I am really starting to believe another team in Ontario will bankrust at least three NHL teams…hear me out.
Having followed Mr. Suck (aka: Gary Bettman) for a number of years, I feel like I can understand how is ‘crazy little mind’ works. And trust me… it is scary. Here we go…
In the new revenue-sharing NHL, the salary cap is based on the total revenue from all teams in the league. And the salary cap has been increasing quickly (It increased in 2007 and 2008) So, the Phoenix Coyotes, with their TERRIBLE revenue are ‘artifically’ lowering the salary cap . By keeping the salary cap down, the minimum salary cap (MSC) (the 2008-2009 minimum team salary was $40.7M) stays low and and prevents more teams from going bankrupt.
If you replace the money losing Coyotes with a money making Ontario team the minimum cap will keep growing. Their are at least three teams in the NHL losing lots of money…they can not handle an increase in the minimum salary cap during a US recession.
Here are the three teams I think will go bankrupt. Their attendances are in the bottom five of the league. And their salaries are within 12.5% of the minimum…it would probably be hard to be much lower than this. Big thanks to Cap Central
| Team Name |
2009 Salary |
Attendance |
Attendance Percentage |
| Atlanta Thrashers |
44,123,984 |
14,626 |
78.9 |
| New York Islanders |
45,067,452 |
13,773 |
84.5 |
| Nashville Predators |
45,264,368 |
15,010 |
87.7 |
| Phoenix Coyotes |
45,585,395 |
14,875 |
85.0 |
With the average ticket price in 2008-2009 season at $49.66 lets look at the teams reveune; most NHL revenue comes from the take from tickets.
| Team |
Ticket Revenue |
Formula |
| NYI |
$28,042,853 |
($49.66 * 564,697 total attendance) |
| Atlanta |
$29,779,761 |
($49.66 * 599,673 total attendance) |
| Nashville |
$30,562,700 |
($49.66 * 615,439 total attendance) |
These three teams can’t be profitable and the 2009-2010 season will be worse for all teams. Except the Toronto Maple Leafs who are going to increase their 2009 season tickets prices.
There are two scenarios…
If Southern Ontario gets a new francise the minimum salary cap (MSC) will stay at $40M (or maybe even goes up). If there is no drop in the MSC and the three teams see a recession driven drop in attendance…well based on my math…these teams will be going bankrupt!
If the team stays in Phoenix, the MSC will drop. This drop would enable teams to lose less money and maybe hang around for a few more seasons. If NHL teams start going bankrupt, Mr Suck will finally be out of a job.
Maybe Mr Suck hates Canada, he seems to… maybe he hates hockey fans (ticket price have never been higher or maybe the NHL’s new team are pyramid scheme that is about to fall apart. Either way… Mr. Suck has got to go… his house of cards is coming down!
Mr. Suck does everything for power and ego…his ego can’t take another Canadian team nor the bankruptcies that would go with this team.
