kolanos said:
The theory, I am assuming, is that this would be under a new CBA which the owners devise. In other words, a CBA that the bottom 375 can accept. The buttom 375 players defect from the NHLPA and sign-on with this new deal, after a season or two the top 375 will either give in and join the new PA or stay in Europe/retire. In other words, exactly what will happen even if we get a CBA tomorrow, estimates being that there will be approximately 150 players either staying in Europe or retiring.
The fans will have to settle for their 3rd/4th liners and be without their stars for a season or two, but it's better than nothing, no? Career minor leaguers will fill the spots where needed.
Obviously that's simplified quite a bit, there are a lot of hurdles to something like that.
you will have stars in the league but they will be 18-21 years old. The Younger players who haven't earned much or anything at all will cross for the chance to be be well paid instead of flipping burgers.
Teams will have players like Jeff carter, Bergeron, crosby and other young players who are more than willing to play as replacemtn players at the rookie max and be in 1st and 2nd line duty to start. The owners will sell this new breed of players and sure they will make mistakes, but hey if those mistakes lead to more scoring then so be it.
I would rather watch Oiler game with young guys making mistakes than 2-1 yawners with 2nd rate players because the rangers and stars keep sigining all our UFA's. The players league will fail because they won't have the will to really go to war for the teams they are playing for. Would you ever in a million years see a fight or even a real hard body check in those games? Did you see the disgraceful Worldstars games? Man who would ever want to see more than one of those. Its like watching an old timers game but in these ones its Joe thorton pulling the ref's pants down.
The players can talk about a fair deal and all that but in the end they have to make a deal or they get one instituted that will be worse than they can possibly imagine.
Man I will laugh if they remain firm and the NHL does the impasse thing and institutes a linked $31 million dollar cap with no arbitration. The players will be wishing for that amazing $42.5 unlinked deal for the rest of their careers.
The players will lose big the longer they wait and if they make the owners suffer they will get it back ten fold.
I read a quote from an anon owner the other day that really cracked me up it said to paraphrase " Bob doesn't understand the difference between millionaires and Billionaires." which is so true. The players are like Iraq was strutting and talking the Anti Us talk and the the American Army showed them the error of thier ways. I don't agree with the politics of it but the analogy is close. The NHl owners are like a super power going to war with a small country. Anotehr quote that come to mind
" people should know when they are conquered" from Gladiator.