Subject: the NHL. Company: North America's fourth-place sports league. Problems: fan apathy and a looming players vs owners shootout. Question: how can the NHL win new fans, grow revenue and cut expenses?

Watters says play can be enhanced by bringing back the "tag-up" rule, which allows offside players to exit the offensive zone, then re-attack without a whistle. Finally, he advocates the removal of the "instigator" rule, which penalizes players who start fights. "Back in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Financial post magazine (2008) 2004-03, p.36
Main Authors: Torrey, Bill, Dowbiggin, Bruce, Watters, Bill, Anderson, Mark
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Bonuses
Collective bargaining
Finance
Free agency
Hockey
Ice hockey
Labor contracts
Lockouts
Professional hockey
Salaries pensions etc
Salary caps
Sports arbitration
Strikes
Wages & salaries
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Summary:Watters says play can be enhanced by bringing back the "tag-up" rule, which allows offside players to exit the offensive zone, then re-attack without a whistle. Finally, he advocates the removal of the "instigator" rule, which penalizes players who start fights. "Back in the Gretzky era, they allowed Dave Semenko to beat the living daylights out of anyone who looked cross-eyed at Gretzky. If Gretzky were playing in this league, he'd be lucky to score a hundred points because he'd be knocked all over the ice." Finally, he says the league should schedule more games against key rivals. "Have Toronto play Montreal six times a year, build up rivalries, that's what fans will pay to see." That doesn't necessarily make for less exciting hockey, says Torrey. "It's not a worse game, it's a different game. I've seen an awful lot of exciting 1-0, 2-1 games, and for every dull game I've seen this year, I've seen two or three very good games." As to the chronically low attendance at games in the U.S. southeast, Torrey says it's nothing time and winning can't fix. If your team is good and winning and competing, attendance is generally OK. Also, there are no historical rivalries or competitiveness among teams in our division, as there are among teams like the Flyers, Islanders, Rangers and Maple Leafs. It's always easy to look at the southern states and say, 'Aw, they're not hockey cities, no one's going to the games.' If the other divisions had the same set of circumstances to confront their customers with, they'd be drawing the same number of fans."
ISSN:1919-2010