[Hairbird]

I don't know when your uncle played, but I'd bet the average salary wasn't 1.8M or whatever it is now. No doubt there have been players who have had short careers with little to show for it, but you wouldn't have to play for long as very average player now a days, to live pretty happily for the rest of your life. Things have gotten out of hand. The owners are to blame, but I've still got to take there side anyway. It's better to take a stand now, then never.

[The Darkest Canuck]

well it's about fucking time things changed! this is the first era ever in hockey history where the players have been making enough money to retire happily and not have to worry about what'll happen to them when their careers are over. do you think the league gives a flying fuck about what happens to players after they're done playing in the NHL? the owners will be rich no matter what, even if they go bankrupt they'll just sell their teams and go back to their mansions and count their losses. it's only right that after all these years of players getting the shitty end of the stick that they're dropping the gloves to fight for their own rights. Ted Lindsay would be damned proud of the NHLPA and how far it's come along, and that the players are standing up for themselves.

[sherpahigh]

what the nhl players do for a living is WORK, in fact their work is some of the hardest work in the world.

Wow... hardest work in the world? Never played in the NHL but I find it hard to believe that it's some of the hardest work in the world. What's your definition of hard? I think being a surgeon would be hard, a nuclear physisist, probably pretty hard. Underwater welding, that's probably pretty hard too.

Bottom line is these guys choose to try and make it to the NHL cause it's a childhood dream and they love the game. By doing so a lot of them end up without an education and find it hard to work in the regular world after they're done in the league. Truth is with a salary of $400,000 and something, which is the lowest paid player in the NHL right now, investing on the future should be high in the minds of the players that should be aware that their days in the league are numbered.

[The Darkest Canuck]

yeah, that's right they're finally making good money, why take that away from them? you couldn't do what they do for a living, not only because you don't have the talent, but also you haven't put the effort into it, and you don't have the hunger for it. the fans and owners and league want these guys to go out and beat the shit out of each other and give it their all every night, but they don't want to have to pay for it, and that is being unrealistic, selfish, and outright hypocritical when they themselves (the owners/league) expect to make a great deal of money off of the players' hard work.

Bottom Line: the players are well payed, BUT so too are the suits that have been planning this lockout for the past three (4? 5?) years, and Gary Bettman is a grade AAA douchebag that should go back to the NBA and get sodomized by Shaq.

[tragicallymike]

thats just it....the owners expect to make money off they players. And of course this is a business so its the #1 goal but if they players are taking 70% of the gate then its pretty tough to "make a great deal of money"
.....and doesnt the NHL have a pension plan?

yeah, that's right they're finally making good money, why take that away from them? you couldn't do what they do for a living, not only because you don't have the talent, but also you haven't put the effort into it, and you don't have the hunger for it. the fans and owners and league want these guys to go out and beat the shit out of each other and give it their all every night, but they don't want to have to pay for it, and that is being unrealistic, selfish, and outright hypocritical when they themselves (the owners/league) expect to make a great deal of money off of the players' hard work.

Bottom Line: the players are well payed, BUT so too are the suits that have been planning this lockout for the past three (4? 5?) years, and Gary Bettman is a grade AAA douchebag that should go back to the NBA and get sodomized by Shaq.

[tragicallymike]

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[sherpahigh]

When did I say I could do what they do for a living? Shit, half of them couldn't do what I do for a living, so what?

You're right, I don't want to pay $100 plus for a ticket to watch a HOCKEY GAME but that's just me.

As for the owners making a great deal of money off of the players hard work. I don't buy it. I'm sure some team owners made a lot of money but it's not the norm. Teams are scraping by and losing money every year. You can bet if I had a ton of extra money sitting around and options of how to invest it, buying a hockey team would be right at the bottom of the list, right after investing in Air Canada.

[VioletlightHeron]

I'm on the owner's side of this dispute because,
1. They take much more of the financial risk in funding franchises, players salaries, office staff and help support all the jobs that depend on the sport of hockey(ie hotdog vendors, sports bars, hotels, etc) and are continually maligned as greedy, evil capitalists.

2. The union leadership is out for itself and power, not the interests of the players. They have the ego to think that if they can convince the players they are being shafted( at a $400,000 minimum salary), they can control the levers of power in the game. That is their motivation, not the interests of the players. By stressing that salaries for players should not be tied to revenues, the union leadership grasp on economics flies in the face of reality.

[sherpahigh]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/200...029639.asp

ha... thanks for the link. :lol:

[The Darkest Canuck]

Bettman fucked it all up through expansion, he wants the players to pay for it, it's not going to happen, i don't care who's side anyone is one really, because the players are gonna win this dispute.


another thing with the salries, the amount that everyone talks about is how much they'll make if they play every game in the NHL season that year. not too many players play every single game in a season, and also the salary drops waaaaaaay down when you get sent down to a farm club.

[cferneyh]

my uncle played in the nhl, and aside from the friends, the people he met, and the memories, all he has to show for it is a bum leg. the poor guy has to work a 9-5 still to support his family, and because he played hockey, he never had, and probably never will have a chance to go back to school, and will probably have to work til he's in his 50's or 60's just like the rest of us. that doesn't sound like very good compensation to me for the countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears that he put into it. what the nhl players do for a living is WORK, in fact their work is some of the hardest work in the world. they have to train all year round, risk injury every time they get on the ice, take beatings night in and night out, they're always on the road and away from their loved ones, and if you aren't producing, or you're in a bit of a slump you get called a bum, despite the fact that just to get to the NHL you've had to prove yourself a million times over. aside from that, hockey players are almost always involved in their communities helping out charities and whatnot, making public appearances ect. i'd like to see you or any of the people that criticize the players try walking in their shoes, and i'm not talking about the shoes of a Mario Lemieux, or a Gretzky or a Sakic, or a huge superstar (not that they haven't worked incredibly hard either), i'm talking about your average hockey player who gets sent back and forth between his NHL team and farm club, who's had to go play in Europe, who's had to fight his way out of small town Canada (or USA or w/e) tooth and nail all the way just for a shot at the big time. it's no bed of roses, and even if it is it's sure to have more than its fair share of thorns.

Give me a break. The vast majority of people in the world need to work into their 50s and 60s. Those who don't are rare. We've got mortgages to pay. We've got kids to feed. We've got to prove ourselves over and over in our jobs. If I stopped producing, what do you think would happen? I'd get fired. And guess what? I've got no company pension to fall back on on my old age - I have to save my own money to live off of. I've got no collective bargaining agreement that guarantees me a minimum salary or a minimum raise. If the company has a bad year, I don't get a raise.

Do you seriously expect me to feel sorry for your uncle because he chose to be a marginal NHLer and now he has to work for a living? Boo friggin hoo. Welcome to the real world. Sucks eh?

[cferneyh]

Bettman fucked it all up through expansion, he wants the players to pay for it, it's not going to happen, i don't care who's side anyone is one really, because the players are gonna win this dispute.

Yeah, the players sure were opposed to expansion. Expansion created an additional 225 jobs for players. What do you think those guys would be doing today if it wasn't for expansion? They sure wouldn't be making $400K to be a fourth liner on Atlanta.

another thing with the salries, the amount that everyone talks about is how much they'll make if they play every game in the NHL season that year. not too many players play every single game in a season, and also the salary drops waaaaaaay down when you get sent down to a farm club.

It doesn't matter if they play every game in the season or not. If they are on an NHL roster during the full season they get their full salary. Therefore, if they don't play every game, they actually get paid MORE per game than they do if they play every game.

Don't they teach you math at your school?

[cferneyh]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/200...029639.asp

That is an AWESOME column. Thanks for the link!

[The Darkest Canuck]

maybe you should get a unionized job then...or start a union in your workplace?

[cferneyh]

maybe you should get a unionized job then...or start a union in your workplace?

Yeah, that's the answer! Why didn't I think of that! Unions solve everything! :roll: