Sayoonara NHL

[Diff-chan]

quite a catch 22 it is. plus all they ever show is the same 8 or so teams over and over.

Sorry but its really not. Showing more games on TV wont raise their ratings. Higher ratings would lead to more games on TV.

You cant blame ESPN if nobody is watching even the few hockey games they put on TV.

[Dyne]

I could understand if this was NBA or NFL where the owners make shit loads because the sport is so widely loved, but hockey in America isn't as respectable as those sports, so you've got to either liven up the game or cut some money.

liven up the game how? more scoring like everyone seems to think? thats such an artificial fix. the sport is "lively" enough. they just need to chill on the penalties a bit. in recent years the pace of the game has dropped to that of an NBA game with how many stoppages of play there are.

Sorry but its really not. Showing more games on TV wont raise their ratings. Higher ratings would lead to more games on TV.

You cant blame ESPN if nobody is watching even the few hockey games they put on TV.

you see. nobody really knows when theyre on. with football and the other sports you have set days that you know FOR SURE that the games will be on. with the hockey sometimes its "thursday night hockey", sometiomes its "sunday night hockey". if they put more effort into it, brought more teams to the fold that are exciting to watch (and not just the big name teams that usually play boring ass trap hocky....cough NJ) they'd get ratings. more exposure equals more ratings. cram that shit down peoples throats.

[Cowutopia]

How much does the average NHL owner make? The average player? How about the average fan? Maybe they should put a cap on ticket ($15), beer ($2) and merchandise prices. That way at least the fans win.

And I'm very happy that the Stars were moved to Texas. Otherwise I couldn't give two shits about hockey.

Average NHL owner makes negative money. Hence the problem. Average NHL player makes 1.8 million I believe.

you see. nobody really knows when theyre on. with football and the other sports you have set days that you know FOR SURE that the games will be on. with the hockey sometimes its "thursday night hockey", sometiomes its "sunday night hockey". if they put more effort into it, brought more teams to the fold that are exciting to watch (and not just the big name teams that usually play boring ass trap hocky....cough NJ) they'd get ratings. more exposure equals more ratings. cram that shit down peoples throats.

P
Yeah yeah, knock the trap all you want, 3 cups baby!
The excitement in being a Devils fan nowadays is "Oh man, with their mediocre scorers, can they score enough goals to hold off the competition?"
This strike probably hurts me (and the canadians) the most, as after this season my beloved Devils will most likely be decimated. Niedermayer may leave, Stevens retire, other players to follow. makes me sad.

MLSnet.com has every SINGLE MLS GAME in FULL for free available for streaming online. Full picture and everything.

I wish NHL.com put some games online. NHL radio was the best thing ever for me when I was away at school and couldn't watch the devils, but being able to see it would be the best.

On-topic, it just makes me angry that the players' union is being so selfish. I know averages hide lots of bad stuff, but dropping average player salary a half-million and adding a salary cap would not be anywhere near a bad thing for the game. Teams are already very competitive, but there are still large standings discrepancies that could by shortened by the balance a salary cap would add.

Bottom line: the NHL's been losing money, and not just because of bad ratings. (The world cup of hockey however got TREMENDOUS ratings....for hockey.) The players need to suck it up if they wish to continue making a living off the sport they truly love.

Edit: Sad to see that so few people are hockey fans, and that half this thread was devoted to baseball.

Tickets for cheap seats to Devils games are 20 dollars regular season. Why you wouldn't go to that, I don't know. Games in person are fantastic. Bring a friend and bring some food. I could use some help cheering. (When play resumes, if play resumes.)

[burgundy]

Edit: Sad to see that so few people are hockey fans, and that half this thread was devoted to baseball.

It's just reality. There are like five hockey fans in the US.

[haohmaru]

It's just reality. There are like five hockey fans in the US.

That's just moronic. You, being in the NY metro area, should know that nearly every NY Ranger game is sold out despite the fact they have sucked major ass for many years. Even the Islanders averaged 11,000+ per game.

The NHL is major, major trouble. Over the past decade and a half, the league completely lost sight of its major revenue source - fans drawn through the gate. Their TV revenues have always been shit and their ratings have been well behind the pace of the big three major sports. In order to accomodate the higher salaries that teams like the aforementioned Rangers pioneered, they have been alienating their fan base through monumental ticket price increases and season ticket "packages" that required you to pay for pre-season fluff at regular season prices. I saw the NY Rangers seats jump from $16.00 for the "blue" seats to nearly double that in a period of less than 10 years. The hardcore hockey fans have been turned off and its reflected in gate revenue and television ratings. 10 or 15 years ago, the NHL had a religious following among its faithful fan base that supported the league for 10 decades. As the prima donnas multiplied, the fan base was turned off as it slowly morphed into every other major sport - overpriced players, overpriced tickets and apathy.

The league lost 225 million last year and nearly a billion in the last five. The players are unwilling to negotiate realistically and the owners are responsible for their escalating salaries. I don't see the two coming together any time soon and I fear that the league will collapse at some point in the future. It cannot exist as it is and the Players Union refuses to believe it.

Hockey has very little revenue besides gate revenue. Do the math and you can figure out why they are in the tank. It sucks for hockey fans, but what comes in the aftermath of this mess might just be a better product for those fans even if it might be an entirely new league. In this debacle, everybody loses - the owners, the players, and the fans. It will never be the same again.

[voltz]

Not counting those canadians who moved here?

[haohmaru]

Not counting those canadians who moved here?

Yeah, the five that moved here might be the five Burg is referring to. :P

[Cowutopia]

That's just moronic. You, being in the NY metro area, should know that nearly every NY Ranger game is sold out despite the fact they have sucked major ass for many years. Even the Islanders averaged 11,000+ per game.

The NHL is major, major trouble. Over the past decade and a half, the league completely lost sight of its major revenue source - fans drawn through the gate. Their TV revenues have always been shit and their ratings have been well behind the pace of the big three major sports. In order to accomodate the higher salaries that teams like the aforementioned Rangers pioneered, they have been alienating their fan base through monumental ticket price increases and season ticket "packages" that required you to pay for pre-season fluff at regular season prices. I saw the NY Rangers seats jump from $16.00 for the "blue" seats to nearly double that in a period of less than 10 years. The hardcore hockey fans have been turned off and its reflected in gate revenue and television ratings. 10 or 15 years ago, the NHL had a religious following among its faithful fan base that supported the league for 10 decades. As the prima donnas multiplied, the fan base was turned off as it slowly morphed into every other major sport - overpriced players, overpriced tickets and apathy.

The league lost 225 million last year and nearly a billion in the last five. The players are unwilling to negotiate realistically and the owners are responsible for their escalating salaries. I don't see the two coming together any time soon and I fear that the league will collapse at some point in the future. It cannot exist as it is and the Players Union refuses to believe it.

Hockey has very little revenue besides gate revenue. Do the math and you can figure out why they are in the tank. It sucks for hockey fans, but what comes in the aftermath of this mess might just be a better product for those fans even if it might be an entirely new league. In this debacle, everybody loses - the owners, the players, and the fans. It will never be the same again.

Exactly.
And by so few hockey fans, I meant so few on these forums. I personally know a good deal of hockey fans, probably because Jersey has had so much success recently. It seems more people are Devils fans than other pseduo-Jersey teams, and even the real ones. (nets/metrostars) Or maybe I just live in a good town.

Ugh haho, you summarized everything so well....when all the bad news is condensed into 2 crystal clear paragraphs it actually makes me feel like I want to cry.
...Okay, I'm actually crying. DAMN YOU FOUL GODS!

feel free to make with the jokes now.

[haohmaru]

Exactly.
And by so few hockey fans, I meant so few on these forums. I personally know a good deal of hockey fans, probably because Jersey has had so much success recently. It seems more people are Devils fans than other pseduo-Jersey teams, and even the real ones. (nets/metrostars) Or maybe I just live in a good town.

Ugh haho, you summarized everything so well....when all the bad news is condensed into 2 crystal clear paragraphs it actually makes me feel like I want to cry.
...Okay, I'm actually crying. DAMN YOU FOUL GODS!

feel free to make with the jokes now.

It's no joke, and I know how you feel. Fuck the NHL and the owner's shortsightedness and the players greediness. Travesty.

[frostwolf ex]

dosent bother me , we have the jhnanstown chiefs, who did very well last year,and are gearing up for another good season, it aint nhl level quality, but the lower leagues play pretty hard, and i can actually afford the tickets, double bonus