So Bob McKenzie sums it up pretty well this morning. Nothing's happening - lots of light, no heat.
Hockey is the best game because you have to be selfless to play. There's no room for a guy who puts himself above the team or the game. So what the hell is going on here? This, it seems, is all about the union saying "what can I get for me and screw the team, the fans, the little guys who work in and around the rink, etc."
Are the Owners blameless? No - they made some boneheaded moves over the last decade and I think they'd 'fess up to that. But they're locked into a system. That system forces, say Calgary to behave as if they had the Leafs Nation's revenues if they want to compete over the long term. You might not believe that but when Kipper's contract is up and he goes to arbitration, his agent is going to compare him to Belfour among others and argue that he should get a salary that is OK for the Leafs but is unaffordable by the Flames. Do the Flames have a choice? Can't they walk away? Sure - and piss off the fans, the media (who'll kill them), and the other players on their club, and make themselves less competitive. Some choice.
We all have to live with salary caps of some sort. Sometimes they're supplemented by incentives (careful - learn from the mistakes of the rookie "cap") but for the most part it boils down to no business I know pays out 75% of its revenues in labor costs. None.
Oh yeah. Except the NHL.
Hockey is the best game because you have to be selfless to play. There's no room for a guy who puts himself above the team or the game. So what the hell is going on here? This, it seems, is all about the union saying "what can I get for me and screw the team, the fans, the little guys who work in and around the rink, etc."
Are the Owners blameless? No - they made some boneheaded moves over the last decade and I think they'd 'fess up to that. But they're locked into a system. That system forces, say Calgary to behave as if they had the Leafs Nation's revenues if they want to compete over the long term. You might not believe that but when Kipper's contract is up and he goes to arbitration, his agent is going to compare him to Belfour among others and argue that he should get a salary that is OK for the Leafs but is unaffordable by the Flames. Do the Flames have a choice? Can't they walk away? Sure - and piss off the fans, the media (who'll kill them), and the other players on their club, and make themselves less competitive. Some choice.
We all have to live with salary caps of some sort. Sometimes they're supplemented by incentives (careful - learn from the mistakes of the rookie "cap") but for the most part it boils down to no business I know pays out 75% of its revenues in labor costs. None.
Oh yeah. Except the NHL.
posted by DaCommish at 10:39 a.m.
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