It's the same old song and dance. Once again the NHL and the NHLPA are on the verge of locking out the start of a season because the two sides can't seem to find a middle ground for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. Once again fans sit by, anxiously waiting for any good news to reassure them that hockey is coming this fall. Once again...it doesn't look promising.
With only days until the previous CBA expires and the players are locked out, neither side seems confident in a season happening. Which isn't good news. Not just for the fans but the league and it's players as well. Simply put, they can't afford a lockout. They just CAN'T.
I was hoping I wouldn't have to write this piece but I am at a point where I just don't have faith in either side to come to an agreement beforehand. After a little inspiration from this video I felt I needed to outline a few reasons why the NHL can't afford to lock it's players out again.
The Fans Won't Forgive You
After the first lockout fans came back in record numbers. The game blossomed in markets that were once thought extinct, and things were looking up. You break their hearts again and it won't be the same. Who wants to watch a sport that threatens a lockout every handful of years because the owners and players can't decide on revenue sharing? It's like your favourite show that gets cancelled. When it comes back everyone realizes how much they missed it. It gets cancelled again and everyone loses faith in it ever coming back.
Remember during last years NBA lockout when fans realized how awesome hockey was? They flocked over to a new sport because theirs was also stuck in a labour dispute. Those fans won't stick around through a lockout. They will go back to the NBA. Sports fans will change their viewing habits based on what is on at the time. When you aren't playing, the sports fans will follow the ones that are. Don't give them a reason to.
Pick the Franchises You Want to Lose
Financial troubles in Phoenix, Arena woes on Long Island. How do you tell these struggling franchises everything will be okay, when you are taking away their only means of making money? After years of struggling to find an owner it looks like someone might finally be stepping up to purchase the Coyotes. But how do you convince somone to buy a floundering franchise in a time when that franchise might not even play?
What about the folks over in New York? The Islanders are looking for a new arena for when their lease runs out in 2015. How do you convince politicians and the public to keep you around when you aren't even playing? Sad news for a once acclaimed franchise. These aren't things being considered at the bargaining table.
Forget Growing in Certain Markets
LA Kings, Stanley Cup Champions. Pretty good marketing for a franchise that has been buried under the spotlight of the always conteding LA Angels and LA Lakers They also have to compete with the new kid (well not new but relevant again) the Clippers. But at this point and time you are the champions. People love a winner and you have one. Not if they don't play next year. What meaning will raising a banner have when it happened 2 years ago. By that point you could have another World Series winner or NBA Champion to contend with. Right now you have the upper hand to solidify the Kings in the Hollywood market. You won't in a year.
You WILL Lose Star Power
You often hear (mostly from Canadians) that Europeans and Russians don't care about the Stanley Cup. Lots do but there are a few that aren't so fond of playing in North America. Well locking out the players is going to give lots of them the opportunity to explore other options. Arguable the 3 best players in the game right now, Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin, have said they will go play in Russia's KHL league if there is no NHL season. For Ovechkin and Malkin that is home. What if things go well for them over there? Malkin already has a Cup. Not much to entice him to come back. Other players might go to clubs around the continent and find new homes better than the ones they had. Why would anyone want to play for a league where you are asked twice in 8 years to take a pay cut?
Who Else do You Want to Hurt
It won't just be the players or owners losing money. What about the bars that rely on heavy hockey traffic to drive sales? Or the cabs that drive people home afterwards? Jersey's won't be flying off the shelf if there isn't games going on. There is a ripple effect that will be heard throughout cities. And furthermore where will your fans take their money? Lots of other sports jerseys out there. Lots of other tickets in town. Or how about the employees of your arenas, servers at the bar, cab drivers, retail employees. It's going to affect their bottom line. You aren't the only ones that make money off an NHL season.
I want to say that if the NHL locks out I won't come back, but it is so engrained in me that I know I will. But how many others will? Is it be worth fighting over dollars when there might not be any to come back to? Neither side is looking big picture right now and that is their downfall. Quit playing in the offensive and defensive zones. Line up in the neutral zone and drop the puck.
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