Selanne interview

[Foppa2118]

My problem with this is not that he signed for the most money he could get.

Where my problem does lie, is in the suggestion that the owners "are not playing it clean" in terms of disclosing their true financial situation.

Wether or not the owners are being forthright or not is a different debate all together, what is relevant imo is that Selanne seems to hold the opinion that the owners should be doing a better job of voluntarily disclosing their true financial picture and yet he has leveraged his first 10 years of good hockey into some pretty high priced contracts despite knowing full well that he wasn't 100%....in fact I believe he said he was handi-capped.

Take the money and be happy but don't point fingers about something that carries similar optics in regards to the owners.

Either that or set the moral example and take less - something that is more reflective of what you can deliver - then stand on a soap box and point fingers about full disclosure.

Don't do parts of each.

As for the - what is he suppose to do turn money away - argument, what did Kariya do? Does anyone really believe that negotiations started out at 1.2 mil for Kariya and 5.8 for Selanne? (yes I know Kariya wanted less than league average money in order to hit free agency a year early, it still doesn't change the fact that he took less when he could have gotten much much more)

I think the issue with the owners is a seperate argument, and doesn't relate at all to what contracts he has taken in the past. If you disagree with what he said about the owners, and disagree with him taking the contracts, that's fine, I wouldn't take issue with that (even though I'm of a different opinion) but I don't think it's fair to call him a hypocrite, for those two situations, because they just don't relate to one another.

As for the Colorado package deal, from everything that I read, and heard at the time, both Kariya and Selanne knew full well going into it, they were going to have to play for less in Colorado, because they couldn't afford them at market value, and yes there was almost no negotiating done, as everyone involved, said it was an extremely fast process.

 

[broman]

Wether or not the owners are being forthright or not is a different debate all together, what is relevant imo is that Selanne seems to hold the opinion that the owners should be doing a better job of voluntarily disclosing their true financial picture and yet he has leveraged his first 10 years of good hockey into some pretty high priced contracts despite knowing full well that he wasn't 100%....in fact I believe he said he was handi-capped.

A couple of points. First, great many athletes play through pain. They pop the pills and take the injections, and just go through with it. Some even get praise for this. It is almost a part of the code of being a professional.

Sure it would be sensible to rest and heal if necessary, but where do you draw the line? When does the pain become unbearable and stop being just part of the job? It's not too easy, especially when you're a highly competitive athlete, perhaps looking at the final years of a long career. Sure the knee must have given him plenty of grief even in SJ, but obviously he felt he could (should?) deal with it.

Secondly, we all know that no matter what "high-priced contracts" he received over these past three years (on the back of his successes with Ducks) Selanne kept his priorities in check. In 2002 he had the opportunity to leave Sharks and go for bigger bucks elsewhere. Well he didn't.

In 2003 there was no option and it was a clean slate, so he took the Kariya gamble. Again money was certainly not the top priority. Sure he could've signed for $2 and claim pensioner's benefits on the side but I am sure some would have found ways to condemn him even for that.

Finally, to clarify Selanne's comments on the work stoppage, yes he made it clear he feels the league as a whole is financially viable. A couple of teams may be genuinely bleeding, but that's the end of it. This I believe is a view widely held among the players, just as has been noted here.

As for the remark on doctoring the books, I don't think he ever implied it was standard procedure league-wide. But some owners have been found guilty of questionable business practises. Others have interlinked business arrangements involving arenas, cable networks, etc that allow for creative accounting. This is what he said, and it's just simple facts. We shouldn't even bother debating it.

 

[Boltsfan2029]

As for the remark on doctoring the books, I don't think he ever implied it was standard procedure league-wide. But some owners have been found guilty of questionable business practises. Others have interlinked business arrangements involving arenas, cable networks, etc that allow for creative accounting. This is what he said, and it's just simple facts. We shouldn't even bother debating it.

Actually, what he said was:

Owners with numerous businesses on the side find it easy to distort the books and come up with exactly the kind of figures they want to," Selanne criticizes.

Before its recent sale, does the fact that Disney owned the Ducks mean that not including Disney's numbers in the Ducks' numbers mean the Ducks were "distorting" the books?

What most players and, it seems, most fans don't grasp is that when it comes to the books, each business entity stands on its own (unless the team itself owns the other businesses in question). No matter how much money a second owned business makes, the hockey team can still lose a boatload.

 

[barnburner]

I want to see Selanne come back for one more year, just so Pronger can have one more shot at him..

 

[kenabnrmal]

I want to see Selanne come back for one more year, just so Pronger can have one more shot at him..

Hehe, Pronger has had enough opportunities to make good on his threat. I'm not sure Selanne is shaking in his boots at this point...

 

[RangerBoy]

Didn't Teemu retire in 2000?

 

[AM]

the players....

dont think the NHL is in trouble?

Finances arnt rocket science, they just have to look at how much money is in their pockets to know the majority of the story.

Also, thats not the only problem. Its nice to see players still havent clued in to....

Hello MR Selaine:
people in small markets dont want to pay for being the farm team of the Avalanch....

Just go ask your Shark fans what they think of move to the Avs?

Also, he played with a bum knee! HE got a big contract. He sucked! By the old system arbitration is gonna award every bum kneed player the moon now.

Bah whats the use. These players have been in the trough so long they cant move:


(get the backhoe out and send them to the rendering plant is the only solution).

 

[Pepper]

Pronger won't hurt a fellow finn (Pronger's mother is finnish)

 

[kenabnrmal]

dont think the NHL is in trouble?

Finances arnt rocket science, they just have to look at how much money is in their pockets to know the majority of the story.

Also, thats not the only problem. Its nice to see players still havent clued in to....

Hello MR Selaine:
people in small markets dont want to pay for being the farm team of the Avalanch....

Just go ask your Shark fans what they think of move to the Avs?

Also, he played with a bum knee! HE got a big contract. He sucked! By the old system arbitration is gonna award every bum kneed player the moon now.

Bah whats the use. These players have been in the trough so long they cant move:


(get the backhoe out and send them to the rendering plant is the only solution).

Show me where "Selaine" suggested the old system should be kept. Shark fans were more than pleased to see Selanne go to the Avs, as they were headed in a different direction anyhow. Selanne moving made room for Cheechoo. It made sense for all concerned.

Lay off the thinner...

 

[Hawker14]

i'm a huge selanne fan, so i'm biased, however...

how can anyone claim that nhl owners with other businesses don't distort their hockey related revenues.

case in point, in the levitt report, bill wirtz claimed $0 in luxury box revenues, even though he owns 50% of the arena.

 

[Boltsfan2029]

i'm a huge selanne fan, so i'm biased, however...

how can anyone claim that nhl owners with other businesses don't distort their hockey related revenues.

case in point, in the levitt report, bill wirtz claimed $0 in luxury box revenues, even though he owns 50% of the arena.

It’s easy to claim that if the “other businesses†aren’t owned by the hockey team.

As outlined before, if Ollie Owner has a hockey team and a bakery, the bakery’s earnings are not included in the hockey team’s financials.

If the team owns the bakery, that’s different.

 

[RorschachWJK]

Pronger won't hurt a fellow finn (Pronger's mother is finnish)

Interesting, I didn't know this.

 

[Epsilon]

dont think the NHL is in trouble?

Finances arnt rocket science, they just have to look at how much money is in their pockets to know the majority of the story.

Also, thats not the only problem. Its nice to see players still havent clued in to....

Hello MR Selaine:

It's nice to see fans still haven't clued in to spelling a player's name correctly. To borrow your own broken English: "spelling arnt rocket science".

people in small markets dont want to pay for being the farm team of the Avalanch....

Just go ask your Shark fans what they think of move to the Avs?

I guess I missed the day San Jose (which is right next to San Francisco) became a "small market". Between the metropolotian area and sillicon valley, there is both a large population and a lot of money.

Also, he played with a bum knee! HE got a big contract. He sucked! By the old system arbitration is gonna award every bum kneed player the moon now.

Since Selanne's last contract was signed as an unrestricted free agent, his salary is totally irrelevant for the purposes of arbitration. Outstanding job in completely misunderstanding how the process works.

Bah whats the use. These players have been in the trough so long they cant move:


(get the backhoe out and send them to the rendering plant is the only solution).

Yawn, lame insults from yet another immature, whiny "fan" who can't provide a real argument and has no grasp of the facts. Why do I even bother?

 

[dunwoody_joe]

How can you guys read that article and then suggest that he was paid below market value.

He signed a 5.8 million dollar contract when he knew full well that he was - his words - "For three years I was handicap. I was playing practically one-legged. I had to take painkillers each morning before leaving for exercise. ..."

I wonder what a two legged Selanne would cost? 11, 12 mil?

As an aside, does anyone else feel he is just a little hypocritical when he says;
"Owners with numerous businesses on the side find it easy to distort the books and come up with exactly the kind of figures they want to,"

after he talks about "playing on one leg" for the past three seasons, and yet he was still looking for the big dollar contracts?

And whose fault was that? Selanne?
"I'm sorry, I'm not really worth all that money. Please give me 50% instead--that would be more prudent!" PLease...

 

[copperandblue]

"I'm sorry, I'm not really worth all that money. Please give me 50% instead--that would be more prudent!"

EXACTLY! Thank you for seeing my point...

 

[kdb209]

case in point, in the levitt report, bill wirtz claimed $0 in luxury box revenues, even though he owns 50% of the arena.

This claim is patently false and has been shot down in other threads here.

 

[Hawker14]

This claim is patently false and has been shot down in other threads here.

which part ? claiming $0 in revenues or owning 50% of the arena ?

 

[kdb209]

which part ? claiming $0 in revenues or owning 50% of the arena ?

The no revenues from luxury boxes at the United Center claim.

 

[Hawker14]

The no revenues from luxury boxes at the United Center claim.

wirtz originally reported $0 in luxury box revenues, and was subsequently forced to provide a figure.

is this not accurate ?

 

[kdb209]

wirtz originally reported $0 in luxury box revenues, and was subsequently forced to provide a figure.

is this not accurate ?

No that is not accurate.

Isn't the search utility so useful:

From the post-gazette:
Accused of failing to disclose luxury box revenues in former U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt's report of NHL finances in February 2003, Wirtz was cleared of any wrongdoings by another member of the commission.

"Let me say without reservation that when the Levitt Report was done, it was ensured that all hockey-related luxury box revenues were included in the reported revenues," former commission chief accountant Lynn Turner wrote in an e-mail to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Unfortunately, the players have refused to accept Mr. Levitt's written offer to sit down with them and take them through the numbers. This has led to such uninformed statements."

The accusation was made by Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, who told the newspaper Wirtz "declared no revenue from luxury boxes at the United Center in Chicago."

 

[Crazy_Ike]

It's easier for the players to sit back and pretend they think the NHL is lying about the numbers than it is for them to go through them and learn the truth Bob and Friends don't want them to know.

 

[Hawker14]

No that is not accurate.

Isn't the search utility so useful:

yeah it can be. dig a little deeper though and you'll find the truth.

wirtz originally stated his luxury box revenues at $0, but since Levitt had the mandate to require all teams to account for "all" revenue streams, wirtz then submitted a figure.

as an accountant, i find it humourous that wirtz is given any credibility as to accurately or even remotely reporting luxury box revenues; same as jacobs, for that matter.

the fact remains the blackhawks originally reported $0 from luxury suite revenue. levitt's charge from the league required him to have figures for every revenue stream from every team in their URO's. so don't pat yourself on the back just because wirtz eventually submitted a figure. no figures in the levitt report were or have been audited.

notwithstanding, the levitt report is an unaudited report as it pertains to GAAP (generally accepted accounting procedures). he produced a report he was hired to do. - it has no substance as to accurately reporting the league's financial situation.

 

[Hawker14]

selanne was one of the NHL's elite players, if not the eilte player.

during the '97-'98 season, Selanne scored 52 goals (led the league) and had 86 points (8th in the league) as basically a one man show.

kariya didn't play most of the season due to a contract dispute, and it's amazing what selanne accomplished on his own.

jagr had francis. selanne had no one. it still amazes me that selanne doesn't get the respect he deserves as being one of the best two, and at the very least, best five offensive players of his generation.

 

[AM]

not really talking about Selanne

Show me where "Selaine" suggested the old system should be kept. Shark fans were more than pleased to see Selanne go to the Avs, as they were headed in a different direction anyhow. Selanne moving made room for Cheechoo. It made sense for all concerned.

Lay off the thinner...

And I'm sure the Sharks fans were fine with it, as long as he sucked.

 

[AM]

youre right

It's nice to see fans still haven't clued in to spelling a player's name correctly. To borrow your own broken English: "spelling arnt rocket science".


I guess I missed the day San Jose (which is right next to San Francisco) became a "small market". Between the metropolotian area and sillicon valley, there is both a large population and a lot of money.



Since Selanne's last contract was signed as an unrestricted free agent, his salary is totally irrelevant for the purposes of arbitration. Outstanding job in completely misunderstanding how the process works.



Yawn, lame insults from yet another immature, whiny "fan" who can't provide a real argument and has no grasp of the facts. Why do I even bother?

I cant spell well in Finnish and I dont know anything about the situation in him going from the sharks to the avs.

Pretty much like the level of understanding hes displaying about the NHLs finances.