Who's to blame?

[Blue56]

Who's to really blame for the nhl to be canceled?

[imgreat95]

Everybody!!! Bastards!!!

[awefullspellare]

Both.

[imgreat95]

Everybody!! Bastards!!

[rockin500]

everybody, but I'd say 66% goes to the players/Goodenow and 34% goes to Bettman and the owners.

[imgreat95]

Did You Know That You Cant Type A Message In All Caps Here??

[Blue56]

no i did not know that. :)

[Blue56]

I say the majority of it goes to the players. Why couldn't they try to agree on a salary cap 7 months ago ARGH!

[I Are Baboon]

George W Bush.

[Liter22]

LMAO! Why hasent Bush been blamed yet I'm sure you'll hear it soon on ESPN radio somewhere. Anyways I'm blamin everybody and Jose Conseco

[Blue56]

What a week.

[imgreat95]

I am blaming Dan and Vin.

[Liter22]

I'll take the blame but not poor Dan.

[BPBlueSox]

Bastard!

I blame Goodenow.

[rockin500]

i blame the red sox. :)

(they were the world series champs the last time the stanley cup wasnt awarded)

[BPBlueSox]

yeah, I saw that

[Tigers#1]

Espn

[Chisox73]

Both sides are to be blamed for this.

[Timberwolf]

I blame Kevin McHale. :banana:

On a serious note, everyone should take their share of blame. Bettman and the owners did not negotiate in good faith and the players and the union was stubborn.

If I have to give an answer, I blame the players. They should accept the salary cap. It's not like they are going on welfare and ask for food stamps if they live in the salary cap conditions. It's not like they will make 12 bucks an hour under the cap.

[robmik]

The fans are to blame.
We paid way too much money, for way too many years, only to watch an increasingly crappy product on ice.

The owners kept adding ridiculously-located franchises ( to share in the franchise fees) and the wealthier and/or dumber clubs paid out ridiculously high salaries to sign overrated, arrogant, and mainly underachieving players.

The mainly uneducated, mainly idiot players, in their "Look at me, I'm a Star" stupor, felt there was no bottom to the money barrel....and some of them seem to still feel that way.

When clubs went bankrupt, the LEAGUE took them over (Buffalo, Ottawa)and kept up the operation and payrolls until new suckers, I mean 'owners', could be found.

So...when this current situation became apparent, three/four YEARS AGO, there was no need to get working on a solution....until it was too late.....and now it is.
But it's still the fans to blame...we paid too much for something worth too little, for too long... and we brought it on ourselves.
As a fan for the past 50+ years, I now say...To Hell with the NHL ! :(

[PissedPrincess]

Great post Robmik. :thumbsup:

[BPBlueSox]

The fans are to blame.
We paid way too much money, for way too many years, only to watch an increasingly crappy product on ice.

The owners kept adding ridiculously-located franchises ( to share in the franchise fees) and the wealthier and/or dumber clubs paid out ridiculously high salaries to sign overrated, arrogant, and mainly underachieving players.

The mainly uneducated, mainly idiot players, in their "Look at me, I'm a Star" stupor, felt there was no bottom to the money barrel....and some of them seem to still feel that way.

When clubs went bankrupt, the LEAGUE took them over (Buffalo, Ottawa)and kept up the operation and payrolls until new suckers, I mean 'owners', could be found.

So...when this current situation became apparent, three/four YEARS AGO, there was no need to get working on a solution....until it was too late.....and now it is.
But it's still the fans to blame...we paid too much for something worth too little, for too long... and we brought it on ourselves.
As a fan for the past 50+ years, I now say...To Hell with the NHL ! :(


Good post, although I feel that applies to most leagues...other than maybe the NFL.

[Timberwolf]

robmik: Why are the fans to be blamed? They don't attend hockey games. God knows no one goes to the Devils games here at Continental Arena. In the states, most hockey arenas don't draw well. Hockey ratings in the States are so low. Even when the Devils had that great playoff run, ratings here in NY was 0.6.

[BPBlueSox]

robmik: Why are the fans to be blamed? They don't attend hockey games. God knows no one goes to the Devils games here at Continental Arena. In the states, most hockey arenas don't draw well. Hockey ratings in the States are so low. Even when the Devils had that great playoff run, ratings here in NY was 0.6.

That's bull. Most arenas do very well in attendance in the NHL. Ratings may be low, but that's nationwide...and hockey is a very regional kind of sport.

[imgreat95]

hockey outdraws most NBA teams in the US where an arena is shared.

[Tigers#1]

The Motorcity mechanics are selling out 14,000+ stadiums every game. As well as most local college teams, and even high school.

[awefullspellare]

I just realized the season got canceled on Feb 16. The Bertuzzi incident last year was on Feb. 16. Sucky day.

[robmik]

robmik: Why are the fans to be blamed? They don't attend hockey games. God knows no one goes to the Devils games here at Continental Arena. In the states, most hockey arenas don't draw well. Hockey ratings in the States are so low. Even when the Devils had that great playoff run, ratings here in NY was 0.6.
Timberwolf:...( hey you Garnetters beat LeBron's bunch...way to go...)...
why do I blame the fans ?...Take a surprisingly good game-fan base like Columbus has...15,000-18,000 of them will go pay NHL ticket level buck$ to watch a bad Blue Jacket team play an equally lousy Nashville, Anaheim, or Carolina bunch of no-stars ??? Why ???
Geez....why do the players think they are worth million$?.
Why people don't go to Devils' games is a different situation....some of it is demographic/sociological, maybe it's just parking....I don't want to be critical because , in terms of Stanley Cups, NJ has been very successful...in terms of real hockey, it's only been Stevens' bodychecks and Brodeur's saves.....it's not a great example.
Will explain more another time.
regards;
Mike

[Toy Cannon]

Did You Know That You Cant Type A Message In All Caps Here??
WOW!

[rockin500]

hell, the blackhawks were still drawing quite well (until just recently) and they were/are quite horrible. the hawks have been using replacement players for years. :)

[renuszm]

People can go to see the Blue Jackets for the same reason that Cleveland fans go see the Cavs. The Cavs have LeBron, the Jackets have Rick Nash. I know LeBron is a much bigger star then Nash will ever be, but consider the stages they are in right now in their careers, Nash could have been an MVP canditate last year and LeBron could be this year.
But anyways, like I said in another thread, Columbus I think is a hockey city, or at least they will be considered one after a few years in the league.

[Tigers#1]

I don't get how clubs in the south have as many teams as in the north. Why would you follow a sport that you can't play? How many colleges, or high schools, or junior leagues have ice hockey in the south?

And ESPN is to blame, because if they don't take away most of their money, there would almost deffinatly be no strike!

[robmik]

[QUOTE=Tigers#1].... Why would you follow a sport that you can't play?..QUOTE]

WELL....even though most of us old guys will never be able to play women's beach volleyball...for several obscure reasons, some of us don't mind seeing it, or even following it... :banana: :banana: :banana:

I'll never be a "CSI" either, but by God, I could follow Marg Helgenberger pretty well anywhere. :love2: :love2: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[imgreat95]

Havent you ever seen the crowd at a sporting event. The majority of them also could not play the sport if they so desired... yet that does not stop them from following it.

[Tigers#1]

Most of the crowd is overweight old guys, who [/I]used[I] to play that sport. And there's a reason why it's popular in Canada and Northern US, and not in Central America where baseball is popular.

[Timberwolf]

BP: Just because Denver, Detroit, St. Paul (Minnesota), Dallas, St. Louis, and the cities in Canada draw well does not mean the entire league is drawing well. Too many teams has had horrible fan support in the last two years. Look at the Devils. They have been one of the best NHL franchises in a decade and they won three cups yet they don't draw well and they don't sellout their playoff games. Heck did you know in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals couple of years ago, the Devils did not even sellout that game at the Continental Arena against the Mighty Ducks. What does that tell you?

Oh and I expect the Wild sellout streak ,which began in their very first home game against the Flyers in 2000, to end as soon as the season resumes. By then, the Wild will have the same problems the North Stars had in their final days in Bloomington, Minnesota.