Show Me The Money, eh

NHL Owners Meet to Discuss Next Season

RALEIGH, N.C. (Reuters) - NHL owners will meet in New York Tuesday to discuss ways to restart their darkened game next season.
Reuters Photo
The meeting will be the first since NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the 2004-05 season on February 16 after failing to conclude a new collective bargaining agreement with the players union.

I hate this.

I absolutely hate this.

This is a sport I grew up on. I lived for winter, so we could freeze the backyard, and have a game anytime we wanted. We played, even when there was no snow and ice, just a rubber ball and lots of tape on your stick

I hate to admit to this, but when I became a hockey fan, there were only 6 teams. I think now there are about 100. Well give or take a few.

I could go into the history of the game and the guys I watched growing up. I loved "Jersey bars", because Gordie Howe said they were great and helped him play better. I once worked at a radio station (in Sault Ste Marie Ontario), in my teens, and got to hang out with Phil and Tony Esposito. It was a smaller league then and it was very much a Canadian game. Even the Rangers, Bruins and Red Wings seemed Canadian.

Then it grew. It went from a small league to a larger league. The revenues became the main focus, not the game so much. I always thought games should be played in cold arenas where you had to wear a coat to keep warm. Ever been to the Pond in Anaheim? Not the Gardens...

I know it is pointless to wish for the old days back. I get that sports is a billion dollar business, and yet...

Like I said I hate this. It's a game, can we just pretend that it is still the reason there is a league? I think this will ruin the NHL, and hindsight maybe that is the best. The original 6 were pretty fun to watch after all...