Labor disputes and the fear of a lockout continue to plague the NHL even after a full week of negotiations and proposals.
This is third lockout scare in NHL’s commissioner Gary Bettman’s tenure. If a lockout occurs, it would be the second in less than 10 years. This certainly isn’t winning him any support from fans and players, yet it doesn’t seem to have pushed Bettman towards finding a quick solution.
Regardless of the situation, three lockout scares in a tenure is unacceptable.
You would think Bettman and the NHL would find a more efficient way to deal with such problems, but proposing ridiculous first-time proposals that divide both sides even more is still the norm.
You can tell from reading articles and blogs on the subject that there is a haze of frustration among everyone, and rightfully so. The NHL may not have the fan base or the income of the NFL, MLB, or NBA, but the NHL does have a very solid and, most importantly, dedicated fan base.
But the recurring labor disputes and naive ways of dealing with them are a punch to the face of fans.
This potential lockout isn’t going to diminish my love for the game of hockey, but it has created in me a very hostile and distrusting attitude towards the NHL.
Workers shouldn’t just be grateful to the business for hiring them. The business should also be grateful for being able to hire a worker. That’s what the NHL owners don’t understand.
Sure, they have the millions to own and run teams, but they’ve forgotten who enables them to continue to make money: the players and fans. Pissing both sides off will not help owners in any way.
If the owners’ stinginess continues into the future, putting the season in any kind of jeopardy, I wouldn’t be surprised if fans begin to take it out on the NHL by not going to games and buying merchandise. I love my hockey, but I have very little sympathy to two groups of millionaires debating the differences of thousands of dollars.
Don’t get me wrong, I support the NHLPA, who took the bulk of the sacrifices in the last lockout. They will probably end up taking more sacrifices this year. But the hierarchy of both sides have almost completely been blinded by money. And they’ve forgotten about us fans.
The league and the owners are only hurting themselves if there’s no season this year. If they fail to see that now because of their greed, they deserve every negative feeling and consequence that comes their way.
About Tyler Juranovich
Love the non-biased headline…. ” greed of Owners” . The media today is made up of parasites like this rag. The PLAYERS are being worse…. but taking sides rather than offering the story facts and letting others decide for themselves prove you are useless. Wake up you pathetic rag! You are a disgrace to journalism. Just pathetic!
While folks like Tyler will always blame the owners, it is the millionaire players who are blessed to be paid and treated like kings for playing a silly game; otherwise, most would be in jail or working paycheck to paycheck lke the rest of us. I never EVER side with labor when it comes to sports. These guys and their GREEDY union have it so good. Owners give them the best lives possible, therefore can and should cut corners when possible.
Sorry, Tyler, I won’t call you names like Eugene, but we know your politics and we know 99% of journalists are also left-wingers (see ESPN) who side with athletes everytime. It is truly pathetic, and as a journalist,. I admit it, but never act like Mike Greenberg and Colin Cowherd.
The NFL and NBA goons acted like greedy punks and yet you all quickly fools forgive them and watched their boring season last year?! Not me.
I’ll say the same for baseball when it occurs, but they’ve had labor peace for nearly two decades.
College and Minor Leagues are the best sports to follow.
The NHL had a record profit margin grew 5% last season, and the average value of each team grew 47% with the future looking bright, and yet the richest teams and owners are still whining and complaining after 2 straight lockout victories over the union while they continue to not want to help small teams who are trying to keep the playing field fair and competitive.
The players are NOT the ones threatening a lockout or the ones complaining. It’s very safe to say that the concessions in 2004 were successful, except some few cases, so there’s no reason for the owners to propose a 24% revenue decrease. That’s what Fehr and the NHLPA are arguing, and I find it to be a very fair argument.
It’s not bias to call out excess and unneeded exploitation and demands, which is exactly what’s happening on the NHL right now.
With the league growing and the future looking bright, I find it very stupid that the owners would want another lockout, hurting its reputation. Asking for more concessions so the owners can make more money during a successul time in the NHL’s history is greedy and stubborn. It doesn’t take a left-wing bias to realize that.
I am also VERY clear in the article that both sides are forgetting the fans and continue to focus on only their wants and not the people who find interest in the game, which makes me angry at both sides.
” I love my hockey, but I have very little sympathy to two groups of millionaires debating the differences of thousands of dollars.”
And, yes, 99% of journalists are card-carrying communists or socialists. It’s not like there isn’t a multi-billion dollar news and cable organization that happens to be the largest in the world that admits to having a right-wing agenda…
And, yes, most NHL athletes, if not for sports, would be in jail. In no way is that a generalization based on absolutely no evidence.
Call me “Eugene” all you want. I don’t hide from it, so I don’t understand you trying to use it as an insult. I think you’d find that we’d actually agree on a lot more than you think because, while convicted, I am very reasonable and open to a debate, but when you make these absurd generalizations and come out attacking when it seems like you haven’t truly read up on NHL news or the previous lockouts and what happened in them, it’s very hard to not reply with some attitude.
I hear you, Tyler. I know nothing about hockey, but I do have trouble siding with athletes (in any sport) who make millions and take no risks — at least financially. Without the owners paying them like kings, they have nothing — so it’s basically a cause & effect issue. Sports (and film and teachers) unions really give a bad name to unions that represent real (often blue collar) people.
I do appreciate your passion.