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You know what's happened. You know the story. You've read the papers, argued the talk radio, grimaced in pain as Bettman's smarmy face weaseled through a press conference with such empty blatherscite, if the camera were at a different angle it would reveal the recoiled string attached to his back. "The Bettman says..........cost certainty." So this is the introduction of no needed introduction. Here is the ultimate plan to save the NHL:
1) Revenue Sharing. The NFL is the best run sports league in North America because it has EQUALIZATION. Basketball is second because it has EQUALIZATION. Baseball does not have equalization, which is why the same handful of teams are in the pennant race every year and the sport would be in the same boat as hockey if the weakest teams weren't financially viable (but more of that anon). But then again, no one's really crying about the Expos now, are they?
The real gap in hockey isn't between owner and player, it's between RICH owners and POOR owners. More prosaically, it's the rift between wealthy, densely populated traditional hockey markets and weak, sparsely populated neo hockey markets (who have to make it on their own, with no help from the former). The owners can have their cap and set it for whatever they want, so long as this extreme inequitable distribution of affluence between rich and poor franchises continues, the league's financial woes will never be solvable. Toronto, Detroit and New York account for nearly one-third of total hockey revenue. They also hog all interest, national coverage, media and attention as a result. That's everything, from tickets, to broadcasting, to advertising, sponsorship and merchandising right down to bobblehead dolls. Add Dallas, St. Louis, Colorado and Philadelphia and you have the Silver Seven, who account for one half of total league profit. They share absolutely none of this lucrative income with any other team. It has been a longstanding policy in the NHL for the ridiculously profitable teams to let the weak teams wither on the vine, and then complain that the league is broken when those weak teams can't support themselves. If you want to save the NHL, start by looking at who has all the money (hint: it's not the players). Equalization is the only thing that will save this league. A cap only cements their profit margins.
2) Restructure existing "problem" franchises. The CFL doesn't have a football team in Las Vegas for two important reasons: no market for it, and too much competition for the entertainment dollar.
The first reason is so pathetically obvious that people have got to be wondering what sort of simians are running this league. Perhaps in the fantasy bizarro world NHL marketing agents live in putting hockey in population hotbeds and expecting them to welcome it with open arms is standard practice, but here on planet earth it has proven to be a stupid idea. The first rule of business: Location, location, location. No one would set up an ice cream stand at the north pole, why these guys think bringing hockey to places that care little for ice and even less for skating would convince the people to drop their pigskins, bats and basketballs and rush for the ice arena is downright insulting. Hockey is broken because of decisions like these, of forcing a pastime on an entire culture that never gave any indication of being interested in it in the first place.
For now on, instead of looking at where hockey isn't and trying to put it there, focus on where hockey IS and try to strengthen the union with that core base (lord knows, after this fiasco, they'll have to in order to win that base back). It is a no brainer that the two most successful expansion franchises are in the heart of hockey: Minnesota and Columbus. The NHL should learn from this example, and stop putting franchises in hockey desolate areas. There's a reason no one tries to set up a cricket league on this continent.
Secondly, it is time hockey should come to the realization that, because of its unique cultural and physical identity, it will never be as big as the other three professional sports (for the sane reason that, for two-thirds of the United States, winter is not a very cold time of the year). But that's okay. It shouldn't try to be. If hockey wants to retain the attention and media exposure it has, it should aim for markets that are not overwhelmingly dominated by the other sports, or similar distracting avenues of entertainment (ie: Las Vegas syndrome). It's inconceivable that Miami--a city with sports headlines dominated by the Heat, Marlins, and Dolphins--would have room in their sports section for a hockey team, while Portland--a city with a large tradition of hockey in the WHL's Winterhawks--is completely ignored come expansion time.
3) New Television Contract. So the NHL doesn't have a network television contract. Here's how you get one: Hockey isn't a big enough draw for a multitude of reasons, the most important being that there isn't enough interest, but on top of that is also the fact that the hockey schedule is too frenetic. Nothing kills television viewership faster than not knowing what time or day something comes on.
To kill two birds with one stone, I propose a "hockey game of the week", same time every week to build a viewing pattern for sports fans. Working from the "Hockey Night in Canada" model of hockey viewership, have it be on Sunday afternoon. The NHL should approach the NFL and NBC or FOX, and propose a new formatted 6 hour sports extravaganza I call "Super Sunday", bundling together a "football+hockey" package to establish a tradition in the American sportsfan. To make the transition really fun and exciting, the panelists can work both sports. If not for anything else, it should be worth the price of entertainment alone to watch Terry Bradshaw try to talk about power plays with John Davidson. And just think of the advertisement interstitials they could do for it. "If you thought 300 lb. linemen charging at you were scary........now.....300 lb. linemen on skates!!!..." The possibilities are endless.
4) Maintain Existing Player Salaries. For a very conscientious reason. The NHL is the greatest hockey league in the world because of the quality of its players. And those greatest players play in the greatest league because they get the greatest amount of money. Now, the real threat to the NHL at the moment isn't internal squabbling between the owners and players, but rather the inevitable rise of a concentrated European super league--you know, that place that's half as big and twice as populace, and has 4 times more money--garnering more attention, media, money, and ultimately a larger fanbase than the NHL could ever hope for. The kind of league that the best hockey players deserve. For years we've been complacent in thinking that the NHL is the undisputed king of hockey. New stadiums are being built in Europe as we speak. New television deals are being signed. New billionaires are establishing franchises. And in a short hurry the NHL will find the rug pulled out from under its feet, find its talentpool decimated, and find it sinking fast as the preeminent hockey organization in the world.
If the NHL insists that it can't survive with current levels of salaries, Europe can. And that is where the best players will go to play.
5) Fire Gary Bettman. Bettman exists to serve the will of the NHL Owners. That's it. Not the league, not the game, not the players, and certainly not the fans. That's nothing new. Past NHL Commissioners/Presidents have always been puppets for greedy Governors, which is why Bettman stays on as Commissioner despite his horrendous track record. But this is an article on how to save the NHL, right? So long as he is at the helm, the league is as good as dead.
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