Previous
Delay of game
In the newspaper business, we are used to working on deadline, and sometimes we cut the deadline pretty close. It is the nature of the game.
But in the game of hockey - specifically NHL hockey - fans have to wonder why the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association allowed their contract negotiations to stretch to the point where the players have been locked out by the owners, the pre-season schedule is a no-go and the chances of the regular season beginning on Oct. 11 are as slim as the Toronto Maple Leafs' chances of winning the Stanley Cup.
In one respect, it is fascinating to watch billionaire owners and multi-millionaire players battling over money, especially when the money they are fighting over actually comes from the fans, the ones who pay the exorbitant prices for seats and sweaters and other NHL paraphernalia. Of course, there are huge chunks of money coming from selling television rights, but the networks recoup the money they spend from their advertisers and the advertisers recoup their money from their customers. So, in the end, it is always the fans - and the non-fans - who pay.
This is the fourth time in 20 years that the NHL has had a lockout. Those who have no interest in watching grown men earn huge salaries just for playing a game will probably shrug and not give the lockout a second thought, which is understandable. But there are thousands of average Joes and Janes out there who rely on the NHL season to earn a living: the hundreds of people who actually work at the NHL arenas during the season, plus all those who work in bars and restaurants who rely on hockey night crowds to make up for the quieter times.
At the same time, it is difficult to bemoan the fate of the parking lot operators who regularly fleece motorists trying to park as close to the arena as possible on game nights. They take the concept of supply and demand to new lows. In fact, fans are fleeced - apparently willingly - by just about everyone connected in any way with the NHL season. Prices for refreshments and programs at the arenas are outrageous and for the vast majority of fans, the ticket prices are completely out of range.
All so that players such as Brad Richards of the New York Rangers can earn $12 million to slap a rubber puck with a stick a couple of nights a week. To put this in perspective, U.S. President Barack Obama, whose every decision can affect the fate of millions, if not billions, of people earns a paltry salary of $400,000. To put it further into perspective, most of the men and women we rely on to keep us safe - the police, the firefighters, the paramedics - won't even earn $100,000 a year.
To be sure, the NHL has given fans, especially Canadian fans, a host of thrills over the years: the Canada-Russia series and Olympic gold spring readily to mind. But does that entitle the NHL and its players to gouge us relentlessly. The storied players of the past - Richard, Lafleur, Orr, Hull, Mikita, Beliveau, Howe, Mahovlich and, yes, even Eddie Shack - would never have imagined in their wildest dreams earning what players earn today. (As an aside, NBA players also earn incredible salaries, but they don't have to face chunks of frozen rubber travelling at 100 mph or risk being slammed into the boards by a 215-pound defenceman. And no one seems to get mad when they miss a free throw, something they should be able to do in their sleep.)
Still, for you local fans who will be longing for your hockey fix on a regular basis, may we suggest that until the lockout is over, you nip over to the Uxbridge arena on Friday nights and watch the Uxbridge Bruins in action. As we have said before, the play is entertaining, you are much closer to the ice than you'll ever be in an NHL arena, and the hot dogs are only $2.50. Who knows, you might enjoy yourself so much you’ll forget the NHL ever existed.
July 14, 2011
