Tom_Benjamin said:
I wouldn't have any faith in Oiler fans either but I still wouldn't bail until the handwriting was on the wall. Maybe the Oiler ownership doesn't think much of the fanbase either. When do you figure Oiler fans will quit going to the games?
Man you are ignorant. The handwriting is on the wall. The ticket prices are about as high as the market in Edmonton can handle, while current NHL salaries are showing no signs for reaching a peak.
Guess what that means? The Oilers are only going to be able to max out their payroll at $35-38 mil (with a good cdn $, and still making some money). With the current meteoric rise (with no slowdown in sight) of salaries, that $35-38 million is going to be able to afford less and less quality NHL talent.
How long do you expect fans in a city to pay to watch a team not go anywhere year after year?
If they do stop, nobody will be able to complain if they fold, will they? Where else is the team threatened because the fans are about to stop coming to the games? At some point. In the future. Maybe.
It's called using common sense... try it. The current league economics are not condusive to a team like Edmonton building up their franchise and competing for any length of time. We've seen it once, when Guerin, Cujo, Weight, etc... were all dealt because of economics. How long do you sit and wait, expecting fans to come out to a team who loses it's best players year after year, while continually spinning it's wheels. The fans have been coming out because they are waiting for something to allow their team a chance to compete with the Leafs, and Avalanche. If that doesn't happen, are they going to sellout 98% of the building? No, of course not. Why do you watch your team play? To be entertained and for them to win. If your team will never be able to win (the odd cinderella season aside), why would you continue to pay high prices (for your market) to do so?
No, of couse you wouldn't.
So the Oilers either need to either lower their ticket prices, or play in front of 15k fans, then 14k, etc... which means their revenue drops, which means their max payroll drops, which means their ability to keep their star players drops, which means the team gets worse, which means less fans go to the game. The problem is, in Edmonton, there won't be a way out of that spiral.
Do you ever doubt anything that the Oiler owners say? Ever? Didn't Aubut say exactly the same thing in Quebec?
Oh, and did you catch Healy on TSN last night? The players apparently went through the team by team reports that make up the league"s URO. Five of the six most profitable teams were Canadian last season. And the Oilers made money. So much for Bettman's claim that this dispute is about saving small market teams in Canada, eh?
Once again... ignorance must be a way of life for you. I know the Oilers made money last year... and as for 5 of the 6 Canadian teams being the most profitable, if you are getting your information from Healy, you are an idiot (duh duh ... even with a $31mil cap 10 team still lose money... duh duh, I goalie, I make save...).
The Oilers made about $3mil last season... Calgary didn't make much more than that (despite their cup run). So if $4million is one of the 6 most profitable showings, isn't that a sign something is wrong?
Yes the Oilers made money, but it's because they are well run. They have a fantastic marketing team, an ownership in touch with the community, they have maximized their revenue, and they spend within their means. And they still have lost one of their top 3 scorers every year since 1999 because of finances. Just because they are well run and live within their means doesn't mean they don't need help. To expect a team who has essentially maximized it's revenues to compete in a league where salary is rising at an incredible speed is just ridiculous. And to expect fans in a city to continue to maximize the revenues while watching a 7th-9th place team for the next 10 years is simply ridiculous, especially when the fan base knows there is little to no hope.
It's not wrong for fans to want a winning team... and it doesn't make the fans less loyal to no longer support a team that is stuck in a league that only supports the rich. Look at baseball... America's pass-time... struggling in a lot of major markets (even traditional baseball markets), because fans know if you aren't a Red Sock or a Yankee in the American League, you aren't anything.
I hope you are right and Edmonton folds but I think I will be disappointed no matter what CBA they eventually sign.
Tom
I didn't say fold, did I?
And I hope you are disappointed, and I hope it pisses you off so much you never watch another game again... just as long as it puts a stop to your whining.
Funny you should talk about Oiler fans whining... the Canucks did their fair share in the mid-late 90's too... but I guess you weren't part of that.
It doesn't matter, they still won't win a cup.