First Blog
Posted 12:56 AM ET | Comments 2
I have been around the chat boards for a while now, but was looking for more of a place to get my opinions out. I have been a hockey fan since the age of 3, which was mostly brought upon by my parents. I grew up in the Niagara Falls area, Lewiston to be exact, and have been a very loyal Toronto Maple Leafs fan since about 11.
The last 4 years I have probably become more involved as a fan of the sport than I ever have in my life. I have seen the changes in the game from the first post lockout season to the present, which I guess is where I will start writing today.
Given that it is now July 13'th, I think it is safe to say that the NHL's silly season is over, Entry Draft to official UFA season. If the last 3 years have shown me anything, it is that for some reason in the summer, all sensibility goes out the window. It amazes me that I was forced to watch a full season of nothing 2 years ago to implement a measure of cost certainty for ownership groups, which had created the need for it to begin with. Yet the ownership groups which sacrificed all of its customers for a season to get this "cost certainty", have now allowed themselves to be put right back in the very same place (worse if you ask me) than before the lost season.
One theory I have for this is the lack of credible management in the NHL. Most NHL GM's are ex players, with a few exceptions. These guys spent the majority of their lives as athletes. Granted they have some professionals working with them, they are athletes. Taking stock of other professional sports leagues, most managers have some sort of business training, and/or legal training. Take for example Dale Tallon's most recent blunder with his RFA qualifying offers. A lawyer would not make this mistake, knowing full well the financial ramifications in doing so. But an ex-athlete it appears is not quite as careful. The Same thing goes for all of the managers that have created a financial nightmare for their respective clubs.
Another theory I have for this phenomenon of the money being spent is the complete and total lack of foresight, which is in part created by this buzz of needing to make a big splash to appease your fan base. Three seasons ago, every media outlet that followed professional hockey chastized the Buffalo Sabres for not resigning Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, then matching the offer sheet presented to Tomas Vanek by the Oilers. Looking back today, would anybody make the claims against the Sabres that they are now. Do the Flyers and Rangers look like the geniuses that "won" the free agent frenzy days. Judging by the statistics, Tomas Vanek is the only of the three living up to his contract. the Flyers and Rangers now look like fools saddled with bloated long term contracts that these players will never live up to. Yet every year, some team looking to make a tidal wave of a move does something that will not only cripple his team in future years, but also has a terrible effect on the long term security of the league. Everytime one of these contracts is offered out, it only guarantees that next year another will be.
10 years ago, top players recieved top dollars, everybody else was kind of in the same boat. Now it appears the sky is the limit for the amount of money that could be had for these athletes. Do you think Marian Hossa was really concerned about long term security when he signed his one year deal in Detroit for all the right reasons. Absolutely not. Because he knew, like his agent, that recession be damned someone looking to hook the big one was going to offer the security that he sacrificed the year before. And would'nt you know, he did'nt make it a day into free agency.
Kind of makes you wonder if the lockout fixed anything at all..
The last 4 years I have probably become more involved as a fan of the sport than I ever have in my life. I have seen the changes in the game from the first post lockout season to the present, which I guess is where I will start writing today.
Given that it is now July 13'th, I think it is safe to say that the NHL's silly season is over, Entry Draft to official UFA season. If the last 3 years have shown me anything, it is that for some reason in the summer, all sensibility goes out the window. It amazes me that I was forced to watch a full season of nothing 2 years ago to implement a measure of cost certainty for ownership groups, which had created the need for it to begin with. Yet the ownership groups which sacrificed all of its customers for a season to get this "cost certainty", have now allowed themselves to be put right back in the very same place (worse if you ask me) than before the lost season.
One theory I have for this is the lack of credible management in the NHL. Most NHL GM's are ex players, with a few exceptions. These guys spent the majority of their lives as athletes. Granted they have some professionals working with them, they are athletes. Taking stock of other professional sports leagues, most managers have some sort of business training, and/or legal training. Take for example Dale Tallon's most recent blunder with his RFA qualifying offers. A lawyer would not make this mistake, knowing full well the financial ramifications in doing so. But an ex-athlete it appears is not quite as careful. The Same thing goes for all of the managers that have created a financial nightmare for their respective clubs.
Another theory I have for this phenomenon of the money being spent is the complete and total lack of foresight, which is in part created by this buzz of needing to make a big splash to appease your fan base. Three seasons ago, every media outlet that followed professional hockey chastized the Buffalo Sabres for not resigning Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, then matching the offer sheet presented to Tomas Vanek by the Oilers. Looking back today, would anybody make the claims against the Sabres that they are now. Do the Flyers and Rangers look like the geniuses that "won" the free agent frenzy days. Judging by the statistics, Tomas Vanek is the only of the three living up to his contract. the Flyers and Rangers now look like fools saddled with bloated long term contracts that these players will never live up to. Yet every year, some team looking to make a tidal wave of a move does something that will not only cripple his team in future years, but also has a terrible effect on the long term security of the league. Everytime one of these contracts is offered out, it only guarantees that next year another will be.
10 years ago, top players recieved top dollars, everybody else was kind of in the same boat. Now it appears the sky is the limit for the amount of money that could be had for these athletes. Do you think Marian Hossa was really concerned about long term security when he signed his one year deal in Detroit for all the right reasons. Absolutely not. Because he knew, like his agent, that recession be damned someone looking to hook the big one was going to offer the security that he sacrificed the year before. And would'nt you know, he did'nt make it a day into free agency.
Kind of makes you wonder if the lockout fixed anything at all..
jackass