Abel to Yzerman
Next entry: More Perspective
Previous entry: Wednesday Digging
Do We Need An NHL Owners Relief Fund?
by IwoCPO on 05/30/07 at 10:13 AM ET
Comments (7)
I’m a big proponent of staying in your lane. Talk about what you know, or shut the hell up because you run the risk of proving to many people that you are dumber than they believe you already are.
That’s why I tend to restrict my comments to the Wings. I don’t talk NHLPA stuff because I don’t care and therefore don’t know much about the legalities of the Saskins, Klatts and even Chelios’ of that world. I don’t talk Cap issues because numbers higher than $9.95 (twelve pack of Rolling Rock) confuse me and make me get dizzy and scared.
And typically I’ll stay away from league-wide topics that the Big Headed Bloggers like Mirtle and Benjamin and McErlain tackle because, well, they’re smarter than me and better equipped to open the scope wide enough to handle those discussions.
So I offer the following with hesitation, but with conviction:
Any NHL owner who claims they can’t afford to reach the Cap limit due to finances is a lying liar or needs to sell that team immediately. What prompted that you ask?
Thank you for asking. First: Bubba. Personally, I could care less whether the Predators stay in Nashville. Actually, I do care. Having lived in Tennessee and seen first-hand the apathy of that state toward hockey, I can tell you that placing a team there was stupid beyond belief. I lived on the west side of the state. Nashville’s to the east. And in three years there, I never once saw a Predator jersey. Never heard a single mention on the country-ass sports radio station in Memphis. Never a single headline on the front page of the sports section and overheard zero conversation anywhere...and I listened.
Now the Blackberry guy is going to buy the team. LG says “Bubba’s not moving.” Then we hear Kitchener, Ontario as a potential location? I have no idea what a Kitchener is, or who lives there. But I can tell you this: I like it, because it’s cold and it’s Canadien (an) which means they love them some hockey.
Sell them. Move them. Disband them. I don’t care. Just get them out of Nashville. And while they’re moving, do me this favor: don’t try to tell me it’s because ownership’s losing money, that corporate sponsors won’t shell out the bucks. A lack of corporate sponsorship for a hockey team in a state that’s never heard the word before is something LG should have considered well before placing Bubba there. But, don’t for one second tell me the team is being sold and moving because the owner can’t afford them.
If that’s the case, LG should have looked at that too. Any owner buying a team should be vetted to ensure their financial situation is one akin to Mark Cuban’s. You buying a team? Why? Because you’re passionate about the sport, or your city, hopefully both? Good. Check that box. How much money you got? Double the amount of the franchise price tag? Why am I asking? Because you may not make a profit for a while. Do you care about that or are you in it for the long haul? You are? Good. Check that box. Let me be clearer: When the team loses money, are you less rich than you think and are you going to stress about that? Or are you so frigging rich that losing some cash is acceptable to build a winner and sustain it?
Those are the questions the league needs to ask each and every potential owner.
Like, say, the owners in Buffalo. Saw this on the Emperor’s page this morning.
The cap is expected to rise from $44 million to at least $48 million. Judging from the comments by owner Tom Golisano, there’s a greater chance that the Sabres will spend less in payroll next year than in the season just past.
Man, that just pisses me off. The gist is that Drury and Briere are probably gone because they “can’t afford to keep them.” If Golisano can’t “afford” to bring back their two most marketable players, can’t afford to reach the cap, then get the hell out. Those fans deserve a committed owner. No, those fans deserve an owner who is fan enough to shell out the bucks he has to keep that team competitive.
Oh, yes, I know. I know I’m naive and I know there are financial things that I “just don’t understand.” I’m aware. But, my point is this: in my perfect little world where puppies and children frolic in sunshine and sprinklers and the turtle I found yesterday will stay in our backyard because he’s happy, an owner will buy a team because they LOVE THE FRIGGING SPORT and they want nothing more, have no greater passion, than to bring their home town a winner.
If an owner can afford a damn team in the first place, they’re so rich that they can lose cash in the process and still stay so rich that it’s inconsequential.
None of these thoughts are original. And they’re coming from a guy who has had the luxury of following a team supported by an obscenely rich owner. But I think that gives these views a little more credibility because I have no legitimate, personal stake in a team like Buffalo. But, as an NHL fan; reading that garbage, than an OWNER CAN’T AFFORD (fill in the blanks), despite a base of rabid, starving Sabre fanatics, is just too much to take.
Buying a team? Are you rich? How rich? Do you care if those riches diminish a bit? If you do, there’s the door.
Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
Comments
Yeah, I don’t understand why Buffalo is having financial problems. They have a rabid fan base, excellent TV ratings, deep playoff runs that bring in all kinds of revenue, and all I’ve been hearing all year about NHL merch is that they are on the verge of outselling the Red Wings nationally by topping the $90 million mark. And its not like they are the smallest market in the league when the the city has 1.2 million in it or around it, just on the American side of the border!
The numbers just don’t add up.
I think they are a team who has let a parade of all star players go in the last several years and by some miracle has still remained competitive and retained their fan base. They want to see if they can get away with it again, so they are blaming the financial structure of the CBA instead of admitting that they are cheap.
Posted by John the Red Wings Fan from East Lansing, MI on 05/30/07 at 11:52 AM ET
Beware of Prof. Sports accounting:
“We expected to make 50 mil this year, and only made 40--therefore--WE LOST 10 mil THIS YEAR.!
Posted by (Gramps) HockeyTownTodd from HockeyTown on 05/30/07 at 12:26 PM ET
These owners crying poor remind me of people who try to turn a hobby into an investment. Sure, some people may make money by selling a collection of comics, or baseball cards, or beanie-babies, or may turn a pastime like making jewelry or painting or restoring classic cars into a part-time business--but most people spend money on collections because it gives them enjoyment to have the comics or cards or whatever, and most people spend money on a hobby because they gain enjoyment from it, even if they never sell a painting or don’t gain anything materially from ski trips.
Some owners treat their teams more like a hobby--they realize they won’t make a lot of money on it (or will lose money), but the enjoyment they gain from owning a team and watching the games are worth the money spent, not invested. If they go into it with the sole goal of making money, it’s like someone who tries to collect the baseball cards or comics that are most likely to go up in value, instead of the ones he likes. Those people usually end up getting burned because they are trying to predict what will be in fashion in the future.
If you don’t have the moeny to afford ski trips to Aspen, then get a cheaper hobby. If you can’t afford to lose money on a hockey team, then buy a cheaper toy.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/30/07 at 12:50 PM ET
If the Sabers do not spend to the CAP and lose their best players, the fans take it right up the wazoo. The same thing happened in Edmonton when they let Ryan Smyth go. It’s just BS. So is all the “losing money” s**t....The bean counters can make the numbers say whatever they want. Remember the lockout? That was completely done by the owners. Now they are back where they were before the lockout. Look at the owner in Chicago. He is too cheap to televise the games. The owners just suck. REPEAT: The owners just suck .
Posted by w2j2 on 05/31/07 at 06:56 AM ET
The Sabres have some of the cheapest ticket prices in the league. If the franchise raised them to the league aveage level they might be able to spend up to the cap.
Posted by The Falconer from Atlanta on 05/31/07 at 11:12 AM ET
Just to be clear, at the press conference when they announced Ruff and Regier re-signed, Ruff said they would spend more on payroll this year than they did last year, and last year they spent to the cap of $44 million. So while they may not spend $50 mil, it sounds like the $45 or $46 range is likely.
But honestly, I wouldn’t expect Drury or Briere back. Regier is turning into the Billy Beane of hockey, and he won’t sign players to more than the value he assigns them.
Posted by KevinP on 06/27/07 at 10:13 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
LB: Wings Promenade Through Edmonton
GDT - Game #70: Red Wings at Oilers (9:30)
LB: Do We Have Clearance For A Game Of Critical Importance, Clarence? Roger, Roger
GDT - Game #69: Red Wings at Flames (9:30)
Only Two Weeks Left To Get Your Pimp Hats
About Abel to Yzerman
Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome:
Check the latest NHL odds at the Internet’s most trusted online sportsbook
Canadian players can also bet on NHL games at the Canadian sports betting site
A2Y Stuff
-----------------------------
Wanna Feel Smart?
Does confusion make you sad? When you read words like "enigma" and phrases like "Thanks Gary. Ass", do you wonder why mean people speak in languages you don't understand? Fret no longer friend! The A2Y Glossary will bring you great joy and enlightenment.
-----------------------------
How Others View The A2Y 19
"Like them or hate them, it's not a good idea to start a battle with "the 19" and the Chief. 'Nuff said."
--Astute reader at Dater's All Things Avs
"Hell, I guarantee the content co-opters at Abel to Yzerman were about to link this article under the heading “Bitter Blues Fans” again right up until they just read that last half-sentance. Thanks but no thanks, you Kukla hangers-on."
--St. Louis Game Time
"I realize it’s the slow summer season, but can this guy tone down the tough-guy histrionics? His posts are fatiguing on an otherwise excellent site."
--A2Y Fan, Eternal_Fields
"I constantly marvel at how Bill (IwoCPO) and his disciples at Abel To Yzerman can be so pompous and full of themselves throughout every regular season, but come playoff time they collapse into wavering puddles of stress and nervousness as they anxiously await the impending and unavoidable collapse of the Red Wings in the post-season."
--Mile High Hockey
"I hate them because they are better than us. Of all the frigging teams…"
--In The Cheap Seats
"It's just a shame that the most classless, uneducated, lowbrow fanbase in the league gets this sweep. Red Wing fans don't deserve their team."
--Thhom
"I really don’t care what fans or bloggers think."
--Drew Sharp
"Why is it you Detroit fans are still so classless when you have such a classy hockey team, with such a professional GM and gentlemen players? I understand that the author of this blog is a manner-less cad, but the rest of you should be better."
--A2Y Fan, Jeff Beaumont
"Have you ever *read* A2Y? Its the most opinionated, juvenile stuff i've read."
--Paul Nicholson
"I actually like the Detroit team and have a sh&% load of respect for them, but their fans are the biggest douches next to Canadians."
--KStewy, PensBlog Commenter
"Just when it looks like we have bottomed out, the 19 hit a new low."
-A2Y legend, Hockeytown Todd
"And for the record, I don't hate the Red Wings, I hate their fans."
--Douche Bag at Puck Daddy who isn't Wyshynski
"You’re nothing but a douchebag ****, c3po. Go f**k yourself, and learn something about hockey in the process. Nothing ruins my day more than seeing your byline on the kk page."
--Hector, A2Y fan, statesman, Pittsburgh Chapter of Jonas Brothers Fan Club President
"I can just imagine the kindergarten teacher’s reaction when the tyke blurts out 'Mommy says Gary Bettman is a f*cking f*ckface! He wants to give ‘Rosby the bad touch.' ”
--Bella, of the 19
"A2Y is what other blog sites aspire to be when they fail to grow up: intelligent immaturity for the juvenile genius set”
--Captain Dennis Polonich, of the 19
Get back on the rocker my friend
Posted by bcrt on 05/30/07 at 10:53 AM ET