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We make piles of money, but something's amiss
We play games for a living, and we're all filthy rich
Yet we've shut down the business, and can't find our niche.
Signed, Rich and Clueless.
The response would be simple enough.
Spoiled rotten, spoiled rotten, You have no complaint. You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't. So listen up buster and listen up good, stop wishin' for bad luck and knockin' on wood.
Signed, Dear Abby.
Both sides could learn a little something by heeding those words. In the case of the NHL, commissioner Gary Bettman should know that his sport is not a big, national smash.
Some would call the NHL a niche sport, but when run correctly it is one terrific and lucrative niche.
The NHL is what it is, and it ain't what it ain't. Despite Bettman's efforts, the NHL will never have what he likes to call a national footprint. The only footprint that should be visible at this point, is the footprint of the owner's shoes directed at Bettman's backside to get back in a room with the union, and get a deal done - right now.
Forget all that stuff about national TV contracts. The NHL is a local sport that can flourish on a regional level.
There is plenty of money to be made with local markets, and those local markets are pretty big areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and a whole nation called Canada.
Bettman should stop pretending his league is something it is not, and something it can never become. The NHL's new posture should be that it is a great league for a great sport, and if you don't care for the sport, you are missing out on something special.
As for the NHLPA, union leader Bob Goodenow is already getting a terrific amount of heat from a faction of the union, and he should be reminded that he is not the head of a real union with real laborers.
Under Goodenow, many generations of players have earned great pay increases, and he has done a magnificent job. Compared to league revenue, the NHL players are compensated as well as any in all of sports.
It should also be pointed out that Goodenow and the union have made some very big concessions in the negotiations. But at this point, the union has reached the end of the road.
The players ought to be knocking on wood that they can still make a great living in the NHL. The number of teams has increased, so there are more jobs. This is too good a gig to blow up over the last few dollars on the table.
Each side must compromise, and it must be done sooner than later. This season is gone, but there is still time for the players to count their lucky stars, and the owners to count their wads of cash and come to an agreement.
At this point, the disagreements are stupid. Both Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman should be placed on notice that a deal has to be made before the end of the month, or each is gone.
Al Morganti is a commentator for ESPN.
