The countries will miraculously open up after the election. If it is a republican win, we will have to watch out for the "protests" and they could push the season back as some cities will be unsafe to go to. if it is close the courts will be involved. Nothing can really be decided til after that result is clear because the country will be in flux.

What if more contracts could be based on personal achievements, yearly goals achieved to receive bonus pay. If this were the case Abby wouldn’t still be making $4m. Give & take needs to happen.

What if more contracts could be based on personal achievements, yearly goals achieved to receive bonus pay. If this were the case Abby wouldn’t still be making $4m. Give & take needs to happen.
- Tee56

I’m all for performance bonuses. A couple teams went over this year’s cap because of them. The problem, in part, is high risk market estimating. “In a couple years this deal won’t be an issue because the cap will go up X dollars”. Someone on here used to remark that you can’t save GMs from themselves. It takes a lot of brass to keep your cap situation under control. Any “glitch” in revenue gets teams in hot water. Sign and hope man. Not a great idea

The countries will miraculously open up after the election. If it is a republican win, we will have to watch out for the "protests" and they could push the season back as some cities will be unsafe to go to. if it is close the courts will be involved. Nothing can really be decided til after that result is clear because the country will be in flux.
- HenryHockey

It's weird how every country around the world is destroying their economy to get rid of Donald Trump.

It's weird how every country around the world is destroying their economy to get rid of Donald Trump.
- Atomic Wedgie

Guys, I’m begging everyone. COVID is an issue that we need to be able to discuss. Please let’s get away from the political party stuff. I want to keep the headspace of understanding that this is about hockey. I care for all of you. I really don’t want to get into shutting down free speech. Just an agreement (and yes this goes to the original comment as well) to keep this in the realm of the issues that affect the game and not the political hate fest. This is not just addressing AW at all. To all of us. Let’s love hockey together

You want to push Seattle back but they're the saviors in all this.. A billion dollar loss you say, well it's a good thing Seattle's franchise fee covers two thirds of that.

You want to push Seattle back but they're the saviors in all this.. A billion dollar loss you say, well it's a good thing Seattle's franchise fee covers two thirds of that.
- Udogs

The money has already been paid, and it doesn’t count as HRR. It goes (and has already gone) straight to the owners and doesn’t get reported. It’s a beef the players need to address in the next CBA. Vegas did the same. All the owners got a piece of that “expansion fee” but it wasn’t listed as hockey related revenue. It’s already gone brother.

The money has already been paid, and it doesn’t count as HRR. It goes (and has already gone) straight to the owners and doesn’t get reported. It’s a beef the players need to address in the next CBA. Vegas did the same. All the owners got a piece of that “expansion fee” but it wasn’t listed as hockey related revenue. It’s already gone brother.
- Jeremy Laura

I am aware but it still softens the blow

I am aware but it still softens the blow
- Udogs

Not really. “The blow” is in HRR. That’s what escrow is based on and team budgets are projected with. The expansion fee was paid early on. Keep in mind, the 1 billion dollar loss was pre playoff. The new “loss” is going to be calculated based on ticket revenue. At an average of 1.7 million per event, multiply that times the total number of games already played. That’s 41 games played in the west (not including the play in round) and 37 games played in the east plus 2 finals. 80 games so far for a total of 136 million lost at the gate. Merchandise and local advertising are down as well. In the end, we still don’t know if the TV revenue was greater than the expense.

All I’m trying to say is that the fees Seattle paid were paid out when the franchise was awarded. It’s not going to be applied at all to what’s happening

Not really. “The blow” is in HRR. That’s what escrow is based on and team budgets are projected with. The expansion fee was paid early on. Keep in mind, the 1 billion dollar loss was pre playoff. The new “loss” is going to be calculated based on ticket revenue. At an average of 1.7 million per event, multiply that times the total number of games already played. That’s 41 games played in the west (not including the play in round) and 37 games played in the east plus 2 finals. 80 games so far for a total of 136 million lost at the gate. Merchandise and local advertising are down as well. In the end, we still don’t know if the TV revenue was greater than the expense.

All I’m trying to say is that the fees Seattle paid were paid out when the franchise was awarded. It’s not going to be applied at all to what’s happening
- Jeremy Laura

You're not wrong but we're talking about different things. If you want to talk about a billion dollars of lost revenue (HRR or otherwise) you can't ignore the cash injection that is the Kraken franchise fee. It's basically keeping some teams solvent at this point. To delay their inauguration opens the league up to lawsuits and further loses, I just dont see how that helps anything.

You're not wrong but we're talking about different things. If you want to talk about a billion dollars of lost revenue (HRR or otherwise) you can't ignore the cash injection that is the Kraken franchise fee. It's basically keeping some teams solvent at this point. To delay their inauguration opens the league up to lawsuits and further loses, I just dont see how that helps anything.
- Udogs

I’m trying to help you here. That fee was paid already. Last year. Whether Seattle opens their doors or not no other money is coming from that. In fact, if Seattle loses money that year it will ADD more to the deficit. Please take a minute and understand. The billion dollar loss is going to end up being larger. Teams are firing staff left and right. That money isn’t keeping that from happening. A new team adds up to 80 million in salaries plus expenses. Without fans they cannot make that money back. Until we figure out if any money can be found it isn’t a great idea to add more expense. That money was paid out over a year ago and is likely spent or reinvested already. I’m asking you to step back and see that at this point Seattle has the burden of building a team while other teams may have to close their doors.

You're not wrong but we're talking about different things. If you want to talk about a billion dollars of lost revenue (HRR or otherwise) you can't ignore the cash injection that is the Kraken franchise fee. It's basically keeping some teams solvent at this point. To delay their inauguration opens the league up to lawsuits and further loses, I just dont see how that helps anything.
- Udogs

I’ll help you with one more. If the expansion fee had been 800 million (it wasn’t, but nice round number), divide that by 31 teams. Each team would get around 25 million. That sounds great, right? A team at the cap floor is spending around 60 million. That money wouldn’t even pay for HALF a year of player salaries. Office salaries, building maintenance, travel expenses, etc would all eat that money up too. An owner who got 25 million a year ago spent that in a fiscal quarter. The loss going ahead is money that is set aside for next year’s salaries, and there’s a lot less of it. We still don’t know how much less. HRR is king in figuring out what is going to happen next. Even if it wasn’t, that expansion fee was paid and spent long ago. It doesn’t help man.

I’m trying to help you here. That fee was paid already. Last year. Whether Seattle opens their doors or not no other money is coming from that. In fact, if Seattle loses money that year it will ADD more to the deficit. Please take a minute and understand. The billion dollar loss is going to end up being larger. Teams are firing staff left and right. That money isn’t keeping that from happening. A new team adds up to 80 million in salaries plus expenses. Without fans they cannot make that money back. Until we figure out if any money can be found it isn’t a great idea to add more expense. That money was paid out over a year ago and is likely spent or reinvested already. I’m asking you to step back and see that at this point Seattle has the burden of building a team while other teams may have to close their doors.
- Jeremy Laura

I hate to think of teams folding but I think it's going to happen eventually. I don't see how it doesn't happen.

I hate to think of teams folding but I think it's going to happen eventually. I don't see how it doesn't happen.
- gergeswillems

I’m working on some solutions, but honestly it’s almost unavoidable. How many teams can the league carry at once? AZ was a rough stretch. I’d be asking owners for brutal honest assessments and reaching out to potential buyers/groups quickly to minimize damage

I’m working on some solutions, but honestly it’s almost unavoidable. How many teams can the league carry at once? AZ was a rough stretch. I’d be asking owners for brutal honest assessments and reaching out to potential buyers/groups quickly to minimize damage
- Jeremy Laura

Back in 2000 / 2001 the Wings needed to play at least 4 games in the Stanley Cup final just to break even. Of course winning the Cup has great financial rewards. That was playing in the Joe where the team profit margin was around 2.5 to 3%. Most Hockey Clubs are struggling to pull in 3%.