Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhh shit. You know. Its one of those “oh shit” moments you get when you’re a little kid and you get caught doing something you know you are going to get grounded for. One of those moments you were warned about, but you just didn’t think you would get caught.
Well, its an oh shit moment in Canada for Major Junior hockey team owners right now. Yep, that pesky little lawsuit from a few players, is gaining some traction. Traction like 350 former players are trying to join the lawsuit.
Ohhhhhh and traction like the judge ordering that 7000 pages of financial documents supplied by the OHL and WHL are about to be released. Yep, the general public is going to get to see the books. Those books that some try to say make the teams look like they don’t make money.
You know those books that have gotten provinces to change laws to protect teams by saying the paid players are somehow exempt from being employee’s.
News flash Canada…………
If your business doesn’t make money, you either close up shop, or you change your business model.
You know what I think? I think we are going to see a whole bunch of people in each organization making a lot of money that they probably shouldn’t make. I think we are going to see bloated salaries of these people being the cause of why teams lose a little money each year.
I think we might find some longer term liabilities in salaries that have to be paid for coaches and General Managers that were fired but still under contract. Yep, I think we will see a lot of waste.
I have always wondered what some of these guys up there were making. I see some real nice cars in some arena parking lots in Ontario when I go to games. I see some suits on people that cost more than what a lot of people make in a week.
Does anyone care about the kids who don’t make the NHL? Does anyone care about the players who end up being minor league hockey bums when the NHL dream doesn’t happen for them?
But who cares right? They’re kids, they will figure it out. They’re young enough to recover.
Just a clue, when you charge those ticket prices that you charge, and you ask for breaks on your rent, or new buildings to be built for you at public expense, not a whole lot of people are going to have sympathy for you.
Something tells me the tide of public opinion may start to change a little once people see what teams are making and who is getting paid.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love Major Junior hockey. The competition is awesome, and there are some great places to watch games. But come on man, if anyone feels sorry for team owners who lose a bit of cash each year, you feelings are misplaced.
If Major Junior executives and coaches are making fifty, sixty or a hundred thousand a year, aren’t the guys who actually sell the tickets because of their performance worth paying 25% of that amount?
All the talk about amenities is bullshit. Google provides computers for their employees. General Motors provides machines for their employees. Freakin Applebee’s provides dishes and trays for their servers. Its called providing your employee the tools they need to do the job for your company the way you want it done.
Maybe we shouldn’t feel sorry for the kid who was sold a dream, and then chased some minor pro deal because he didn’t know anything else. Then all of a sudden he is 30 years old, has a child, has no job, no work skills, and no education.
Nahhhhhh, all those memories of new sticks, skates and first class travel on busses will feed him and his family right?
David Wagner – The Angel Of Death – For Those Who Live Stupidly I salute You
*The Death Pool is a mix of comedy, and satire in connection with recent events. It is not an official report of current events although it may look as though the news is so accurate that it could one day happen or may be happening.
