Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

to the bolded: you're missing the big picture. it's not about 41 home games of revenue, it's about the NHL not wanting to foot the bill to send 1/5 of it's league's players across the world to play in a tournament that IN NO WAY benefits the NHL.

thats as simple as i can put it and i'm not sure what else there is to understand about it.

i'm in agreement with all of you that it sucks. i loved watching the best guys rep their country, but this is without a doubt the correct business move by the NHL. there's really no argument otherwise.

you couldn't be more wrong

gradual growth is a myth in the NHL. the NHL has put it's "best players on the highest stage of athletics" since 1998 and it hasn't helped grow the sport AT ALL. There is no money or value being taken away from the league. The league is keeping it's money and it's players which is it's right to do.

i'm telling you man, it sucks that we'll have to watch amateurs again (kind of) but it's the right move as far as the league is concerned.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

can you tell me, from a true business stand point, why anyone would do this? seriously.

why would a league send it's best players overseas, shut down it's own league for 3 weeks, pay for it out of their own pocket, and get no tangible benefit from doing so?

i believe the IOC refused to foot any of the bill in 2018 so the NHL said nope.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Per the Financial Times

The ice hockey league wanted a proportion of the revenues gained by the International Olympic Committee, the games organisers, as compensation for shutting down their season. But the NHL was offered only the same financial conditions as at previous games, when insurance and travel costs were covered.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Its a business move. Thats established. That doesnt stop it from being a shitty business move for hockey fans and players.

As I said, theres no benefit for anyone here except the owners. Not sure why youre trying to spin it as more than that.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

I've thought about this in the last couple of hours...

Aside from Marios last olympics and the USA Canada gold medal game in '10 I haven't given three shits about international hockey.

So, I'd trade Sid, Geno, Phil, et al playing the olympics for playing the SCF final every year.

I totally get why the NHL is doing this. It's still shitty and their excuses are thinner than gas station toilet paper. But, I still get it.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Also a guy like Stamkos who didn't play in 2010 and then was hurt in 2014, and now this. And the young guys too. Really blows.

I'm really intrigued to see where we're at with this when the season starts back up. I'm curious what kind of repercussions there will be for going anyway and I wonder how many players will go regardless if the NHL hasn't retracted by then. Like I truly believe that Ovechkin will go. I don't think there's any stopping him. I'm fascinated to see the resolution of something like that.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

So yes, greed. Not surprising.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

It's still a business, bro.

These owners aren't philanthropists trying to bring warm and fuzzies to the masses.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Yeah no kidding.
But if they were offered the same deal they had before and refused, im gonna spare my sympathy for their business decisions.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Yes and they've very much proven that with this. Which is fine. They are welcome to look like greedy business men if they want. It's certainly not the first time. I mean hell they make sure to lose 1+ season every decade just to get their point across. So I guess this really shouldn't be all too surprising.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

I'm not trying to spin anything. It's a smart business move.

Yea, sucks a bit for the fans and about 20% of the players, but selfish wishes aside, it's the right move on all fronts for the NHL.


The approx cost to send NHL players to the Olympics is $32 million

Previously, the IOC footed $18 million of that and the IIHF covered the other $14 million.

For the 2018 games, the IOC insisted the IIHF foot the entire $32 million. The IIHF declined so the NHL pulled out.

Makes perfect sense. The NHL has no reason to foot a $32 million bill where it gets no benefit in return. The NHL can't use the Olympic logo anywhere, can't show Olympic highlights on NHL broadcasts, cant sell board advertisements for the Olympics, and gets no new fans or tangible exposure from the games.

That's the bottom line, that's business.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

:thumbsup

And its impossible to sit there and say this is 100% the right decision right now, because you dont know how this is going to affect CBA negotiations, unless you dont consider possibly losing half a season or more as a negative.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

So, thinking out loud here:

I think the ball was dropped by both parties, somehow. Without knowing the background on WHY this wasn't collectively bargained in 2012, it's impossible to know who exactly that was.

I don't think this is over. I get the NHL's position, but I do think they need to step down their demands. There's some blame on the Olympic committee too. The NHL asked to advertise with the rings included in the NHL shield, and the IOC said no. That seems like an easy fix. Let the NHL collect ad revenue.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

How do you know this? NHL and Olympics both have deals with NBC. Youd think something could be worked out.

If you read it somewhere Id like to read up on it.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Were they?

I get both sides of this. I really do.

It's cool for the fans and players.

But, at the same time, the owners take on a lot of risk. Would you guys feel the same way if Sid got another concussion and was out for 11 mos or Ovi blew out his knee playing in the Olympics?

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Youd have to think this is something that they couldnt agree on in 2012 and they agreed to have good faith negotiations when it came around again.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

One thing that's silly - there absolutely is tangible growth in the sport by sending it over there. Obviously this was a much bigger scale, but look what the Dream Team did for the NBA.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Some people would be mad but I personally wouldnt be bothered by it. Love watching guys play for their country.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

I would assume - but that's not what's happening here. The NHL is playing hardball.

If you want to take the stance that the NHL is just "effectively collective bargaining", then fine, but now is not the time for that.

They're negotiating in public.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

That's why I have such a problem with this. It's dirty business tactics, and it stinks. And it, once again, makes the league and owners look really bad.

For a sport that wants to grow so badly, they sure do love to publicly fuck themselves.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

This argument goes away with the World Cup

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Yeah. I mean, the right thing (in my opinion) to do would be to build the schedule, and then when it's released, issue a statement saying something like - "We continue to negotiate with the IOC, IIHF and NHLPA on the players participation in the 2018 Olympics. At this time we have no deal, and are moving forward with the NHL season accordingly."

Done. But wait until it actually needs to be released.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

:lol

You're right it does.

Now I've talked myself in circles. Shit.

Time to take a lap.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

no, they were not offered the same deal. not even close, in fact.

absolutely. the IOC is being far more greedy than the NHL here. They want the NHL's best players to play in their tournament basically for free.

no way i', signing off on that if i'm the NHL, and they didn't.

http://www.pressreader.com/usa/chica...82196535782404

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/hate-th...120841649.html


the bolded isn't true AT ALL

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

who said that, the owners?

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

no, the numbers

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

I do think that it's worth mentioning that the bottom line is t always the most important thing "in business".

Many companies could have a higher bottom line in the short term but chose a different path for longer term success

And, also with mentionuthat these teams also have a small group of mega rich owners, which also means that many "business" rules don't apply. It's and oligarchy.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

numbers the owners cited or independent people? can you at least give us a link?

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

lol no it has nothing to do with anything the owners have or haven't said.

TV ratings have been the same forever. none of the SCF ratings have improved during Olympic years. in fact, they have dropped from the previous years with the exception of 2006, when the previous year got a 0.0 rating :lol (lockout, no SCF played)

2014 was an Olympic year that featured the 2 largest media markets, LA and NYC, yet the ratings were significantly smaller than 2013's CHI/BOS finals.

2010 was an Olympic year that had CHI & PHI in the final. 2 pretty big markets, yet the ratings were virtually identical the 2009 numbers featuring PIT & DET.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanle...vision_ratings

attendance has either held steady or slightly dipped during AND after every Olympic year.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ce-in-the-nhl/

and considering the Hartford Whalers are still one of the most popular sweaters purchased by fans, i'd say merch sales are about the same as well :lol

sure, some USA and Canada sweaters get sold during Olympic years, but that doesn't help the NHL whatsoever. that money goes directly to the IOC.

Re: The NHL Thread (where home field advantage matters!)
 

Russian VP says Ovie will not be welcomed to join the Olympic team unless the NHL consents or he retires from the NHL

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks...ring-from-nhl/

This just keeps getting better