I’d like to do an NHL season preview for our 3 teams…the Devils, Flyers and Rangers. As we know, the NHL is not open for business as the owners have locked out the players…again! Last season was very succesful for those 3 teams. Each of the 3 had 100+ points in the regular season with the Rangers finishing tops in the Eastern conference. The Flyers won their battle of Pennsylvania against the Penguins. The Rangers won two thrilling seven game series and of course, our home town boys(Devils) went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
All 3 teams would love to bring last year’s momentum in to this season but it’s not looking good for the season to begin on time, or even begin at all. The NHL and NHLPA met in Manhattan yesterday. After just 2 hours of “negotiating”, talks broke down as neither side was willing to give an inch on the core economic issues. The owners want to roll back salaries as they did in 2005 and the players refuse any settlement that includes another set of salary roll backs. Can you say stalemate?
In any negotiating session, each side must be willing to compromise. Egos and stubbornness are preventing either side from doing what’s right. They know what to do. They know what will get a deal done, they just refuse to do it. Both sides are equally to blame for this nonsense. Even if the players accept roll backs, they will still make absurd amounts of money. Even if the NHL opens for business under the old agreement, the league stands to make billions. Don’t be fooled folks, this labor impasse has nothing to do with money and everything to do with grandstanding.
As a hockey fan, I am outraged! As a tax-paying New Jerseyan, I am apathetic. No NHL hockey will hurt our economy but only minimally. We will find other forms of entertainment to spend our money on. The NHL’s loss is the cinema’s and theatre’s gain. If the NHL and NHLPA feel the fans will come back en masse whenever this lockout ends, they are sadly mistaken. Fans of all teams are fed up! In 5 years when the NHL is struggling to sell tickets and gain exposure and player’s salaries have decreased, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
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#1 by Mike Gazdik on October 3, 2012 - 4:03 pm
Hey there,
I’m Mike and I’m a writer over at The Farm Club (thefarmclub.net). I stumbled across your blog and I really enjoyed reading it.
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Mike
#2 by proudnewjersey on October 3, 2012 - 8:20 pm
Hi Mike
Thank you for reading our blog and for taking the time to reply. What is your stance on the NHL lockout?
#3 by Mike Gazdik on October 3, 2012 - 8:21 pm
Stance? Does some one enjoy the lockout? lolol.
#4 by proudnewjersey on October 3, 2012 - 8:25 pm
By stance i mean, which side do you think will blink first and when do you think it will end?
#5 by Mike Gazdik on October 3, 2012 - 9:21 pm
Oh, I was just kidding with you.
I have no idea whether which side will budge first. I think it will be drawn out, much like the NFL lockout was. But, the NHL season is gone.
As for your comments about how fans wouldn’t come back: I really doubt that. You may be fed up, I may be fed up, every one may be upset about it, but the small and loyal hockey base there is now will still come back to the league. You may see some hurt in growth in the warmer cities, especially LA where people were just getting excited through the Stanley Cup win, but all-in-all, the league will live through it and keep the viewership that really matters.
#6 by proudnewjersey on October 4, 2012 - 12:27 am
Fans will come back to some degree but I do not think there will be a mad rush to return to the NHL rinks like there was in 2005. Sadly, I agree with you that there will not be an NHL season.