PA.

A lengthy work stoppage is the only way owners can continue to lose money and not ever have a chance to get it back, and then try to lure bitter fans back to the arenas after losing a year and a half of hockey and say it's all about the fans.



$300M war chest? Yeah $10M per team. Want to know how long that will last some teams? Until about Christmas.

 

[dawgbone]

An idea I am exploring in my Communications course right now is whether the CBA and NHLPA are even neccessary anymore. I cannot come up with a reason they are and do have ideas on how they can be replaced and future work stoppages will never happen. A lengthy work stoppage is the only way that the players can revolt against the PA.

It should take you all of 5 minutes to figure out why the CBA and NHLPA are very much necessary... and it's all routed in legal ramifications.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

The players all sign individual contracts that are extremely lucrative. They should be treated as Independent contractors. What I would propose would see players available to become Unrestricted Free agents after their entry level contract. Most issues covered within the CBA could be covered by standard player's agreements and a joint Management and player's committee.

We may see individual players not working in this system, but the game would never shut down. Teams would have to pay well and treat well to encourage players to join their organization. Definitely win-win.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

The quality of the World Cup games was so much better because all 4 lines can play. You don't have the 4th line plugs holding the boards up or the less skilled guys cycling for their entire shift. New rules won't change that.

No touch icing is one rule change; opening up the neutral zone by getting rid of two line off sides is the other.

The biggest component to seeing the qulaity of the game improving is seeing 6-10 teams go the way of the Cleveland Baron.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

A lengthy work stoppage is the only way owners can continue to lose money and not ever have a chance to get it back, and then try to lure bitter fans back to the arenas after losing a year and a half of hockey and say it's all about the fans.

They will have to lure fans back with lower ticket prices. Some franchises might not survive such a move. I say Hasta La Vista Baby!

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

There aren't enough words to describe how mad you make me. Your the worst kind of fan.

You don't like REAL hockey fans?

 

[John Flyers Fan]

No touch icing is one rule change; opening up the neutral zone by getting rid of two line off sides is the other.

The biggest component to seeing the qulaity of the game improving is seeing 6-10 teams go the way of the Cleveland Baron.

The quality of players now is so much better than it wsa before during the NHL's so called "golden-age" of the 80's and early 90's.

The reasons the game has become so defensive are:

#1. Regular season games matter now, they matter a whole lot, where before they mattered very little. when games matter more, defense becomes a higher priority.

#2. Coaching, video, tendancies etc. etc.

#3. Depth. The 3rd/4th line players and the 5th & 6th defenseman are so much improved. It used to be a major mismatch when you go t atop line out against a 3rd defense pairing or the 4th line. Now that isn't the case.

The best players now are every bit as good as the best players were before (other than Gretzky/Lemieux).

The differences are now that a guys like Donald Brashear & Chris Therien can actually skate and play the game as compared to Dave Brown & Ed Hospadar (4th liner and 6th defenseman on Flyers Stanley Cup Finalist teams in the 80's)

#4. Goaltending. 90% of the teams have a very very good one, and even the bad ones are so much better than they were before.

 

[Sotnos]

You don't like REAL hockey fans?

Real hockey fans wish for other fans to be totally deprived of the game for as long as possible and for them to lose their local teams? Come on now.

As someone else said, the NHL is the only game in town for some of us, and if it's not even on TV, there are no other hockey possibilities, period.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

Wipe out 6-10 teams with a lengthy lockout and then you will see the quality of each team increase.
Still have 16 teams making the playoffs, which would be 67-80% of 20-24 teams, so the games wouldn't be so critical all the time.
Scoring doesn't equal excitement, and neither does seeing a puck dumped in 1 guy going into the offensive zone, but only as far as the top of the faceoff circles while a box is formed between the blueline and redline.

Sweden and Finalnd went scoring wild and that was a good game, but so were some of the lower scoring games.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

Real hockey fans wish for other fans to be totally deprived of the game for as long as possible and for them to lose their local teams? Come on now.

As someone else said, the NHL is the only game in town for some of us, and if it's not even on TV, there are no other hockey possibilities, period.

A hockey market has more than 1 level/type of hockey available.

 

[Sotnos]

A hockey market has more than 1 level/type of hockey available.

Well, I can go watch Florida college hockey, which consists of walk-on players. I'm not that desperate...yet.

So you're saying who cares about attendance & finances, it only matters if there is a lot of other hockey around? We're back to the "they don't have snow" argument again? Never known you to be one of those people Mac, that's a shame.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

I'd watch a bunch of walk ons bust their ass than a bunch of spoiled babies give a half assed effort night after night. It is time for the players to get their wake up call. This has nothing to do with snow. Doesn't Fox Sportsnet cover NCAA or ESPN 1,2 3,4,5 or whatever cover minor leagues? This has nothing to do with snow Sotnos.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

A hockey market has more than 1 level/type of hockey available.

Not true at all.

In Philadelphia which has been among the United States best cities in terms of supporting NHL hockey, there was no other hockey option until the Flyers put the Phantoms in Philadelphia about 7 years ago.

The Phantoms televise about 8-10 games a year and there is no radio coverage.

The closest major college hockey team is in Princeton, NJ, which is a good 75-90 minutes away by car.

Before the Phantoms you could make a trek up to Hershey to see the Bears play, and again that's a good 90 minute car ride.

================================================

There is no national coverage of college hockey or the AHL.

ESPN does show the final 4 of the NCAA tournament, that is about it. if you live in areas where college hockey is big (New England, Minnesota, Michigan) you may get some regional coverage.

 

[Sotnos]

Doesn't Fox Sportsnet cover NCAA or ESPN 1,2 3,4,5 or whatever cover minor leagues?

No, Fox Florida doesn't show anything because there aren't "real" minor leagues in Florida except for a few ECHL teams and no one televises that. ESPN doesn't show minor league stuff at all I don't think. As for NCAA, the only things I've seen on TV are the Beanpot and the Frozen Four, and that's a long way off at this point. I think the closest I'll get 'til they straighten this stuff out is some replays.

I certainly agree that the NHLPA needs a wake-up call, but it's at my expense and I'm ticked off about it. It's really not my fault that there aren't other options, and it certainly doesn't mean this is not a hockey market.