NHL Unlocked

Thanks to Federal mediator Scot L. Beckenbaugh, the NHL and NHLPA were able to reach a tentative deal that will end the Lockout. It's very unfortunate that some obscure mediator did more to get hockey back than NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA honcho Donald Fehr.

The good news is that hockey is back. There's enough time to play an abbreviated schedule, probably around 48 games. And frankly, the 82 game regular season was too long anyway. A 48 game schedule could make for more exciting and more meaningful games.

The other piece of good news is that the CBA will last for 10 years. So we won't have our next significant work stoppage until the 2022-23 season.

I'm excited hockey is back. Especially with the end of football season around the corner. February would have really sucked without hockey.

However, the root problems that plague the NHL remain. There are too many teams in markets that don't care about hockey and therefore don't generate enough revenue to keep pace with the big teams in profitable markets. That was the root cause behind the owners' demand that players get paid less, even as overall revenues have increased. Teams in struggling markets couldn't spend at the pace of the teams doing well, like the Bruins or Rangers. And the owners of those big market teams didn't want to share more of their own revenues.

The problem that instigated this Lockout still remain. The CBA is like a back brace for someone with a foot problem that results in back pain. It temporarily alleviates the symptoms, but does not address the cause.

The NHL has other problems as well. There's extreme inconsistency and ambivalence when it comes to discipline. The ice-surface should also be widened.

The NHL also needs to keep the Stanley Cup Playoffs the same. And they need to release their players to play in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.

I have quite a few issues with the NHL. But hockey is back. And flawed hockey is better than no hockey.

All I Want for Christmas Is the NHL... To Die

More talking between owners and players, still the same lack of resolution. And I'm realizing that even if the NHL returns in the early months of 2013, the underlying problems with the League will go unaddressed and unresolved. It's a great sport played by great athletes who compete in a horrible, moronic, short-sighted League. The best thing for hockey is for the NHL to die, and a new League to replace it.

This new League should have a similar number of teams but in places where people actually care about hockey. Having 2 teams in Florida and only 1 in Quebec makes no sense. Having a team in Arizona and none in Wisconsin makes no sense.

This League should allow its players to play in the Russian Winter Olympics. Olympic hockey is the best free advertisement for the game, and it reaches a global audience.

This League should widen the ice to allow for a less cramped, better flowing game. The players are much bigger (and faster) than they were in 1924, the ice surface should also be bigger.

This League would have a luxury tax system along with a cap, so big market teams could spend a little more, but they'd have to pay the small market teams in order to do so.

This League wouldn't allow work stoppages every 5 years. Its owners and players would care more about the long-term success and prosperity of the League than short-term profits. There would be a commissioner independent of the owners, like Kenesaw Mountain Landis was when MLB appointed him Commissioner in 1920 after the White Sox threw the World Series. And that commissioner's sole interest would be the good of the game, not the wealth of the owners or players.

The NHL is an old, overgrown, decaying tree. It needs to be cut down and turned into mulch to clear the way for a vibrant new tree to grow.

The Bruins Ruined My Birthday

I turn 28 on Friday. And before the Lockout I'd been hoping to attend the annual Bruins Black Friday matinee at the Garden. It would have been a fun treat. It was not to be.

I'll get over it, of course. But I can't help but think about the younger boys and girls who would have had their birthday celebrations at the Garden this season, watching the Bruins play.

Across the continent, thousands, even millions of children are not attending NHL hockey games. These are the potential future fans of the League and the game. And instead of going to games or watching them on TV, they'll find something else to do. There's no shortage of entertainment choices out there.

How many young people, in desperate confusion, will pick up the nasty habit of playing lacrosse? How many average height and short kids will play basketball, think their fundamentals and ball handling will make up for their lack of height, only to lose a spot on a Division III team to a 7 footer from Belarus who's never even seen a basketball?

How many young Shawn Thorntons are out there with no positive forums for their anger and strength? How many young Zdeno Charas are working at libraries stocking very tall shelves instead of skating in rinks?

The NHL, led by Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, are determined to make it as difficult as possible to be a hockey fan. Kids, whose attention spans are at an all-time low, can't become fans of a game that isn't being played. They'll find something else to entertain them.

The NHL and the Bruins didn't actually ruin my birthday. But they are ruining themselves by alienating an entire generation of young hockey fans.

Winter Classic Cancelled

The NHL continues to slowly kill itself. They've cancelled the biggest single TV event on the NHL calendar. The Winter Classic was one of the things that helped the NHL rebound from the previous Lockout, and now it's been cancelled by a League determined to destroy itself and the game.

Over 100,000 were going to attend the 2013 Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, filling Michigan's Big House with rabid hockey fans supporting the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Two Original 6 teams, two of the most storied franchises in the sport. The game was to be in a state and nearby city that have remained loyal to the game for decades.

And now they've been screwed because the NHL wants to keep teams in Florida and Arizona. And because owners of teams like the Maple Leafs don't want to share revenue with those teams.

The 2013 Winter Classic would have been part of a larger revitalization of Detroit sports that's been happening for several years now. The Detroit Tigers are very good, the Lions are no longer the joke they once were. The NHL could have been a part of that. Opportunity lost.

Furthermore, Michigan is a hockey hotbed. And not just the Red Wings. There's an AHL team in Michigan, an ECHL team, 7 Division-I college teams (that's about 1/8 of the country's total), even a pair of junior teams in the Ontario Hockey League. It's a state that loves hockey, and hockey has screwed them. Some of those teams would have played at Comerica Park in Detroit. This Winter Classic would have involved two venues, two outdoor rinks, a bevy of games, a multitude of events, and an entire state's attention. Opportunity lost.

It's just sad. This lockout is killing the game, not just the League. People and places once interested in the game are finding other things to do and to watch.

Michigan will likely "be awarded" the 2014 Winter Classic, but do you think they'll be as excited, as enthused about it? Why would they be? Why should they be?

Imagine if this had happened to Boston, and how we'd treat the next year's Classic.

And what if you're a city and considering hosting a Winter Classic the year an NHL CBA expires. What city would want to sign that deal? Winter Classic 2014: Grand Forks, North Dakota.

I'm tired of the NHL, and I hope this Lockout either destroys the League or brings about dramatic, sweeping changes. Jeremy Jacobs needs to be visited by three ghosts Ebeneezer Scrooge style, Gary Bettman needs a lobotomy, and hockey needs to be banned in Florida and Arizona, thus forcing the collapse of failing NHL franchises.

Meanwhile, in the NHL

Just some token news and lack of good news from the NHL. Rumor has it that if the League and NHLPA can't agree to a CBA by Thursday, the Winter Classic will be cancelled. At the very least, HBO's 24/7, which is a nice little promotional tool for the NHL, won't be made leading up to the Classic.

In suburban Chicago, 12,000 fans gathered to watch a team comprised of Blackhawk players compete against a team of NHLers from other teams, including Jordan Staal and Bobby Ryan. Patrick Kane scored 5 goals for the Blackhawks team, but they lost 16-15 in a shootout. Proceeds from the game went to charity.

A group of Montreal Canadiens are fighting the lockout in a Quebec court. I don't know much about the case, or the Canadian legal system, nor do I care to learn. It's just a shame that we're seeing the abbreviation "vs." used in a court-room setting and not to describe an actual game.

Philadelphia Flyer Wayne Simmonds, who is black, was the target of racial chants when the Czech team he plays for faced the Chomutov Pirates. People don't realize how racist some Europeans are. Simmonds had a banana thrown at him in London, Ontario last year. People don't realize how racist some Canadians are.

And Tim Thomas sits in Colorado and smiles at all of this.

What Will the NHL Players Do?

The NHL owners made an offer to the NHLPA that included a 50/50 share in hockey related revenues. The offer also included stipulations that player contracts not exceed 5 years, as well as changes to free agency and arbitration eligibility.

It's a lot of legal mumbo jumbo after that. The players have concerns about deferred payments, points of contention about the time until arbitration eligible, stipulations about revenue sharing. And so on.

Basically, it's stuff for lawyers.

I've been considering Law School for awhile now and all these sports lockouts and CBA negotiations are pushing me closer and closer to taking the LSATs. It seems like the best path to make serious money in pro sports isn't playing basketball at Kentucky or football at Alabama, it's to take Law classes at Suffolk.

Anyway, the fact that the NHLPA needs time is a good thing. They aren't instantly rejecting the offer. They need to digest it, hammer out some details, negotiate a few things. They're giving up a lot, which is always tough. But if both sides bend a bit more, this can get done.

This is a Kama Sutra moment in these negotiations as both parties will need to be flexible. The good news is, they seem to want to get in bed together. Figuratively speaking.

Is the NHL Suicidal?

Every day there's no hockey, I shake my head at the stupidity of the NHL and its owners for this Lockout. Until yesterday when I realized that the NHL is actually experiencing deep psychological trouble. I think it's trying to kill itself. How else do you explain its odd, self-destructive behavior?

The NHL has grown total revenues by 50% since the last Lockout, and it's wasting an opportunity to grow even more. Here's what the NHL is missing out on...

1. Cable companies are craving content

Especially sports. There are new channels every day and they all want sports. Because people watch sports live, not on DVR or onDemand. They watch the sports (and the commercials) as they happen. Which advertisers love, so therefore cable channels loves. NBC Sports just bought the rights to broadcast off-road truck racing, and rumor has it they bought the rights to Formula 1. How many college football games were on TV Saturday? Harvard/Bucknell was broadcast nationally. There's an insatiable hunger for sports and the NHL has taken itself off the menu.

The NHL has been with NBC Sports, and it could've been the flagship partner of a growing sports network. But because it's suicidal, it's decided to jeopardize its popularity (and therefore its ratings) by not existing for a few months. And each game cancelled is a game not televised.

2. Big markets are in love with their teams

We call them pink hats, but their money and their TV viewership is just as valuable to teams as loyal fans. And in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles (a town comprised almost entirely of pink hats), hockey was becoming popular. These big market teams were carrying the league. And now the fickle pink hats, who don't even notice that the season hasn't started, will find other forms of entertainment.

The recent growth of hockey in Boston, Chicago, and LA is under threat because the Phoenix Coyotes and Florida Panthers can't pay their bills.

3. Canada on equal footing

The exchange rate between US and Canadian money is essentially 1 to 1. That was not always the case. A few years ago, Canadian teams struggled because their fans paid in Canadian dollars and they paid their players in US dollars. With the exchange rate even, that financial handicap is gone.

Canada also wants more teams. They're hungry for the game. And they can provide homes for the Southern NHL teams that aren't making money.

These three things clearly demonstrate that the NHL is trying to destroy itself. It's on the verge of making significant strides forward, as a brand, as a money-maker, and as a game. This is a great environment for the NHL to grow in, so how else can you explain the owners forcing this Lockout?

They must want the League and the Game to die.

Bruins 0, Flyers 0

The much anticipated start of the 2012-13 season was somewhat anti-climactic last night in Philadelphia. Neither team scored, or even got a shot on goal. And surprisingly, between these two physical rivals, there wasn't a single penalty. It was a very clean game. Clean, but boring.

This is just the start of a complete 82 game season, so it's understandable that these teams were somewhat rusty. Let's be patient with the B's. They have 81 games to work out this lack of scoring.

The Bruins are in New Jersey on Saturday to play the Devils. And this will happen. It's on the schedule. This is a good test for both teams.

In all seriousness, ESPN and EA Sports simulated this Bruins/Flyers game and the Bruins won 4-3. Tyler Seguin scored a goal and had 2 assists. Tuukka Rask had an assist. The Flyers scored three times in the 3rd to tie it 3-3 before Dennis Seidenberg scored the game-winner.

But that, of course, didn't actually happen. No NHL game was played last night because the Phoenix Coyotes can't make ends meet, and the big-market owners want the players to give up salary to make the game cheaper, instead of sharing revenue with their small-market colleagues.

NHL Lockout Pisses Me Off Even More

The NHL has cancelled regular season games through October 24th. Some 82 games were erased from the schedule, perhaps to be played later, perhaps not. In any case, neither the owners or the NHLPA appear close to agreeing on a new CBA.

And this is what pisses me off about this whole situation: Small market teams, in places that don't care about hockey, are responsible for all this.

It's bad enough that every season the Bruins must sacrifice games against Philly and New York in order to play Florida and Tampa Bay. It's bad enough that the B's play the Predators and Coyotes as often as they do the Red Wings and Blackhawks. Now these warm weather teams aren't allowing me to see the Bruins play anyone at all.

Here's the problem behind the problem: total NHL revenues are up since the last CBA. But not in all markets. Teams like the Bruins, Rangers, Maple Leafs, and Canadiens are harvesting profits, teams in small markets aren't able to keep pace with the growth.

The NHL players are paid based on a percentage of total League hockey revenue. While that's up in markets like Boston and up overall, it's not nearly as increased in markets like Phoenix, Miami, or Nashville.

The owners want the players to take an across the board cut in their share of the profits. The players want the owners to share revenue, so the profitable teams give some cash to the not-so-profitable ones.

But the problem is that these small-market teams need to be subsidized in order to survive.

And that pisses me off. The NHL expanded wildly, and never once thought "What if these markets don't take to hockey" or "What if these teams struggle and fans don't come?"

The NHL never had an exit strategy for these Sunbelt teams in case they didn't work. And there are only a few Winnipegs in Canada to send failed expansion teams. After Quebec city and Hamilton, the pickings are slim.

Scott Burnside wrote an infuriating piece suggesting the players meet the owners "in the middle" for the good of the game. But the owners caused this problem with their delusions of grandeur and the theory of Arizonans loving hockey. In response to this problem, the owners demanded a bigger slice of the pie, and thereby redefined the middle. While total NHL revenues are up, the NHL is insisting its talent takes a pay cut.

Does that make any sense? Why should players meet owners "in the middle" when the owners have redefined the middle by being more greedy with their stance?

Imagine a TV show enjoying higher ratings and asking its actors and actresses to take less money. Does that make sense?

And why should a player in Toronto or New York take less money, even though their owner is enjoying increased revenue, to subsidize teams in Phoenix and Columbus? Why should the player generating big revenues for the big market teams take a pay-cut while the big market owner retains all the profits he had before this Lockout?

That's one of the greediest schemes this side of Bernie Madoff. Players in markets that have big revenues getting paid less, so that the big market owners don't have to share their revenues with the Coyotes and Blue Jackets. The players pay, the owners profit.

I don't like it. So I'll be watching some KHL hockey on ESPN3 this weekend. HC Lev Praha (Prague) is playing HC SKA (St. Petersburg) on October 6th. Then HC Slovan Bratislava is playing Dynamo Moscow on the 7th.

More NHL Players Flocking to Europe, Tyler Seguin and Other Bruins Among Them

The flow of NHL players signing with European teams remains steady. Tyler Seguin will go to Switzerland, signing with EHC Biel. Andrew Ference will play in the Czech Republic for HC Ceske Budejovice. There are reports that Czech native David Krejci will also be playing in his home country. Russian backup goalie Anton Khudobin has signed with HC Atlant Moscow Oblast of the KHL.

Alex Ovechkin will also be in the KHL, signing with Dynamo Moscow. The LA King's Anze Kopitar will play for the Swedish team Mora IK. Jason Spezza is going to Switzerland to play for Rapperswil-Jona. Logan Couture will play in Geneva, also in the Swiss league.

I don't know how much leverage this gives the players. Their salaries over there aren't much lower than their NHL contracts, and checks from KHL teams are tax free. A guy like Alex Ovechkin can pocket more playing in Russia than he can in the US or Canada.

But not every NHLer will find work in Europe. Enforcers like Shawn Thornton wouldn't be allowed to fight in European hockey. And while a Swiss or Czech team might pay big Euros for the star appeal of a Tyler Seguin, the lower tiers of players won't get much money in Europe.

Rules also prevent teams from stocking up on imported talent.

Then again, this helps the players at least survive a long-term lockout. While the NHL is cutting its payroll by 20% and owners will lose money with every game not played. This has become a battle of attrition, siege warfare, and the players might have the long-term supplies necessary to outlast the owners.

If I were a program director at ESPN, I'd try to negotiate for the broadcasting rights of the KHL and the Swiss National League A. You might not get many viewers in the US, but Canadians will be desperate for quality hockey. Hockey is their heroin, and they'll be jonesing for a fix. Canadians will endure the 8 hour time difference and stay up all night to see Dynamo Moscow play Atlant Moscow, and HC Davos take on Geneva. It's the only way they'll be able to sleep.

Let's Start Our Own Hockey League

The NHL has cancelled preseason games in September, and it won't be long until regular season games are erased from the schedule.

But what's to stop another league in the US and Canada from starting? And if that happened, what would we want that League to look like?

Well Florida wouldn't have any teams. If I had to pick cities that had franchises, it would be the following:

Boston
New York
Chicago
Detroit
Montreal
Toronto
Buffalo
Ottawa
Philadelphia
Los Angeles
Vancouver
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Calgary
Quebec
Pittsburgh
Newark
Washington
Raleigh
Minneapolis
Denver

That's it, 21 teams. Divide them into 3 divisions of 7 teams, or don't divide them at all. Whatever. But the root problem with this NHL labor dispute is that small-market teams can't keep pace with large ones. The players want revenue sharing to remedy this problem, the owners want players to get less money. My solution is: eradicate the small-market teams in cities where hockey is seen as a weird side-attraction.

But finding billionaire hockey fans in so many cities might be tough, so let's keep the league at 16 teams, in these cities:

Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Denver, Minneapolis, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Newark, Los Angeles

Fewer teams, higher talent level, more familiarity between teams, and no Phoenix Coyotes or Florida Panthers dragging the League down.

How hard can it be? Just adopt the NHL's rules, hire the officials, hire the players. Many of the rinks are owned by cities and states, not the NHL teams that play there. Boston might be a problem, for instance, because Jeremy Jacobs owns The Garden. But offer him high enough rent rates and he'll succumb to his greedier instincts.

To be honest, the players are the attraction. All us hockey fans love the NHL because the best players play in the NHL. We don't care about franchise rights, or anything like that.

So let us start our own League. We'll call it the North American Hockey League, and we'll plunder the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and commandeer the Stanley Cup.

I'm Growing a Lockout Beard

The NHL players have been locked out. The owners wanted the players to lower the percentage of hockey revenues they got paid, instead of sharing revenues with smaller market teams. The idea the owners had was that small market teams could afford to pay players the same as big market ones, and big market teams could pocket all their additional profits. It's not surprising that Jeremy "Ebeneezer" Jacobs is spearheading this greedy endeavor.

There are two kinds of greed in this world. Short-term, avaricious, 7 Deadly Sin kind of greed that seeks immediate gain, forsaking all consequences and repercussions. And intelligent, productive, ambitious greed that "has marked the upward surge of mankind." There's greed that urges you to take all the pennies in the dish by the counter, and there's greed to start a business and produce something.

The NHL owners are hungry for immediate profit. And this foolish kind of greed will destroy this game.

Do you hear much outrage over the NHL lockout? Do you hear wailing in the streets, the sounds of large appliances being hurled through drywall as millions of angry fans struggle to cope with the loss of hockey?

No. Hockey is a regional sport, with a core of fanatic supporters, and a large contingent of casual fans. These casual fans are in football mode, fretting over their fantasy teams. And in February, when football stops, if there's no NHL they'll just watch college basketball and drink more.

For most sports fans in America, the NHL is like a girl you occasionally hook up with when you can't get anything better, and you don't have any strong feelings for. They threaten to never talk to you again unless you get serious with them, and you're kind of fine with that.

The NHL has done decently since the lockout. Total revenues are up. Ratings are better. The big market teams are doing well. Chicago, Boston, LA, New York, and Philly are tuning in to the game. This should be the opening stages of an upward trend for the NHL, not another massive hiccup.

This is no time for ultimatums, or short-term cash grabbing. This might be a time for small changes, but not major readjustments to the owner/player balance. The players are the entertainment. They're the ones with the skills. They're the ones making the plays, scoring the goals, unleashing the hits, taking the risks.

Why should they get less?

Until the owners can adequately answer this question, or until they realize they should stop asking the question at all, I'm letting my beard grow. I trimmed it Saturday. It's a blonde/black/ginger mix, so when it grows it gets sketchy. Tendrils of red hair curl over my lips. Patches of black hairs mix with blotches of blonde on my cheeks. It's not pretty.

This league seems to not want to take care of itself, groom itself, and keep itself presentable. So I will do the same.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Seguin Staying in Boston

The Bruins and Tyler Seguin have agreed to a contract extension worth $34.5 million over 6 years. That's an average of $5.75 million per season. And that's not a bad deal.

Taylor Hall, who was drafted ahead of Seguin by the Edmonton Oilers, just signed a deal worth $42 million over 7 seasons. That's $6 million per year for those of you who struggled with multiplication tables.

I think Seguin is a slightly better player, and the Bruins secured him for slightly less money.

With the CBA still up in the air, some might feel it's unwise to commit large sums of money to players. The Bruins just agreed to a 4 year, $18 million extension with Brad Marchand. And the Bruins already have big chunks of cash tied up in David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara, and Patrice Bergeron.

But I think the B's are actually taking advantage of CBA uncertainty. They're locking up players who might be worried that when/if the salary cap is reduced, they won't be able get as much on the free market.