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Should the NHL consider replacement players?


vancanfan

Replacement players to save the season.  

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Don Brennan in his article in the Ottawa Sun yesterday posted this question, and so far 67% (766 votes) of respondents have said yes and 31% (347 votes) have said no.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/23/lockouts-not-ending-anytime-soon-so-send-in-replacement-players

I voted a resounding no, as AHL and WHL teams are located within close proximity of most major Canadian cities anyways, so hockey is still available to an extent.

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Here's the issue with using replacement players:

- The quality of NHL players would drop so that the AHL, KHL and probably the SEL would have better hockey.

- The NHL wouldn't be able to charge the prices they do so the owners wouldn't make near the money they could by just giving players a better deal.

- Also, since the NHL doesn't own the Stanley Cup, the trustees who control it would likely award it to another league.

Now here's where some speculation comes in:

- That other league (probably the AHL) would become the premier league in the world with the chance to play for the Stanley Cup and they'd be able to charge more for tickets and gain more sponsorship and TV deals.

- Since the AHL has it's own union, and since most players have played in the AHL at one point or another, they'd already be a part of that union and likely look to join the new best league in the world.

- Player's salaries would increase as a result, and the AHL would effectively become the old NHL.

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I think it's important to have something to look forward to in terms of pro hockey in Canada.

There are a lot of pro players out there that are very skilled. I am not advocating that the NHL charge full price for 'scabs' as it were, but each team could have 'tryout squads' similar to pre-season, and get some decent games out of it.

You never know, a 'late bloomer' might be finally discovered.

Or not, I can watch junior and be happy also.

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I have not read the article, but here is why I would say yes, get replacement players now before the season is lost.

I have no sympathy for millionaire players, i just can't see their case, aside from the 'principle' of it..and the 'principle' is hey loser: here is a million bucks to skate around and entertain us...oh that is not enough? Well, then i will find someone else.

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I have not read the article, but here is why I would say yes, get replacement players now before the season is lost.

I have no sympathy for millionaire players, i just can't see their case, aside from the 'principle' of it..and the 'principle' is hey loser: here is a million bucks to skate around and entertain us...oh that is not enough? Well, then i will find someone else.

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I had a much longer thing written but at the end i deleted it and went with a glib comment.

I believe that 19 out of 23 players per team would rejoin the league, perhaps more, but Boston alone has 19 players making around 4million or less each who average 2million, or 38million total..the other 4 players cost them another 20million+...

..this 'gap' between the two sides right now is all about the 4 players per team that cost that team 20million and more. I am not sure the other 19 guys on any given team want to suffer any longer for the sake of those 4 dudes.

EDIT: and yes i get it...the idea of "And whose fault is it that 4 dudes on a team cost more than 20million dollars.."

but the thing is that under the old CBA those were legal deals, that CBA no longer exists and so frankly, the terms of a new CBA may just have to reduce the money those 4 dudes are getting.

Am I anti Player? No, i am a fan of the players, certainly, but not really Crosby, or Gretzky or Ovechhkin, I could care less about them...Burrows, now there is a guy, the Twins who right after getting their 6million each gave 1.5m of it to a local charity and another couple million of it to a charitable venture back in sweden..

I could go on, but the guys that are angling towards 'why i deserve nearly ten million a year for every year' don't have my sympathy whatsoever, and frankly i doubt they have the sympathy of any player who makes less than the league average of 2.4million dollars. The less thans more than outnumber the more thans and its those less than average paid guys who lose the most because their window of opportunity is so much smaller. Stay in Russia Ovie...lets get Burr back on the ice.

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According to a TSN tweet, the top 5 AHL scorers right now are locked out NHLers. It goes to show that the average talent level of AHLers is not yet to the level we're accustomed to seeing. Putting those players in NHL jerseys won't make them more impressive than they are now, nor will it make them true NHLers if they don't have to earn it the hard way.

Plus, taking players en masse from the AHL teams would likely only damage the revenues and reputations of 2 leagues, so I can't imagine there would be any real gains to be had (particularly for the NHL teams that own their AHL affiliate).

In short, replacement players are bad for hockey, bad for both leagues, and especially bad for fans.

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Here's a Hockeys Future thread from the last lockout discussing an interesting angle about theoretical replacement players: immigration and work visa laws. Not that I know much about it personally, but what they're arguing in the discussion is that, under American laws, no visas can be issued during a work stoppage. So the 23 American teams would not only have to cobble together a team from players willing to cross the line, they'd have to be American citizens.

http://hfboards.hock...p/t-132516.html

(note that our own Wetcoaster is in there taking on attackers from all sides like a freakin' legal ninja!)

ps I guess if you're looking for a silver lining there, it'd all but guarantee the Cup returning to Canada.

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I don't see the logic either. If that many players would go against the union why wouldn't the union just vote to accept the NHLs offer? Or, the union could just decertify and sue the NHL so the whole thing would shut down unless the NHL decides to put up a better offer.

I don't think there's a point where the NHL would be able to use replacement players that were comprised of even some NHL players, or even AHL players (since they have their own union). People love to ignore all of that and think there'd be any way the games would be worth watching/paying for at anywhere near the level we had been used to.

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If they started using replacement player I would be less interested in the NHL and wouldn't be willing to pay full ticket price. The whole point of the NHL is that it's supposed to be the highest level of play in the world, filled with the best players. Lose that and it becomes just another minor pro league.

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