NHL could lose Air Canada sponsorship over headshots

[jollymania 162]

flouridated water in montreal?

[dirtydangles 1,328]

lol, i dont really care about the first part. but the part about protecting the integrity of the game - now that can only be done by getting rid of bettman. his hands should be off and stay off of the nhl. he's done nothing but f*** stuff up for the last while. hockey was great when there were still ties, no trapezoids, etc. why can't this game stay the same? soccer has pretty much been the same forever. they added an official behind the net and people were outraged lol. try completely changing the game and saying goalies can only pick the ball up in the 8 yard box instead of the full penalty box? Call me a purist, but i hate the direction we are heading.

[chuklz 15]

THIS...

I agree instead of making statements threatening to pull sponsorship, maybe they should help look into solutions for the problem and if satisfactory

"Fixes" - (relative term I guess) can't be agreed upon...then bail..

If I am a investor/sponsor of something as big as the NHL... I would try and help make it better when issues like this come up. does it not seem like Air Canada gives a s*** about the sport? they have some of the best engineers working for them..... help the NHL out and make it a brand worth investing in.

I'm pretty sure giving them money is enough 'contribution' for a sponsor. If you're so hip to contribute, why don't you donate 10% of your paycheck and 17 volunteer hours a week to the Detroit Red Wings Foundation charity and then you can expect people to do more.

[Barrie 900]

I heard an interesting counter to Air Canada comments today on Toronto's FAN590. Air Canada's head offices are in Montreal, they're all Habs fans, so people in Toronto are wondering if they're only threatening to cut their marketing because this hit was against a Habs player?... I'm not sure what to think. I actually don't have a problem with some of these threats from the outside, because obviously the NHL can't govern themselves.

Also I'm wondering if the Chara non-suspension has to do with the NHL realizing they're at fault here because of the different arena designs? I'm hearing a lot of arena design talk today. I posted pictures in the Chara discussion that arenas, for some reason, have different glass design (Montreal vs. Detroit). I wonder if Chara brought up the arena designs when talking to the NHL about a suspension, and they let him go without punishment so they can make every arena standard with little to no attention from fans and media?

[Electrophile 3,554]

flouridated water in montreal?

You do know why water is fluoridated in the first place, right? I don't think the prevention of tooth decay is involved in this.

[Grim 5]

just like the fans, sponsors can do as they please. no one wants to see injured players splayed out on the ice... especially not the advertisers. how their requests will affect what the league actually does is another matter.

[Barrie 900]

I just heard, again on the FAN590, Bettman's counter to Air Canada's threat is that the NHL teams won't use Air Canada anymore if they pull their marketing $$$.

This idiot just doesn't get it!

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Bettman seems to be having a tough time juggling all his balls.

[toby91_ca 620]

Do you really think anyone thought right after the hit "I'm not flying on Air Canada until they do something about this?" Sponsorship would be a variable down the road, not right now. I can see me not availing myself of someone's products that I disagree with their policies and have done so, but it's been for a sustained grievance. And why this hit? Why not any one of the 20 others that have been "controversial" one way or another?

While I wouldn't make decisions like that, you'd be surprised what others might decide.

This is no different from certain sponsors who decided that they no longer want to be associated with Tiger Woods (well, different reasons)

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

In a fit of rage, Bettman might have to use Southwest, “The Official Airline of the NHL… flying the Coyotes back to Winnipeg". ™

[Electrophile 3,554]

Bettman seems to be having a tough time juggling all his balls.

Bettman has balls?

[Hockeytown_Ryan 119]

I'm pretty sure giving them money is enough 'contribution' for a sponsor. If you're so hip to contribute, why don't you donate 10% of your paycheck and 17 volunteer hours a week to the Detroit Red Wings Foundation charity and then you can expect people to do more.

I am not threatening to pull my funding out...

And how the hell do you know I dont contribute to Red Wings charities?

I dont have my name on arenas... or I did not go public with a statement to " take my puck and go home"

I donate lots of time to USA hockey - that I do not expect to or asked to get paid for. You know my screen name,

dont act like you know me!

I also use tools that I have at my disposal to help the city I live in.. please. Dont assume you know me... I am not asking Air Canada

to sponsor the NHL like Sprint does with Nascar and take over the sport.... Just asking them to add a helpful piece of input before

you decide to do a drastic action like they have threatened to do. If you are going to hold your money over their heads... maybe try and assist

in the resolving of the issue you have. thats all I am saying.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Bettman has balls?

That's twitter-worthy breaking news right there.

[wings1110 184]

get rid of the instigator rule, prob solved (or at least helped extremely)

[jollymania 162]

You do know why water is fluoridated in the first place, right? I don't think the prevention of tooth decay is involved in this.

lol if only that were the case, if it that was the case why is it banned in so many places?

THis makes me not want to fly ac, unfortunately i have a flight booked with them in a month

[GSBrooks13 204]

get rid of the instigator rule, prob solved (or at least helped extremely)

Problem solved.. unless you are talking about the Chara hit.. Because.. well.. it's Chara.. and the first person to come up to him on Montreal was Scott Gomez..

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

I'm completely fine with this. Companies do not HAVE to spend their money on the NHL or any other organization. If they see something they don't like, then they can spend their money on a different organization. It is their right to do so. And I think the reason they made it public is because I can see people saying things like "Air Canada took their money from the NHL...what assholes." But they made their reason why very clear, and can get the customers on their side by explaining it.

[Electrophile 3,554]

lol if only that were the case, if it that was the case why is it banned in so many places?

I don't know and frankly, I don't care. If you're about to go into some kooky conspiracy theory spiel about how fluoridated water causes insanity or something, spare the rest of us the trip.

[Wing Across The Pond 196]

I'm completely fine with this. Companies do not HAVE to spend their money on the NHL or any other organization. If they see something they don't like, then they can spend their money on a different organization. It is their right to do so. And I think the reason they made it public is because I can see people saying things like "Air Canada took their money from the NHL...what assholes." But they made their reason why very clear, and can get the customers on their side by explaining it.

I agree, I think it was a good decision to make it public. Some people are saying its childish but I think its pretty darn brave for a major company to do something like this. It gets us, as fans, talking about it and its reasons - in this case hits to the head. Its delivering a public ultimation to the league that they need to do something before something REALLY serious happens to a player. If there was a private chat you can imagine things would take longer to get sorted out when the public don't know about shady negotiations from the league. This way that process is cut out.

[RedFX 48]

I'm confused as to why everyone is applauding this. Do you really want a corporation having this much control over how the league is run? This is like a mother telling her teenage son "do this or I'm taking away your allowance." This is something the LEAGUE needs to address, not corporations.

Oh and for the record....

How long have headshots been a problem in the league?

And when did Air Canada suddenly become concerned with them?

[esteef 2,679]

The fact that the league is apparently incapable of properly managing itself warrants this type of action from major sponsors. If Bettman and Campbell and the rest of the clowns were on top of things, corporations wouldn't need to do this.

esteef

[Wing Across The Pond 196]

I'm confused as to why everyone is applauding this. Do you really want a corporation having this much control over how the league is run? This is like a mother telling her teenage son "do this or I'm taking away your allowance." This is something the LEAGUE needs to address, not corporations.

Oh and for the record....

How long have headshots been a problem in the league?

And when did Air Canada suddenly become concerned with them?

Fully understand what you're getting at and to a certain extent I agree. Just when the league doesn't seem to be addressing the point its nice to have someone with a substantial "interest" (term used very loosely) in the league to air their concerns. I'm never going to stop watching the Wings, regardless of how pathetically the league is run so their not really going to listen much to fans, unless it makes them money.

If anything its made a talking point.

[vladdy16 2,154]

While I wouldn't make decisions like that, you'd be surprised what others might decide.

This is no different from certain sponsors who decided that they no longer want to be associated with Tiger Woods (well, different reasons)

It is different - they took action first and then announced those actions; they didn't hold his personal life hostage. I would have no problem with them pulling their sponsorship; I DO have a problem with threats, and public ones at that. It seems like a cause de celebre.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I'm confused as to why everyone is applauding this. Do you really want a corporation having this much control over how the league is run? This is like a mother telling her teenage son "do this or I'm taking away your allowance." This is something the LEAGUE needs to address, not corporations.

Oh and for the record....

How long have headshots been a problem in the league?

And when did Air Canada suddenly become concerned with them?

This.

Talk about spot picking.

Maybe Air Canada and Mario can go start a new league.

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

I'm confused as to why everyone is applauding this. Do you really want a corporation having this much control over how the league is run? This is like a mother telling her teenage son "do this or I'm taking away your allowance." This is something the LEAGUE needs to address, not corporations.

Oh and for the record....

How long have headshots been a problem in the league?

And when did Air Canada suddenly become concerned with them?

Mothers do not HAVE to give their teenage kids allowances, especially if the kid does something wrong or gets in any kind of trouble. Say the kid is failing all his classes. Then the mother can tell him that she will not be giving him allowance until he gets his grades up. It's the same for corporate sponsors. Air Canada does not HAVE to continue to support the NHL if the league does something they don't like. Air Canada is allowed to tell the league that they will continue to support the NHL only if they address and fix the issue.