NHL needs "a new move or idea"

[ericdaoust]

I look at how most large companies (owned by people like those who own hockey teams) are run and I'm not surprised to see the NHL business run this way.

[sanstanya]

Not meant to be an attack but I can only agree with some of what you say, the rest triggers my oppositional defiant disorder.

i hope the season never starts. the nhlpa needs to understand the owners 'hold the hammer'. the nhl has been very clear 'take it or leave it'.

I agree with the 1st part but for completely different reasons. And I would put forward that the PA absolutely understands that the league holds the hammer. It's the only reasonable explanation for them giving on 5 different fronts before things even got heated. I would also suggest that nobody gives a shit how "clear" the owners have been. They got lots of gives from the players side but were determined to crush them for every drop. No matter where this started or how it got here, I have a hard time demonizing the only side that has given anything in this standoff.

owners own the team and give an outlet for pro hockey players to make $$. if the players dont like it than screw off to switzerland.

This is half the truth. The other half is the owners have nothing to offer without these players. This is not a typical business where you just go to a cheaper supplier if you don't like what you're getting. It's them or nothing. The players can go to Switzerland, and maybe they should. The owners can go back to developing land and whatever else they do, because they, unlike the players, don't have a reasonable 2nd choice that includes hockey.

this is and always has been about the players greed. the owners if they want should be able to set new parameters every bargaining agreement

This is just mindblowing. 2 sides sign contracts and the owners side wants a mulligan the next week and it's about the players greed? Seriously? Or maybe the owners should have to negotiate in good faith with an organized body of employees, rather than simply dictate new terms the employees have no say in every 5-10 years. Even though the PA primarily benefits the owners at this point, it arose for a reason after decades of players being bought, sold and destroyed. it has a specific function and both sides have agreed to the terms of engagement, in theory.

the truth is and it was stated before....."players are just cattle"

I actually think that is an outdated (though likely popular) opinion on the owners side. But it is so limited in big-picture comprehension - it implies you can just go get more cattle if yours die or you don't like something about them. Let's see how Jeremy Jacobs and the rest of the merry men do with scab players. Now that would be a joke. Cattle, like almost every other merchantable asset, are replaceable; the elite few hundred of any particular skill set in the world, are not.

This is almost an entirely unique business structure that requires a true partnership. Neither side has anything to offer (in this marketplace) without the other. They may not be anymore, but I actually think at one time the players were prepared to tow the line to that end and form some sort of partnership. I don't think the owners have ever come close to finding that a tolerable resolution, and probably throw up in their mouths a little whenever it is mentioned. And that I think is the real crux of the issue.

Oh and yeah, **** Campoli.

[Bomm Bastic]

If you mean bollocks, I agree.

Yeah, that one too

[Loch]

Yeah, that one too

To add an unnecessary layer of nuance here:

bollocks = bad
the dogs bollocks = super awesomely good

So whereas the lock-out is bollocks, a large chunk of us would agree that hockey itself is the dogs bollocks.

I have no idea why people insist English is one of the hardest languages to learn...

[dongjohnson]

I don't know where the love for doggy genitalia is coming from, but the fact that Fehr and Bettman have acted like bitches in heat perhaps makes it fitting. I'm just losing all hope at this point.

They've acted like petulant children at every imaginable critical moment, so why will they suddenly grow up? They've already alienated/lost well over half the fans, so what difference will a few million more make? To hell with it, we're taking our ball and going home. Screw the fans and everyone else. If we don't get the deal we want, you get nothing!

Let's see how well that works out for them financially whenever the game comes back. The NHL may return but my purchasing of a full price new jersey and Center Ice every year damn sure won't be.

[Bomm Bastic]

To add an unnecessary layer of nuance here:

bollocks = bad
the dogs bollocks = super awesomely good

So whereas the lock-out is bollocks, a large chunk of us would agree that hockey itself is the dogs bollocks.

I have no idea why people insist English is one of the hardest languages to learn...

Great. Now I am even more confused, thanks.