# Is it time to teach the NHL a lesson?



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I love hockey as much as most Canadians, but I would love to see fans turn their backs on the league for a season.

Millionaires fighting with other millionaires while the guys in the seats making $15 an hour are held hostage?

I doubt it makes much difference to the average person who is right or wrong in such a dispute.

At the root of it all is greed.

I think it's time to send them all a message by staying away after they DO settle.

All this BS about how "all we really want to do is play" is awfully hard to swallow for me.

I say let em stay out all season. It's time for an "adjustment".


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2012)

I stopped watching/following at the first dispute.
Basically, when it became more a business than 
a sport. Same thing with baseball.


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## fredyfreeloader (Dec 11, 2010)

What is unrealistic is someone getting paid 3 million a year and then having their agent and the sports writers saying that they are grossly under paid, they are a real bargain for the team they play for. The Sedin twins at approx. 6 million per year are a bargain? these guys make more having a shit in the morning than most people make all year. Then you have that dink running the NHL Gary Bagman, 8 mil a year for being a jerk. My god fighting over 3.3 billion a year we should all have such a big problem.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

As I understand it, last time they negotiated a salary cap and the owners didn't wait long to breach it. So much for collectively bargained pay. I don't begrudge the grunt players their lowest on the pay scale rates, for pro sports it seems in line, but the top end is beyond obscene. To me, both parties seem responsible for the escalation. The third party, the fans, are like sheep and won't boycott games en masse. Never underestimate the stupidit of sports fans.

I haven't been to a game since they moved the Leafs from Maple Leaf Gardens, but I miss the game if it's not on TV. They have left me behind and I resent it. With each successive year I feel further removed. I seriously wonder if I'll be watching when I'm old, or whether it will be a distant regret that I had no control over.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

While I still follow it closely, I stopped watching along time ago. Ted Lindsey and Gordie Howe made $14,000 at a time when the average salary in Canada was $7,000. Everyone has the power to tune out of this elitist stoopidity..........


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

Accept2 said:


> While I still follow it closely, I stopped watching along time ago. Ted Lindsey and Gordie Howe made $14,000 at a time when the average salary in Canada was $7,000. Everyone has the power to tune out of this elitist stoopidity..........


^ this. It's out of control.


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

Yep, I stopped following hockey 15+ years ago when they had that strike. I used to watch every Leafs game before then and the strike just disgusted me and I woke up. Ya know, the game has to be rigged when the Leafs can't win a cup in 40+ years yet they are the most profitable team in the league.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I stopped watching when they let Anaheim have a team (c'mon, really? Florida? It was OK in a movie). There are too many teams and too many people making too much money. How about make it so you can keep track of what is going on with the game and be able to take the family out to one without having to get a 2nd mortgage? They ought to cut the number of teams in half. Let's start with the premise that if you cannot go outside to the pond and have a pick up game of hockey at some time during the year, your city does not qualify for a team (Arizona and hockey are 2 words that do not belong in the same sentence. Unless you are talking about what a poor place it is to play the game outdoors). Then we can start with having the average family of 4 being able to go and watch at the arena for about $50. Then we will start getting back to what hockey ought to be..............end rant.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Zzzzzz  zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Milkman said:


> I love hockey as much as most Canadians, but I would love to see fans turn their backs on the league for a season.
> Millionaires fighting with other millionaires while the guys in the seats making $15 an hour are held hostage?
> I doubt it makes much difference to the average person who is right or wrong in such a dispute.
> At the root of it all is greed. . . I think it's time to send them all a message by staying away after they DO settle.
> All this BS about how "all we really want to do is play" is awfully hard to swallow for me. I say let em stay out all season. It's time for an "adjustment".


I wholeheartedly agree but the leafs haven't made one penny off of me for as long as I can remember. I don't watch the league games but I did follow them in the playoffs.
My two son's took me to a Sens game a year ago and I bought the first round of beer (3 glasses) $34.
Somebodies paying those big salaries to the players, owners, lawyers and agents but it sure isn't me. (except for that damn $34 beer)


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

laristotle said:


> I stopped watching/following at the first dispute.
> Basically, when it became more a business than
> a sport. /QUOTE]
> 
> Same here. Couldn't agree more. I'm fed up with these spoiled brats....and the players too.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I'm a big hockey fan, and juuuust hate this crap. The last baseball strike pretty much destroyed my interest, or almost - I used to be an ARDENT follower, tracking individual and team stats, being involved in multiple player drafts, hell I knew who the bad team had in the minors 2 levels deep. Then they went on strike, and I stopped all of it...no more watching regular Jays broadcasts, following other teams and leagues, etc. Now I'll watch the occasional playoff game, but won't know most of the players except the megastars. I'm not as deep a hockey fan as I used to be for baseball, but with the hopefully rising fortunes of the Oilers, who have a lot of good young talent, I have watched almost every game on TV the last few years despite the hard times. I expect I'll lose most of that interest if this goes more than a few games into the regular season. 

If they lose a season, it will be very bad for the league - I can see multiple teams contracting. I do think they've overexpanded by 4-6 teams anyways, so that might not be a bad thing....but it'll cost them more in lost fans in the medium-long term.

Idiots on both sides indeed. I don't get the sense that either side is more right or wrong than the other...just get something done already.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> Sounds good in theory, but I've anticipated this upcoming Oilers season more than any season in the past 25 years. When/if they start playing again, I'll be watching.
> 
> Of course, if I was a Leafs fan, I'd be all over the fan boycott idea. Who really wants to watch that in the first place?


Oh I'm not even close to naive enough to think that fans will actually stay away.

Nah, once the millionaires have settled with each other, the sheep will line up and pay their money just like always.

For me, the taste in my mouth is becoming a bit too unpalletable.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

What the fnck am going to do with my Leaf jerseys. (Never mind. That's a rhetorical question.)

Bastards.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

I actually miss the Original Six broadcasts in the 80s, when all the old timers had their own league. I guess there just wasnt enough interest to make it last............


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> It's entertainment. And it's business. I fail to see how hockey fans are "sheep" anymore than people who pay to attend concerts or movies.


I would have been disapointed if you actually agreed with something I posted.

Thanks for the consistancy.


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

nkjanssen said:


> It's entertainment. And it's business. I fail to see how hockey fans are "sheep" anymore than people who pay to attend concerts or movies.


Hockey was not a "business" pre-90's as it was more like college football in the USA with a huge amount of emotional and tribal attachment. As a Leafs fan back then, there was nothing more vile on this planet than the Habs or Hab fans. Now, there is nothing... a Leafs game is now more or less a lame repetitive sitcom shot with a large audience.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I think it was Matt Stajin who said that the public has to understand that to an NHL'er, dropping from 3 mil to 2 mil is just like you and I going from 60k to 40k. 

His math lesson sure helped to make me understand his plight .............. I wish there was somewhere I could donate................


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> And I would have been disappointed if you hadn't responded to my initial post with name calling.
> 
> Thanks for the consistancy.



Name calling?

Please provide the post.

Now if I had called you a dickhead, A-hole, self important dumb ass, that sort of thing, I would have been "name calling".

Just a point of clarity.

Now if you choose to lump yourself in with the sheep, well, if the wool fits.....


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

I could stand to sit out for a year and not really miss the NHL at all. Where I work we used to have a Christmas draw for several years where the winner would receive one nights accomodation and four tickets to a Leafs game. At the beginning (about 20 years ago) the cost was tolerable. Last year was the final year because the cost spiralled out of control to around $1500.00. The Staff decided this year they would rather have a draw for a 1k prize instead and management wholeheartedly agreed. I can't fathom how the average working person could afford to take a Family of Four to a Leafs game and spend the night in T.O. It really equals a nice 1 week vacation for most people. From now on, I will let the millionaires buy all the tickets to the Leafs games. I'm staying home.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Yeah it's pretty sad. 

I can still take my kids to a Jays game without selling a kidney, but a Leafs game?

Ridiculous.

It's to the point where tickets are so expensive that they contravine may corporate policies against graft.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

allthumbs56 said:


> I think it was Matt Stajin who said that the public has to understand that to an NHL'er, dropping from 3 mil to 2 mil is just like you and I going from 60k to 40k.
> 
> His math lesson sure helped to make me understand his plight .............. I wish there was somewhere I could donate................


Hahaha. I used to make my living as a negotiator. 1/3 of 3 million is way more than 1/3 of 60 grand. What's left can still set you up for life on the higher wage.

Yeah, and us fans are sheep.

Peace, Mooh.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Milkman said:


> Now if you choose to lump yourself in with the sheep, well, *if the wool fits...*..


Good one....


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Guess it's time to cancel my subscription to the Leafs channel  I'd actually forgotten I had it. 

I usually throw the game on as background while I'm reading a good book. Don't recall the last time I actually "had" to watch a game. Play-offs are also a joke, almost as long as the regular season. What I'd like to see is set the League up similar to UK Soccer with 2 divisions. Top 2 teams in 2nd division advance, bottom 2 teams in 1st division are relegated. All teams participate in the Stanley cup but it's played throughout the season with eliminations.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

nkjanssen said:


> Did you or did you not term anyone who doesn't boycott the NHL after they return as "sheep".
> 
> And was that or was that not in response to my post saying I won't boycott when they return?
> 
> Your reading comprehension is so poor, you don't even understand your _own_ posts.



Or perhaps if I had called you a pretentious arrogant nit picker who seldom has anything positive to add to any conversation, that could also be considered name calling.

But of course, I would never say something like that.

Heck, why don't we just do the manly thing and drop the gloves?

Actually, I'm sort of glad you stick around here. Your presence only serves to make me look better.

Thanks.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Though I was never an avid fan, I'd watch odd games on the weekends and definitely the playoffs.
I do have some jerseys, though I bailed on the Leafs the year they were consistantly blowing third period leads.
I'd given my slightly worn Leafs jersey to a guy at work (I would have worn it more during the playoffs ).

This is the forth interuption in league play in the last 20 years, three times under Bettman.
The owners are the ones handing out these huge salaries, then later, want them rolled back.

It's actually, millionaires fighting with billionaires.
There's no regard at all for the fans, the ones that are actually paying these salaries.
They can stay out indefinitely for all I care, because I am.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Robert1950 said:


> Zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz


Thats about what I think


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

I don't like the cost of tickets but I think that the palyers should start their own league, take 50% salary cuts, which would allow ticket prices to drop and leave the owners out in the cold.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Milkman said:


> Heck, why don't we just do the manly thing and drop the gloves?





nkjanssen said:


> The only thing more pathetic than a loud-mouthed dimwit is an internet tough guy.


Now children. You should be setting a good example for the young guitar players on the forum.

_(I wanted to say "and we can get Don Cherry to referee" but I'd better not.)_


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

I heard another Hockey player this week-end crying on national radio...basically said, "We're not like the average joe, who can work from say 20 to 65...we get maybe 13 to 16 years to make our money".....Damn fucking idiot..the "Average joe" maes $37 000$ in canada right now. say with inflation he makes around 2 million $ in his lifetime....Those morons style make more then the average joe in a YEAR...so will i cry if they get a pay cut?...FUCK no.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

smorgdonkey said:


> I don't like the cost of tickets but I think that the palyers should start their own league, take 50% salary cuts, which would allow ticket prices to drop and leave the owners out in the cold.


You would still end-up with a Owner group..and the cycle would start over withing 10 years.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

al3d said:


> You would still end-up with a Owner group..and the cycle would start over withing 10 years.


No because my idea is that the players remain owners until they aren't playing. When they stop playing, they cease being owners.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2012)

Guitar101 said:


> Now children. You should be setting a good example for the young guitar players on the forum.
> 
> _(I wanted to say "and we can get Don Cherry to referee" but I'd better not.)_


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Milkman said:


> Heck, why don't we just do the manly thing and drop the gloves?


You guys really need to consider getting together over a beer (or two..or three), IMHO.

Cheers

Dave


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

Mooh said:


> Never underestimate the stupidit of sports fans.


no kiddin...



Milkman said:


> the sheep will line up and pay their money just like always.
> 
> For me, the taste in my mouth is becoming a bit too unpalletable.


woah dude - that might be too personal






Milkman said:


> Or perhaps if I had called you a pretentious arrogant nit picker who seldom has anything positive to add to any conversation, that could also be considered name calling.
> 
> But of course, I would never say something like that.
> 
> Heck, why don't we just do the manly thing and drop the gloves?


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Quit giving Milkman the credit for calling us sports fans "sheep". I think I started that. LOL!

Baaaaa.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Guest (Sep 18, 2012)




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## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

View attachment 1535

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/429859_10151136791767221_1010995886_n.jpg


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## BEMUSofNrthAmra (Jun 9, 2012)

Teach the NHL a lesson? 

Get everyone to stop paying for tickets?

Yeah... right.

Won't happen. Ever.


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## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

With all the teams sending players down to the AHL, those of you in cities with a team should get out and support the farm clubs. It's a good chance to see some of these NHL guys playing real hockey. And it's cheap too.


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## buzzy (May 28, 2011)

Last season, I'd say less than a quarter of the games I caught on TV were worth watching. I often found myself looking for reading material on the coffee table. When you're thumbing through the Zellers flyer instead of watching the game, that says something.

I wouldn't be surprised if the entire season is cancelled. If they get things back on track, I may end up watching a few games but I have virtually no enthusiasm about the NHL right now.

I have no sympathy for the players or owners. The only thing that bugs me is the potential economic impact of a lost season on the little guy, for example, the people who may be laid off or have their shifts reduced at the arena. The economy is pretty rough. The last thing I'd like to see is more average Joes wondering where their next meal is coming from as a result of the greedy owners and players.


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## buzzy (May 28, 2011)

dtsaudio said:


> With all the teams sending players down to the AHL, those of you in cities with a team should get out and support the farm clubs. It's a good chance to see some of these NHL guys playing real hockey. And it's cheap too.


I hope they don't raise the ticket prices as a result of the influx of NHL talent. ;-)


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)




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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

BEMUSofNrthAmra said:


> Teach the NHL a lesson?
> 
> Get everyone to stop paying for tickets?
> 
> ...


It actually might, except for Toronto. The blind stupidity of Leafs Nation never ceases to amaze me.

+1 on previous comments about contraction. Too many games, too many teams, too many players on each team (sorry, not int'd in watching 4th line "energy guys/role players"), but the chances of that happening in a business where the primary source of revenue is ticket sales are nearly as slim as the Leafs winning another Cup.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Roryfan said:


> It actually might, except for Toronto. The blind stupidity of Leafs Nation never ceases to amaze me.
> 
> +1 on previous comments about contraction. Too many games, too many teams, too many players on each team (sorry, not int'd in watching 4th line "energy guys/role players"), but the chances of that happening in a business where the primary source of revenue is ticket sales are nearly as slim as the Leafs winning another Cup.


Agreed, us Leafs fans will never learn, but there's lots of other die-hards across Canada who will also tune back in once the NHL is back on.

I wish I could say "I'm done," but I love the game too much. I watch NHL games all winter long, not just the Leafs. I watch AHL, OHL, you name it. If it's on ice, it's on my TV. I guess I'll just have to get my fix watching other leagues in the meanwhile.

As far as the quality of the NHL product goes, I've been alternatively really happy and really disappointed with the game since the last lockout. When they came back in 2005, I loved the initial product. No more clutch-and-grab, not as much trapping, skill players were getting it done - it was pretty great. 4th line bruisers were pretty much relegated to non-existence, so the skill players got more ice-time. Sadly, over the last few years, those 4th liners have started to get back some ice-time, more fighting, etc. I fully support fighting in the NHL, but I don't support the existence of an "enforcer" who does nothing but drops the gloves on his first shift and doesn't see the ice again. What I DO support is guys like Shanahan or Owen Nolan who rarely fought, but when they did, man oh man, did they ever throw down. And you knew those fights weren't stupid staged fights off the opening face-off, they were legitimate bad-blood beefs. Way more exciting in my mind.

I know the NHL likes the fighting because it sells tickets, gets exposure, but fights used to be exciting because they were key moments in a game, they were instrumental to shaping its outcome. Now they're (mostly) expected and are just a side-show to get out of the way in the 1st period so that the rest of the game can take place. 

I agree the league is too big as well. Too many guys who should be minor-leaguers are taking regular or semi-regular shifts in the NHL. The league needs to work harder to preserve the integrity of the game by maintaining a truly elite roster of players.

On the plus side, there are 2 or 3 US teams that REALLY can't afford a protracted lockout. Phoenix is already a shambles and CBJ and CAR are not far off. Despite the Hurricanes having extended Cup runs and winning in the last 10 years, they still can't fill seats. Southern US hockey just plain doesn't work. Put a team in Wyoming or something, and more teams in Canada if you MUST have a 30 team league, or just let them go under and call it a day. Let's go down to 26 teams and watch the product get better because we won't have jobbers with marginal talent skating 6-8 minutes a game.

All said and done, yeah, I'll still watch when it's back and I'll miss it dearly while it's gone.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

laristotle said:


> I stopped watching/following at the first dispute.
> Basically, when it became more a business than
> a sport. Same thing with baseball.


Sports is about the only thing keeping me from cancelling my Cable completely. I just reduced my cable to basic and saved about $70. I am seriously considering giving up sports all together so I can tell Rogers to completely take a hike. I think the first couple of years would be hard but if they stay out all year again it will be easier. 
I'll probably cave come next spring for the Masters. Of course for what I save in cable I could probably just go to Augusta.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

guitarman2 said:


> Of course for what I save in cable I could probably just go to Augusta.


Or at least to the local pub!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

bw66 said:


> Or at least to the local pub!


I did that for a year. I didn't have cable or phone at an apartment I was living in in Peterborough, so I'd just walk down the to bar on Leaf game days. Sadly, that ended up costing me a LOT more


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

buzzy said:


> Last season, I'd say less than a quarter of the games I caught on TV were worth watching. I often found myself looking for reading material on the coffee table. When you're thumbing through the Zellers flyer instead of watching the game, that says something.


TSN was playing the 1987 Canada Cup...the quality of hockey was well beyond anything the 'new game' has had to offer since about 1993 or so.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

greco said:


> Milkman said:
> 
> 
> > Heck, why don't we just do the manly thing and drop the gloves?
> ...


Well, I don't drink but yes, in my experience those who come off as tough guys, tend to suck in their horns when I'm sitting across from them.

I make a point of never saying something to someone on the net that I wouldn't say to their face.

Works well for me.


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

View attachment 1537


So, you make the suggestion to "do the manly thing and drop the gloves" - and then accuse the other dude of being the internet tough guy?

Awesome.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

fretboard said:


> View attachment 1537
> 
> 
> So, you make the suggestion to "do the manly thing and drop the gloves" - and then accuse the other dude of being the internet tough guy?
> ...


Surely you realize that was a joke( or maybe not).

If I was going to drop to that level, I'd do it by PM.

Wow, hard to believe I had to spell that out.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

hollowbody said:


> I did that for a year. I didn't have cable or phone at an apartment I was living in in Peterborough, so I'd just walk down the to bar on Leaf game days. Sadly, that ended up costing me a LOT more


Thank goodness my slo-pitch team only charges $2/beer! Including uniforms & beverages, playing ball all summer costs me about the same as 3 or 4 rounds of golf.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

hollowbody said:


> Agreed, us Leafs fans will never learn, but there's lots of other die-hards across Canada who will also tune back in once the NHL is back on.
> 
> I wish I could say "I'm done," but I love the game too much. I watch NHL games all winter long, not just the Leafs. I watch AHL, OHL, you name it. If it's on ice, it's on my TV. I guess I'll just have to get my fix watching other leagues in the meanwhile.
> 
> ...


24 teams rolling 3 lines & 5 D. 2 of the 24 should be in Quebec City & Kitchener/Hamilton, maybe even give Halifax & Saskatoon a squad as well.

+1 on guys named Shanahan & Sutter. I realize that there are other factors (equipment, awareness etc.) but concussions didn't seem to be as big of an issue when the players policed the game themselves. Guys knew that if they went head hunting they would get the sh*t pounded out of them instead of having some marginal player stand in for them during a staged fight later in the game. Rather than "clean up hockey", the instigator rule essentially enabled cheap shot artists like Barnaby & Avery. But if the roster shrinks there's no more room for guys who can't skate. Fine by me.


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## mechanic (Apr 1, 2010)

I haven''t seriously watched NHL hockey since the Leaf's last won the cup.
And if memory serves me correctly, I think that was broadcast in Black and White, lol


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

mechanic said:


> I haven''t seriously watched NHL hockey since the Leaf's last won the cup.
> And if memory serves me correctly, I think that was broadcast in Black and White, lol


I'm going to hold out until they make the finals.

Or, until monkeys fly out of my ass ,whichever comes first.


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## mechanic (Apr 1, 2010)

Milkman said:


> I'm going to hold out until they make the finals.
> 
> Or, until monkeys fly out of my ass ,whichever comes first.


I'd put my money on the monkey's! lol


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## Krelf (Jul 3, 2012)

I am totally content in slapping down $10 and taking in Whitby Dunlops Senior games. You can sit anywhere in the house and the guys play their hearts out. The typical senior player is at the prime of his game (24-30) and has played either professional, Junior A or University hockey (a few even have played NHL) Many of these guys are just fed up with playing in the minors, riding buses and being traded. They want to settle into a normal career and enjoy playing hockey in their spare time for the sheer love of the game.

If you are lucky enough to have a senior team in your area, check them out. Its a cheap and enjoyable night out for a hockey fan frustrated with the NHL! And in most arenas parking is free!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Yeah Milkman, do the butt monkey trick. I wanna see that! LOL! (Sorry man.)

Seriously, the NHL is damaged. Too much money, too many teams, too much labour strife, too much too much. The damage started years ago and escalated, excelerated, and excremented all over the fans. It's surreal now. My mother grew up in Toronto and was a huge Leaf fan in her youth. Not poor, but not well off, she could still afford to attend games, lots of them. Relatively speaking (ignore the pun) she spent a fraction of what we would have to spend now. I don't think a return to the pre NHLPA days of owner abuse is required, but a return to affordability is.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Way past time. The money, violence and non-calling of the rules of the game has ruined it.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

_"Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz and the Broad Street Bullies influenced the development of a new attitude towards ice hockey."_

To me, hockey started to go downhill from this point on and has developed into what it is today. My skin crawls every time I see Bobby Clark's face on the screen.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I was trying to remember when I lost interest in baseball.

I used to watch a lot of games and attended a few at skydome.

I now remember that it was the year they went on strike. That year, the Expos were heading to the World (well, the North American) Series.

It may be coincidence, but I may watch one or two games a year now.

This will damage hockey. Some might say if this is all it takes, maybe you weren't a real fan anyway, but yes, people will turn away.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2012)

Milkman said:


> That year, the Expos were heading to the World (well, the North American) Series.


yup. couldn't have canadians win 
the pennant 3 years in a row.


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## Intrepid (Oct 9, 2008)

I agree. I remember the Baseball Strike very well. My brother and I (the only thing we would ever do together plus watch Leafs games) would end up going to an average of 10-15 games a year. Not a large amount and not chicken feed either especially since we would be purchasing the tickets from "resellers" at a premium at the Dome. Yes, baseball was so popular you paid way over face value and usually double the amount. The strike came and we decided we would boycott. We refused to even watch on TV during the following season. We are still part of that boycott (my brother hasn't gone to a game since) but I caved and have seen maybe 3 games since the strike. We have the same game plan for the NHL. And you know what, it doesn't bother me one bit anymore if I never see the Leafs play another game. Go Argos!


Milkman said:


> I was trying to remember when I lost interest in baseball.
> 
> I used to watch a lot of games and attended a few at skydome.
> 
> ...


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## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

I have been a big NHL hockey fan all my life, like many Canadians, but I'm getting disgusted with the whole NHL scene...the Canucks run to the Cup ending with a riot was enough to turn me off for years to come...and with all these 100 miliion dollar deals (Suter, PArise, Kovalchuk, etc.) I'm getting sick of the NHL - it just doesn't make sense to the average Canadian that these guys are making 500k a month to play hockey and now they are in a labor dispute? seroiously? why do millionaires need a union any way? I hope the season goes down the crapper and nobody comes back to see them play...It will be good for the WHL, AHL, BCHL, etc...get back to where the game should be


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