GAME ON!!!!
THE NHL IS BACK! Well, at least the league is back. The product known as the NHL stands to be radically changed. From rules changes intended to increase scoring chances to the almost certain shuffling of perhaps close to 50 percent of the players to different teams, there is going to be a very different feel to the games. As a lifelong hockey fan, I'm very excited to get back into the routine of following my team and the league's stars as they grind it out on the ice again.
The whole lockout was such a mess. Hindsight being 20/20 and everything, there is NO reason that the league had to lose an entire season to come up with the deal that they are going to present. Essentially, the players' union was blind by thinking they were going to be able to crack the owners' group into giving the players what they wanted. It was very clear from the start that the owners were in it for the long run, willing to not only can one season, but even part of the second if necessary. Way back in February, the players' union basically conceded the one major point (salary cap) they were holding out for, and should have signed a deal then. As it is, the deal they are getting now is about 6 million a TEAM less than what the owners were offering in February. Doing the math: 6 million X 30 teams = 180 million dollars per year. That's not an insignificant amount of money. The other MAJOR MAJOR point to come out of this deal (and it's one as a paying fan I'm really happy with) is now the league will be able to take a player to arbitration for underperforming EXACTLY like the players can go to arbitration if they feel they are underpaid after a big season. This should assure that the players that do sign larger contracts don't get complacent and play half-assed for a season or two because they are secure. We should truly see everyone giving their best on a nightly basis, which can only improve play in the league.
Where we go from here is going to be paramount in establishing and maintaining a thriving sport. I believe the NHL has a great opportunity to not only recover its fan base, but to finally, perhaps, gain the foothold and recognition it needs to launch it back into a serious "major" sport in North America. One of the biggest things that absolutely NEEDS to be done, is to restructure all of the prices of EVERYTHING related to the hockey experience, so that not just corporate suit types, but FAMILIES....ordinary working class families can afford to take in a game. Before this whole mess started, the breakdown for ONE game sort of looked like this for a family of four in the (relatively) cheap seats. I won't even begin to break down the lower 1/2 seats....: Four tickets X 45 dollars = $180. Parking = $10. Food and drink = $50 (conservatively). Program = $10. Souveniers (again conservatively) = $30. So assuming you take your family for a night at the hockey rink and you get a little bit to eat and drink, and maybe get a t-shirt or a hockey stick to hang on the wall for the kids, you are looking at a $280 night. FOR ONE GAME. That's cheap seats, folks, and not counting transportation (i.e. gas) costs. Sit in the lower bowl, and it's going to jump to a whopping $420. I don't know about you, but I simply don't have that kind of money. I can get a SEASON ticket to my ECHL hometeam the Reading Royals for $350. The NHL was ruining itself by adopting the attitude that as long as the seats were full, it didn't matter if it was 90 percent corporate types that didn't care about the game. That's a VERY shortsided view, and neglects to take into consideration that the best way to get someone hooked on WATCHING hockey on TV (think sponsorship and broadcasting deals) is to get them to see a game in person and get hooked. There is nothing like live hockey, but once you've been there, watching a game on television is so much better b/c you understand how exciting it is. By shutting out the common folk from affordability of the live product, the NHL was effectively shutting out a viewing presence on TV. Perhaps they will learn. As they slash heavily the player salaries, and therefore expenses, they MUST MUST MUST pass these savings on, at almost a one to one ratio, in the form of ticket price reductions, souvenier reductions, and even, yes, food price reductions. The upside in revenue will come when the NHL expands its fan base, secures more lucrative advertising and broadcasting deals, and sells more licensed merchandise. The game plan now has to be... HAS to be selling more for less. That's the only way this will all work out, and may even prove to be a win-win situation in a year or so. I'm holding my breath and waiting....
s42
