Bobby Clarke Weighs In

[DrMolotov 0]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=116552

[Chadd 916]

Hmm, there must be some mistake.  He hasn't placed the blame on Lindros

anywhere.

Also, to add something legit, didn't 5/6 Canadian teams turn profit last year or am I thinking of something else?

I thought all 6 turned a profit.

"If Bob had been present in these negotiations, as he was in the past, he would have some understanding of the actual issues involved," the executive director of the NHL Players' Association told The Canadian Press in an e-mail. "I encourage him to attend in the future, if he is allowed to do so by the league.

Great quote by Goodenow, made me chuckle. There is aready a rift among the owners but I don't think anything he says is going to make a difference.

[MDE3 0]

Also, to add something legit, didn't 5/6 Canadian teams turn profit last year or am I thinking of something else?

I think the comment about the Canadian teams and "accepting the PA proposal: referred to it's minimum salary requirements, which was above the salary levels paid previously by some of those teams.

[DrMolotov 0]

"It's our sport and to me Goodenow has shown no interest in helping build the game and helping sell the game."

F*&king A. I have never liked Bobby Clarke, but I agree with him 100%. I have never once heard Bob Goodenow talk about the good of the game, or what the PA can do to help improve the NHL. I have never heard him stand up for the third and fourth line grinders and as a Toronotonian I have had the misfortune of listening to NHLPA retoric for the last two years and it makes me sick.

Clarkes comments were based on his opinion, and as an ex-player who cared about the game, and for the most part as a Canadian. He is right, if they don't get a deal done the sponsors will be gone and the owners will not be offering anything close to $42.5.

In an unreleated article, I read how Trent Klatt has denied Mario Lemieux allegations that he was misled by the NHLPA. These guys should be kissing Lemieux ass for growing the game in the United States and providing them with the opportunity to earn the money they have.

[Chadd 916]

These guys should be kissing Lemieux ass for growing the game in the United States and providing them with the opportunity to earn the money they have.

He did such a great job growing the game in Pittsburgh they went bankrupt when he quit.

[DrMolotov 0]

These guys should be kissing Lemieux ass for growing the game in the United States and providing them with the opportunity to earn the money they have.

He did such a great job growing the game in Pittsburgh they went bankrupt when he quit.

and who stepped in to try and build them back up?

[Chadd 916]

These guys should be kissing Lemieux ass for growing the game in the United States and providing them with the opportunity to earn the money they have.

He did such a great job growing the game in Pittsburgh they went bankrupt when he quit.

and who stepped in to try and build them back up?

He came back because that's the only way he was going to get his money.

[DrMolotov 0]

I guess Lemieux didn't grow the games popularity in the US at all then?

[mack 44]

Not as much as Gretzky did. I never cared for either, but you'd hear casual fans talk about the Kings and Gretzky well before anyone talked about the Pens. Only when he got Hodgkin's did I hear the gen. pop. talk about Mario but hockey was already gaining momentum by then.

[MDE3 0]

Udder Hell.

I assume that's when you are busy "sucking hind teat" and the cow falls on you. B)

[DrMolotov 0]

I think I need to stop reading the paper or websites dealing with all this BS, it just pisses me off and gets me all fired up. By the time the players and owners solve their problems NHL hockey will rank lower than professional scrabble.

[MDE3 0]

As far as Lemieux's effect on Pittsburgh.....I think along with Jagr, these two raised the bar for hockey excitement so high when they were at their peak, that their slow demise for various reasons, left a huge excitement "vacuum" behind...

The Pittsburgh fans lost interest because they had had such a taste of greatness for a few years.....The Lemiuex and Jagr of the more recent years (when Jags was still there) were no where near the incredible duo they had been, and fans had trouble acceptiing anything less than the prime years. There were no new Superstars coming down the pike to suplant these two..so little hope for the future of the Pens could be envisioned.

[Chadd 916]

The Pittsburgh fans lost interest because they had had such a taste of greatness for a few years.....The Lemiuex and Jagr of the more recent years (when Jags was still there) were no where near the incredible duo they had been, and fans had trouble acceptiing anything less than the prime years. There were no new Superstars coming down the pike to suplant these two..so little hope for the future of the Pens could be envisioned.

Like Theo said, everyone loves a winner. The fact people went to games when they were winning doesn't mean it became a good hockey town. It's the long term fans that support the team all the time that makes a good hockey (or any sport) town. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers can be 4-11 and they will sell out the last home game, that is fan support. Even if the Pens won 2 more cups to compare to the Steelers 4 superbowls, it would still be the same deal.