There was an article today in the Pittsburg Post Gazette about the NHL and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL, is quoted as making some pretty tough statements about whether or not the NHL players would be allowed to participate despite already having played in the past 3 Olympics and scheduled to play in the next one in Vancouver.
Here’s my response:
Dear NHL International:
I read today, online (I live in Krasnodar, Russia), in the Pittsburg Post Gazette that Mr. Bettman is potentially questioning whether it’s worth it for the NHL to participate in the 2014 Olympics here in Sochi.
While on the face of it Mr. Bettman may think that he is being a good negotiator and applying leverage to the Russian league owners to sign the International Ice Hockey Federation transfer agreement as it is currently constituted.
However, I would say to Mr. Bettman to be careful. While many of you back in the US and Canada may think that the NHL is the “only game in town” I would caution you to understand that the Russian Super League is not only becoming much better in terms of quality of play but also in terms of economics for the players.
You guys do know don’t you that many of the teams here in the Super League are owned by very wealthy corporations. It is my belief that we will begin to see the migration of Russian, Czech, Swedish, and Finnish players back to Russia to play, instead of opting to play in North America in the NHL. Ironically, your strike a couple years ago paved the way for this potential trend.
In particular, the Russian players, I believe, will very soon decide that the tax structure, endorsement opportunities, social life, and cultural comforts (i.e deyvuski – girls) of playing in Russia more than make-up for any potential drop in earnings.
But, and this point is key, if the Russian Super League begins to see its TV deals grow more lucrative and ticket prices continue to rise, there may actually not be any difference in potential earnings for a Russian player (or any player for that matter).
Now back to “Bettman’s Bluff.” If Mr. Bettman does decide that the NHL will not participate in the 2014 Olympics, do not be surprised if that marks the beginning of the end of the NHL’s dominance as the premier world hockey league. Not only would Bettman alienate millions of international hockey fans but he would setting-up a potential mutiny by many of his best players. Dumb move.
The International Ice Hockey Federation transfer agreement is actually a fairly one-sided remnant of the days when the NHL was “king” and the Russian hockey league was reminiscent of Slap Shot the movie. Those days are long gone. Why should Spartak Moscow accept only $200K for a top player who will be making millions of dollars. Hockey needs to look at international football (soccer) leagues agreements for a template.
Frustratingly, the NHL has almost always been a parochial league full of owners who might have a hard time placing Stockholm on a map much less Tomsk or Novosibirsk.
The answer, imho, is not to try to lock-out competition but rather to open up the NHL to the world. Turn a nice little North American sports league into an international league of relevance.
First, dump the silly warm weather cities in the NHL. Essentially cut the number of teams in half. Say there are 30 now in North America. Go to 15 (Boston, Montreal, New York, Chicago, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Detriot, Toronto, Ottawa, Minnesota, Colorado, St. Louis, Buffalo, Calgary, and Edmonton. That’s your Western Conference.
Then, create an Eastern Conference: Stockholm, Helsinki, Prague, Minsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Warsaw, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (rough list. don’t know the teams and city populations that well).
Like American baseball, each conference plays predominantly its own teams. but once or twice per season there is inter-league play for a week at a stretch. At the end of the year there would be play-offs with each conference sending its winner to a true World Cup of hockey (the Stanley Cup is used).
Now that would be worth something to follow and watch. Imagine Spartak Moscow in town for 2 games against the Toronto Maple Leafs for the weekend. Or Kiev Dynamo hosting the New York Rangers in late February?
So, Mr. Bettman be careful not to replace good judgement with stubborn bravado. The rest of the world is no longer just the minor leagues of hockey.
