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Sunday, November 7, 1999
Greed kills the game
Over the next week, you're going to read a lot of facts and opinions about the state of hockey in Calgary.
The Sun and CFCN Television will release the results of a poll we commissioned to find out how Calgarians feel about the Calgary Flames and minor hockey in this city.
But right now, let's take a second to applaud the Flames for doing what so many other teams are not.
And that's show some kind of fiscal responsibility in the face of sheer insanity by many of their NHL brethren.
It's easy to point fingers at the ownership group and ask why they aren't willing to shell out a few more bucks to buy some proven talent.
But then again, why should they?
Perhaps they, like Joe Working Stiff, are sickened by the salaries even the most average of players is raking in these days.
Maybe seeing their team payroll balloon from $8 million in 1989 to $22 million last season is quite enough, thank you.
Andrew Cassels is a decent hockey player. But does he put one bum in the seat? Outside of his relatives, we think not. Yet that didn't stop the Vancouver Canucks from coughing up $7.5 million US over three years to lure away the unrestricted free agent from the Flames.
Is he worth that much? Never in a million years. Hell, you could easily argue he was overpaid at $1.2 million US with the Flames last year.
But, then again, this is the same team that paid a king's ransom to an old Mark Messier.
The best move the Calgary Flames made this past off-season was jettisoning Bob Bassen.
Last season, Bassen was paid $1.1 million US by the Flames -- and he was simply dreadful.
How in the world did he ever deserve such a contract in the first place? And who, thought you, the fan, would be willing to help pick up that tab?
Professional athletes will tell you they only want a fair share of the pie. Their careers are extremely short. Blah, blah, blah. If their team generates a certain amount of revenue, they want a certain percentage of it in their pocket. Blah, blah, blah. That's my name on a sweater, give me the money.
Well, where was it ever decided that owners -- the guys who put up all the dough to create these franchises -- should not get some return on their money?
Sure, there were the days when hockey players were treated like cattle and financially abused. The players formed a union to protect them from such abuse. At least, that was the plan.
And, as unions are so wont to do, now it's their turn to tighten the screws. It's time to bleed every nickel out of the piggybank, stripmine ownership resources, milk the cash cow -- and kill the golden goose.
It seems an owner who actually makes money on a pro sports team is looked upon as some sort of criminal.
So instead of pointing or raising fingers at the owners, ask yourself what NHLPA Bob Goodenow and his union brothers have done for the game you love.
And be afraid what they'll do when the Collective Bargaining Agreement comes up for negotiation in 2004.
Surely there's a happy medium where professional athletes can make a damn good living without pricing themselves out of the reach of the people who love to watch them do their thing.
Until that happens, we'll rely on sensible men like the co-owners of the Calgary Flames to keep a little sanity in our game.
And hope they can hang on long enough for common sense to show up again.
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