WHA vs. NHL replacement players

[kmad]

Which would you watch?

WHA would possibly have higher talent levels but it would have a poor shot at getting good broadcasting contracts, and very little team loyalty/interest to start off.

NHL with replacement players would be broadcast on Sportsnet and CBC most likely, and would have the fan loyalty to the logos. Smaller market teams like Atlanta would suffer heavy losses if they weren't able to market talent like Kovalchuk and Heatley to sell tickets.

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[Crows*]

Ide watch the NHL with replacements. Likely not watch the WHA as much.

I would pay for neither.

 

[djhn579]

I might watch the WHA if there was a team in Buffalo, but since there probably won't be...

 

[dakota]

I might watch the WHA if there was a team in Buffalo, but since there probably won't be...

is their a team in Vancouver? Ottawa? Is Hockey Night in Canada broadcasting this?

 

[Duff88]

Change my vote from WHA to NHL with replacement players.

When I voted I thought it was WHA vs. the league the NHLPA want to create as a replacement for the NHL.

 

[djhn579]

is their a team in Vancouver? Ottawa? Is Hockey Night in Canada broadcasting this?

I should probably clarify my position a little bit. I will first and foremost watch NHL hockey, even if it uses replacement players. I would possible watch WHA hockey, but only if there was a local team.

 

[Bill McNeal]

I'm a fan of the Canadiens first and foremost, so I'd watch the NHL (of course, if replacement players can't play in Montreal, bla bla bla). As for the WHA, I may watch it, but I can't see myself going out of my way to catch a game.

 

[misterjaggers]

The WHA looks like a pipe dream this time around.

 

[Isles72]

Bettman needs to sheit or get off the pot

you gonna play the impasse card , DO IT ALREADY so that the entire hockey world can get on with life

 

[CBJ Bob]

I voted for NHL Replacements. But who cares, by November most (probably all ) of the real NHL guys will be back anyway.

 

[MassiveHabs]

So Starved for hockey, I'd watch both, but still be disappointed.

 

[Brewleaguer]

Assuming Bettman is still at the helm of the NHL I went with WHA

 

[YellHockey*]

It's the WHA. The NHL isn't stupid enough to bring out scabs. The WHA will be playing while the NHL will be trying to figure out how to get out of the mess they've dug for themselves.

 

[thinkwild]

Im not sure I know what I'll end up doing. Its hard. Probably a hard choice for players too. I'm a Sens fan. But if the Sens are no longer in the best league in the world, Spezza, Crosby, Phaneuf are in the WHA with Hossa, Havlat, Roberts, Nieuwendyk, the top goalies and coaches ... It will be hard.

If Ottawa has no team, I'd seem to have no natural team to root for. Perhaps if there were an Ontario team that played home games in several Ontario cities I could adopt it. Or if a bunch of the former Sens ended up on a new team together I could follow them as well as my now 2nd tier farm league Sens team.

What would the press do? Which would they market? I wonder if the talk radio guys would refuse to talk about the new league or constantly diss it?

Would there be a section for their games here at HF? Game day threads? Comparisons between NHL and WHA teams? Scouts in the new league getting the top prospects to sign? Cuthbert and Cole calling the games. A cheaper centre-ice package with interactive games, chat boards, betting pools, and high def? A new hockey world order?


Bettman should compromise and come to a deal with the players now. I dont want to have to find out what I'd do. I dont see why he wants to put me as a fan through this. For the poor opressed starving billionaires that cant control themselves and have bitter memories of previous fights they want personal revenge for.

 

[canucksfan]

I'd watch the NHL with replacement players

 

[Mess]

I will watch the WHA without doubt if that is where the Stars are ..

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I would watch the NHL like I always do. Heck, the last 10 years hasn't been great either but I've watched the deterioration along the way.

As for the WHA or whatever other league the players want to run, they will have to prove to me that it's more than glorified charity hockey games. So far, anything run by the players has become nothing more than shinny, so they'd have to show me something different for me to watch (aside from the fact that I am vehemently opposed to the players' stance in this whole debate).

I don't care who is playing in a particular league. It takes more than the on-ice product to make a league work properly. And the most important thing is competition. No matter who plays, you know the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs will ice a competitive hockey game, no matter what.

Can the same intensity be matched in a "WHA" game between the Thunder Bay Tim Hortons (led by captain Mats Sundin) versus the Chibougamou Canadian Tires (led by captain Saku Koivu)?

I have my doubts.

 

[mr gib]

Which would you watch?

WHA would possibly have higher talent levels but it would have a poor shot at getting good broadcasting contracts, and very little team loyalty/interest to start off.

NHL with replacement players would be broadcast on Sportsnet and CBC most likely, and would have the fan loyalty to the logos. Smaller market teams like Atlanta would suffer heavy losses if they weren't able to market talent like Kovalchuk and Heatley to sell tickets.

i'd watch both - this is gonna be awesome

 

[OilKiller]

Not a chance I would watch the WHA if idiots like Hatcher and Chelios are there after helping to destroy the NHL...