Hockey

[RedTide]

Well I've been playing hockey for quite a while now (atleast 6 years). I just love the sport; it's fast, physical and very demanding of skill. I was wondering if anyone else here enjoyed this sport.

I'm not really saddened by the lockout as I don't enjoy watching hockey on TV anf there's a college near by with a competitive team.

I play Right Wing or Center, I can play Left Wing though not defense.

[MarchHare]

Like most Canadians, I played hockey as a kid and still love the game.

The lockout sucks, especially since Calgary has finally put together a competitive team, but I can live without a year of NHL hockey if it means a salary cap is in place giving the league compatitive balance and ensuring the long-term viablility of small-market teams. And you never know, if there's a cap, maybe Winnipeg, Quebec City, and perhaps even Hamilton (aka places where people actually love the sport) can get teams instead of ill-advised sunbelt expansion cities like Carolina, Anaheim, Miami, Tampa Bay, Nashville, etc.

[RedTide]

Yeah I think the lockout will work out good even if there isn't hockey for a year (or two!) it will be better off in the long run. Calgary almost had it, and fell just short.

The other problem is the fact that Hockey isn't big on the TV networks, though there was some tentative deal with ABC if I remember correctly.

[Jakub]

You know MarchHare, I agree with the cap but I'm really getting disenchanted with the owner's anti-revenue sharing stance. I used to be very pro-owner but now I'm only about 60% there.

Personally, I hope the players and league compromise and get both in. Players want revenue sharing almost as much as a luxury tax (which they won't get), while the league is really only insisting on a salary cap (which they will get). Hopefully the players settle for their second-favorite idea and cram it down the owner's throats.

[Jim Preston]

Regardless of the financial woes, they still need to improve the product on the ice in my opinion. TV ratings have been going down steadily in recent years, with hockey constantly beat by golf and NASCAR. Allow two line passes to open up play for speedy, talented teams. And bring back the full two minute powerplay. The rule was changed because of the powerhouse Canadienne teams, but those days are over. The full two minutes may help cut down on obstruction and increasing scoring. Hockey doesn't necessarily need more scoring, but it could always use more exciting scoring chances.

[Jakub]

They just need to call obstruction.

Compare any video from the 80s to now. In the 80s you don't see guys dragging on players with hockey sticks like you do now. It's ridiculous.

[Dave Long]

I think the Salary Cap the league is standing by adamantly is a bullshit move. The owners were the ones that fucked up and now they want the players to pay for that? No way. The players are definitely in the right at the moment. They did nothing wrong. They played by the rules of the CBA and those of the owners. If the owners didn't want to go into a deficit mode with their team, then they shouldn't have paid those kinds of salaries.

--Dave

[MarchHare]

The other problem is the fact that Hockey isn't big on the TV networks


Maybe in the US, but hockey is by far the top-rated television broadcast in Canada. In fact, if there are no NHL playoffs this year, the CBC will not break-even. Hockey Night in Canada quite literally pays for everything else on CBC.


They just need to call obstruction.

Compare any video from the 80s to now. In the 80s you don't see guys dragging on players with hockey sticks like you do now. It's ridiculous.


I used to think that too until I started watching some classic games from the 80s this year. Obstruction was actually worse back then, if you can believe it! The reason there was more scoring in those days was because goalies had far smaller padding and they weren't nearly as talented as the current crop of netminders.

Think of it this way: could Gordie Howe or Maurice Richard play in today's NHL? Most likely. But could Ken Dryden or Jacques Plante?

Also, count me in the group that favours allowing two-line passes. What a stupid rule.

[MarchHare]

I think the Salary Cap the league is standing by adamantly is a bullshit move. The owners were the ones that fucked up and now they want the players to pay for that? No way. The players are definitely in the right at the moment. They did nothing wrong. They played by the rules of the CBA and those of the owners. If the owners didn't want to go into a deficit mode with their team, then they shouldn't have paid those kinds of salaries.


I only partially agree with you. Not every owner is to blame; in fact, most NHL franchise owners try to run a tight ship. The problem is teams like Toronto and the Rangers who sign ridiculously over-priced contracts (which they can afford because of their large-market status), thereby setting salary precidents for players on every team. The reason the league must have a cap is to prevent the four or five teams that can't spend responsibly (or have the money to sign huge contracts) from ruining every other team.

So while it isn't the players fault that the league is in the position its in now, they do have to accept the present situation and realize that the best deal they're going to get is the one they sign NOW. If the owners are offering them a cap based on 54% of revenue, that 54% is going to amount to a lot more money if we have a season than if the year is cancelled and lots of fans in US cities stop caring about the game (which is probably already happening).

[Toddy]

Regardless of the financial woes, they still need to improve the product on the ice in my opinion. TV ratings have been going down steadily in recent years, with hockey constantly beat by golf and NASCAR. Get rid of two line passes to open up play for speedy, talented teams. And bring back the full two minute powerplay. The rule was changed because of the powerhouse Canadienne teams, but those days are over. The full two minutes may help cut down on obstruction and increasing scoring. Hockey doesn't necessarily need more scoring, but it could always use more exciting scoring chances.

You mean allow two-line passes. And serving a full two minutes has been out of the game since the 1950s, and was out of the game during the wildly high-scoring 80s, so I don't imagine going back would help generate a lot of scoring.

Personally, I think the biggest mistake the NHL has ever made was getting rid of tag-up offsides in the early 90s. All that did was add about 20% more stoppages of play to every game. It absolutely killed the flow of games. And it coincided with the the start of the Dead Puck Era, which I don't think is, uh, coincidental. I hope they follow through with going back to the tag-up rule whenever the league resumes.

[Jim Preston]

You mean allow two-line passes.

Woops, ahh, yeah, that's what a I meant. :oops:

[RedTide]

That does make a little more sense.