Dead horse wins the Stanley Cup, with highest puck bunny attendance?

Question

Here is where you can find 2+3 girls and a cup.

http://edit.usahockey.com/servlets/FileServlet/relatedDocuments/14A3724E2BDF523BE0440003BA5FE009/team%20usa%2006%20oly%20w%20stanley%20cup%20800.gif

^^^^^^^^^It is PG rated.

For a real question:

If every hockey player in the NHL only made $200,000 per year, do you think most of them would still play?

Which makes me think:
Do you think they would all take off to play in another league?
Do you think the Stanley Cup would lose its luster?
Do you think the NHL would still be fun to watch?
Do you think sponsorship/advertising funds would go down?

Hockey4everman (you will now be known as H4: your name is too freaking long) lol.
KIDM: lmao. I think I see an Adam’s Apple!!!!
TB: You just made me think of an awesome question: Would you accept tickets for a free game with the best seats in the house, if you have to sit by Tracy? That's a tough one.
Joe: You are such a charmer.
Cdn24, 2eighty8, Pomer, guruofpu, and Doug: I think you guys are on the same page. It is really sad, that everything revolves around money. I am sure there was a time, when things weren't like this. Somewhat makes me want to be a monk.

PuckDat: Your answers warmed my heart. That's sort of where I was going with this. I have read about hockey players being ice cream men, to paper boys in the off season. In some cases not for the money, but for the responsibility and respect of the community and family.

LITY: Jean Béliveau has been screaming that for decades. He has little respect for players that forget that playing for the NHL is an honor and a dream, and he disrespects player greed. I love that guy.

Answer 1

Honestly, if you limited the salaries, you'd mostly limit interest from Europeans coming over to play. Most Canadian and now American boys who grew up playing the game would want their name on the cup bad enough to keep playing.
I think we'd end up with a league like circa 1970's. Those guys weren't overpaid and they played the game with the same passion and skill. It was great hockey.
In fact, back in the 6 team era (ask LITY about this) it wasn't uncommon for players to have summer jobs to make ends meet but every fall they were at camp getting ready for another run a Lord Stanley's mug.
I think it will always hold interest to the truly passionate players.
Hockey would still be great but there would be fewer teams and who cares about sponsorship really, with costs at a reasonable level the league could again be able to survive just on the gate.

Answer 2

Do you think they would all take off to play in another league?

yes. when the lockout came players proceeded to play in leagues across Europe.

Do you think the Stanley Cup would lose its luster?

No, if the NHL were to collapse the Stanley Cup would be awarded to the winning junior hockey team in Canada, unless its Trustees decide to go against the original intention of the trophy.

Do you think the NHL would still be fun to watch?

It's hockey, the game wouldn't change.

Do you think sponsorship/advertising funds would go down?

What advertising? I live in Southern Ontario - considered by many hockey experts to be the largest hockey market in North America, rivalled only by Quebec, and we do not even have sufficient advertising for hockey. The problem with the NHL right now is the lack of advertising, and I'll probably get ripped apart for saying so, the lack of fighting. The Post-Lockout era has hindered and hurt the game in many ways, despite increasing the speed the game is played at and the excitement of the shoot outs.

Now to answer your first question, if every hockey player made $200k a year. Most hockey players don't make much more than that. A player before the lockout that made 6 million dollars now only makes about 1.2 - 1.5 million in a post-lockout season, so in a sense the dramatic cutbacks on players salaries have already occured.

Answer 3

1. If every hockey player in the NHL only made $200,000 per year, do you think most of them would still play?

Yes............but not in the NHL

2. Do you think they would all take off to play in another league?

As with every job in the planet, the best employees will follow the money

3. Do you think the Stanley Cup would lose its luster?

No. Phil Pritchard polishes it every day...sometimes more than once.

4. Do you think the NHL would still be fun to watch?

Well, Americans don't watch it now.....so I'll say even more so

5. Do you think sponsorship/advertising funds would go down?

Definitely. Teams will charge less for board space (except the Leafs and Rangers).


To the responder who said there is no advertising in Southern Ontario. The Toronto Maple Leafs corporate sponsorship ranks first in the NHL, is more than 21 MLB teams, is more than 17 NBA teams, and more than 11 NFL teams. The Leafs spend more on advertising than any team, and more than the other Canadian teams combined, save Montreal


PuckDat
As a scout, I had a summer job until 1995. Most scouts are only part-time employees, very few are full-time, and even then, $60K would be considered a good salary. I make a LOT more now than I ever did as a scout, and compared to other scouts, I was well-paid.

As for your 'North-American kid wants his name on the cup and will pay for less'.....if that was the case, the NHLPA wouldn't have gone on strike in 1992, and there wouldn;t have been lockouts in 1994 and 2004-2005. People can blame Bettman all they want, but the reason we had lockouts is because the players wanted more money

Answer 4

I don't really know for sure if the players would ALL play for that amount of money, but hey sign me up I would do it in a heart beat. If they were never offered the big bucks in the league to start with I do think a lot of those guys would still be playing in it. I think fandom would go up. The players are not getting huge contracts so the teams overhead is lower, all meaning lower ticket prices (usually) So that would mean more fans. The Stanley Cup would never ever lose it's luster. I think sponsorship will stay the same.

Answer 5

If you remember when the NHL had their lockout, the WHA tried to reform again. Their intent was to steal players from the NHL and get Crosby before he was drafted into the NHL. I think if everyone made $200,000 a year it would open the doors for the WHA to take another crack at it by paying the players more. If successful, sponsorships would follow them. As hard as it is to imagine the Stanley Cup would probably follow them too. The Stanley Cup is not owned by the NHL, rather it is owned by a group of trustees that award it to best team( you can read about the history of the Cup on wikipedia) which if all that happened the best team and league would probably be the WHA. So I think the NHL wouldn't even be worth watching cause all the best players would have left for more money. Just an idea about what might have happened if they only made $200,000 a year.

Answer 6

some players would because they simply love the game of hockey. However, those who, sadly, don't, would leave us in the dust. Sad sad sad. With talent comes money, most of the time. i mean, im a talented sharks fan and i dont get paid for it. So hows this, with pro sports comes pro amounts of money. Yes they would take of like fighter jets!!! Ya, the cup wouldnt mean as much around the world as it does. What i would do to see the cup at the HP??? Hockey can never be boring, but im sure with less talent and skill, it would seem much more amateur. What advertising??? lol. If the NHL's popularity went down, advertising would too.

Sad sad world we live in where money is the determining factor

Answer 7

With everything else being equal,

Most Europeans would play at home in Europe.
Many Cdns would play in Europe
Since Europe is getting full at this point there would still be some decent players left in the NHL
I would foresee a rival WHA type league stepping run by Jim Basilie - The RIM guy that paid higher salaries.

The cup would lose its luster as the top Hockey championship.

The sponsorship money would follow the new league.

Answer 8

on the beginning up of the season, I predicted that the 2008 Stanley Cup replaced into going to be between the Detroit pink Wings and the Atlanta Thrashers. even nonetheless the Detroit pink Wings are going to faceoff against the Pittsburgh Pinguins, I nevertheless see the pink Wings prevailing the Stanley Cup in Six video games.

Answer 9

And 99% of the bandwagon Sabres fans will watch the game, even when their team isn't even in it! I highly doubt that they know any other team in the Western Conference.

For a real answer:

No, they won't play for that amount and I think they'll jump ship to the various Elite Leagues in Europe like they during the lockout. Or maybe even create another WHA. Yeah, the Cup would lose its luster some more, hockey will ALWAYS be fun to watch, and yes, the sponsorship/advertising will plummet.

Answer 10

A lot would stay 200k is still more than most would make else where. I doubt hockey would lose its luster for real fans. The NHL maybe more fun to watch I've been to AHL games that were more entertaining. Sponsorship may go because it would be more affordable.