Goodenow tells players to secure Euro contracts

[MDE3 0]

Bob Goodenow's message on the NHLPA home site has told players to secure their European contracts for both this season and next....

My longstanding "conspiracy theory" that a cabal within the NHL owners association and the NHLPA union leaders is trying to form a new NHL Superleague (read World League) continues to make more sense as time and events proceed.

When the information at hand fails to explain the phenomenon, find better information.....

Ask "what hockey has always had the greatest TV ratings/public/fan interest"?

The answer is international competiton.

Ask what steps would be needed to create salary parity between say a dozen select European teams (not necesarily current existing teams), and a dozen North American teams? A salary parity that would be needed for any true international league to work.

Ask what steps would be needed to "weed out" weaker NHL team organizations?

The answer is "steps that are awfully close to what we are witnessing right now".

Just a "theory"......

[Borsch 0]

I'd personally be very happy if NHL would have stopped being THE league in world... for many reasons. Would love to see clash of styles that international competiotion would bring (Russia-Canada...mmmm... licks his lips:) ) Not sure how feasible that is though... Concord was scraped couple of years ago wasn'it ;) ;) :D

[Chadd 916]

The theory makes no sense. The reason the international compitition is so popular is that players are representing their country. To do that limits where the players can play unfairly. Having Mats Sundin represent Canada against Joe Thornton's German team would have no drawing power internationally.

Seriously, it makes no sense that the NHL and NHLPA would be intentionally trying to do this.

[QandA 0]

Just out of curiousity, at the World Championships, is it going to be like all-NHL players. Like I mean will all players be eligible?

[Borsch 0]

The theory makes no sense. The reason the international compitition is so popular is that players are representing their country. To do that limits where the players can play unfairly. Having Mats Sundin represent Canada against Joe Thornton's German team would have no drawing power internationally.

Seriously, it makes no sense that the NHL and NHLPA would be intentionally trying to do this.

Look at European (soccer) Champions League... Arsenal (English champs) have only a couple of englishmen (defenders at that), Real madrid with French-Brazilian-Portuguese-English superstars, ukranian superstar Shevchenko at AC Milan, Manchester united with their Dutch idol Van Nistelrooy...

Really the thing is there are three schools of football English-power, very direct, passing; Spanish- very high level technique, great dribbling skill; Italian -defence and mixture of... doesnt matter... Direct analogy in hockey: Canadian/North amercan school/style vs Russian vs Swedish vs Czech vs ... it does not matter who plays for the team. Russians in NHL do not play like russians in Russia... Russians in nhl play canadian game...

Having said all this though I don't think it will work myself though. Too good to be true haha B)

[Chadd 916]

Someone should be planning a Euro-NA league, but I don't believe the NHL is interested in gutting itself to make it happen. I would love to see an annual international club championship with the winners from each european league and an NHL or AHL club. Reducing the length of the season may help that happen. It may also let more NHL players participate in the annual world championship.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

How long would a season be? If i'm understanding this right, teams on the NA continent and the Euro continent would mean trans-ocean flights. Those are long and hard on the body if players are doing it continuously. What would happen? What NHL cities would get picked to have "world" teams? The top 15 $$ making cities? Maybe i'm confused..

[Eazy_b97 1]

I'd assume, if it were to happen, they'd have a north American division and European division and then only meet in the finals ALA baseball before interleague. It'd be cool to have players only allowed to play within their hometown I think, but it may not work out well for parody.

[Chadd 916]

I'd assume, if it were to happen, they'd have a north American division and European division and then only meet in the finals ALA baseball before interleague. It'd be cool to have players only allowed to play within their hometown I think, but it may not work out well for parody.

Major antitrust issues with limiting where players can play. Parity would be more difficult in a new league than in the NHL.

[MDE3 0]

Say a six month season...Mid October through Mid April.....including play-off....plenty long enough, and a bit less conflict with baseball. Each team could make a month long intercontinental road trip once each season....thus limiting the amount of intercontinental travel. The most difficult to arrange might be the play-offs, but not impossible.

Even though there would not be any deliberate interference with where a player could choose to play, it would tend to make sense that NA players would in general compete for NA teams, and Euro players for Euro teams. This would continue to fuel the "our gang" vs "their gang" mentality so traditionally a part of hockey, and particularily international competition.....even if the players were not playing for their own country.

I also think team owners would tend to make it attractive to have their best "homies" playing for the home crowd though, under the competitive aegis such a league would create.

Anyway..it's just a theory.....but given the way things are going, defying traditional logic, it seems to make more sense as time goes by.....I just do not believe that all the individuals involved in this dispute are as foolish as recent events would seem to indicate.

I would see this new league having a different Logo/title as well, leaving the vestiges of "old" NHL intact....as a minor league to the new Superleague....This would be done to avoid some of the inevitable lawsuits that would arise from expansion teams who might not be selected to compete in the new superleague...those which have not already folded from the effects of the lockout, before the new league will be declared.

Parity might be an issue, but I think that there is certainly enough Euro talent to field a dozen NHL style teams. The more competitive nature of this new league mentality, would tend to make owners fight hard to protect local talent. I think "protected" farm territories might help promote more home grown talent as well..as it used to be. It would become a real contest between the new owners on how to "grow their own" players. This would take some time, but make for much more fan interest locally, and the nature of having these "our gang vs their gang" battles would help insure that the pot is kept boiling..and probably much better media coverage.