Kukla's Korner Hockey
Morning Line
by Paul on 12/02/12 at 09:17 AM ET
Comments (8)
I think the NHL, both the owners and the players, are going to be rudely awakened by the lack of interest in hockey once this comes back.
Hockey tickets are expensive. There are diehard hockey fans that certainly will go, but I think as a result of this we may see some folding of teams. We saw that before when Atlanta moved to Winnipeg, we saw it when Phoenix had some difficulties. I think you're going to see a contraction of the league as a result of this labor dispute. I don't think people are going to support this sport as much as before and I think fans are resenting the fact that they are not being considered at the table. The owners are concerned about their pocketbook, the players are concerned about their paycheck, but the fans are the ones that really put the money on the table for both sides, and I think the result is going to be a lack of support, and in cities that are teetering this may end up with a number of teams failing. … I think the fans are going to find other things to do with their time and money.'
-Jay Krupin who serves as the national labor and employment practice team leader for industry sectors at BakerHostetler in Washington. More from Ansar Khan of Mlive.
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Comments
I said a couple months ago I would like to see the season lost and some of these loss leading expansion teams completely fold. Would love to see that.
Posted by teldar on 12/02/12 at 10:16 AM ET
I agree totally.
Posted by Vladimir16 from Grand River Valley on 12/02/12 at 11:37 AM ET
I said a couple months ago I would like to see the season lost and some of these loss leading expansion teams completely fold. Would love to see that.
What happens when a team ‘folds’.
Posted by HockeyinHD on 12/02/12 at 11:40 AM ET
I think the original six and early expansion people understand you teldar but the top management of the league and the expansions do not.
They will learn the hard way with at best 40% capacity and then see how broke they go.
It will be as the first days of the Illich ownership where they were giving away a jeep grand cherokee a night . . .
Posted by bobbo on 12/02/12 at 12:10 PM ET
As much as I love hockey, and the NHL is the sport’s biggest stage, I have mixed emotions about this. In the end, though, the best thing is for the NHL to suffer big-time for this foolishness. If It means the league is on life support for years, or even collapses, so be it. This is no way to run a “professional” league.
This is crazy.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 12/02/12 at 01:03 PM ET
I would have vehemently disagreed with this two months ago, on the principle that everybody rushed back to the ticket box last time around. This time, though, it’s starting to feel more bitter, more personal, and in too many cases, full of apathy.
Posted by mmuskrat on 12/02/12 at 03:05 PM ET
Re: Red Winger
In the end, you are absolutely right, I think.
The league must all but fail to get rid of the louts that are in charge.
Posted by bobbo on 12/02/12 at 03:36 PM ET
HockeyinHD
I understand you are an owner shill who seems to feed on the garbage bettman hands down, so if you need explanations…
A team folding would mean going bankrupt and ceasing to exist. However, in this modern day of socialistic monopoly in the NHL, what would actually happen is multiple teams would have to be carried by the league until a point that the rest of the teams carrying the load refuse to support teams that are not able to support themselves and the league turns back into a LEAGUE instead of a single socialistic entity.
Hockey is not the NFL. There is insufficient revenue to support teams which cannot support themselves with gate revenue and licensed item sales.
Posted by teldar on 12/03/12 at 09:41 AM ET
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I said a couple months ago I would like to see the season lost and some of these loss leading expansion teams completely fold. Would love to see that.
Posted by teldar on 12/02/12 at 11:16 AM ET