Bobby Hull’s Pipe Dream

Bobby Hull must be out of his Golden Mind. The Golden Jet, World Hockey Association commissioner, still believes that the reborn WHA will be a viable threat to the NHL. In fact, if there is indeed an NHL lockout, Hull believes the WHA is poised to thrive. He cites cheaper ticket prices, shootouts to decide tied games, and rules meant to emphasize the speed of hockey.

Well, gee Bobby, that's all well and good. But are you guys actually going to play? Or are you there to be an unintentional bargaining chip in the NHL/NHLPA war?

Teams in Toronto and Hamilton don't have a home as of mid-July. The owner of prospective teams in Orlando and Jacksonville cancelled a sale to a Calgary businessman. The WHA boasted that they would have 10-12 teams by the start of their season; right now, the number is looking closer to seven or eight.

Assuming everything works out for the teams and the league, the puck will drop in October for Bobby Hull's baby. Each team will have a $15 million salary cap, with a $5 million "franchise" player. It is ironic that NHL superstars will be willing to withstand pay cuts and a salary cup in a start-up league, but not the top league in the world.

Hockey minds have already started to crunch numbers. The Toronto Star estimated that WHA teams will need to draw 10,000 fans regularly at an average of $50 (Canadian) a ticket to meet their payroll. That's to break even, folks, we're not even talking about a profit here. And without a profit, there's no way a start-up league can thrive.

The big question remains as to whether the general hockey loving public will put forward that kind of money to see a league essentially made up of minor league players sprinkled with a few superstars -- remember, just because the Toronto Toros drafted Joe Thornton and the Quebec Nordiks (that's no spelling error) selected Simon Gagne, doesn't mean they'll actually show up.

The league claims it will enforce obstruction and have a better tempo to its game. Saying that is all well and good, but what's to prevent the level of play from slipping to the NHL's clutch and grab machine? The WHA will have a majority of players versed in this style of obstructive defense. Playing in a different league won't change that mentality.

The WHA hopes that the NHL lockout lasts for months, possibly years. Hull and his crew believe that Gary Bettman's Armageddon could be the lifeblood for the new league. The WHA's success could lead to its own demise. Nothing could turn up the pressure cooker faster for NHL/NHLPA negotiations than an upstart league that manages to deliver everything that it says.

If and when the NHL resumes its schedule, it is most certainly going to take back any players who have been biding their time in the WHA. That's a goodbye to Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Todd Bertuzzi, Simon Gagne, Brad Richards, and more players who have most likely had the easiest time since their days of juniors. It won't be men against boys, but it will be a handful of NHL superstars sliding and skating through groups of AHL and European league grinders.

Gary Bettman, for all the criticism that he faces, is not a stupid man. If the WHA manages to keep clutching and grabbing out of the game, if they find their shootout system successful, if they somehow make the game more appealing for the potential mainstream suitor, Bettman will take those ideas and run with them. He has already tried -- the radical proposed rule changes for the upcoming season were tabled by the player's association, not the league.

And if the WHA shows signs of league weakness -- something already hinted at -- it's just another place that the players will not be able to turn to for ice time. Sure, they have European leagues, but how many of the good Canadian lads want to leave their families for an undetermined period of time -- especially those with small children?

Conversely, Bob Goodenow, the NHLPA president, could also use the WHA as a bargaining chip. If the league draws fans, players could thumb their proverbial noses at Gary Bettman and say, "Give us what we want or we never play for you again."

In the end, the chances that the WHA will be a long-term success are slim-to-none. The league's decision to start in the middle of the NHL's CBA negotiations could easily turn the dream of a few optimists into a chess piece between the NHL and the NHLPA. The only win-win situation coming out of this is if the NHL starts on time, the league and PA are happy, and the WHA becomes a successful minor league that pushes the NHL to have a better product.

Is there a chance that could happen? Don't bet on it.