rseiden Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I have heard it mentioned by some sportscasters that they believe the NHL should have contraction so there are less teams. The teams to be eliminated would be those that do not have a large market. I was wondering what people think of that and whether it would be good or bad. Less revenue sharing to teams not doing finacially well could mean higher salaries and more competition for the remaining players. More teams open up hockey to new markets and new fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockey_gal89 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I have often said this league needs to be scaled back by about 7-10 teams...It would get rid of a good protion of the no talents...The Cam Stewarts, The Jarkko Ruutu's and so forth...Futrhermore, I think the league should develop markets in Halifax, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Hamilton...We could have a 20 team league of 10 American teams and 10 Canadian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteenIsThaFuture Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 This is a murky time for such things because of the recession, the PA will never allow it because it means plahyers out of jobs, but I think if the financial crisis get really bad a relocation to like Toronto again isn't out of the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phatz Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 This is a murky time for such things because of the recession, the PA will never allow it because it means plahyers out of jobs, but I think if the financial crisis get really bad a relocation to like Toronto again isn't out of the question. In 2 yrs mark my words two teams for sure will be relocated. If to Toronto without giving the Hammer or maybe even Halifax a shot be retarded. but could happen. Then you would have 3 sold out lossers in Ontario, where an avg joe can not afford to take family to games. Wpg does well with there AHL team all that market can hold unless the population like triples. There is no outside area to draw from it the Peg period. I got lot's love for winter peg I might just marry a lady from there, I am out there a lot. Winter brutal man, public transit sucks they need to build another venue never happen. I have no idea about Qubec city fairs toi try again. City is stunning venue for Hockey and the inter provence rival of old was best games forum ever say as a whole. The Games the fans it was intense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteenIsThaFuture Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 This has been an issue that I have been stressing for MONTHS and it is the economy, the NHL is about to hit a massive wall and I'm not so sure they can handle it. “We would be delusional to think we won't see some impact,” said Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke. “Look at how quickly the bad economic news impacted baseball. “The impact it had on baseball contracts was almost instantaneous. It was within 90 days. There are still good players out of work.” The baseball world crumbled from the economy, there were players who would in other years get 10+ million for 3-4 years ending up getting 1 year for 5 million. However the salary cap is going to hamstring many team, who have FORCED comittments and can't just get rid of them, "Take a team like the Philadelphia Flyers. Depending on whose sources you use and what numbers you use, 14 to 19 players under contract for next season have $50 million to $54 million already committed to salaries for next year. The bottom line is that the Flyers have a lot of players to sign and not much money to sign them " (Mckenzie). A team like the Habs persay, with so much money coming off the books and so many UFA's, are the FORTUNATE TEAMS. People do not realize how lucky Montreal is to have all these free agents, when the market crashes, they can buy at a cheaper cost, maybe get an Alex Kovalev for 3.75-4 million or cheaper. Owners and Bettman are trying to ignore the crisis, and are being optimistic, "NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, though, maintained the sunny outlook he has held all year about the league's prospects in the recession. Once again, he claimed the NHL will experience “five per cent real growth” next season but what lies beyond that is unknown" (Globe). "The key to all of this is the NHL teams have to lower ticket prices to get fans back in the building. If they do that, then I honestly believe everything will work out fine for owners, players and fans" (Dallas Star). However lowering ticket prices does nothing for the people, especially in the States, who are going broke/losing their home. Maybe the NHL's bush-league way of raising attendance by lowering the ticket prices to the cost of a candy bar will keep fans in the building, but I doubt thats an efficient way to keep businesses afloat. Next year thy say the cap will be 55 million, however I doubt team will actually spend up to that. A realistic "cap" will be 40-45 million on average (NYR, Toronto will spend more), it will be a minor capitalist market in a balanced cap system. Teams will scour to cut costs, teams like the aforementioned Philly and many other teams who are losing money and have big contracts will be giving them away if possible. Anyone who thinks the NHL is immune is deluding themselves, if anything they will be more affected than the NFL and MLB because of the net worth of their league. We are in for dark and twisted times. http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/...lobeSports/home http://tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=270775 http://starsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2...pe-look-li.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_rudeboy Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I have merged two very similar topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne-1 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Next year thy say the cap will be 55 million, however I doubt team will actually spend up to that. A realistic "cap" will be 40-45 million on average (NYR, Toronto will spend more), it will be a minor capitalist market in a balanced cap system.just FYI, the Lower Limit is always $16M less than the Upper Limit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteenIsThaFuture Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 just FYI, the Lower Limit is always $16M less than the Upper Limit... I didn't mean the cap will actually be 40-45 million, since its based on preceeding seasons revenues, but rather thats around what teams will be spending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmash Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 This is a murky time for such things because of the recession, the PA will never allow it because it means plahyers out of jobs, but I think if the financial crisis get really bad a relocation to like Toronto again isn't out of the question. The PA doesn't have to allow it. I mean, it will never happen, if anything the league will expand to 32 teams (I'm not saying I want this, but it will happen). But it has nothing to do with the NHLPA, they have no say over non-CBA issues. A team like the Habs persay, with so much money coming off the books and so many UFA's, are the FORTUNATE TEAMS. People do not realize how lucky Montreal is to have all these free agents, when the market crashes, they can buy at a cheaper cost, maybe get an Alex Kovalev for 3.75-4 million or cheaper. The Habs are fortunate in some ways but have created their own trap. As you alluded to, next season the cap drop will be small, it's the next season it is expected to fall off a cliff. This leaves us with a bit of a catch-22, do we compete for UFAs and get ourselves stuck in the same situation as other teams the next summer, or do we purposely spend drastically under the cap (or only spend big money on players willing to sign a one year deal - probably guys past 35)? The ideal situation would be to have a few UFAs this year and then most of them next summer. In our situation, we have lots of room to maneuver, but the team will be awful next year unless we get ourselves into the same trouble as a team like Philli: neither is a particularly good choice. Having this many UFAs in a league where its all about multi-year deals was never a good idea. The best idea would be to have a chunk of cap space clearing every summer instead of all at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmash Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I didn't mean the cap will actually be 40-45 million, since its based on preceeding seasons revenues, but rather thats around what teams will be spending. I don't really see the logic in that since if the owners as a whole try to spend right near the cap floor, the players won't need to give them any money back in Escrow. The owners as a whole can safely spend like crazy knowing the players have to give back anything that goes above 57% of revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteenIsThaFuture Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 I don't really see the logic in that since if the owners as a whole try to spend right near the cap floor, the players won't need to give them any money back in Escrow. The owners as a whole can safely spend like crazy knowing the players have to give back anything that goes above 57% of revenue. O yes I forgot about escrow, how does it work exactly and as a owner, how would they be able to maximize profits while spending the least? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmash Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 O yes I forgot about escrow, how does it work exactly and as a owner, how would they be able to maximize profits while spending the least? Well there's no real difference in revenues either way. Which is why given the choice for teams (on average) to spend 45 million or 55 million, if they make the same amount either way, may as well just spend the high amount. Of course, the trick to this is escrow is league wide, while your money spent is local to the team. So in theory, if all teams spent at the cap floor, and one or two spent to the cap max, those top teams would get screwed since they are spending to the cap but likely the league revenues as a whole are too low to get anything back in Escrow. Likewise, if everyone spent to the cap and a couple teams at the floor, those teams would rake in the money because they don't spend too much and then get a big chunk back in Escrow. Previous years this wasn't an issue since the players didn't give anything back, but now it is. So while it may make sense for individual teams to try and spend less than their competitors, if all the teams do it they've defeated any advantage. And I'm sure the owners talk to each other, so I don't think they will spend too wisely as long as they have the Escrow pillow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteenIsThaFuture Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 Well there's no real difference in revenues either way. Which is why given the choice for teams (on average) to spend 45 million or 55 million, if they make the same amount either way, may as well just spend the high amount. Of course, the trick to this is escrow is league wide, while your money spent is local to the team. So in theory, if all teams spent at the cap floor, and one or two spent to the cap max, those top teams would get screwed since they are spending to the cap but likely the league revenues as a whole are too low to get anything back in Escrow. Likewise, if everyone spent to the cap and a couple teams at the floor, those teams would rake in the money because they don't spend too much and then get a big chunk back in Escrow. Previous years this wasn't an issue since the players didn't give anything back, but now it is. So while it may make sense for individual teams to try and spend less than their competitors, if all the teams do it they've defeated any advantage. And I'm sure the owners talk to each other, so I don't think they will spend too wisely as long as they have the Escrow pillow. Well you never know, when teams like Nashville, NYI and Phoenix going bankrupt, sometimes they will push the Business Ethics to the back door so to speak and in turn basically flip off the other owners to save their own behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourtrax Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 While the financial crisis is obviously bad news for ordinary folk all over the world, it might be a blessing in disguise for the NHL. It will force the cap down, curtail bloated player salaries, punish free-spending teams that gave absurdly long/rich contracts, kill off weak-market teams that should be allowed to die, and put franchises that actually make money (i.e. Montreal) in a stronger position. At long last, Bettman will get the reality check he so richly deserves. The hubris of the man astonishes me. Every other major North American sport is already taking a rabbit punch from the crisis, but he somehow thinks the NHL is immune ... why? How? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catt-_mtlc Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 While the financial crisis is obviously bad news for ordinary folk all over the world, it might be a blessing in disguise for the NHL. It will force the cap down, curtail bloated player salaries, punish free-spending teams that gave absurdly long/rich contracts, kill off weak-market teams that should be allowed to die, and put franchises that actually make money (i.e. Montreal) in a stronger position. At long last, Bettman will get the reality check he so richly deserves. The hubris of the man astonishes me. Every other major North American sport is already taking a rabbit punch from the crisis, but he somehow thinks the NHL is immune ... why? How? Because the man is a complete moron looking through rose colored glasses. He took a league and sport with immense popularity and potential and flushed it down the toilet. I spend alot of time in the states and hockey is no where to be found on any television station except VS. The only time ESPN mentions hockey is when someone gets a stick to the head or some other controversy that gives the sport a black eye. There are alot of dead weight teams in this league and all of them are in American cities. The NHL should seriously relocate these teams to Canada because its not only good business sense but they would be much more appreciated in a country that actually likes hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteenIsThaFuture Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 While the financial crisis is obviously bad news for ordinary folk all over the world, it might be a blessing in disguise for the NHL. It will force the cap down, curtail bloated player salaries, punish free-spending teams that gave absurdly long/rich contracts, kill off weak-market teams that should be allowed to die, and put franchises that actually make money (i.e. Montreal) in a stronger position. At long last, Bettman will get the reality check he so richly deserves. The hubris of the man astonishes me. Every other major North American sport is already taking a rabbit punch from the crisis, but he somehow thinks the NHL is immune ... why? How? Burke has already called him out on it, basically indirectly taking shots at his incompetence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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