March 15, 2004

Rebuild On Someone Else's Dime

Having spent a month trading nearly nearly every veteran player on their roster, the Washington Capitals now face the challenge of embarking on a "rebuilding" phase led by a bunch of minor-leaguers and teenagers. Wrong Turns, Long Road Back [washingtonpost.com]. This may have been a good financial decision for a franchise that was losing $20 million per season, but it makes no sense for someone like me who was paying top dollar for season tickets. There's no way I can justify $100+ per ticket for 42 home games when the talent isn't there and the team is mired in the cellar, next-to-last in the National Hockey League.

And things are just not going to improve any time soon.

Should a lockout not occur, Washington likely would have to play some [roockies and prospects] in the NHL, a scenario that makes management cringe. Not only would some of the young players have to be rushed into the NHL, the Capitals fear that putting such an inferior product on the ice could further erode their fan base. "If there is [NHL] hockey next year, I don't know what we'll do," said one member of the organization who asked not to be identified. "I don't even want to think about what our team would look like."

Well, they should have thought about what the team will look like before they scattered it to the wind. You've lost my business, Ted. Of course, I told you that a year ago. And if you keep peddling a second-rate product played by a bunch of rank amateurs, there's going to be a line following me out the doors of MCI Center -- forever.

 Posted by glenn

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