The Wool Over Our Eyes?

I'm pretty certain I'll never be an NHL owner. Besides the fact that I'm not a bazillionaire and I don't have a nest egg from a highly-successful business I can use, I'm in staunch disagreement with the NHL running a season when there are so many variables they can't control despite there being a myriad of examples where things have gone off the rails in the other major professional sports. If you listen to The Hockey Show, you know my feelings on the NHL ramping up for this season despite me being a nobody in the hockey world, so maybe it's time to get the ringleader's thoughts on the matter.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sat down for a conference call with the media today and things got a little heated at times. Like "lighting money on fire" hot as shown in the lede image. For example, he was asked about economic picture for the NHL this season, and his response was quite surprising.

"We're going to run through more money, or say it differently, lose more money at the club level and at the league level by playing than by not playing. But the owners unanimously are OK with that because they know how important it is for our fans and for the game.

"The magnitude of the loss, when you add it all up, starts with a 'b'. We’re out of the 'm' range and into the 'b' range. That's just what we have to deal with and that's what the clubs have decided they're prepared to do. Even though it would be a smaller number if we just shut down for a year, everybody thought it was important, as one of the four major sports, for us to take our role and play our game and deliver what people expect from us."

Wow. There's a lot to unpack there. The commissioner basically laid out the state of the game for everyone to see in two paragraphs, and is asking us to believe that this is the best course of action for the NHL. So, in saying that, let's break this statement down.

"We're going to run through more money, or say it differently, lose more money at the club level and at the league level by playing than by not playing. But the owners unanimously are OK with that because they know how important it is for our fans and for the game."

This might be first time in the history of businesses anywhere that the guy in charge is basically admitting that they want to lose money by conducting business, and we all know the NHL is not in the money-losing business. What would be the purpose for doing this? There seems to be nothing to indicate that this is a good idea in any way aside from a hollow nod to fans and "the game".

Let's be honest here in that fans have never once changed how the NHL does business. With only four teams opening their doors to actual fans who can attend games, claiming this is for the fans is pure lip service.

The NHL knows it has all sorts of contractual obligations to fulfill this season that it can't avoid, so this season will push ahead because the NHL contractually has to play it out. Sponsors, TV deals, and players all have contracts that were agreed to by the NHL, and there is no avoiding that responsibility.

As for "the game", there is precisely nothing that the NHL can give to the game in a 56-game effort that the game of hockey hasn't already seen. This season isn't going to be magical in any way unless the NHL can magically have no players miss games due to positive COVID-19 test. They've already failed that through the training camp portion, so whatever the NHL thinks it's doing that is important for the game simply isn't true by any measure.

"The magnitude of the loss, when you add it all up, starts with a 'b'. We’re out of the 'm' range and into the 'b' range. That's just what we have to deal with and that's what the clubs have decided they're prepared to do."

The fact that the NHL is forecasting losses in the billions is telling when it comes to the stupidity of holding a season, but it's fairly apparent in Bettman's next statement that "the clubs" need to play this out in order to make good on their sponsor dollars they willfully accepted.

I'm not going to fault the NHL for admitting that they owe some sponsors money or advertising, but it seems those words can't find their way out of Bettman's mouth. Instead, we get a barrage of verbal diarrhea about doing this for the fans and the game when it's clearly about making good with the sponsors who paid a pile of money for content and advertising spaces. Dressing this effort up as some favour to fans and the game is another word that starts with a "b" and it usually comes from the back end of a male bovine.

"Even though it would be a smaller number if we just shut down for a year, everybody thought it was important, as one of the four major sports, for us to take our role and play our game and deliver what people expect from us."

Who, precisely, is everyone when the NHL already asked the players to take a pay cut because the owners cried poor about lost revenues one month ago? With Bettman crying poor about teams running through money at an alarming rate, who in their right mind would agree to lose more money because it's "important... for us to take our role and play our game and deliver what people expect"?

The NHL is playing this season out because there's a pot of gold waiting at the end of this dark cloud. The rainbow is there if the league pushes through to the end of this season because the NHL's $200 million-a-year deal with NBC expires after the 2020-2021 season. By not playing this season, they'd have to extend the deal one more year rather than using this abbreviated season to their advantage and ending the deal with NBC.

With ESPN chomping at the bit to get back on the ice with the NHL, there will be a more NFL-like TV deal put in place by the NHL where NBCSN, ESPN, and other networks will be able to bid on pieces of the NHL's weekly setup of games with more lucrative spots earning the league a bigger monetary windfall. With this strategy of branding across a number of major networks, expect bidding wars for weekend games and the established Wednesday night Rivalry games that the NHL scheduled for NBC, and that means more revenue for the NHL in the long run. Short terms pains for long term gains is a sound investment when one gambles on itself as the NHL has.

Would I miss NHL hockey if we were forced into another long wait for the game to return? Undoubtedly, and, if social media is to be believed, there are a lot of fans who are excited for the NHL season to start this week. What we should remember is that the NHL isn't doing this for the fans despite Gary Bettman trying to pass this off as something for the fans. This is a business decision that one year of losses will be cancelled out by years of lucrative television contracts in the near future.

That, too, may benefit fans in the long run with more channels to watch hockey, but let's just make sure that Gary Bettman isn't begging for your gratitude in playing this season when ticket prices to attend games may ultimately go up because of the losses this season. I might be cynical, but the NHL doesn't burn money because it loves its fans, and it hasn't been in the business of losing money for some time.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!