There is only one solution to save the NHL - Players must fire Goodenow

[eye]

Sorry for my persistence or if I am annoying some of you but after listening to Goodenow's lengthy interview today I'm 100% convinced we won't see NHL hockey for at least 2 years or longer if Goodenow stays in power. He is one short sighted stubborn son of a """""! The only way NHL players will see the ice is if they play in Europe or fire Goodenow. He just doesn't get it.

The onwers and Bettman are not going though this mess for the hell of it - they mean business and will not cave in. Goodenow will not cave in. Can any of you legal experts shed some light as to how long the NHL will have to wait until an Impasse can be declared. Goodenow said he is willing to sacrifice years of hockey and billions of dollars in player revenue for the sake of the players standing up for their open market principles which he still didn't explain. As someone already mentioned I wish Goodenow and Bettman were as passionate as we are about fixing this.

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[Steve L*]

What do you expect with 2 lawyers with no love for the game in charge.

I expect the whole season to be lost, then the NHL will declare impasse and Goodenow will try and save face after the players are forced to accept a cap.

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

What do you expect with 2 lawyers with no love for the game in charge.

I expect the whole season to be lost, then the NHL will declare impasse and Goodenow will try and save face after the players are forced to accept a cap.

Pretty sure Bettman doesn't love hockey. He's a b-ball guy. Not sure he's ever been on skates.
Goodenow may be a lawyer. But he played minor hockey with Mark Howe. He played college hockey. (One of his teammates went on to play in the NHL. Can't remember who.)

1972-73 Harvard University NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1973-74 Harvard University NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1974-75 Flint Generals IHL 59 18 21 39 66
1975-76 Flint Generals IHL 49 7 19 26 68

 

[YellHockey*]

What do you expect with 2 lawyers with no love for the game in charge.

How can you say that Goodenow has no love of the game?

His problem is that his opponent is a small little weasel who views the NHL as a business and nothing more. Bettman could care less what the lockout is doing to the fans. He just wants to give the owners a significantly bigger share of the revenues.

Bettman has never played a game in his life while Goodenow has played with NHLers and captained an NCAA team. That tells you all you need to know about the two sides

 

[Taranis_24]

Pretty sure Bettman doesn't love hockey. He's a b-ball guy. Not sure he's ever been on skates.
Goodenow may be a lawyer. But he played minor hockey with Mark Howe. He played college hockey. (One of his teammates went on to play in the NHL. Can't remember who.)

1972-73 Harvard University NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1973-74 Harvard University NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1974-75 Flint Generals IHL 59 18 21 39 66
1975-76 Flint Generals IHL 49 7 19 26 68

Looks like Goodenow may be holding a grudge against all owners. Guess not one owner back in the 70's though he was good enough for the NHL so he decides to become a lawyer and 20 years later becomes the NHLPA leader, and for the last 10 years is slowly kiling the league he was never good enough to play for. Dude - "Just let it go"!

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

Looks like Goodenow may be holding a grudge against all owners. Guess not one owner back in the 70's though he was good enough for the NHL so he decides to become a lawyer and 20 years later becomes the NHLPA leader, and for the last 10 years is slowly kiling the league he was never good enough to play for. Dude - "Just let it go"!

An attempt at humor, I hope?

 

[SwisshockeyAcademy]

Pretty sure Bettman doesn't love hockey. He's a b-ball guy. Not sure he's ever been on skates.
Goodenow may be a lawyer. But he played minor hockey with Mark Howe. He played college hockey. (One of his teammates went on to play in the NHL. Can't remember who.)

1972-73 Harvard University NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1973-74 Harvard University NCAA 0 0 0 0 0
1974-75 Flint Generals IHL 59 18 21 39 66
1975-76 Flint Generals IHL 49 7 19 26 68

Love of the game is not going to get in the way here. Its a business and everyone knows it. Yes Bettman is a basketball guy and his aim is to improve the overall financial health of hockey. Goodenows ties to hockey are not all good ones but that means little. He is only in this to get the best deal for his side. As I have said and will continue to say" Hold on Gary you will eventually get what you want. I do not care how long it takes." After the business side gets fixed i would like to see the owners fire Bettman and then set about improving the game on the ice. Elliott Freidman was on the fan590 and wants illegal Defense. That is a non starter, no way you can enforce penalties on players skating backwards.

 

[iagreewithidiots]

His problem is that his opponent is a small little weasel who views the NHL as a business and nothing more. Bettman could care less what the lockout is doing to the fans. He just wants to give the owners a significantly bigger share of the revenues.

It is a business.

Who cares what the lockout does to the fans. Youll still be there with your wallet open when they return. So how much do you care what its doing to you?

 

[Spetzky]

Bettman was brought in years ago for this battle. He was apprenticed by David Stern who crushed the NBA Union. Now, Bettman is here with everything he learned from Stern. I think Bettman will go back to B-Ball once he defeats the union (or contract expires)

 

[FLYLine27*]

What does Bettman care..hes still getting his million dollar paycheck each month.

 

[Digger12]

How can you say that Goodenow has no love of the game?

His problem is that his opponent is a small little weasel who views the NHL as a business and nothing more. Bettman could care less what the lockout is doing to the fans. He just wants to give the owners a significantly bigger share of the revenues.

Bettman has never played a game in his life while Goodenow has played with NHLers and captained an NCAA team. That tells you all you need to know about the two sides

Goodenow only cares about getting as much money for the people that hired him as possible...just like Bettman.

 

[EJsens1]

How can you say that Goodenow has no love of the game?

His problem is that his opponent is a small little weasel who views the NHL as a business and nothing more. Bettman could care less what the lockout is doing to the fans. He just wants to give the owners a significantly bigger share of the revenues.

Bettman has never played a game in his life while Goodenow has played with NHLers and captained an NCAA team. That tells you all you need to know about the two sides

So what that Bettman didn't play???

I never played and am a die-hard fan.
A guy I work with moved to Ottawa from Australia 3 years ago, didn't know anything about the sport, but now loves it. He's in his mid 30's.

Since Bettman never played, does that mean he doesn't love the game because he never played??? Doesn't make him less a fan or a better one.

 

[eye]

Goodenow only cares about getting as much money for the people that hired him as possible...just like Bettman.

If that were true, Goodenow would have already settled because by the time he does come to terms with the reality of the situation his players will get far less than what they could have gotten 3 months ago. He said today he is willing to sacrifice 2-3 years or more and billions in player salaries for this principle he believes in. The problem is he couldn't illustrate exactly what this principle is and couldn't even answer why a cap wouldn't work in the NHL.

 

[YellHockey*]

So what that Bettman didn't play???

I never played and am a die-hard fan.
A guy I work with moved to Ottawa from Australia 3 years ago, didn't know anything about the sport, but now loves it. He's in his mid 30's.

Since Bettman never played, does that mean he doesn't love the game because he never played??? Doesn't make him less a fan or a better one.

Well, we know he never played and, unlike you, he's never expressed being a fan.

If someone's played the game for a lengthy period of time, they're likely to be a fan of the game.

If someone's never played the game, there's no way to whether they love the game. But it isn't like Bettman relocated from Australia when he took his job with the NHL. He's had plenty of time to be exposed to it but admitted that he wasn't a fan when he took the job.

 

[YellHockey*]

Youll still be there with your wallet open when they return. So how much do you care what its doing to you?

I'm getting closer and closer to reaching the conclusion that my wallet isn't going to open when, or if, they come back. If I didn't feel my team had a really good shot at winning the next Stanley Cup, I'd probably say to hell with my season tickets.

 

[kerrly]

His problem is that his opponent is a small little weasel who views the NHL as a business and nothing more. Bettman could care less what the lockout is doing to the fans. He just wants to give the owners a significantly bigger share of the revenues.

Yeah thats exactly what he wants???? Are you that blind to see that the league is not in trouble. Right now all it comes down to which side is trying to provide the best possible system for the league to remain healthy for as long as possible and that is the owners. The NHLPA's proposals have been nothing short of a joke, and in no way, shape, or form will fix any of the league's major problems.

And about your comment about him just wanting to give the owners a bigger share of the revenues. What about the owners that are losing money? How many players pay to play this game? NONE!

 

[kerrly]

I'm getting closer and closer to reaching the conclusion that my wallet isn't going to open when, or if, they come back. If I didn't feel my team had a really good shot at winning the next Stanley Cup, I'd probably say to hell with my season tickets.

Now you know how fans of small market teams feel. Thats why there has to be a cap and parity.

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

Goodenow only cares about getting as much money for the people that hired him as possible...just like Bettman.

Look people, I'm not saying that Goodenow isn't, first and foremost, trying to squeeze the owners.

But I am saying that he loves the game of hockey.
He's said so many times.
The guy played minor hockey with the Howe family.
He played at Harvard.
He played in the IHL.
Then, he became a lawyer for the hockey union.

Are you people saying he can't love hockey AND do his job?

Seriously, I've never seen much of anything that suggests Bettman knows a damn thing about the sport.

That's what I'm replying to.

 

[YellHockey*]

Now you know how fans of small market teams feel. Thats why there has to be a cap and parity.

You must be a fan of an Alberta team since they're the only small markets in the NHL. Or at least that's what they believe due to the brainwashing they've endured by inept management.

If you don't think Ottawa, the team that I support, is a small market in the NHL, you're way off base.

 

[thinkwild]

And of course, Ottawa fans do know how fans in Edm and Calgary feel. Well sort of. We know how it feels not to win. To be losing players and not just be able to buy a team cheaply each summer. And think it proves unfairness. But of course a salary cap doesnt do anything to guarantee that wont happen. It takes away the blame game of, oh life is so unfair, we couldnt afford our players. It becomes, oh life is so unfair, the cap made us lose our players. I think, but am not convinced, that most Sens fans see the struggles we went through as a necessary part of team building, and that what seemed like unfair money decisions, were in fact proper building decisions. It takes a long time to build a team. A time during which you dont need to be equal with the teams who have already done so. That wouldnt be fair.

One thing of course we Ottawa fans cant relate to is having a team that has a recent Stanley cup banner. From teams they built. Hopefully we will, but there is no guarantee. Its an even harder to thing to do in a 30 team league than when the Alberta teams did it.

 

[SwisshockeyAcademy]

Well, we know he never played and, unlike you, he's never expressed being a fan.

If someone's played the game for a lengthy period of time, they're likely to be a fan of the game.

If someone's never played the game, there's no way to whether they love the game. But it isn't like Bettman relocated from Australia when he took his job with the NHL. He's had plenty of time to be exposed to it but admitted that he wasn't a fan when he took the job.

So the important thing in all of this is we establish Goodenow is a fan of the game therefore he must be operating in its best interest. You know the answer to that, we all do. You must have a cupboard full of straws considering how many you grasp at.

 

[kerrly]

You must be a fan of an Alberta team since they're the only small markets in the NHL. Or at least that's what they believe due to the brainwashing they've endured by inept management.

If you don't think Ottawa, the team that I support, is a small market in the NHL, you're way off base.

Obviously when I used the term "small market team", it was a generalization. Ottawa is an exception to the rule, and fortunately you seem to have acquired some new ownership that seems willing to spend some money. Very happy for that because I do like the Sens also. If this didn't happen and the ownership would not be able to add to the budget, the likes of Alfie, Hossa, and Havlat, not too mention your top guys on D, it would make it extremely difficult to keep these players. Thus the rebuilding process would basically start again. The Sens are a team that shows what proper management can do for a team, and with the proper ownership, which seems to be in place, success will be the outcome.

I think the days of the Oilers inept management are gone when Slats left. The Oilers are drafting much better than in years past, and aren't in the top 5 in the prospect pool for no reason. The Oilers aren't fortunate enough to have an ownership group that can fork over the cash and risk taking a huge loss. Actually the Oilers are fortunate that this group came forward or else they could be gone as of now.

Fact is the rich teams are always going to be rich, I just want a reasonable oppurtunity to have success. With good management, and that management making the Oiler deeper than they have been ever, I just want a chance for them to see the rewards of that.

 

[thinkwild]

The Oilers aren't fortunate enough to have an ownership group that can fork over the cash and risk taking a huge loss. Actually the Oilers are fortunate that this group came forward or else they could be gone as of now.

The reason you are not fortunate enough to do this is because you havent developed a better team than the current champs developed yet. They didnt do anything Edmonton couldnt do in drafting and developing a team.

Fact is the rich teams are always going to be rich, I just want a reasonable oppurtunity to have success. With good management, and that management making the Oiler deeper than they have been ever, I just want a chance for them to see the rewards of that.

All owners are billionaires. Illitch isnt the richest. The teams that will have money to spend are the ones that develop a team. You cant buy this winner now. But winners can buy. Buying doesnt help you get there. Only developing does. So only RFA salaries need to be controlled you would think.

 

[CoolburnIsGone]

Now you know how fans of small market teams feel. Thats why there has to be a cap and parity.

I live in what's considered a small market and I used to be a fan of the local team. But I still feel that my wallet is getting more closed to the NHL every day. I'm tired of supporting billionaire owners who make poor decisions (like hiring Mike Keenan and giving him a 2 yr contract extension only a yr later to fire him, or exercising the option on Rick Dudley in January to fire him in May). I'm tired of hearing agents like Luongo's say that he wants his player to be the highest paid at his position ($8 mil+/season). I'm tired of the GMs that give $5 million/yr to players like Marty Lapointe. I'm tired of Goodenow and Bettman being polar opposites in this little tug of war and neither making any progress. I'm just tired of the whole situation...I think my money can be better spent on some other form of entertainment or sports!