Who deserves MORE blame NHL owners or players

The public has been silent about this mostly because they don't care but I wanted to take a straw vote here in the RX. Type the group that you blame MORE at the top of your reply. And don't vote if you want to vote "both" or "equal". Take a stand.

Also a second question would you pay less to see replacement players in NHL uniforms? (Yes or No)

Thanks

The Players Association is a joke. Their greed has destroyed the sport.

Owners aren't being flexible enough.

I might be the only one, but I blame the owners. Is it the players fault Phoenix signs Brett Hull to the kind of contract that he got? Owners need to stick money into the minor leagues.


Players assc. have major issues too, but owners led by "Dollar Bill" Wirtz have tried to break this union, and just may succeed if they lock them out a 2nd year.

I would not pay one cent to see replacements. I can go see Western Mich or Notre Dame play college hockey. Also can see the CHL and AHL and pay minor league prices.

Yahoo poll

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=yspsctbg><TD class=ysptblhdr colSpan=2 height=18>Poll Results</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2>[font=arial,helvetica]Question: Will the NHL play next season?[/font]</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD>Thanks for voting! </TD><TD align=right>[size=-1]89419 votes since Feb 14 2005 [/size]</TD></TR><TR><!-- poll results --><TD colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" bgColor=white border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#eeeeee><TD vAlign=top align=right>[size=-1]Yes [/size]</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left> [size=-1]16%[/size] </TD><TD vAlign=top align=right>[size=-1]14706 votes[/size] </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#dddddd><TD vAlign=top align=right>[size=-1]No [/size]</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left> [size=-1]16%[/size] </TD><TD vAlign=top align=right>[size=-1]14584 votes[/size] </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#eeeeee><TD vAlign=top align=right>[size=-1]I don't care [/size]</TD><TD vAlign=top align=left> [size=-1]67%[/size] </TD><TD vAlign=top align=right>[size=-1]60129 votes[/size] </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><!-- /poll results --></TR><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=2>Back to Yahoo! Sports </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

The players have been absorbing 75% of earned revenue for several years. Everyone knows the sport cannot pay it's players like the other big 3 North American sports without a major TV deal which is nowhere in sight. I say the players have to face the hard cold facts and play for less. Not to mention the league needs to make some serious on ice changes. Get rid of ties, implement pentalty shots to do. The goalies who resemble sherman tanks need to have their equipment reduced in size. No more stick work, automatic two minutes in the sin bin for intentional stick contact, fighting - beligerents thrown out of game but no fines unless unusual circumstances. They can dump the red line while their at it.




wil.

Wil,
While we're at it ... they should use Olympic rules ... no Red line, wider ice (gradually, I realize) and start rewarding more and more St. Louis type player that just flat out skate and play ... no more of this goon crap.

Owners lose less money by not having a season than they would if they had season.

viking611 said:

Owners lose less money by not having a season than they would if they had season.

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hogwash

Lander - exactly - call any stick contact and you automatically cut down on the goon factor and increase the premium on talent (skating, stick handing etc.). Settle ties with penalty shots. which the crowds love (TV too), do away with the red line and set up breakaways. Bottom line the time has come to take desparate measures to save the game even if it means making the game a version of Arena Hockey.


wil.

wilheim said:

Not to mention the league needs to make some serious on ice changes. Get rid of ties, implement pentalty shots to do. The goalies who resemble sherman tanks need to have their equipment reduced in size. No more stick work, automatic two minutes in the sin bin for intentional stick contact, fighting - beligerents thrown out of game but no fines unless unusual circumstances. They can dump the red line while their at it.
wil.

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nice suggestions.....I am a traditionalist canadian-type who grew up watching hockey and even I have to admit the current game is almost unwatchable at times. I think they should seriously consider going to 4-on-4 with 2 forwards and 2 D. This would give the skilled guys more room to be creative....anybody who's watched hockey recently knows that during the regular-season the most exciting hockey has been the 4-on-4 OT's....

angusr said:

nice suggestions.....I am a traditionalist canadian-type who grew up watching hockey and even I have to admit the current game is almost unwatchable at times. I think they should seriously consider going to 4-on-4 with 2 forwards and 2 D. This would give the skilled guys more room to be creative....anybody who's watched hockey recently knows that during the regular-season the most exciting hockey has been the 4-on-4 OT's....

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I think 4 on 4 is the ticket, reducing the players in the league as well. Hopefully most teams will in essence dump the checking line.

Both sides are at fault. You can't pick and choose. No season means two sides f-ed up. No excuses for not playing at least something of a season.

The owners are to blame for starting to pay players ridiculous sums of money starting in the mid 90's with the hope of a major TV deal and now the players are to blame for expecting the gravy train to last in a financially strapped league. They are eating too much of an already small pie.

I think the best thing for the league would be to have about 10 teams contract and have a 20 team league. This would hopefully weed out the third and fourth line "muckers and grinders" (for lack of a better term). I can't see teams choosing grind over talent if push came to shove.

Labeeb said:

The owners are to blame for starting to pay players ridiculous sums of money starting in the mid 90's with the hope of a major TV deal and now the players are to blame for expecting the gravy train to last in a financially strapped league. They are eating too much of an already small pie.

I think the best thing for the league would be to have about 10 teams contract and have a 20 team league. This would hopefully weed out the third and fourth line "muckers and grinders" (for lack of a better term). I can't see teams choosing grind over talent if push came to shove.

Click to expand...

Very wise post Labeeb.

If the owners are so poor, how come the only one that said he would sell is the Edmonton owner. They really need to lose 6-10 teams and re-establish the rivalries, espically in the western conference.

Gee, and who steered the owners to the pipe dream of getting a big tv contract? Gary Bettman.

Gary, thanks for nothing. :finger:

I blame both, but the players more. I hope they break the union in half.

A salary cap and revenue sharing is the only thing that will save the league in the long term.

The first thing they should do is contract the league to 24 teams and do some kind of dispersal draft. The owners just loved dividing up the $200 million franchise fees for each new epansion team. That's what they used to pay for the escalating salaries. But now the league is so watered down with inferior talent. Many teams don't even have two solid lines. There are way to many players in the league that aren't NHL worthy.

The points system has to be changed. The 1 pt. for an OT loss is completely illogical. If a team is 0-2 with both losses being in OT, then they are tied with a team who is 1-1. Huh?? That makes no sense at all. They should do what soccer did a few years back and give 3 pts. for a win, 1 pt. for tie and nothing for a loss. This would put a premium on winning. I have no idea why a team that looses is rewarded with a point.

I agree that the goalie pads should definatly be reduced in size and strictly enforced. What's with the 3 inches of padding along the wrist of the glove?? That never used to be there. The oversized jerseys they wear should not be allowed either.

I don't like the idea of getting rid of the red line. So then what, it will be legal to dump the puck in when a team crosses it's own blue line?? Too drastic of a rule change IMO. The red line is needed to call icing. A better solution would be to legalize the two-line pass. It makes it easier for a team to break out of their own zone and would totally open up the game. I played youth hockey for 12 years and the only time we had to play with that dumb rule was on road trips to Canada. The two-line offside pass rule needs to be done away with.

I think they should call the game tighter in general, especially all the sticking type penalties. I get tired of seeing a player on a break away get hooked by the defender and nothing is called. More power plays equals more goals.

I don't like the 4 on 4 in OT at all. If it's so great why not use it in the playoffs too?? Nothing but a gimmick rule IMO. I'm not against ties either.

I like the bigger sheets of ice and think any new rink built should have to be on the large size. Does anyone remember the old Boston Garden?? Man, that was a tiny rink.

The NHL was at its best in the eighties!! I wish they could get back to that type of hockey somehow.

I blame the players more.

The concept of a union came about because of unfair exploitation of workers, when they were given sub-poverty wages and inhuman working conditions.

To have the same mechanism with multi-million dollar deals is a joke IMO.

Are there very talented players who would be willing to play for much less? Of course! Dismantle the union and even the biggest crybabies among the star players will come back begging to play for true market salaries.

Only a complete moron would seriously expect management to continue operating at a loss out of its own benevolence. Those dolts should try running a loss making business themselves for a while and then come back and tell us how they liked it.