Will the NHL fold soon?

[SuperClerk]

It really seems like the future of the NHL is in a serious state of confusion. My friend was telling me last night that they might lose all of their cable rights. With teams like the New York Rangers building an All-Star team (who still can't buy a win), the pay structure of the league is really a mess. I don't think the NHL will fold, but I do think that some serious changes need to take place. For one, I think they have to get rid of a lot of the smaller market teams. Sadly, I think Canada will suffer this fate. Any thoughts?

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This message was edited by SuperClerk on 2-16-03 @ 1:34 PM

[fluffernutter]

Although I am not as huge of a hockey fan as I used to be, it does look like there is some trouble. I mean I follow Ottawa a liuttle bit and they have a potential Cup winner there and may not have a team next year. I love tradition and the NHL not in Canada is sad. I mean a little part of me died when the Nordiques and jets moved. How can you NOT have an NHL team in Quebec and Winnipeg? Ludicrous! The sad thing is that a year or so after the Nords leave, the Avs win the CUP! Damnit all! I say they deifinitely need a cap. BIG TIME! They also need to look at how they expanded so quick and to cities that would much rather watch a NASCAR race than a hockey game. No offense but it just doesn't work, to me at least. Tell me how could the North Stars move from Minnesota to DALLAS? That was so confusing to me. Is is below 0 and freezing in Dallas in the wintertime? I doubt it. I just think there needs to be major repairation done and maybe a year off to sort things out wouldn't hurt in the long run. Ever since sports in general became more catered to the green and not the fan, that is when everything seems to have gone downhill.

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[RandomNY]

Hockey will always thrive in TORONTO. Montreal I believe is ok. Ottawa's problems started a long time ago. I believe the league really needs to take a stance against the high salaries and install a Salary cap or some sort. If not a hard cap like football. Also they need to force cablevision to allow more fans to watch the games.

24 DEVILS games are on METRO channel.. MOST of jersey doesn't get the F'n Metro channel. I'm annoyed that 15 Islander game are on Metro. I have the satellite so it's my own fault. But they are sticking it to Jersey, where metro isn't even available.

Cablevision does it out of spite too. Most nights there is either MSG or FSNY open and they play THAT DAM BEST SPOTS SHOW PERIOD garbage with Tom Arnold..



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[FiveB247]

What is happening in the NHL is the same type of scenarios on a smaller scale that is occurring in baseball.

Since Gretzy's influence in hockey was largely imported to the US in the 80's and early 90's...teams were popping up all over the place. What happens is they over populate the league with too many franchises. The league has spread itself thin across the many small markets that after time, grow uninterested in the games of failing or losing teams. Teams don't play well, fans lose interest, profits for the teams are turning into losses and you have teams declaring bankruptcy. Another key issue this off season was the loss of TV showing times on ESPN. With not many games being shown due to the push for the NBA..hockey is on the decline and probably will have to remove a few franchises in order to congeal and make another push for growth.

[NewYorkDragons80]

I think the problem is not only the NHL's. All the leagues are losing millions if not billions, except Arena Football which continues to make a steady profit. The problem is that there is so much on TV that professional sports cannot possibly get the ratings that their networks expect them to, yet the salaries of players continues to soar. The day is coming when this will catch up with the "Big 4" one way or another.

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[El Mudo]

What's really sad is they took the game out of its heartland (places like quebec and winnipeg where they had die hard fans) and thought they could sell it anywhere, so they basically sold those poor people down the river. with the way the canadian dollars are there is no way canadian teams can compete, so i believe one day there will only be two canadian teams left (montreal and toronto are never leaving).

But a bunch of teams are going to have to fold..they have to. More than likely, it will probably be someone like Buffalo or Pittsburgh. the league wayyyy overexpanded itself, and with the current salary structure paying guys who get 30 goals a year 6-7 million per is killing the game, cause all the good players are going to New York and the goddamn Red Wings.

they pushed through that collective bargaining agreement in 95 and i just hope to God there is not a strike this year...

THOUGHT O' THE MOMENT:
Whats with JF Fortin and Rick Berry being scratched EVERY FREAKIN GAME? Are Joel Kwiatkowski and Jason Doig that much better?

[cozmokramer]

First off, El Mudo...I think Berry is a very good player and should at lest be playing 4th string. Caps have some very good defenseman but it seems to me that...more could be done. I don't know if Berry is the man, but at lest he plays defense, unlike the most offensive defenseman around-Sergei Gonchar.

The NHL won't fold, but like many of you said it is losing tradition. Pheonix and Flordia instead of Quebec and Winnipeg? It doesn't make any sense, NHL will always have their true fans, but it really isn't marketed or pushed in the spotlight as much as NFL, MLB, or even NBA.

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[spoon]

So much to touch on:
First off, Quebec and Winnipeg were two of the WHL teams that were picked up in the late seventies by the NHL. They were saved then and still couldn't support the teams. They are extremely small markets. I was a Quebec fan since I hate the Rangers and now I hate the Red Wings too. Strange that these two are the teams most associated with looting the league.

While Ottawa is a cup contender (they'll lose in the first or second round again), the NHL shouldn't have put a team there. Yes it's the capital of Canada and in theory it fits, yet the size and financial stability of the city is not even close to a good fit. Quebec is the only city I can think of that might be able to hold a team given a second chance.

As for the North Stars, that move was purely a financial move in the interest of selling the team. The situation was that the fans and support for the team in Minn was great, but wouldn't shell out the money for a new arena. Which the asshole owner wanted in order to sell the team at top price. Dallas pulled the rug out on Minn by offering the team a new arena if they moved and sure enough they did and were soon after sold. The owner was a first class asshole.



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[spoon]

What happens is they over populate the league with too many franchises. The league has spread itself thin across the many small markets that after time, grow uninterested in the games of failing or losing teams. Teams don't play well, fans lose interest, profits for the teams are turning into losses and you have teams declaring bankruptcy.
I disagree. It all boils down to high ticket prices driven by high player salaries. Many very small markets of the AHL sell out day in and day out due to better prices with much less talent. The league, along with all the other sports, is becoming very inaccessible to families and normal joes.

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[spoon]

i just hope to God there is not a strike this year...
No need to worry this year as the CBA isn't till 2004. Until then.....

As for Buffalo and Pitt being contracted:

Buffalo is an extreme case which could have happened in any league. We all know about the situation which led the arrest and loss of the team by the owner.

Pittsburg refuses to put up the money for the arena (remember Dallas) and Mario swears that it is the only way to survive in steal town. Bullshit. He keeps letting go of stars even though he won't be playing much longer. This isn't such a small market, and it truly loved it's team. But like in Montreal with baseball, the fan support will dissapear as does its stars. Mario as an owner hasn't been a good thing, even though some will say he saved them.



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[spoon]

Last post I swear.

I think Berry is a very good player and should at lest be playing 4th string.
What the hell is fouth string in hockey? There are three defensive pairings, yet they don't form a fourth as healthy scratches.

But as for your point about the nhl promoting itself, I agree. As a true hockey fan I hope it never gets too popular and the sport remains for the most part unchanged. People always want to increase scoring, reduce fighting and all things impure to hockey. I'd rather remain small and true the grow large and boring. Look at baseball, fans and league officials won't be happy until the fences are like in little league with pitching mounds that are flat and strike zones the size of dimes. Hockey is a sport in which a great save, hit and or fight is as exciting as a goal. Make fun of the 3-2 average score, but to watch the game, play the game and simply take it all in one truly realizes the beauty of it. I hope it never gets spoiled by intense popularity. The league is fine, it just needs some adjustments in payroll.

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[El Mudo]

First off, El Mudo...I think Berry is a very good player and should at lest be playing 4th string. Caps have some very good defenseman but it seems to me that...more could be done


Today in the paper Cassidy was complaining his defensemen werent putting up enough O. So why doesnt he put in some more offensive defensemen like Rick Berry or JF Fortin? I mean, Kwiatkowski moves the puck well and Doig is not an offensive force. But if youre losing every other game, shouldnt you try to "shake it up"?

I also hope Olie isnt out for too long(he hasnt practiced the last couple of days) cause if he's out so are the caps. And that loss to Tampa is going to come back to haunt them....i gurantee it with that evil 6 game Canada road trip in March and the fact that Tampa has two games in hand and nothing but jabronies the rest of the year..

THOUGHT O' THE MOMENT:
Whats with JF Fortin and Rick Berry being scratched EVERY FREAKIN GAME? Are Joel Kwiatkowski and Jason Doig that much better?