I Believe the NHL will once again be a great league

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trahans99

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I know that right now thousands of fans are pissed and I was too. But over the course of the day and watching the press conferences, I have a feeling they will get a deal done this summer so they can start the season on time. I believe that if the NHL and NHLPA can get a deal done this summer, reduce ticket prices by 10-20% and make all the necessary rule changes to bring back some excitement to the games themselves the league will be fine in a year or two. I know that the revenues will drastically be cut next year (if theres a season), BUT if the NHL comes back better than ever, they could make up a lot of the lost revenues.

To be honest, a 28 game schedule this season is almost a waste of time even though it would help ease some of the pissed off fans. But it would be really hard to get the league running properly in 10-14 days. If they get a deal done this summer, make the necessary rule changes and market the game to death :lol , they could be in good shape for 2006-07 or 2007-08.

I guess we'll just have to wait and find out, but IMO a deal needs to be reached this summer and the earlier the better.
 

Icey

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Are you sharing the drugs you are taking or keeping them all to yourself.
 

trahans99

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Icey said:
Are you sharing the drugs you are taking or keeping them all to yourself.


No drugs here, I just think for the long run this is better for the NHL IF they come back better and stronger than ever (rule changes, marketing, competitve balance, maybe even a few teams fold in a year or two)
 

Icey

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How does teams folding make this a stronger league? Sorry but I am just not on board with you here. And I know the watered down talent line, but that still does not make it a stronger league.

Will the league come back? Yes, but it won't be stronger. It will be a badly damaged limping league. This league is going to suffer for many, many years to come. It may never fully recover from this.
 

chriss_co

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I agree with trahans.

The league will come back strong. Yes, there will be a few trying years at first, but this will ultimately help the league. It will be more painful tho because the PA decided not to help out the league.

The PA's solution to a man bleeding from a gunshot wound is to throw him a bandaid and watch him die slowly. Whereas the league wanted the PA to take the man to the hospital, the PA has abandoned the man to bring himself to a hospital to remove the bullet.

The league will survive. And when it comes back, it will be stronger than ever.
 

reckoning

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trahans99 said:
If they get a deal done this summer, make the necessary rule changes and market the game to death :lol , they could be in good shape for 2006-07 or 2007-08.

Why do you think they`ll get a deal done this summer?What possible reason would you have for believing that?Maybe with replacement players,but who wants to pay huge ticket prices to watch a bunch of beer league quality players.
Rule changes?If the nhl thinks rule changes would improve the game why haven`t they made any yet.The downward spiral in the on-ice product has been evident for years,so what were they waiting for?
Marketing?Marketing isn`t about spending money,it`s about ideas.The league is totally clueless in this capacity,so why would anything change?
 

McDonald19

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trahans99 said:
No drugs here, I just think for the long run this is better for the NHL IF they come back better and stronger than ever (rule changes, marketing, competitve balance, maybe even a few teams fold in a year or two)

nope sorry the cancellation of this season has just set the NHL back for years.

NHL is now officially a niche sport and leaves North America with 3 major professional team sport leagues. NHL Joins MLS and WNBA in the second tier.
 

John Flyers Fan

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trahans99 said:
No drugs here, I just think for the long run this is better for the NHL IF they come back better and stronger than ever (rule changes, marketing, competitve balance, maybe even a few teams fold in a year or two)

What makes you think that

#1. The season will start on time. Players will feel no pressure again until mid-October.

#2. Shoot-outs will help the game.

#3. Bettman and this current ownership have any clue how to properly market the NHL

#4. Competitive balance was an issue.
 

sharkyz15

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The fact is that although a few of the players are getting payed prett good in Europe, most of them are not and non of them are getting more then they would be in the NHL

The PA are fools for declining the 42.5 offer and in many ways the owners were stupid offering such a high cap.

The cap should be 35-40 million and not a cent more

I too went through many emtions from sadness, to anger, too frustration
 

Vic Rattlehead*

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John Flyers Fan said:
What makes you think that

#1. The season will start on time. Players will feel no pressure again until mid-October.
I say September, before camp starts.
John Flyers Fan said:
#2. Shoot-outs will help the game.
I hate shoot-outs, all they will do is piss off current fans, but it will bring in new fans to the game with a short attention span.
John Flyers Fan said:
#3. Bettman and this current ownership have any clue how to properly market the NHL
Agreed. Gretzky should be the one to promote this league as commish, seeing as he is the most popular player in the history of the NHL.
 

Vic Rattlehead*

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In September, the NHL's offer will be around 32-40 mil as a cap, with the rollbacks for sure. That is what I believe, seeing as there is no way the NHL keeps it at 42.5.
 

SuperDave21

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trahans99 ,

I believe that the league itself may come back stronger, but the people that are apart of hockey ie. retail stores, equipment manufacturers, zamboni drivers, etc, will be hurting for a long while. I work in a hockey pro shop and we were hit HARD this year because all of our NHL liscensed stuff didn't sell at all. People come in all the time and ask, "So when are the jerseys going on sale b/c of the lockout?" I have friends who work as the ice crew and now they are out of jobs indefinately. I don't think they ever thought about these people while negotiating.
 

Habsfan 32

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The league will be at its best when Crosby comes in a saves the league. :bow: Crosby.

I agree with trahans99. If they change a couple of rules and bring more excitment to the game they should have no problem whenever they start again. If they lauch a big marketing campaign and get a T.V. contract they should be able to make alot of money.
 

officeglen

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19bruins19 said:
In September, the NHL's offer will be around 32-40 mil as a cap, with the rollbacks for sure. That is what I believe, seeing as there is no way the NHL keeps it at 42.5.
In September it will not be NN million, it will be in percentage of revenue.
 

SPARTAKUS*

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You people make me laugh. The NHL will be just fine, in fact it will be a better league in the long run. So what they cancelled the 2004-05 season big deal! No pain no gain keep that in mind. I am very glad that the owners stuck together for once and said no to the players. The NHL will be back in the near future and I agree that they will have to win back some of the fans but I have no doubt that in the end the NHL will be a stronger and healthier league.
 

John Flyers Fan

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19bruins19 said:
I say September, before camp starts.

Wishful thinking, but unrealistic unless the owners put a sweetheart deal on the table/

19bruins19 said:
I hate shoot-outs, all they will do is piss off current fans, but it will bring in new fans to the game with a short attention span.

Soccer has shootouts, and million of US kids playing it, but still doesn't draw fans to the game. Shootouts are coming, but they won't be bringing any new fans with them.

19bruins19 said:
Agreed. Gretzky should be the one to promote this league as commish, seeing as he is the most popular player in the history of the NHL.

We all love Wayne Gretzky, but he isn't qualified to be comissioner of the NHL. He doesn't have any great marketing experience.
 

trahans99

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Icey said:
Are you sharing the drugs you are taking or keeping them all to yourself.


No drugs here, I just think for the long run this is better for the NHL IF they come back better and stronger than ever (rule changes, marketing, competitve balance, maybe even a few teams fold in a year or two)
 

Licentia

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Jun 29, 2004
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reckoning said:
Why do you think they`ll get a deal done this summer?What possible reason would you have for believing that?Maybe with replacement players,but who wants to pay huge ticket prices to watch a bunch of beer league quality players.
Rule changes?If the nhl thinks rule changes would improve the game why haven`t they made any yet.The downward spiral in the on-ice product has been evident for years,so what were they waiting for?
Marketing?Marketing isn`t about spending money,it`s about ideas.The league is totally clueless in this capacity,so why would anything change?

Who wants to watch beer league players? The whole of Canada has been watching junior and minor league hockey all winter. Fans will be overjoyed just to see someone play in their favorite team's jersey once again.
 

FlyersFan10*

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Truth of the matter is that the league will come out fine from this. Yeah, it's a big deal that the 2004-2005 season has been cancelled and numerous people are upset about it. Fact of the matter is this though. Most fans in Canada agree to the lockout. When you consider that Canada is the NHL's strongest market, that's a good sign. As well, most of the teams on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. won't be hurt by this. As well, the big thing that will make things ok is that players are beginning to see things in a different light with regards to the negotiations.

As it stands, communication from the negotiating team has been poor. And when you see that players like Esche, Iginla, Roenick, Pronger, Recchi, Doan, etc....got behind the scenes and were the ones who actually started real negotiations, you saw how far things came. Once Goodenow started flapping his lips, you saw how much work those players did come undone. Do you think those guys who busted their butts this weekend to try to get a deal together are going to forget their hard work all unravelled by their union leader? Don't think so.

I think what you'll see is the negotiating team be replaced, Goodenow be removed as NHLPA director, and what you'll see is a fast negotiation with a deal that's fair and in which you'll see the NHL owners throw the players some extra incentives for helping change the system.

I don't think you're going to see anything draconian from the owners because I truly believe that they want to build a partnership with the players. The biggest thing though we'll all probably see is relocation for some of the teams. For instance, I think Florida is dead in the water and it wouldn't surprise me to see them move to a place like Seattle or Portland. I could see Anaheim possibly moving to Winnipeg and someone moving back to Quebec City.

I think we'll see the NHL return to its glory and that this lockout will be a reminder to everyone about what was lost throughout this. While most may clamour that owners wanted this, the fact that Ed Snider was nearly in tears over this clearly shows that owners were not comfortable with this decision at all to cancel and that they'll never want a repeat of this.
 

Licentia

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Jun 29, 2004
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Habsfan 32 said:
The league will be at its best when Crosby comes in a saves the league. :bow: Crosby.

I agree with trahans99. If they change a couple of rules and bring more excitment to the game they should have no problem whenever they start again. If they lauch a big marketing campaign and get a T.V. contract they should be able to make alot of money.

Change ALL the rules back to the way they were in 93 or prior. I think 93 was the year that everyone and their dog had 100+ points. I don't know what rules all changed, just that I have heard Bettman has changed many rules.
 

trahans99

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FlyersFan10 said:
Truth of the matter is that the league will come out fine from this. Yeah, it's a big deal that the 2004-2005 season has been cancelled and numerous people are upset about it. Fact of the matter is this though. Most fans in Canada agree to the lockout. When you consider that Canada is the NHL's strongest market, that's a good sign. As well, most of the teams on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. won't be hurt by this. As well, the big thing that will make things ok is that players are beginning to see things in a different light with regards to the negotiations.

As it stands, communication from the negotiating team has been poor. And when you see that players like Esche, Iginla, Roenick, Pronger, Recchi, Doan, etc....got behind the scenes and were the ones who actually started real negotiations, you saw how far things came. Once Goodenow started flapping his lips, you saw how much work those players did come undone. Do you think those guys who busted their butts this weekend to try to get a deal together are going to forget their hard work all unravelled by their union leader? Don't think so.

I think what you'll see is the negotiating team be replaced, Goodenow be removed as NHLPA director, and what you'll see is a fast negotiation with a deal that's fair and in which you'll see the NHL owners throw the players some extra incentives for helping change the system.

I don't think you're going to see anything draconian from the owners because I truly believe that they want to build a partnership with the players. The biggest thing though we'll all probably see is relocation for some of the teams. For instance, I think Florida is dead in the water and it wouldn't surprise me to see them move to a place like Seattle or Portland. I could see Anaheim possibly moving to Winnipeg and someone moving back to Quebec City.

I think we'll see the NHL return to its glory and that this lockout will be a reminder to everyone about what was lost throughout this. While most may clamour that owners wanted this, the fact that Ed Snider was nearly in tears over this clearly shows that owners were not comfortable with this decision at all to cancel and that they'll never want a repeat of this.

Well said, but I don't know about the NHL going back to Winnipeg and Quebec (even though I would love for that to happen).

I think in a few years, a few teams might have to relocate or fold, but if the NHL starts on time next year and has a much better product they just MIGHT survive w/ all 30 teams. I do know that only 8% of North America are mad about the lockout for the whole season (tsn), so when they come back those fans that support the owners will flock back in Canada. In the US lots of work will need to be done to restore there fan bases.

Like I said, if the NHL/NHLPA get a deal done this summer (not saying it will happen, but would be smart for both sides), the league will have a year or two of losses but in the long term it will survive and flourish. If they wait untili next January or beyond, then the league will look drastically worse.
 
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