Coolio Mendez

In order for Winnipeg to break even at the minimum payroll, they would have to price tickets at twice the NHL average, and that price tag is not going to fly in Winnipeg. The average family income in Winnipeg is 23% lower than Edmonton (which ranks 6th out of the 6 Canadian cities currently in the NHL). Unless the Canadian dollar can rise more against the US dollar and sustain its worth.. an owner cannot survive in Winnipeg! End of story! Its not just about tickets sold (its such a small percentage of a teams revenue nowadays). There are many factors that go into financial success in a PRO SPORTS TEAM! Where does Winnipeg get its corporate support? How many seat arena does it have? Corporate boxes? Can they give the team a lucrative Arena lease? (and I am talking about the city giving the owner in excess of 30mil a season outside of all other revenues) What kind of TV contract do they get and how much does it pay? Is the city of Winnipeg going to give the team huge tax benefits to insre success? ( I am have told that in Canada, not tax breaks would be given) A study was done from a group in Winnipeg to see what or how it could be done to get a NHL team back. The average ticket price of a game would have to average $93 (considerably higher than almost every team, and in a small market its not sustainable over time)! AND, that was just to make the team survive with the team only spending the very minimum of Cap Space based on 2 years ago Cap Numbers. I would hate to see what the average TIX price would have to be with the Cap increasing as much as it has in the 2 years since the study. Its just not going to happen! Dont get me wrong... I know the people of Winnipeg would support it, but its not just about that anymore! Its a shame, but at this time its not feasible for an owner to put a team in Winnipeg and have any financial success! Without the finances, there is no team.

Karma? When's John Ziegler getting that "Karma"?

LOL your joking right? I would question Ducks management if they traded Getzlaf away for Zetterberg/Hossa.

Which one would I prefer on my team? Crosby. He's ranked 2nd by Central Scouting (behind Iginla) and Ovechkin is ranked 5th. People say Ovechkin is more entertaining..well, so was Eddie Shack. So far throughout their careers, Ovechkin's 'entertainment' hasn't resulted in more points on the board than Crosby. It hasn't resulted in a Stanley Cup final appearance. Ovechkin leads the league in giveaways (2 years straight, that is never a good sign) Ovechkin leads the league in shots, and his own GM said on Saturday that Ovechkin's inability to see other players on the ice has cost the Capitals at least 3 games this year In the end it all comes down to personal preferences, and 29 of the 30 NHL GMs prefer Crosby to Ovechkin (and that 29 includes George McPhee). Crosby merchandise outsells Ovechkin merchandise. In games between the two, Crosby is outscoring Ovechkin 23 points to 15 Crosby's career ppg is 1.36, Ovechkin's is 1.27 Crosby even had more votes for the all-star game from DC area IP addresses than Ovechkin. So, I have failed to find a reason to take Ovechkin and don't give me the nonsense that he hits more - several of Ovechkin's hits result in giveaways. Hitting is one thing, knowing when to hit is another. Recently Ovechkin passed Yzerman on the career hit list (Yzerman had 486 career hits) ...........does that mean I should take Ovechkin over Yzerman............again, not going to happen. Ovechkin is a highly skilled skater. He has a very good shot and is an excellent skater. He is still a lousy skater in traffic, and he is considered by NHL defencemen as easy to strip the puck from (see giveaways). He is far from a complete player as he is considered very selfish, and doesn't have a good read on the ice.

And Ilitch doesn't care about the drop in T.V ratings? T.V deals are big money, a sudden drop in T.V ratings is not good news for any team owner! Why do you build a powerhouse when nobody watches?

And you do see Lebda making an effort to fight back? Right? Flip was being tossed around like a rag doll a couple weeks ago against O'Donnell, isn't in your instinct to at least defend yourself?....nope not for Flip he just stood there.

Wrong, I do see Lebda in the middle of a scrum from time to time mouthing off, when was the last time Flip has pushed anybody?

How is that possible if Filppula's the softest player in the NHL?

people - the CAP number is $6MM, It's highly unlikely he's getting $6MM a year for the next 12 years. If so, that's a really bad deal for Detroit (and Holland and Jimmy D DON'T do bad deals). It would not surprise me to find out that he's paid heavily over the next 3-4 years, and then it drops off. To the person who asked about injuries and retirement? Zetterberg will now not be retiring until he's 40. NHL contracts are guaranteed. So, if he gets injured next November and never plays again - Detroit pays him out of petty cash. (I know LITR players get paid in full, but I'm not sure if they count fully against the cap before age 35 or not - after age 35, LITR no longer gets applied to the cap - hence Alexei Zhamnov making a nice living in Boston the last three years without playing a game - or taking up cap space). Someone else with salary cap knowledge may know - but Zetterberg just guaranteed his life!

Wang isn't going to leave and give up the 2nd most lucrative cable TV deal in the NHL (behind only the Rangers). He still makes money despite the bad attendance. He could make more by putting a good product on the ice. Bettman has only added 4 teams to the NHL, all other teams were added by John Ziegler (San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa, and Miami. Again Bettman had nothing to with the Florida expansions. So what does all this have to do with Bettman?

Nashville- (which had an excellent prospectus and raised initial funds faster than any franchise in NHL history) What does Bettman have to do with Phoenix? The Winnipeg Jets put themselves up for sale in June 1992 (John Ziegler was the NHL's president at the time). Through 3 years, there were no offers from any prospective buyers to keep them in Winnipeg. There was an offer from a Toronto group, but they wanted to move the team to Atlanta. There was an offer from a Calgary group, who wanted to move the team to Minneapolis (who had just lost the North Stars). In 1995, the Shenkarow group opened up the bidding for the franchise to all comers. A group from Phoenix led by Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke eventually bought the team (at a lower price than asked) and moved the team to Phoenix. So what does Bettman have to do Phoenix? Atlanta has failed once but 26 owners liked the money they would be getting, so team is staying. Bottom line is all these teams are making money. So please continue....

I'm not convinced that Crosby, or Ovechkin have raised the game to new levels as the face of the NHL. The NHL has experienced 39 years of growth in the last 40 (the lockout year was the exception). You read and hear non-hockey people talking all the time about what the league lost by locking out the players for a year but - hockey revenues were up for the 40th straight year - television ratings were their highest since 1993 - television viewership was the highest ever and increased for the 17th year in the last 20 - arena attendance was at it's highest level ever and increased for the 31st time in the last 40 years. The most watched game in the US last year (aside from the Winter Classic - which only had above average ratings in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Las Vegas) was between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes. No Crosby, no Ovechkin....no Iginla...no Luongo....no Toronto.....Sunrise, Florida vs Raleigh, North Carolina. I think each team should be responsible for marketing itself in it's own region, and similar to what was done with the NHL Guide and Record Book in the early 2000s (different NHL regions had a player from their team on the cover instead of the Stanley Cup champion) the league should market itself accordingly. Ryan Getzlaf and Anze Kopitar will sell more than Crosby and Ovechkin in LA. Crosby and Ovechkin are probably the last spokespeople you want in Philadelphia. In a recent poll here in Toronto, 8 hockey players made the top 10 most popular athletes....Crosby was #1............Ovechkin wasn't in the top 10. All in all, I think it is impossible for one person to be the face of the NHL. If I had to pick one................I'd pick the comedian.,....Denis Leary.

I've agreed with all your post.

You can thank the team owner - Mike Ilitch, he was one of the two governors (Alan Cohen of Florida was the other) who wanted this stupid rule.

Florida? California? Arizona? Can you explain to me when Bettman brought those teams in? Bettman has only added 4 teams to the NHL, all other teams were added by John Ziegler (San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa, and Miami) - Atlanta (failed once but 26 owners liked the money they would be getting) - Columbus (which has been financially profitable) - St. Paul (which has been financially profitable) - Nashville (which had an excellent prospectus and raised initial funds faster than any franchise in NHL history) Read what I had typed up in the previous page.

Those are facts and facts don't lie, I'm not making up those stat People get on him because he was the commissioner during the lockouts? Well guess what, if you were the commissioner, there still would have been a lockout......or else you would be out of a job. The league is a business and needs to be run like a business, and not all customers are going to get what they want.

Phoenix? What does Bettman have to do with Phoenix? The Winnipeg Jets put themselves up for sale in June 1992 (John Ziegler was the NHL's president at the time). The team was selling out the arena, however revenues weren't keeping pace with the increase in salaries because people wouldn't pay increased ticket prices and they were unable to obtain more corporate sponsorship. The Shenkarow group was looking to keep the team in Winnipeg. Through 3 years, there were no offers from any prospective buyers to keep them in Winnipeg. There was an offer from a Toronto group, but they wanted to move the team to Atlanta. There was an offer from a Calgary group, who wanted to move the team to Minneapolis (who had just lost the North Stars). In 1995, the Shenkarow group opened up the bidding for the franchise to all comers. A group from Phoenix led by Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke eventually bought the team (at a lower price than asked) and moved the team to Phoenix. At the time, the other 25 owners had to agree to the sale, and 22 agreed (Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia objected as Phoenix was short-listed for the 1997 expansion and they wanted their cut of the expansion fees). So again what does Bettman have to do with Phoenix?

Sorry dude but all these teams are making money even the Islanders, and which one of Bettmans Southern Hockey project have failed? I to do not like the All Star game, and wouldn't mind if the NHL would do away with it.

What's wrong with what Bettman's doing? The owners and players are extremely happy with what Bettman has done for them (increased revenues, increased profits, increased exposure). The NHL has outpaced both the NBA and MLB in revenue growth and television audience in the past 15 years. Between 1986 and 1993, Gary Bettman increased NBA revenues by 211% (revenue growth has slowed since he left)e, their TV audience by 361% (it's fallen since he left), and was named Street and Smith's Sports Businessman of the year 3x. Since 1993, Gary Bettman has increased NHL revenues by 430%, he's increased player salaries by 246%, television revenue has doubled since Ziegler left office, and the television audience has increased 3.6% in the US, and 13.5% in Canada. He was also named Street and Smith's Sports businessman of the year twice more (including the year after the lockout). He's done what the owners have asked him to do. And as long as he does what THEY want, his job security is pretty good.

Sure criticize the guy, but people on this board blow things out of proportion calling for his head. I'm not the biggest Bettman fan but he sure as hell has done more good for the game then most people have come to realize.

I understand that but people tend to over exaggerate his misques. The title of the thread said " Bettman suspends Lidstrom, Datsyuk 1 -game each" When clearly Bettmans does not hand out the suspensions. Most people who jumped on the "Dump Bettman" bandwagon have no idea what Bettman actually does, Guess I should have read all 20 pages to understand what you guys are talking about.

Don't feel like reading all 20 pages, but why when something "bad" happens to a specific team or player do we all blame Bettman? Bettman (like Selig and Stern) is pretty much the league's spokesperson. He is the talking head for 30 other men who would rather not get booed out of their own arenas. He doesn't set the rules, nor does he get to vote on them (unless there's a tie). To many uneducated hockey fans.

The poster is saying what Zetterberg said...how is he an idiot?

Sergei Federov- Had Sergei played anywhere but with the Wings he might have had a string of 5 or 6 150 point seasons early in his career. Also I think most dont realize he is one of the highest playoff scorers of all time. Throw in that he was as impressive on the defensive end of the ice (Bowman or Jimmy D., cant remember which said they were sure if Sergei had played defense full time he would be the best defensive player in the game). Give me Federov in a heartbeat.

Do away with the all-star game! It has the lowest television ratings for a nationally televised game in Canada, and in the US, where the audience is decent, the game tends to be watched in areas which don't usually watch hockey...........in other words, the average NHL viewer in North America, does not watch the All-Star game. 2 years ago, more people in Canada watched the Skills Competition/Young Stars game than the All-Star game itself. This has been a problem for 30 years. Guy Lafleur 'supposedly' injured himself late in a game prior to the 1977 classic, and Clarence Campbell threatened to suspend him if he didn't play. However as salaries have increased (Lafleur was making a measly $175K at the time) everybody wants to protect their investment in their runs toward Stanley Cup glory. Are Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Crosby all really that injured? Why did Phaneuf turn down Lidstrom's spot? Why did Rafalski turn down Lidstrom's spot? Why did Chris Pronger turn down Lidstrom's spot? The players don't seem to be interested (aside from Ovechkin who seems really gung-ho about it) in the game any more. That said, I don't think a player should be penalized for choosing not to go.