NHL Owners vs. NHL Players

Jimmy Van

I didn't pan back enough into the archive here so it's possible you've discussed this already. But I'm curious as to your opinions on the current NHL lockout.

Over 200 players now are playing for minor league teams in Europe, and dozens more are in the AHL and elsewhere.

The big rumour making the rounds now is that the NHL owners will have a training camp next year with replacement players, and some current NHL players have gone on record to say that if that happens, they'll cross in order to participate.

Even the great Guy Lafleur is sticking up for the owners, and commented to the press recently that a player like Scott Gomez from the Devils is playing for $500 a week in Alaska, yet the players' stance is that they won't accept a salary cap in the NHL.

My question is, where do you stand on this issue? Do you side with the owners, or the players? Or, do you not care at all?

Bouchie

I side with the owners on this one. The players are being selfish and they don't seem to care about all the hockey fans who wanted to see a season this year. How much money do the players need, anyways? The owners are smart enough to try and control salaries before they get way out of hand, as if they didn't already. Every other pro sports league that I know of has a salary cap, so what makes the NHL players so special?

Randy Orton

WC's Resident Alchoholic

I side with the owners. It just goes to show how greedy the players are and they are in it for a money. I don't see why they just don't get paid like 5-10 mil one yeart leave them set for life and pay like a mil or so every year after. I don't see why they need ridiculous amounts of money unless they all have bad drug problems.

Cyrus

As much as I hate it I am with the owners. A salary cap would make the NHL a lot better. Teams like Detroit and Colorado put so much money into their teams that they are like the Yankees of hockey. They also flop in the playoffs just like the Yankees. I think the Flames and Lighting proved this year that you don't need a huge team salary to do good. And it also ended up being one of the best finals in a long time. The big names would still get big salaries. There just wouldn't be as many on a team. So I don't see why they are making such a big deal.

Freak

I don't see how you can fault the players in all of this, clearly the owners (and Bettman) are to blame for the dubious status of hockey today. What are the players supposed to do in the face of multi-million dollar contract offers, say no? That said, I suppose I side with the owners in that the league needs a cap badly, but they need to admit that they're the ones who fucked up big time.

Freak

Haha, how many pro sports leagues do you know of?

Bouchie

haha!

Though we agree the league needs a salary cap. The players are being greedy and unreasonable. I really hope it doesn't come down to using replacement players. That will suck.

Dr. Giganto

The owners did fuck up, but now, like Bouchie said, the players are being unreasonable and not doing whats best for the league. They've gotta realize that the NHL does not bring in as much money as the NFL, NBA, and MLB, and the league cant exist if salaries keep pace with those leagues.

also, i dont think its the players as much as the agents, lawyers, and heads of the unions that are driving this. John Kruk wrote an article for ESPN.com recently comparing the NHL lockout to the MLB strike of 1994:

So the NHL has locked out its players ... again.

Lockout, strike -- it's all means the same thing. No games.

And much like when MLB went on strike in '94, it looks like the same problem: The head of the union vs. the owners.

When the head of the MLBPA, Donald Fehr, went on TV back then and said, "The players voted to strike," you would think he meant that all the players on all the major league teams cast a ballot and decided that this was the thing to do.

Wrong.

Donald Fehr knows what the players want ... at least he thinks he does.
I can't speak for everyone in the league back then, but I know I never voted. And it wasn't that I missed the deadline. I was never asked to vote. I went back to West Virginia when the strike started. Our player rep, Darren Daulton, updated me about once a month; and that was it.

And it wasn't like I was a rookie, either. I'd been in the league for nine years. Anyway, that was the extent of my participation in the strike -- the one that I supposedly voted for.

Much like the way things are shaping up in the NHL, it was just a battle between a few people.

You think that if the owners told the majority of major leaguers back then that they couldn't pay their $9 million salaries anymore -- that it would have to be $7 or $8 million -- they would have cared?

Hell, no.

But that was never considered. It was all about what Donald Fehr was going to do.

So when the NHL updates are on TV and you hear the accusations flying back and forth, remember that when someone speaks for "the players," he's probably just speaking for himself.

Gothgirl

Both sides are completely greedy and don't have any respect for fans. As much as I hate to say it though, I side with the owners. How can you justify making $15 million a season when you only play for maybe 5 or 6 months? Even when they're injured, they still get paid. Last time I checked, most people don't have the luxury of being of for 2 or 3 weeks being "hurt" and still getting paid.

Randy Orton

WC's Resident Alchoholic

they should do what the nfl does, if you don't play you don't get paid, or just have their salary based on incentives and like $150k base pay.