looks like its going to be a Bayern v Chelsea Final

If I don't end up like this tonight I have failed badly!

Salary caps are the absolute nuts. Over here in North America, there's a team in the National Hockey League that is literally bankrupt and owned by the league and has still made the playoffs three out of the last four years. Parity is good for the game.

yeah a team owned by dumb people who bankrupt teams doing as well as well run clubs, that's great!

Can you believe it?

No.

The club is run by competent people, it just happens to be located in a terrible market that can't sustain the team. That's what happens when you put a professional ice-hockey team in the middle of the sunbelt. Would you consider a team that has one of the lowest payrolls in the league yet is still competitive year in and year out to be a poorly run team? Sounds like they've got some savvy personnel working behind the scenes to me.

One of the points of a salary cap, among other things, is to ensure the skill discrepancy between teams doesn't get too wide. It ensures that well-off teams can still build powerful teams but not teams so powerful that the rest of the league has no chance of competing.

League parity makes for more competitive games which is ultimately better for the league and for its fans.

Also, it takes way more organization skill to run successful team while working within the constraints of a salary cap. Any assshole billionaire can spend $100 million dollars a year but it takes skill to draft well, structure contracts properly, and plan for the future.

a club going bankrupt is not a well run team

sorry.

The team is doing fine. Off-ice they have issues selling tickets because of the market they're situated in. It's not like Europe where you can plop a soccer team anywhere and you'll have people come out in droves. Hockey isn't ingrained in the culture of the southern United States which makes doing business pretty difficult, yet they still manage to ice a competitive team regardless.

Sorry you completely missed the point of my posts.

So there isn't a market for this hockey team in it's area?

?

No. It's just that the market ****ing sucks. The league took a shot on expanding into different parts of the country with the hopes of growing the game and it didn't work out the way they'd hoped. DEspite their woeful revenues, though, they're still able to compete with the big clubs on a yearly basis. That makes for better, more competitive games. Better, more competitive games makes for a better league. At least from the fans' POV.

If it was run by a competent team, the team would realise they are located in a terrible market that cant sustain the team.

It's like saying, we're doing well because we turnover 20 million a year, even though our expenses equal 21 million.

If the market for hockey is so small in that place, they're shouldn't be a hockey team in that place.

Nah, I don't think that's a great example. It would be like if you owned a world-reknowned vegan restaurant that got rave-reviews from the critics but was struggling financially because everyone in the area loved meat. You have a great product (they ice a solid team) but you just can't compete with the steakhouses and burrito stands (football and basketball teams).

Also, when I say "competent team," I'm not talking about the owner/s, I'm talking about the executives. The General Manager, President etc. They're able to ice a competitive team despite the business generating little to no revenue.

Secondly, They do realize they're in a terrible market; they just can't do anything about it right now. You think you can just pack up your team and move to a new city like it's nothing? The league's board of governors has to approve a move and even then there might be some legal hurdles to clear, like if they've signed a lease to play at the city's publicly owned arena. Also, it's not like they can just move into any market. You think an already established team wants a new club moving in next door that they'd have to compete with? The owner would get his ass sued so fast.

Holy ****, did you not read my other posts? They took a calculated risk and they missed. It happens.

You said because they're bankrupt, they're not a well run team. I disagree. If they barely have any money and continue to ice a WINNING team, they're doing something right. They suck as a business but they're good as a team.

The executives, General manager and President will consider the business side of things a lot more important than icing a good team, especially compared to the owner who I assume is a fan of the team.

They might have taken a calculated risk and missed, but it is now down to them to correct that and sell off there most valuable players and assets even if it does mean fielding a mediocre team for the long term health of the team/business.

Icing a good team IS good for business. The better your team is, the more people will come and watch them play. The problem is they're located in an area where no one really gives a **** about the sport. They didn't grow up playing it or watching it with their families so it's tough sell.

As for selling off most of their assets, what's the point? It's not like they have a huge overhead. They already have one of the lowest pay-rolls in the league and still manage to win consistently because people in their organization scout well and find underrated players at affordable prices. That's good management at work. They can't go much lower in terms of pay-roll expenses or they'll go under the cap basement which is against the rules.

My point being: the cap is sweet because it allows the aforementioned team to compete with the rich as **** teams if they do good work behind the scenes.

is this team from Alaska or something, surely most parts of Canada/USA would support their local hockey team esp if they played in the nhl or chl.

Phoenix, Arizona. Not many people grew up playing ice-hockey in the desert.

I don't really know how to respond to that. How do you expect them to survive as a team/business if they are losing money?. They have as long as there accountants tell them they do before they go busto.

If they are winning consistently and working on the tightest budget possible (which I assume is not the case) then it is not a business atall but just a sand timer of $.

The team went into bankruptcy in 2009 and was eventually bought by the league with the intention of selling once they'd found an acceptable suitor. It's now basically being subsidized by tax-payers and funded by the league.

It's still a viable business, just not in that market. They're probably going to move it in the next five years.

What? You just said it was a business run by intelligent businessman.

I don't know what you mean by saying its a viable business but not in the market when you just said a couple of hours ago its not possible to relocate. If its not a viable business in your hometown where the majority of your supporters are, how is it a viable business anywhere else?

If you're a sports fan, I don't understand how you don't get what I'm saying. I said they were a successful team/club but they do poor financially. In other words, their on ice product is solid (they win consistently and make the playoffs on a regular basis) but they don't make a lot of money. Do you understand the difference? From a financial standpoint they suck, but they're much more competitive than many of the other teams in the league. Oh, and I didn't call them business men. I called them executives. Roster architects, if you will.

It might be possible to relocate at some point, but they can't just up and leave at the end of the season like some others suggested they do. "If its not a viable business in your hometown where the majority of your supporters are, how is it a viable business anywhere else?" Because you're not just selling the Phoenix Coyotes, you're selling NHL hockey. People don't really give a **** about hockey in the desert, but if you move that team to say Seattle or Hamilton (markets filled with people who like hockey), people will come and watch. They wouldn't care that the team had been in Phoenix for years, they'd just want to see some pro hockey which is why it'd be a viable business venture elsewhere.

thread needs more Boobies.

Lol

so it's being funded by the state. not "funded by taxpayers" as if they have a choice in the matter.

that's called failed business.

I'm guessing it was "too big to fail"