Earth to Draper and the NHLPA

[Jim Bob 0]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=107330

''Bettman's plan was expansion,'' Draper told the Toronto Sun.''He brought in the Floridas and the Nashvillesof the world and now he wants the players to fix it.

''Well I don't think it's right he wants us to fix it.''

A) The expansion plans were in place before Bettman was hired.

B) Bob Goodenow and the NHLPA had to approve any expansion. So the NHLPA needs to take their share of the blame if they want to say that overexpansion is the main cause of the NHL's problems.

[Jim Bob 0]

Most Canadians would play in the NHL for $45,000 a year. And most also think that the reason that they aren't in the NHL is poor scouting.

I can understand why they are siding with the owners who are offering up a system that would give the players average salaries of around $1.3 million to play a game.

Especially since most people in "the real world" are used to the little guy getting squeezed when the boss makes a mistake.

[Jim Bob 0]

I just think people shouldn't be punished for trying to make as much as possible. Its a rediculous concept to me.

The problem is that people see that the game is in big trouble and to solve it the players are going to have to take paycuts.

It's like the airline industry where unions have accepted wage roll backs or freezes to stabilize the company.

The fact that the NHLPA is unwilling to take steps that the owners are requesting and that the public at large find to make sense and not be too bad is what is killing the players PR-wise right now.

When most companies are struggling, the workers have to take the hit in the wallet to correct things.

The fact that players are saying that that shouldn't happen is one reason why the fans can't relate to their stance.

Are NHL salaries crazy? Yes. So are NBA, NFL, MLB, TV show stars, movie stars, etc. But hey, if they have the skill, I'm not going to whine about it. As I said before...In this dim world, being entertained for a few hours a night is priceless. Its none of my business how much they get paid. As long as they give us a good product and work for their money (which there are many flaws in right now).

It's my business what they get paid when their demands are putting my team in danger of being able to stay in business where I live.

Besides, if the NHLPA didn't want it to be my business, they wouldn't plaster every player's salary on their website.

And its terribly ironic that they have the notion that billionare greedy owners are fine and dandy. But millionare greedy players are scum. Chances are that the owners who have the most money, have commited the most fouls to get all of it.

The problem is that the fans see the NHL hurting financially. They see teams going bankrupt. And they see salaries outgrowing revenues. And they see that the industry itself is messed up.

Especially the fans in markets like Edmonton, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo that have been long time NHL cities, but noew have teams that can't afford to keep top talent around.

That's why the fans are by and large on the owners side. They want things to go back to the time when most hockey decisions were based on winning and losing and not on who makes how much.

And they want a league where every team can compete on an even financial footing.

The fans are on the owners side because the NHLPA is saying that MLB's system works. And the vast majority of sports fans don't believe that MLB's system is good for that game, nor would it be good for the NHL.

It's not about the money. It's about the game.

I don't see many owners doing charity work, but that might be totally false.

They don't do charity work. They donate millions of dollars to charity.

At least I know that the Sabres owner has done that for years here in WNY. Most noticably the Children's Hospital at the University of Rochester is named after him because of the huge grant he gave.

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/gchas/history.htm

Strong Children's Hospital is named Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong in honor of B. Thomas Golisano, local entrepreneur and philanthropist, who donates $14 million to the children's hospital. Mr. Golisano is founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Paychex, Inc. His donation is the single-largest gift given to the University by a living donor.

And that's just one thing that Golisano has done over the years.

[2048 0]

No expansion=maybe no job for draper.

[Jim Bob 0]

And I'm biased towards the owners merely because I'm a slefish Sabres fan.

If the NHLPA gets their way the Sabres will at a minimum have to continue to play in a league with an uneven economic playing field.

The worst case scenario is that Golisano does what he says and dumps the team in the near future.

And while each side is equally greedy, I believe that the owners greed will produce a better NHL product whereas the the NHLPA's greed will weaken it.

The owners want to go down the road the NFL or NBA have. The NHLPA wants to travel the path that MLB has.

To me, it's obvious which path would be best for the health of the game.

[Chadd 916]

If the NHL had the revenue streams that the NFL or NBA had those systems might make more sense. Close the loopholes and the MLB system would work.

[Jim Bob 0]

If the NHL had the revenue streams that the NFL or NBA had those systems might make more sense. Close the loopholes and the MLB system would work.

The NFL and NBA systems work regardless of how much revenue you have due to the way they share revenue.

If the NHL were to share gate revenues like the NFL does and if the NHL shared local broadcast revenues like the NFL shares national broadcast revenue, then the NFL's hard cap system would work in the NHL.

The main problem with the NHL and MLB is the disparity in revenues from club to club. The payroll disparity is just a symptom of that problem.

And while people will point to the NFL's big money national TV deal and say that is why the system works, well that's simply not the case.

The NFL's cap number is tied to a percentage of revenues. That means the system will work for the most part regardless of what level total revenues are at.

The biggest issue with what the NHL has reportedly offered is that they don't want to expand revenue sharing to a level that would support the vast majority of the teams being able to spend to the cap number and have a solid financial club from year to year.

Widespread revenue sharing that shares gate and local broadcast revenues, along with a hard cap, would work in the NHL.

The NHLPA doesn't want it mainly because they are worried that some owners would take the revenue sharing money and put it into their pockets as opposed to spending to the cap limit.

[Chadd 916]

The NFL and NBA systems work regardless of how much revenue you have due to the way they share revenue.

The quality of play in both leagues has decreased dramatically since they adopted those systems as well. Not to mention the issues defining revenue and what those systems have done to reward players for potential instead of actual accomplishments.

[Jim Bob 0]

The NFL and NBA systems work regardless of how much revenue you have due to the way they share revenue.

The quality of play in both leagues has decreased dramatically since they adopted those systems as well. Not to mention the issues defining revenue and what those systems have done to reward players for potential instead of actual accomplishments.

Is paying for potential any worse than the systems in the NHL and MLB where you often times are paying guys for what they've done in the past as opposed to what they'll do during their current deal?

And I wouldn't lay the blame on the NBA's quality of play on the economic system that the NBA has. Their main issues are purely players lacking fundamentals thanks to the SportsCenter mindset of today along with the issues of of the players entering the league with less and less collegiate experience.

The NFL has many issues from overexpansion to sheer roster turnover which is a function of FA to a large extent and not merely just the cap.

Besides, it's not like the "quality of play" issues in the NFL have hurt attendance or TV ratings. The fact that more and more fans have legit hope that their team can compete has more than offset the issues with quality.

[Chadd 916]

Besides, it's not like the "quality of play" issues in the NFL have hurt attendance or TV ratings. The fact that more and more fans have legit hope that their team can compete has more than offset the issues with quality.

The average American sports fan is marginally more intelligent than a shrub, ergo the huge NASCAR growth.

[Jim Bob 0]

Besides, it's not like the "quality of play" issues in the NFL have hurt attendance or TV ratings. The fact that more and more fans have legit hope that their team can compete has more than offset the issues with quality.

The average American sports fan is marginally more intelligent than a shrub, ergo the huge NASCAR growth.

But, the customer is never wrong........

:D

[Chadd 916]

Besides, it's not like the "quality of play" issues in the NFL have hurt attendance or TV ratings. The fact that more and more fans have legit hope that their team can compete has more than offset the issues with quality.

The average American sports fan is marginally more intelligent than a shrub, ergo the huge NASCAR growth.

But, the customer is never wrong........

:D

Don't make me quote Clerks.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

No expansion=maybe no job for draper.

Naw man, Draper is a great player, not shitting you. One of the most underrated, and anyone that wins a Selke is a guy that I'd like to have on my team. He's got wheels, kills penalties and can score a few too.

[Smith 0]

Remember he got traded for $1.00, He might not had gotting the chance to prove himself without expansion.