After years of alienating fans the National Hockey League is at it again. The NHL and the New York Rangers ownership group Madison Square Garden, L.P. The fight is over a Web site. The team does not want to include its own Web site into NHL.com.

 

The NHL and the ownership group have taken the case to court, exchanging suits over the issue. It creates a tense situation for the Rangers who just lost in the conference quarterfinals to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

The possible fallout could include the suspension of Madison Square Garden L.P.’s ownership of the team, or even termination of the ownership. Just imagine the fallout from this. One of the original six would be taken over, presumably by the league, and would have to find a new home since the ownership group owns Madison Square Garden (thus the name). In fact the group owns the Knicks and the Liberty as well.

 

It is interesting to consider that the ownership group is playing the innocent role to the press when one of its majors teams (the Knicks) already has a similar deal with the NBA. Why are they playing Russian roulette over this? Do this quietly. Do not try and gain national sympathy from a fan base that is still angry about the 2004-05 strike.

 

The wisdom is probably that neither group wants it to come to the extremes, but like the U.S. and the USSR they went along with the nuclear arms race anyway. The league is just starting to recover with the emergence of possible media star Sidney Crosby. Why risk angering the fans again?

 

They might actually start following the Knicks again. Or maybe they would find some other winter sport to replace hockey (UFC anyone?). This summer will be an interesting one as the suits from the league office and the front office duke it out in a battle of who can bring down an already struggling sport the fastest.

Posted under New York Rangers