bigC
03-04-05, 06:05 PM
the NHL Board of Govenors recently met with a group of investors who wanted to buy all the teams, the league, etc, for $3.5 billion, in order to run the league on it's own. it is a far-fetched idea, and will likely never happen, but it may be the only way small owners recoup any money they invested in their teams.
there is still no definitive word whether there will be a settlement and a season next year, as the NHL and PA are even further apart then before the cancellation of this season. if there is no deal in place soon, next season may be lost, even more sponsors will leave, and there will be few, if any, fans left willing to support the game (the NHL is a gate driven league, without a major US network deal). so, a major investor buying the league may be the only way some teams can get their money back. however, for rich teams, like the NY Rangers or the Maple Leafs (who own the NBA Raptors, their stadium, and 2 tv networks, and which is valued at over $1 bill) would actually lose money, which is why this deal will likely never happen. but, sports talk radio here in Tdot was interesting, full of speculation with experts saying why it was a good/bad deal.
i personally think the NHL is dead. if it does return, it will be an even more marginal sport then it was before the cancellation. with a lot of players currently playing in Europe, they may choose to stay there, especially if the system they return to is salary restrictive (methinks the NHL is now looking for a $32 mill cap linked to earnings). the league is ruined.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=116886&hubName=nhl
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=116956&hubName=nhl
there is still no definitive word whether there will be a settlement and a season next year, as the NHL and PA are even further apart then before the cancellation of this season. if there is no deal in place soon, next season may be lost, even more sponsors will leave, and there will be few, if any, fans left willing to support the game (the NHL is a gate driven league, without a major US network deal). so, a major investor buying the league may be the only way some teams can get their money back. however, for rich teams, like the NY Rangers or the Maple Leafs (who own the NBA Raptors, their stadium, and 2 tv networks, and which is valued at over $1 bill) would actually lose money, which is why this deal will likely never happen. but, sports talk radio here in Tdot was interesting, full of speculation with experts saying why it was a good/bad deal.
i personally think the NHL is dead. if it does return, it will be an even more marginal sport then it was before the cancellation. with a lot of players currently playing in Europe, they may choose to stay there, especially if the system they return to is salary restrictive (methinks the NHL is now looking for a $32 mill cap linked to earnings). the league is ruined.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=116886&hubName=nhl
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=116956&hubName=nhl