Many people have blamed the owners and players for the mess that the NHL is currently in. In some degree this is true but it has many contributing factors. The main reason is because of our current CBA and what the fans expect.
You could basically blame teams that have money to spend for all the problems that the NHL is currently in. But at the same time those teams that have money need to run like a business so they spend that money. Or you could blame the teams that don’t have the money and still spent. Now this is where it all went wrong and why a free market system just won’t work with our current number of teams.
Those teams that had more money to spend, spent it on players they wanted. This drove up the price for players with the same skill set. Now of course other teams didn’t have to spend the same amount but players would HOLD OUT until they received that amount. We all know the story. The team won’t pay their RFA so much money so the player holds out. This player holds out until the club starts to play badly. When a team plays badly us fans get on the club's case. Now the club and two options only
a) sign the player so not to lose the fan base. (and lose money)
b) Trade the player and not be as strong team, therefore lose fan base. (not lose money)
As an owner, you knew that a new CBA was coming. You shoot for a long term goal of not losing your fan base so you pay the player and bingo you are losing money but not your (already weak) fan base and hope for better conditions under a new CBA. I could name countless teams that have let players hold out but only to sign them once they play badly because us fans complain.
Washington tried and failed but have kept their fans happy until the big sell. Now you hear talk that the Hawks will never win a cup again until their owner opens up the bank account. But here you have an owner wanting to make money from the game but all you hear is fans complain about the team and the owner. Think about every team that has been spending money; do they have as many unhappy fans? I don’t think so but they are losing money. Now think of those teams that don’t spend crazy money. Are their fans happy, do they go to games? Is the team losing so much money? Do some of you people keep calling for these teams to be contracted? Is this a happy medium? Not with Joe Fan, he/she want their team to win no matter what the cost.
There needs to be a system where all teams are on the same playing field so that everyone can compete and make money at the same time. Only then will the sport start to be strong.
A free market system just won’t work with so many teams. If anyone runs a business they will tell you that when you have a free market system and there are too many competitors there will be companies that will price others out of the market. The companies on the receiving end either have to pay more and lose money (or make much less money) or go out of business.
The only way a free market system will work is if there is less teams competing or the same amount of teams but a cap on the salaries so everyone is on the same playing field. It is simple business sense.
James Rodgers aka jwr38
You could basically blame teams that have money to spend for all the problems that the NHL is currently in. But at the same time those teams that have money need to run like a business so they spend that money. Or you could blame the teams that don’t have the money and still spent. Now this is where it all went wrong and why a free market system just won’t work with our current number of teams.
Those teams that had more money to spend, spent it on players they wanted. This drove up the price for players with the same skill set. Now of course other teams didn’t have to spend the same amount but players would HOLD OUT until they received that amount. We all know the story. The team won’t pay their RFA so much money so the player holds out. This player holds out until the club starts to play badly. When a team plays badly us fans get on the club's case. Now the club and two options only
a) sign the player so not to lose the fan base. (and lose money)
b) Trade the player and not be as strong team, therefore lose fan base. (not lose money)
As an owner, you knew that a new CBA was coming. You shoot for a long term goal of not losing your fan base so you pay the player and bingo you are losing money but not your (already weak) fan base and hope for better conditions under a new CBA. I could name countless teams that have let players hold out but only to sign them once they play badly because us fans complain.
Washington tried and failed but have kept their fans happy until the big sell. Now you hear talk that the Hawks will never win a cup again until their owner opens up the bank account. But here you have an owner wanting to make money from the game but all you hear is fans complain about the team and the owner. Think about every team that has been spending money; do they have as many unhappy fans? I don’t think so but they are losing money. Now think of those teams that don’t spend crazy money. Are their fans happy, do they go to games? Is the team losing so much money? Do some of you people keep calling for these teams to be contracted? Is this a happy medium? Not with Joe Fan, he/she want their team to win no matter what the cost.
There needs to be a system where all teams are on the same playing field so that everyone can compete and make money at the same time. Only then will the sport start to be strong.
A free market system just won’t work with so many teams. If anyone runs a business they will tell you that when you have a free market system and there are too many competitors there will be companies that will price others out of the market. The companies on the receiving end either have to pay more and lose money (or make much less money) or go out of business.
The only way a free market system will work is if there is less teams competing or the same amount of teams but a cap on the salaries so everyone is on the same playing field. It is simple business sense.
James Rodgers aka jwr38
