NHL IS BACK!!!

[Azseth]

Am I the only one here that cares?

Az

[Hellis]

Ack, There goes the promise of super players in elitserien

[guinness]

I'm still amazed Gary Bettman is the commish. He's had two partial seasons and one outright lost season right?

[Gwazi Magnum]

Am I the only one here that cares?

Az

Yup

[Azseth]

Bettman is horrible, but on top of it, the NHL owners are the issue.

This wasn't a "strike" where the players wanted to sit it out. The players wanted to play under the old contract until the new deal was struck up, but the owners and Bettman locked them out to put financial pressure on them.

The owners need to realize they're not the NBA (as horrible as that "sport" is) or the NFL. They're not going to make the big dollars that owners in those sports, and MLB do.

And yeah, one canc'd season and 2 48 game seasons since he's been around. But a big issue is that he's the voice of what the OWNERS want.

Az

[Seravee]

Thank the Lord. I need my Wings.

[PrimezTime]

Go Blues

[guinness]

And yeah, one canc'd season and 2 48 game seasons since he's been around. But a big issue is that he's the voice of what the OWNERS want.

Sadly this is true of every single sports commissioner. It's all about how much money the owners can line their pockets with and they know they always have the power over the players. It's just sad to see what was once a great league being reduced to what it is now due to incompetence. Still can't believe they went from being prominently on network tv to being on a channel that I didn't even get until last year.

[Dervish]

I stopped following the NHL after the first lock out a few years back. Neither the players association or the owners give a crap about the fans, it's a business. And as long as they'll keep selling out every seat in the stadium, charging half an hour's worth of pay for a watered down beer, and hundreds of dollars for a descent seat, they'll keep doing crap like this lockout in the future and a lot of teams will never see the playoffs because of this. Why? Because they don't bother paying for the right people to make a run for it. Toronto used to be one of the most dominating teams in the sport, and then look what happened. They also have the most rabid fan base and arguably the richest franchise in the entire league. Yet I doubt I'll ever see them win a cup because why pay for good, cohesive players and the right GM/coach when you sell out the Air Canada Center every single game and charge insane prices for everything else?

So, unlike 95% of my great nation, I will no longer care about the NHL because it has long ceased to care about its fans.

[Azseth]

I think the whole "players do not care" stigma is horrible, and shows how fickle and unrealistic fans are.

Let me share something:
Lockout = owners saying they are NOT allowing players to play.
Strike = PLAYERS saying they will not play.

The OWNERS have been responsible for the lockouts, NOT the players.

The players association stated that they would play hockey under the old contract until a new one was made, regardless of how long it took.

The OWNERS are the ones who decided to lock them out. Huge difference.

The players WANT to play. Why do you think they went to russia and sweden and anywhere else and played hockey for a fraction of what they'd make playing for the NHL. A few players are debating not coming back.

And. GO RED WINGS!

Although the blues are looking like they'll be a solid team again, which is SOOO fucking unusual...

Az