Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkGio
I also think it's important to note that Athletes arent your typical labour force. If a steel mill worker strikes, it's not a tough decision because their job is hard and not fulfilling, so spending time on the picket line is a vacation compared to the daily grind. Hockey players generally really want to go to work. They literally play a fun game for a job. Plus they want to be the best and win awards and are naturally highly motivated people. Sitting at home is like torture.
It's always the low paying guys who get the shaft in every work stoppage. That is true for all industries, not just sports and entertainment. But the low paying guys also know who brings in the revenue for cap increases, minimum wage increases, and expansions. Johnny Gaudreau puts butts in seats, not Morgan Klimchuck. The Flames spending to the cap, putting money into player development, and carrying a well-paying and competitive AHL and ECHL teams only happens if the organization is a financially healthy franchise, driven by talent like Gaudreau and Monahan. It's much like Universities that way. Grants and jobs are created if you have the talent and minds working there.
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I think that this line of thinking will only go so far with the rank and file for whom a lost season is detrimental to his career—which is most of the membership of the NHLPA. I can see this rhetoric carrying the day for 10 or 15 weeks, but as usual, by the end of January or early February most players simply cannot afford to hold out much longer.