Union solidarity

[Bob]

Chris Chelios commented that the league should contract by 6 or 7 teams. That would mean over 150 players would lose their jobs.

A few more idiotic comments like this one and there will be players breaking ranks with the union to protect their jobs.

Guys like Sakic and Chelios can afford to shoot their mouths off because they have benefited from last CBA and padded their bank accounts. Those players that have only been around for a year or two haven't a chance to build up a war chest and rely on their pay cheques.

We should also remember that the average salary is a poor guage of what players in the middle of the pack earn. That number is skewed by the high salaried few. The median salary is a much more accurate number.

I think Pierre Macguire hit the nail on the head with his comments on TSN last night while Glenn Healy proved once again that he is an idiot.

[mnscott]

What's new when Glenn Healy proves he's a moron

But I didn't catch the interview, mind eglightening me of what P Mac said?

[Doc Holliday]

Though I do not want to excuse Healy... He's one of the only media person that tries to play devil's advocate and present the NHLPA side... No Healy, no debate...

I think McGuire was in left field when he said that the reason why hockey is less exciting today is because players are bigger and faster. Case in point: We saw some great hockey played on North American rinks during the last world cup. Hockey is less exciting because there are too many players that shouldn't be in this league. But I didn't catch Pierre's comment when him Healy, Mac and Burke were discussing... What did he say ?

[Bob]

Basically Healy said the players were well prepared. Goodenow told them to start saving for the future because a lockout was imminent and his thesis was that all the players had taken that advice and were very well prepared.

Mcguire doubted that a great percentage of the players had followed that advice for a couple of reasons.

If past history was an indication, many players have spent the bulk of their earnings of frivolous items and hadn't saved enough to support them for a significant length of time in the lifestyle to which they had become accustomed.

Secondly, a lot of players have been in the league for only a short period of time. There has been little opportunity for them to build a long term nest egg.

Crunch time could be coming sooner rather than later for many players if Mcguire is right. I wonder how many unhappy players it would take before they begin to question union leadership openly?

[Deleted]

No, I agree with Chelios. Either contract the teams, or move them to cities where they will be supported. Hockey is just not being supported in Florida (both the Lightning and the Panthers), Carolina, Nashville, and Atlanta. Maybe California, but only if the team is doing very poorly.

None of these teams can attract fans on a regular basis.