If you care about and follow professional hockey, you probably already know that the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA expires on September 15th. And if the current pace of talks is any indication, we’ll have a lockout – and a year without hockey. However, I think it could have been avoided.
First let me say that I am on the side of the NHL. I think something needs to change in order to lower costs, and it only seems logical to try and reduce your largest expense – player salaries. Yes around 75% of revenues go towards paying hockey players, a staggering amount. And that needs to change. And lets not forget that both the NFL and NBA are exremely successful businesses, and both have salary caps.
On the other hand, I think the owners brought this upon themselves. Why is the average salary now $1.8 million a season? Because the owners felt they need the best players to win a championship, and they were willing to pay whatever it took. History has proven otherwise, however. Carolina Hurricanes. Calgary Flames. New York Rangers. A larger payroll definitely does not mean a greater chance of success.
The players definitely should not get 75% of revenues. But the owners should also have forseen the events taking place now – there is no lack of other leagues that have run into the same problem at some point. I suppose it doesn’t really matter though does it? We’re here now, and we are facing the prospect of no hockey. In the end, the NHL will win and the days of skyrocketing player salaries will be over. I just can’t help but think there could have been a better way to accomplish the same result.
In the meantime, go Roadrunners!
MasterMaq's Blog 
To start off I would like to thank you Mastermaq for beating me to the punch. I was going to save this until Monday.
I agree. The owners started this slide into hell by paying the ultra high salaries. The players have now gotten greedy and want even higher salaries with no regards for the teams or fans. The most successful sports league is the NFL and they have a salary cap which works well for everyone. Players that deserve the salaries get the salaries and those that don’t receive what they are worth. It also means that each team has their share of stars as one or 2 teams can’t buy them all. NHLPA head Bob Goodenow and players like Brett Hull have simply got to stop flapping their lips and start looking at the facts. If there is not a salary cap (cost certainty) then several teams will not be able to exist, our Edmonton Oilers for one. NHL hockey will almost certainly be gone from the greater part of Canada and will turn into a rich man’s game in the large metropolis’ of eastern Canada and the US. What the NHLPA fails to see is that as teams fold from not being able to survive the rising salaries, the number of members of the NHLPA will also be reduced. Less teams means less players which means less members of the NHLPA which means less money for the idiots running the NHLPA. While I don’t hold the owners blameless for the mess the NHL is in, the players and the NHLPA are the ones not prepared to fix it.
And what happens if there is a strike. Do the players not realize that they don’t get paid while they are locked out. How ever are they going to survive without their multi million dollar salaries? Maybe they will have to go on food stamps and welfare to survive.
You never know. I can’t see people as greedy as the players being very good at investing their money. I suppose we’ll find out based on how long it takes the NHLPA to realize the truth.
I agree that the owners are partly to blame. But you’ve got to remember that not only will the players not get paid, the owners, as a collective, will actually lose less money than if there was a full season. And it is kind of unfair of the players to say that "the owners can afford it". As we’ve talked about, many of the individuals who have invested money into these teams made their money elsewhere. And so therefore, these teams are business ventures, and the owners cant be expected to keep investing their own money into these hockey teams. I mean, what other business venture is the owner/head honcho expected to continuously invest large portions of his or her own pocket money into business. Usually, there comes a time when a business folds when it’s not making any money. But instead, the NHL keeps bailing these guys out in hopes of the teams making money. And so instead of the teams making money, they actually lose money by having sellouts. I mean, the average ticket price at Rexall Place for the upcoming season (if there is one) is $78.53 (including Wheelchair and Standing Room tickets). You can’t tell me that at a capacity of approximately 17000, the Oilers can’t make money. at $78.53 a game per ticket, and 17,099 people in the building, that is $1,342,784.47 PER GAME that ticket sales alone bring in. Multiply that by 41 home games, and you get a whopping $55,054,163.27 per season from ticket sales. And dont forget the luxury and sky suites that people can RENT for between $3500 and $5000 PER GAME, plus the suites that are owned by people already. Now, I know this may seem off topic, but remember that all of this money…and there’s a lot of it there. let’s now add to that the money from the concessions. I know it doesn’t cost $4.00 to make that bucket of popcorn. SO they make a killing. Let’s assume that each person in the building spends $8.00 on concession each night. That works out to $136,792 per game and $5,608,472 per season, on concession. And now the merchandise…there is no reason for these teams to be losing money. Now, I realize that there are expenses, like electricity, gas, water, salaries for the employees of the Oilers organization. But that still leaves a hell of a lot of money to play around with. And with a payroll of $31 million, somebody please tell me how they lose money. And the Oilers are one of the teams who are better off in the league. Teams like the Rangers are in dire straits financially, and that’s because of skyrocketing payroll. The tickets there are even more ridiculous than here, and they sell out frequently, meaning that most of that money is being spent on the players, thereby cutting into the operational budget of the team. That is where the problem lies. A business cannot function when salary is the largest portion of the budget. It just doesn’t work. And then these hocey players, with their millions upon millions of dollars will be unemployed, and unable to function in the real world. After all, in the words of Brian McCabe, they’re "just trying to make a decent living."
There are lots of other expenses. Like $150 sticks that each player probably goes through two of per game. Crap like that really adds up when you think about it.
To be honest, the league should be doing more than just tackling salary (like enforcing rules on stick usage or something – not unlike the tire and engine rules in Forumla 1), but as I said in my post, the logical place to start is the largest expense.
There are tons more expenses than just the players’ salaries – players have meal allowance when playing away (I estimate at about $100 per player per day), the hotel rooms, the transportation, the trainers, the doctors, the coaching staff, etc. The list goes on and on. It’s ridiculous.
I don’t quite understand, some players have signed tentative contracts to play in Europe for peanuts. And, the players won’t budge here, in their home country? What’s up with that?
I don’t give a cot damn about this white boys sport shit…
Hey lucky, we don’t really care about the brothers jumping around with a ball either. And in the off season livin the thug life. Leave it up to the brothers to be rich but still act like they live in the hood. LOSERS!
Anyway
I am a diehard fan of the NHL and I do place some of the blame on the owners but I really side with the owners here. Being an Islander fan, every season I watch the Rangers throw money around to mediocre players. It’s frustrating as an Isles fan to see that we can’t compete with the Rangers bank account. Detroit, Colorado, Dallas and a few others have done this. Shame on them.
The players have milked the NHL dry and refuse to see that they WILL be out of jobs if they don’t open their eyes. A message to the players: Don’t look for sympathy from the fans who will never make in a lifetime the money you guy’s make in a 4 year deal. The owners have a right to own and make more than you because, hence, they are the OWNERS. If I told my boss to give me 75% of his revenue, he’d laugh and throw me out on my ass. Stop being greedy and make a deal.
i think it should stop
i think that the nhl lock is effecting all of the fans. wasnt hockey all about the love of the game? and the skill but now its about the money$
i think that the nhl lock is effecting all of the fans. wasnt hockey all about the love of the game? and the skill but now its about the money$
I really don’t blame the players. I blame the owners. They have expanded the NHL into markets that don’t generate any revenue. How many Tampa Bay jerseys did you see in the stands during last years Stanley cup? They had to give away t-shirts outside the stadium so that all the fans would have Lightning colors on for the television fans. You didn’t see any t-shirts in Calgary. They were all wearing Jerseys, hats, and waving flags. Teams have to be able to hold their own and sell merchandise and above all sell tickets. I am originally form NJ and a die hard Devils fan, I currently live in southern California and go see the Ducks and the Kings play the Devils, I have never seen a Ducks game sell out except during the Stanley Cup playoffs 2 years ago. Even then i was able to pick up tickets for one of the games at the Pond the day of the game for $120 dollars a ticket. Yes a playoff game ticket for $120, and we wonder why the NHL is bankrupt. When i go see the Devils play the Ducks at the Pond during the regular season the stands are filled with Devils Jerseys and the game is far from being sold out.
My opinion is that the game has been diluted and has moved into markets that just don’t generate enough revenue. Now the NHL cant prop them up anymore.
When was the last time you saw someone wearing a Predators jersey? Probably not that often even if you live in Nashville.
In a time and age where players are only in it for the money it is refreshing to look oversea’s – ie EUROPE- and see what the NHL players are doing here in EU.
To get an update on the Swiss Hockey League check my BLOG:
http://eurocanuck.blogspot.com/