An NHL Fan's Lament

Jeremy Roenick has spoken out. He says the NHLPA looks silly. He's right, the deal that they will sign is nowhere near what is may have been in February. He tells anyone who will listen that fans who say that players are greedy are jealous. He doesn't want fans who think the players are greedy at the rink. "They" don't want "them" watching hockey. Mr. Roenick is entitled to his opinion and I am entitled to mine. Let me say this about Mr. Roenick's comments.

First of all, of course we're jealous. Who wouldn't want the league minimum? "They" don't want fans who think the players are greedy at the rink? Hope you have a family of 16,000-18,000, Mr. Roenick. The players need to do what they think is right. However, here's the issues that I see with the league.

One, although I love the NHL and would pit it against ANY major league sport in the world, it is not a sentiment that is shared broadly. Did you know that the Blackhawks' flagship station has talked even less about the lack of the NHL than it talked about the NHL when the league was active? How could it be possible? We're talking about an Original Six town, not Phoenix, not Columbus, not Anaheim, not wherever the Carolina Hurricanes play. Chicago... (don't get me started on what has happened to that team.) The amount of people who don't care about the league's inactivity far outweighs those who do.

Two, the league has expanded too rapidly while existing teams flounder. Why on this green earth is there hockey in wherever the Carolina Hurricanes play? Why do we have the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Columbus Blue Jackets? Why have some teams been allowed to move and not just left to dissolve? Why is it that there are two teams in Alberta? The teams in Canada have it rougher than rough. If I am not mistaken, those teams take in their revenue in Canadian currency and must pay out salaries in American currency, is it true? The league can scarcely afford to propagate the "haves" versus the "have nots."

Three, how can hockey recover from a lost season? Look at the damage that has been done to Major League Baseball after the work stoppages it has endured and that was "America's Past Time." We lost an entire season, the All-Star game, the Draft, the play offs and the Stanley Cup Championship.

Four, the TV revenue is nowhere near what is necessary to contribute to the sustainability of the league. It's not like the NFL's television deal... and ESPN is no longer interested. Now, since it costs a good chunk of change to get to a game, and we haven't even added on the ticket service charges or parking, exactly who is going to be buying tickets to help the owners off set their money pits since the TV arrangement is far from ideal?

All this talk that has happened between the League and NHLPA and still no guarantee for the coming season.

Anyone who may have had a casual interest in the game could have lost interest at this point. I love the game, I have a passion for it. I want the league to flourish. I want people to care about it. I want people to watch games on TV. I want people to go to games. What I don't want is someone who has been blessed with the talent and the opportunity to insult me for feeling emotion and passion for a game that he is paid to play. We all have our lot in life, we make it or we let it happen. Hockey is the best professional sport with the best traditions and the best trophy. Please Mr. Roenick, don't add another to the list of reasons for fans to not come back.