wow, this is how irrelevant and weak the nhl is

[gtc08]

let me tidy up this thread a bit.

first, i never said hockey was irrelevant. i said the nhl was irrelevant in america. nobody cares about hockey here. a 4 rating in the best possible matchup says enough. a 4 rating is the equivalent of a regular season nba game.

second, the nhl is not a global sport. it is a regional sport played in 30 or so countries. its just played in europe and north america.

3rd, nba draft picks from foreign countries are often sent back over by the nba teams so they can finish playing out there contracts and try to be ready for the nba. ie: rudy fernandez of the blazers, ie marc gasol.

4th, no european has ever turned down the nba for a team in europe and no american would ever go to play in a european league. the euros come to the nba because its the best league where they can make the most money. the nhl isn't the best if it doesn't have the money this other hockey league has. its a rival league that will do better because like i said it's in a country where people actually care about hockey.

5,. hockey is probably more popular worldwide then football, but basketball and the nba are 10 times more popular worldwide then football or hockey.

think of it this way for soccer fans. the nba is like the english premier league. it has the best arenas, most money, and everyone from around the world wants to play for that league. they dont have to worry about other leagues stealing there guys because the league so much better then every other league.

the nhl is like the french league. minimal appeal, rival leagues are as good if not better and they lose there players to those leagues. league doesnt have the money to compete with rival leagues and there's minimal interest.

 

[HarryBalzac]

Nobody remembers the USFL? If Malkin wants to go play in this Russian mafia league instead of playing with the best talent in the world, all the best to him. Last time I looked Moscow was top 3 most expensive cities in the world to live in also. I dont know what I would pick Pittsburgh or Moscow myself actually. As far as ratings are what gets higher ratings that gets a bit boring to hear over and over again. If people would rather watch womens softball and bowling and or judge the sports entertainment by the ratings they get then god bless. The hockey playoffs were great this year and most hockey fans couldn't care less how many people watched womens softball, if that is even true.

 

[AllInAintNothin']

let me tidy up this thread a bit.

first, i never said hockey was irrelevant. i said the nhl was irrelevant in america. nobody cares about hockey here. a 4 rating in the best possible matchup says enough. a 4 rating is the equivalent of a regular season nba game.

second, the nhl is not a global sport. it is a regional sport played in 30 or so countries. its just played in europe and north america.

3rd, nba draft picks from foreign countries are often sent back over by the nba teams so they can finish playing out there contracts and try to be ready for the nba. ie: rudy fernandez of the blazers, ie marc gasol.

4th, no european has ever turned down the nba for a team in europe and no american would ever go to play in a european league. the euros come to the nba because its the best league where they can make the most money. the nhl isn't the best if it doesn't have the money this other hockey league has. its a rival league that will do better because like i said it's in a country where people actually care about hockey.

5,. hockey is probably more popular worldwide then football, but basketball and the nba are 10 times more popular worldwide then football or hockey.

think of it this way for soccer fans. the nba is like the english premier league. it has the best arenas, most money, and everyone from around the world wants to play for that league. they dont have to worry about other leagues stealing there guys because the league so much better then every other league.

the nhl is like the french league. minimal appeal, rival leagues are as good if not better and they lose there players to those leagues. league doesnt have the money to compete with rival leagues and there's minimal interest.

I usually agree with you on a lot of things but you are way off here. There is not a league in the world that can compare to the NHL just like there isn't a basketball league that compares to the NBA.

The NHL is by far superior and if you combined every league in the world they couldn't compete with the NHL. The NHL is by far the best league and if you think there is more talent around the world in their leagues than there is in the NHL than you're just very biased against the NHL

 

[Vancouverfan]

there are no rival leagues in the world even remotely close to the NHL. this new Russian league (which hasn't even started yet) will not have teams with 57 million dollar salary payroll such as the cap will be in the NHL this season. They are offering a giant contract to Malkin to get a young star with a big name that they can build their league around, that is all that is happening here. Malkin would still rather make the rookie minimum around 850,000 this season rather then 12.5 million in Russia. Also all the top young Russian players are still in the NHL, and still wanting to come here as the top Russian prospect Filatov stated his intentions of coming to play in the NHL rather then stay in Russia, and was drafted 6th overall by Columbus Friday night. When this Russian league has been around for a few seasons we will see if it has any credibility or not and considered a rival league.

As far as comparing it to basketball its pretty much a given that basketball will be much more popular worldwide as basically all you need is land and a ball to play , where as hockey you need a cold weathered winter environment and expensive equipment. I've been to several Ranger games in the past and fans seemed very passionate there, and MSG was always sold out, same with Minnesota and other northern states. People there seem to care quite a bit. It's the large populations in the southern states that don't care much for it and brings tv ratings down, and you have to think that's the way it's always gonna be unless they start building lots of arenas down there.

 

[-Chase-]

there are no rival leagues in the world even remotely close to the NHL. this new Russian league (which hasn't even started yet) will not have teams with 57 million dollar salary payroll such as the cap will be in the NHL this season. They are offering a giant contract to Malkin to get a young star with a big name that they can build their league around, that is all that is happening here. Malkin would still rather make the rookie minimum around 850,000 this season rather then 12.5 million in Russia. Also all the top young Russian players are still in the NHL, and still wanting to come here as the top Russian prospect Filatov stated his intentions of coming to play in the NHL rather then stay in Russia, and was drafted 6th overall by Columbus Friday night. When this Russian league has been around for a few seasons we will see if it has any credibility or not and considered a rival league.

As far as comparing it to basketball its pretty much a given that basketball will be much more popular worldwide as basically all you need is land and a ball to play , where as hockey you need a cold weathered winter environment and expensive equipment. I've been to several Ranger games in the past and fans seemed very passionate there, and MSG was always sold out, same with Minnesota and other northern states. People there seem to care quite a bit. It's the large populations in the southern states that don't care much for it and brings tv ratings down, and you have to think that's the way it's always gonna be unless they start building lots of arenas down there.

I agree with pretty much everything you are saying and I love the NHL and we all know it has all the best talent when it comes to hockey, but if the statement in bold is true than Malkin is just an idiot. I'm honestly not sure why he wouldn't take the 12.5 mil tax free in Russia over the 9 mil or whatever he'll make here in NA. Yes he's playing in the best league, but I think it would be stupid to pass up much more money to play in a more comfortable environment. If the best hockey league happened to be in Russia and that's where all the top players played and I was making 9 mil there, but offered 15 mil to come home to Canada to play in a much worse league I would take it in a second.

It's not like Malkin is someone that will make tons of money in endorsements either. I'm sure we all saw how good he was in that car commercial.

 

[gtc08]

isnt there a large contingent of skilled hockey players that are choosing russia and sweden over the nhl?

i swear reading an article on forsberg or somebody who was playing in sweden and came back to the nhl. why would a guy like that go to that league if its so inferior to the nhl. i'm pretty sure that guy was forsberg, not 100 percent though.

 

[BettingFoodStamps]

hockey is not irrelevent, it is just a 2nd tier sport in the usa just like soccer. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and it gets less love then hockey does. Instead of distractions like this, the nhl needs to find a way to appeal to the average usa sports fans.

 

[FairWarning]

isnt there a large contingent of skilled hockey players that are choosing russia and sweden over the nhl?

i swear reading an article on forsberg or somebody who was playing in sweden and came back to the nhl. why would a guy like that go to that league if its so inferior to the nhl. i'm pretty sure that guy was forsberg, not 100 percent though.

Forsberg made lots of $$ in the NHL and decided to play for the Swedish hometown team where he is from. Shorter schedule for him and he has been fighting injuries too. He did come back to Colorado in April and got hurt right away. I believe Haaken Loob a few years ago did the same thing.

The Russian mob/government puts pressure on their talent to stay, but I'm sure the NHL gets 90% of any talent they want.

 

[Vancouverfan]

Forsberg was considering retirement and had some major injury problems with his foot he had to deal with, so he went back home to Sweden to deal with it all, he played a bit in the Swedish Elite League to test out his foot after surgery and prepare himself for the NHL. The Swedish Elite League is full of players who can't quite make it to the NHL, as all the top Swedes and Finns are here in North America right now. The only NHL players I know that have signed in Russia is Chris Simon and John Graham, who are both washed up has beens and would not crack an NHL roster next season. Basically these leagues are like comparing the CFL to the NFL. The top players in the CFL usually end up moving to the NFL at some point in their careers (Warren Moon, Jeff Garcia, Doug Flutie...etc) While players from the NFL that can no longer crack the rosters sometimes move to the CFL (Mike McMahon, David Boston, Bethel Johnston and many other lesser name guys that get cut from training camps) By no means is the talent in these leagues on the same level.

 

[gtc08]

so let me just get the gist of what you guys are saying. the NHL is by far and away the best league even though the league can't match a salary by a rival league?

rashard lewis of the magic got 115 mill from the magic. name 1 basketball league that could come up with a quarter of that salary.

 

[FairWarning]

so let me just get the gist of what you guys are saying. the NHL is by far and away the best league even though the league can't match a salary by a rival league?

rashard lewis of the magic got 115 mill from the magic. name 1 basketball league that could come up with a quarter of that salary.

The NHL has a strict salary cap based on league revenues. By your admission, the NBA recognition is global. Tells me the teams world-wide don't think Lewis is worth the money. There are teams that can afford him overseas too. Stern would love to create a global league someday.

Funny you bring up Lewis. He is a top-100 player in the NBA, but Malkin is a top 10-15. If the best Spanish League team signs Lewis, what does that do for their team? Do they flock to see him? Probably not. Does he help them win the European Championship? Maybe. Now if Malkin does take the offer, he is playing back home. Fans come to see him because he is an elite player. Probably helps them win also.

Just because Orlando wastes $100+ million doesn't mean all teams globally would do it. If there was an NBA player who left in his prime, it would be Yao Ming, and he isn't going anywhere. Think the Chinese leagues don't have the money?

 

[gtc08]

a worldwide nba brand though.

 

[Vancouverfan]

GTC, I mentioned in my first post this new Russian league (which hasn't started yet) won't even come close to the average salaries the NHL has. Just because they are offering a huge contract to one player to give their league a face means absolutely nothing, any league could attempt something like that. Malkin would rather make his rookie contract salary at less then a million instead of 12,500,000 in Russia, what does that tell you about the new league. Maybe in 5 -10 years in will be a rival, but sure as hell not yet.