The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

A game that was so close to having the fans say goodbye and good riddance to after greedy owners and greedy players thought it was prudent to cancel a whole season because they didn't know how to split millions upon millions of dollars between each other...well, what was the point again? Being an Ottawa Senators fan, and seeing how close the team filed for bankruptcy and seeing the large market teams steal the star players developed in the so-called "small market" franchises...well, if the end result was that I would no longer have to hear about Ottawa losing its team and at the same time be able to compete at the same level as the big-money franchises, maybe one lost season was worth it.

But after seeing the huge contracts these players are getting, with a 20 year old Sydney Crosby signing an extension that will pay him about $9 million a season for the next five seasons today, did the NHL learn anything?

The year after the lockout, the salary cap was set at $39 million. This year, the MINIMUM amount a team has to spend on their player payroll is $34 million. And only two years has passed since the cap has been put into place!

Scott Gomez scored 22 goals last year and he got a near $7 million a year deal with the NY Rangers. So if that's the case, what is Dany Heatley, whose contract expires this season, going to be worth? He scored 50 goals in back to back years. What chance has Ottawa have in retaining him if someone like Gomez can command that salary?

Did the NHL strike a new TV deal that I'm not aware of? They're still not on ESPN. They got a new deal with CBC but again, that's revenue from Canada. Their problem has never been drawing exposure here, their problem has been getting an audience in the United States.

So wasn't it a short time ago the Edmonton Oilers were complaining they couldn't meet a $30 million payroll pre-lockout? Why all of a sudden can they afford the $34 million minimum they have to spend? How can they afford to make an offer sheet for essentially a second year player at over $7 million a season? Didn't they cut back ticket prices after the lockout? Have the prices since gone up that much? Have they sold tons of merchandise that allows them to try these tactics? They complained Ryan Smyth was asking for too much, but in the off-season try to sign a player for about $2 milllion more than what Smyth wanted.

I just don't get it, and I'm starting to wonder if the lockout accomplished anything. In the meantime, guys like Briere, Drury, Vanek, Gomez...they certainly aren't complaining about the current state in the NHL.

BTW...this year's Stanley Cup "parade" was held in a parking lot. That's right...the city of Anaheim didn't plan a parade for their citizens because no one cares, so the 218 fans got to hang out in the parking lot of the Ducks' arena with the Cup. Thank God the NHL has a team (oh wait, teams) in California.