More NHL Indifference

Brent made some solid points in his last post, and I’ve got a few to add myself. I’ll keep this short and to the point.

The NHL wants their teams to buy out two contracts? Fine. Let’s go one step further. Let’s buy out two franchises like Phoenix and Florida. Better yet, contract this league to a more manageable 24 teams. Moving to hockey hotbeds like Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Dallas were stupid ideas fed by blind greed. And these morons want to give out two more expansion franchises? What is this, the ECHL?

Trust me on this. Fans wouldn’t miss six folded NHL teams. The talent pool is heavily diluted as it is, and the league could use an improvement in the overall quality of play. Need proof? How many teams have three quality third-line forwards to put together a decent checking line? Or even two? And most fourth liners are either meatheads that have no discernible hockey talent, or “skill” players that in some cases aren’t even good enough to play on the first line of an AHL club.

The NHL wants to curb salaries? Don’t blame the players for this. Is it Wade Redden’s fault he’s getting paid $5 million a year to play for the Connecticut Whale? Is it Chris Pronger’s fault he has to wait until next year to retire due to Philly circumventing the salary cap rules for big contracts given to players past 35 years of age? No. Do something about stupid general managers and team owners foolishly giving away millions of dollars and/or finding creative ways to get around the salary cap.

The NHL has lost a lot of credibility during the past six months, and I know for a fact it will take a long time –if ever—to come back from this. Maybe things are strong in traditional markets like the East Coast and Canada, but here in Southern California this lockout will have dire consequences.

No one talks about the Kings winning the Stanley Cup. Or cares. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s almost as if last June never happened.The once-sorry Clippers own LA.

Some people are surprised Anaheim has an NHL team. They still think it was a bad movie from two decades ago.

Even with revenue sharing, I would not be shocked if one of these franchises moves or folds if the NHL scraps this season over what amounts to a petty dispute to assert their will over the players to cover their own mistakes. This scenario could also play out in Phoenix, Miami, Tampa Bay and Dallas in the next few years if we lose the season.

But what do I care? The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is on in three weeks. Let’s go racin’.