Rallying Cry of the NHL Lockout: "Save the Incompetent!"

While the stooges at NHL head office continue to dither, refusing to name a cancellation date for this season, at least one team owner suffered an attack of plain speaking this week.

"My gut feeling is that this season's gone," said the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Peter Karmanos Jr. told Canadian Press that the 2005-06 NHL season is in jeopardy as well, if the Players' Association does not come around to the idea of a salary cap.

"I know personally that I'd be willing to risk another season," he said. "I feel very, very strongly that if we don't get it straightened out, we don't have to worry about the NHL existing anyways."

The NHL's goal, apparently, is a collective agreement that guarantees the financial health of incompetent organizations like the Hurricanes. A few highlights from the history of the franchise suggest that the salary system is not the only thing that needs to be "straightened out" in Carolina.

"When I took over the Hartford Whalers 12 years ago, they were losing $1 million a month," says Karmanos. "And that has continued."

Twelve years ago, the average NHL salary was less than $600,000. But Karmanos couldn't make money - or make the playoffs - in that environment. Was he blaming players' salaries back then?

In 1997, he moved the team to North Carolina, a region with almost no hockey fans. But when discussing his financial troubles, the owner somehow neglects to mention this decision, or the poor ticket sales that followed.

Nor does he dwell on the Hurricanes' $38 million contract offer to Sergei Fedorov in 1997, an historic step in the escalation of players' salaries. The gesture was pointless, as Fedorov was a restricted free agent. The Detroit Red Wings simply exercised their right to match the Carolina offer and retain him.

The Hurricanes/Whalers have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs just three times since Karmanos and his partners bought the team. Think the salary system can be blamed for that record? Think again. The Hurricanes began last season with a higher payroll than the eventual Stanley Cup champions from Tampa Bay or the runners-up from Calgary. Carolina loses the old-fashioned way: by running a lousy hockey organization.

If Karmanos is the owners' poster boy for this lockout, the NHL's slogan should be, "Bring on the Salary Cap! Save the Incompetent!"

Even if you agree with the league's demand for a salary cap, there is no need to feel sorry for Peter Karmanos. He and his partners bought the Hartford franchise for $47.5 million. When you consider that the bankrupt, small-market, talent-poor Buffalo Sabres fetched a reported $70 million not long ago, you would have to say poor Pete has made out okay on his investment in the NHL.