Lock out Over! (Final Blog) JHEEZ

The NHL lock out is officially over and hockey fans can get back to watching their favorite teams playing in the most competitive hockey league in the world. It was a grueling few months for hockey players, owners and especially fans during the duration of the lock out. The lock out lasted 113 days  where a total of 625 regular season games had been sacrificed, over half of the 2012-2013 season. On January 5th 2013 the NHL and the NHLPA had reached a verbal agreement on a tentative framework for a new collective bargaining agreement. Multiple meetings were arranged between the players union and the league owners during the lock out but they were unable to compromise on a deal that would satisfy both parties. In the long run the fans had to pay. How ever on Jan 5th the players union and the league owners were able to come up with a solution after a 16 hour talks amongst themselves. After the NHL asked for a $60 million cap, the players got the league to move all the  way to $64.3.

Now that the dust has settled fans, owners, coaches and players can get to what they do best. Fans being able to watch the sport they love, players training for the games ahead, coaches devising plays, and owners sitting on their lazy asses counting the dough that is rolling in. In all seriousness it is all a business, the owners are the ones who are making most of the money from owning a team. It is their team after all and the players are the ones who make their team marketable. For example Sidney Crosby with the Pitsburg Penguins is a prime example of a heavily popular team with a star player who can make or break the team. Being an owner you need to satisfy your star players and have close relations with them so they can help build your team. But it seems one person is not enough most of the time, a star player should be surrounded by a few other good players to build a championship caliber team. Satisfying your players is the key for the owners so they do not leave your team. With that in mind they will help you win a championship that will obviously build up the teams popularity.

With popularity amongst the fans that will generate tons of revenue through merchandise, ticket sales and network deals. When fans are turned of by a certain team that will result in a loss. The fans are everything, they are an open market to whom ever dares to step in. But not anyone can step in, they must have andproject something the common hockey fan wants. For example in 2009-2010 everyone wanted a Sidney Crosby jersey because he was the hot topic at the time. The lock out is now over and everyone is back to doing what they love and that is what really matters. But in the future hopefully something like this does not happen, because the owners should know not to cross their players because without their players they are nothing. BANG BANG