wild/nhl

Pretty good round of nonsense Mr. Souhan and I don't mean any disrespect to you either. I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. It also appears that if the players want this fixed they are going to have to supply the business sense to these dealings and stick to their guns. It is rather interesting that the players want to address revenue sharing as a major priority while the owners are ignoring this issue for the most part. Proper revenue sharing will stabilize the league and level out the playing field salary wise also. That should go a long way towards eliminating the overpaid longterm contract issue which drives up all other contracts too. The one issue that needs to come to the forefront for both sides is the player safety issue as it is simply the right thing to do for the players and their families plus it makes sense business wise also. Can't have idiots running around and pounding PMB's face into the dasher from behind or any other stupid and unsafe play concerning any player. The new reports coming out on concussions and their longterm effects are profound and shocking. The late hits, hits from behind and high hits that target the head or bounce the players head off the glass etc. need to be totally eliminated once and for all. This stupidity almost cost us the best player in the league and has cost a rediculous amount of head injuries to a lot of players. Zero tolerence toward idiotiic and/or dangerously disrespectful play moving forward makes for a better game now and for the future. The NHL needs to remember that the kids are watching too and will attempt to emulate a speed, skill and smarts game if that is what is being presented. The coaches will have to coach that way also. There will always be a place for true toughness in the sport as it is a fast and physical game but the cheap shot artist needs to be addressed accordingly and dismiised from the league if needed to keep the game as safe as possible !

Very good Mr. Souhan! Really liked the DM part.

Jim I agree the players have more of a case here than the owners, but you just try too hard with your writing. Go back to covering a beat and leave the column to the GREAT Pat Reusse!

The NHL General Manager's and player agents are the biggest problem in the game. Yes, the owners do end up signing off on these contracts, but its the other two parties that dream up these schemes that drives salaries through the roof. Even though the owners got their salary cap after the last lockout, the players clearly won. The problem isn't the cap its the salary floor which forces small market teams to spend a minimum of 40-million dollars on payroll, when before the last lockout they would spend roughly 23-26 million. This current lockout will go on for a while. Each time Donald Fehr (baseball) and Gary Bettman (hockey) have negotiated deals it always ends up in a work stoppage. Not a good mix at all.

The problem is this: The struggling teams need to go away. Why does the NHL want to subsidize a team that cannot be justified from it's crummy fan base in lackluster ticket and merchandise sales?? It's stupid! All for what? Bettman's ridiculous dream to make hockey a popular sport nationwide? Even if there wasn't a salary cap, these guys make too much money for what they do anyway. Think about it. Millions of dollars to play a game?? C'mon, most of us would play pro sports for a couple hundred thousand a year. It's all gotten way out of hand.

goalieguru - "C'mon, most of us would play pro sports for a couple hundred thousand a year" Most of us, in fact almost all of us couldn't play pro sports, let alone decide what we think they should get paid. You think a couple hundred thousand a year is going to cover the long term injuries you acquire during your career? You are in no position to talk about what they deserve to be paid.