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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

NHL lockout: Day 14

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 09/28/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

PANTHERS' PR DISASTER

Apparently the Florida Panthers are flush with season-ticket holders. Or not. The Panthers have raised some eyebrows, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel, by offering subscribers three options. Two are to keep their ticket funds with the team, one to receive a 10 per cent future credit against tickets or a future 5 per cent interest payment. The third option is to get your money back, but only once the season is canceled or restarted, with additional proviso that your account will be cancelled, your seat will not be held and you can buy future tickets at the full-freight price. It's only speculation, but that third option might be titled "Get Lost."

WHO WILL APOLOGIZE?

Are mixed metaphors the same as mixed lockouts?

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday he was sorry for putting the fans through the officials lockout for three regular-season weeks. That's pretty good, much better than what passes for most public "apologies" these days ("I'm sorry if you were offended.") but not all the way to saying he was sorry and the NFL was wrong. Which leads us to wonder who, if anybody, will apologize and how to the fans when the NHL lockout ends. Commissioner Gary Bettman? NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr? Nobody sounds very sorry so far.

TICKET OPTIONS

There are a wide variety of options for ticket-holders around the NHL.

While the Panthers didn't come up with a public-relations masterpiece, others like the Minnesota Wild are offering that 10 per cent credit for cancelled games against future tickets.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are offering a five per cent interest option. The Buffalo Sabres are at four. The Jets will go as high as three. The Washington Capitals have offered just one per cent.

TAKING A HIT

The cancellation of the remainder of the NHL's exhibition season is generally seen as the first hit for the owners, since they're not paying the players their regular salaries for participation in the pre-season or training camp. But it is worth pointing out that while the 30 owners do take a hit from losing pre-season game revenue, their take in all areas including this, less expenses, is part of hockey-related revenue (HRR), of which the players have been taking 57 per cent. So if pre-season games are lucrative, especially in Canadian markets, for the owners, they're certainly not hurting the players.

ON THE MOVE

Locked-out player moves, real and rumoured:

Chicago C Viktor Stalberg, to Frolunda (Swedish Elite League)

Phoenix RW Mikkel Boedker, to Lukko (Finnish Elite League)

Dallas D Philip Larsen, to Lukko

Buffalo D Andrej Sekera, to HC Slovan Bratislava (KHL)

Florida D Dmitry Kulikov, to HC Lokomotiv (KHL)

-- compiled by Tim Campbell

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 28, 2012 C4

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