Dan Gross Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Why wait for the replacement players? I went to the Amerks game on Tuesday and had a blast. The place was rocking and you could barely tell the difference from the NHL games. The tickets were cheap, the stands were full, and the game was great. The AHL players could be the new NHL players and I don't think there'd be many complaints. I'm 100% in favor of replacement players ASAP. The dropoff in talent isn't that much and the problem takes care of itself in a couple years anyway. Screw the NHLPA. 187272[/snapback] That's where the ownership has an upper-hand. The NFL had no developmental league (outside of colleges) when it decided to use replacement players, the NHL has a ready-made one. Bettman's trying to drive a wedge between the have's and have-not's before trying it though, as he likely thinks he could get a lot of line-crossers if he plots it out right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Typically, players from developmental leagues are loathe to cross picket lines, because they're hoping that down-the-line they'll make the top league, but be shunned by their peers for crossing the picket lines. The NHL owners will have to go elsewhere probably for players, but all they need is for just a few NHL players (like Ray and the alleged 10 others he says would cross) for the NHLPA to cave-in and accept what the NHL is offering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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