Heimy said:
After reading all the back and forth on the past 7 pages, all I hope is the owners and PA are a lot less intractable than some here.
I see some criticism of small market teams. But those teams didn't just show up and join on a lark. They were invited to join and PAID for the privilege. And as members in a league, shouldn't they expect (if not demand) the rules work equally for ALL it's members? It seems like some believe allowing "free markets" to determine the league's destiny is the way to go. They view the teams as individual businesses. I'd like them to view a LEAGUE differently. Consider taking the view that a league is designed and intended to allow competition using common rules developed to bring out the best in sports rather than to give an unfair advantage to the wealthiest teams. Afterall, why should any team that is considered to be an equal member of a league get any advantage? Why should any team be placed at a disadvantage? If you aren't playing on a level playing field then what's the point of joining?
Providing for cost certainty for the NHL isn't some horrible idea. Done reasonably, it won't lessen the quality of the game or enhance the risk of losing the best players to other leagues. It also may not guarantee profitability to each and every owner. But it should guarantee that no members lose money season in, season out, due to a handful of wealthy, if short-sighted members.
Unfortunately, the bigger picture is less attractive to talk about that the smaller tidbits; the points of contention that make up a fairly small amount of the overall picture, but are often discussed as though they comprise vital elements to a reasonable solution. Interesting for debate but not something that will provide a meaningful insight into the problem.
There are posts we can learn from, gain a bit more knowledge. That helps of course, but there won't be any revelations in it.
"THE" issue is making the NHL healthy for many years to come. We all want this, of course. But too many of the good intentions get bogged down in mis-information, lack of information, assumptive reasoning based on that lack of info/knowledge, dis-placed loyalty, unfamiliarity with the actual economic situation pertaining to the league, etc, etc.
I do agree with what you said. For the denizens of this board, a broad idea isn't what they're looking for (for the most part at least). Personally, I'm just happy that someone else brought up the topic in this manner. Rare, to be sure.