Who (else) to Thank for the Hossa Deal
To write a column, blog entry or call a sports talk show about praising Ken Holland seems almost redundant at this point. So I’m not going to. To comment further on the brilliance of Ken Holland and the Red Wings organization would be a distraction from beholding it. There are others to thank for setting Ken up to make this deal. Let’s get to them.
MARIAN HOSSA: Hossa, in a show of maturity not often seen in athletes, decided he didn’t want to wait until he was 42 years old to win a title and wanted to do it in his prime. He’s no dummy. He’s worth over $80 million dollars now conservatively. Watch those numbers sky rocket with an even higher salary cap next year and Stanley Cup on his resume.
THE NHL OWNERS: Thanks to the Lockout, the NHL is making money hand over fist. The Salary Cap has gone up for 4 consecutive years and NHL attendance has gone up for 4 consecutive years. The cap for the upcoming season is $6.4 million dollars more than last years. Without such an increase, there is no way the Hossa deal could have happened.
THE STRONG CANADIAN DOLLAR: Ducks GM Brian Burke says the 6 Canadian franchises have never been on stronger footing thanks to the rise of the Loonie. Revenues grew 12% amongst the franchises and helped with the upper end of the salary cap spike.