Just an idea...

[Daniel]

Champions league style trophy is the way forward and its reported the NHL will bring it by 2016

 

I don't love this idea, if I'm understanding it correctly.  What I'm reading is that it would be NHL teams playing European league teams in the off-season.  First, I imagine that NHLers, especially North American players, will do everything they can to get out of it, sort of like the Pro Bowl or the WBC.  Second, assuming no one bails, the worst NHL teams are probably better than the best European teams.  Doesn't mean a European team wouldn't win a short series, it just means that it's not real test of anything.  It works in European soccer because the talent is sufficiently spread out. 

 

Having an off-season isn't the worst thing in the world.  With free agency and the draft, there is still enough to follow.  Another exhibition tournament isn't all that exciting.   

[Daniel]

 

Also i hope a draft system is never introduced to football, it would reult in smaller clubs becoming farm teams, and each local club has its own identity and history. A draft system would just ensure that larger clubs would only ever get the best tallent. At least now if the larger clubs move for players smaller clubs get financial compensation.

 

Obviously, just by virtue of inertia and legal issues, I can't see such a giant overhaul of English/European soccer to the point of having a draft, and probably the necessary labor/salary restrictions to make it work thereafter (entry level salary caps, restricted free agency, etc).  Not to mention that you would need all European countries that attract the best talent to be on board.  (If English soccer instituted a draft, the top talent will simply go play for other clubs in other countries that don't). 

 

But assuming for argument sake that a draft could work like it does in North America, why would it be so bad for smaller clubs, or at least how could it be any worse than the way it works right now?  Maybe the top "draft picks" will bail for Man U and the like after a few years, but the fact remains that that type of talent doesn't play for those clubs at all.  Also, a draft could mitigate the Catch-22 in that a small club needs talent to bring in more revenue, but needs the revenue to bring in the talent.  If they had some realistic access to the talent, more people might end up going to those games and they might be able to make more money and be able to attract talent in their own right.  That's basically what happened in Pittsburgh.  Pre-Crosby, the Igloo made CAA look like MSG.  With some draft luck, the Penguins now sell out every game, and are an attractive destination for players.  True, they needed a wealthy owner, but not a Russian oligarch that sees the team as a toy. 

[Cachorro Louco]

It's kind of topic, but i don't feel like starting another thread for that, Last week i came across a article about how the NBA is actually pursuing some over the air tv-station in Brazil to make a deal and air- almost every day of the week a game with the chosen tv station.

 

why the  hell the NHL doesn't make something similar, it doesn't even have to be in Brazil but some other country, they always talk about expanding the Fan-base, so far i have seen little effort to get people to watch hockey outside USA and Canada.