A Holiday Wish List For The NHL Fan
What would you buy a New York Rangers fan if you could get anything you wanted?
So the holidays are coming up. And if you happen to celebrate it, Christmas is just a few days away. So what would you get a New York Rangers fan if you could get them anything? Me? I would get them the rest of this hockey season!
How would I do that? Well, I would end the lockout. And here's how:
- I guess we would have to start by getting both sides to meet face to face again. That hasn't happen in a while, in fact, the two sides aren't even talking informally. How are they expected to make a deal without talking to one another? I guess that shows the level of urgency both sides have right now.
- The next gift would have to be both sides losing their respective egos. It's been too long since each side has been able to trust each other in these negotiations, and to this point that's cased some of the issues the two sides have had to this point. If Donald Fehr and Gary Bettman can talk to each other like adults this would end much quicker.
- Let both sides see what they're doing to the fans. This is probably the biggest gift the NHL and the NHLPA can give the sport. They've done serious damage already. We don't know how serious yet, because the game isn't back on the ice. But regardless of what the sponsors think, the fans are the real ones being hurt here. Maybe if both sides saw what they were doing to the fans -- or maybe if they cared -- things would be a little different. But they've proven that they don't, so we're here.
- It's become clear the "lock them in a room" ideology isn't going to work. And how can it? Neither side wants to make a deal here. The NHL wants to WIN the deal, while the NHLPA is trying to win as much as they can from the deal. If both sides were interested in actually compromising we would be watching hockey already.
- The final gift? Ending this nonsense. Just end it. One way or another this will be over soon enough. And then fans can move on. Unless, of course, they can the season, then we get to go through this again next year.
What would your wishes be?