NHL and NHLPA try this CBA

Well, I have to say that today is not a good day.  Tonight the NHL will have another lockout, only 7 years after the last one.  This is so sad for all the fans.  I also cancelled my NHL Center Ice ticket, I've had it since 1999, 13 years.  13 years!!!

I think back to when I was a kid and lived for any game I could get on TV (or if I was lucky in person).  We had the Flyers as the local team growing up, so we were able to see most of those games.  I also had the Hockey News when it was a newspaper, yes showing my age.  I lived for every week!  Reading what was going on in hockey with each team and US colleges.  I didn't have Hockey Night in Canada, but I remember a picture of Don Cherry and Ron MacLean on the cover of one of the Hockey News doing some prediction, I think Don was wearing a wizard outfit or something like that and both were looking into a globe.  I remember wishing I had the ability to see that and get all that hockey coverage.

That dream and desire of the coverage and the game had me want to play more and more. My brother and I would play street hockey all the time.  We had the neighborhood kids play as well.  We even formed a team and played in a league for a few years.  I'd play any position I could just to play, but I did prefer net! :-) Then I was able to play ice hockey!  And when I did play ice hockey, I was at the rink every weekend, looking for any chance to play, didn't matter the time.  I would work the public skating to get ice time in, then I'd be asking all the guys coming in for the 11pm and later time frames if they needed a goalie.  I'd hang around as long as I could sometimes until 3am.  If I could play, I would play for as many hours as I could.  It was great!

How many of us have these stories?

Now that I am older and the media coverage of hockey (and all sports) has gotten so much bigger, I have been able to see so many more games.  I even had the ability to see the Cup raised in person!  I never thought I'd see that, but seeing Rod Brind'amour raise the Cup, a moment I will never forget! All of us dreamed of doing that, we did that everyday we played as a kid.  I have also been able to get Hockey Night in Canada down in the south!  Things were good, right?

So I get so frustrated when we have a second work stoppage in 7 years, I mean these guys can't agree on any CBA without a stoppage it seems.  The problem is with ALL of them this time..and maybe every time.

So owners and players, if the above doesn't make you want to play hockey, how about this.

What pisses me off the most is that both work stoppages are killing the growth of the game.  So (owners and Players) if you want to talk about getting money, think about this!  In the last stoppage you had the 2004 Cup champs of Tampa Bay.  Tampa Bay!!!  A southern city that is an expansion team that could grow and do wonderful things for the game in the south in the US!  The 2012 Champs are the LA Kings. LA!!!  One of the largest cities in the US and talk about media and celebrities that could help out there?

Now lets talk about the US TV deal that has always been really lacking.  You have NBC Sports which has been doing a really good job of covering hockey and make it the #1 sport they show.  When has the NHL had that?  ESPN always had baseball #1 and would cut hockey off to show baseball spring training.  The Lockout....well they might find something else more important.  If I was them, I would.

Players on average are doing better today, so NHLPA, you should be wanting to get on the ice, for more then just this reason.  Owners, you could be missing on a cash cow of riding LA, I would, as long as I could.

So here is what I propose:

- Money is split 50-50.
- For any team making a profit, the profit is split 50-50.
- For any team showing a loss, the loss is split 50-50.
- For the NHL outside of team revenue, it is split 50-50, profits and losses.
- Also all financial information will be disclosed on both sides and managed by a 3rd party (paid for 50-50) since neither of you can trust one another.

Having it all separated could get everyone a little more interested in profits as a whole.

If you say you are true partners, then this should work, you share the profits and losses.  That is what partners do, so are you partners?