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(Article)Gallagher: Canucks cap hit isn’t confined to just the team

naslund.is.king

By naslund.is.king
in Canucks Talk

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naslund.is.king Canucks Franchise Player

naslund.is.king

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A quick look at the Vancouver Canucks payroll suggests they have just over $2.2 million in cap room in which to manoeuvre for this upcoming season.

Given the crunch that was bizarrely insisted upon by Gary Bettman and his parity-seeking associates which almost certainly include a majority of the owners, the Canucks are actually in better shape than might have been expected given what they were up against.

Getting Andrew Alberts in at just $600,000 this year and Chris Tanev at $1.5 million for the season was certainly helpful, as GM Mike Gillis' ability to negotiate contracts in a favourable fashion to the club is one of his skills which gets very little mention as trades and acquisitions so much easier to examine.

But the question here is why is the salary cap, at $64.3 million US, is so artificially low this season. It was agreed upon even before the Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached and before anyone had any idea how the league would come through the lockout in terms of revenue.

The number is totally arbitrary and it's pretty much conceded by everyone revenue is going to exceed a cap commensurate with these numbers. The teams already know it's going to take a massive leap next season based on the traditional ways the cap is calculated, and as such are already beginning to position themselves for that eventuality, with only some severe unexpected financial meltdown in the economy possibility preventing such an increase.

This move on the part of the league is like a giant kick in the teeth to fans of the high revenue teams and it's important that Vancouver paying customers realize the degree to which they are being taken for stupid pawns in this arrangement.

Many of the teams are at or near the cap in spending but consider what Vancouver could or would spend if there were not a cap. And then consider the fact the Tampa Bay Lightning are just about one million under the cap for this coming season, or roughly the same amount the Canucks are spending.

That means that the Vancouver fan who pays up to $315 or more for a ticket is watching exactly the same dollar figure amount of talent as the fan who can get into a Tampa game for $10 or some such absurdly low figure in any number of cities. And those tickets often including free parking, eight hot dogs and six soft drinks or whatever the local giveaway happens to be that week. Think about that.

At least in baseball when the fan in New York or Boston pays top dollar to watch the Yankees or the Red Sox, he's watching a much more expensive bunch of players than is the fan in Milwaukee, Tampa or Pittsburgh for example. That's as it should be.

The management may not be smart enough to assemble as good a team in New York as they have in Pittsburgh for example this season, but at least they had the money to try and the fan is getting his money's worth.

Ditto the NBA with its luxury tax, albeit to a slightly lesser degree with that tax increasing as the owners become more emboldened and the players association more timid.

But at least there's a difference. The Laker fan who pays the Jack Nicholson price or the Spike Lee price in New York at least gets a significant monetary advantage over the fan paying peanuts in Milwaukee.

Not in hockey here in Vancouver. You pay to watch what the lowest common denominator will buy, which is to say you are suckers paying through revenue sharing to subsidize the owners and the fans of other cities with your money.

How does that play out? Well, the average wage earner in Vancouver can't afford to go to a game. It's that simple.

In Tampa and Phoenix or Florida or any number of other of the cities Mr. Bettman ushered into the league over his tenure, every man and his dog can get good seats to watch essentially the same financial level of talent.

But then, that's the NHL's way, isn't it. They always take special care to kick their most loyal, paying customers right in the jollies.

tgallagher@theprovince.com

twitter.com/tg_gman

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/hockey/canucks-hockey/Vancouver+Canucks+more+tickets+salary/8858189/story.html

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Wilbur Canucks First-Line

Wilbur

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Part of me agrees with Gallagher on this one but I'll never forget the days when the Canadian dollar was so low and the Canucks had next to no chance in landing the big fish in trades and free agency. It's just sad there wasn't a salary cap back then. But that's the part that I agree with Gallagher, he could give a rat's rear about the Canadian teams me thinks.

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Nuxfanabroad Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Nuxfanabroad

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It's redundant to compare 2 of the "big 3" sports, with NHL, in this business context. Obviously we Cdns are addicted to this sport-something NHL HQ has shamelessly exploited.

We've funded probably HALF of their rev-share great sunbelt giveaway, with only 6(now 7) teams. Yet our Cdn franchises have been shat on thru media(esp 2011 finals) , rulings & reffing.

My personal boycott will continue. They haven't gotten a dime from me for over a decade.

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Me_ Canucks Franchise Player

Me_

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Oh Gallagher. Your attempt at reconciliation via empathy and solidarity with the average fan who cannot afford a Canucks game is beyond pathetic.

The patern is still there; give a couple of medieval dance-like compliments to a few, then bombard the rest of the league with a major complaint.

The attempt to put Vancouver amongst the richest of the league is also rather pathetic. Canucks owners are not related in any way to the Sultan of Brunei.

If you can't afford a Canucks game, Gallagher, just move to Tampa Bay...

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Me_ Canucks Franchise Player

Me_

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Honestly I believe we would have a much healthier entertaining league if we did a major contraction

Tampa, Fla, Car, Dal, Phx, Ana, SJ, CLB, Nash

OUT!!!!!

Revenue sharing should be a temporary aid to teams that are losing money not there only source of income

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Nuxfanabroad Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Nuxfanabroad

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NHL paradise for me? 2 conferences, 1 Canadian, & 1 American. Each conf carries 10, or 12 teams. Have relegation to a lower division for the bottom team, every year. So 1 US & 1 Cdn team gets demoted.(player salaries cut about 50%!). Make it Darwinian-existence.

PO's both conferences work from 8 teams(2 rounds) down to 2 remaining(4 total). Then inter-conf seedings. Could end up with all-US or all-Cdn finals.

Each team MUST have at least 10 players from home country. This would further enhance inter-league rivalries & intensity. America is ready to produce at least 100-120 good players.

Ultimately tie this in to pit the Cup winner vs the EU champion. Maybe set up an EU conference(each team must have 10 EU skaters, etc...), down the road? Streamline ice size, rules, etc...

Commissioner change to someone like Gretz or Dryden. Focus on the sport & consistent rules, not media & $$$.

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Nuxfanabroad Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Nuxfanabroad

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How else can the League's President Jeremy Jacobs buy all the votes he needs to keep his power intact on the NHL Board of Governors. How else can Jacobs keep "acts of violence" in the game or ensure that lenient officiating standards will over-look them. jacobs needs to appease those more rabid Bruins fans to keep Boston in the money.

Absentee-owners are also gold to Jacobs.. They proxy in their votes to him. But - the indebted ones who depend upon NHL subsidies & safety nets that they were promised befroe they were reecruited,...they are really his bread & butter. Those owners are the lemmings - who follow his counsel & directives on committees, in the board rooms, backrooms, or infront of the media.

If this cushy system weren't in place for Mr. Jacobs & some of his other Original-6 partners....the league would have similar rules to the IIHF...& fewer problems with officials wanting to impress the kingpins to get cushy NHL promotions after hanging up their skates. The doctors & the science would be understood & appreciated & stiffer infractions would be assessed for violent NON-hockey plays - during & after the incidents.

Every rink would deserve their franchise if the corruption were...exposed. This guy's system works...for him...& occaisionally his co-horts benefit too. If your team happens to be outside of his circle...be prepareds to be abused, exploited duped, mis-treated & ganged-up on. That's the way business tycoons do business... & keep those who could threatent their personal power - down.

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MattJVD Canucks Regular

MattJVD

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NHL paradise for me? 2 conferences, 1 Canadian, & 1 American. Each conf carries 10, or 12 teams. Have relegation to a lower division for the bottom team, every year. So 1 US & 1 Cdn team gets demoted.(player salaries cut about 50%!). Make it Darwinian-existence.

PO's both conferences work from 8 teams(2 rounds) down to 2 remaining(4 total). Then inter-conf seedings. Could end up with all-US or all-Cdn finals.

Each team MUST have at least 10 players from home country. This would further enhance inter-league rivalries & intensity. America is ready to produce at least 100-120 good players.

Ultimately tie this in to pit the Cup winner vs the EU champion. Maybe set up an EU conference(each team must have 10 EU skaters, etc...), down the road? Streamline ice size, rules, etc...

Commissioner change to someone like Gretz or Dryden. Focus on the sport & consistent rules, not media & $$$.

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