Post by hatrick007 on Dec 20, 2004 2:14:44 GMT -5
The WHA may yet have some life. The National Post article is here and here. Here it is:
Quote:
Esposito in talks to join rejuvenated WHA
Hall-of-famer cautious: League's new owner plans restart after NHL talks sour
Allan Woods
National Post
December 17, 2004
Hockey legend Phil Esposito could take on a major role -- perhaps president -- in the World Hockey Association as the league plans a February 2005 return to fill the NHL's void, the National Post has learned.
The man who rallied Canada to hockey dominance in the 1972 Russian Summit Series could join fellow great Bobby Hull, who was the poster boy for the WHA of the 1970s and is the league's current commissioner.
The revival of the rebel league has been discussed for months -- and a pair of player drafts were held in the fall -- but the hope of playing this season appeared to end when co-founders Alan Howell and Nick Vaccarro lost the confidence of a number of potential WHA franchisees. Still, owner Rick Smith, who took over the league in October, decided it was time to act after the NHL lockout turned sour earlier this week.
"This has been going on for a while, trying to get the thing together," said Esposito, who had 717 goals and 1,590 points during an 18-year NHL career, and later served as the general manager of the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. "Rick Smith has done a tremendous thing. We'll see what happens.
"We've talked. I won't lie to you about that, but I've got to see whether the money's there. I've got to see whether the league is going to be solvent or not. There's a lot of things to be considered before that decision is made."
Esposito was in talks with Smith last summer when they were considering running an Orlando franchise together in the WHA.
It was Esposito who was instrumental in raising a US$50-million franchise fee and convincing the NHL board of governors to grant an NHL franchise to Tampa, Fla., for the 1992-93 season.
He was Tampa Bay's general manager during the team's first seven seasons, and was working as a radio announcer for Lightning games before the lockout.
Brother Tony Esposito, who could also land in the WHA's front office, was the club's first director of hockey operations.
The WHA plans to stage a news conference at Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame on Jan. 4, 2005. to announce the original 1970s league has been resurrected.
Smith, a lumber magnate who moved back to the Toronto area from the U.S. south to oversee the WHA's resurrection, said the league's famed Avco Cup will be dusted off for the occasion. A number of high-profile but recently idle NHLers may also be on hand, he said yesterday.
Smith has been busily working on plans for the new league -- visiting potential venues, chatting up players and their agents, and securing financing .
"We've been in discussions with many, many players," he said. "By discussions I mean by telephone, here in North America, in Europe. And we have met with some personally in the United States and Canada. Obviously after what happened a few days ago they're upset, so they want to play and they want to play in a serious league."
The upstart WHA is looking to snipe NHL talent as part of its plan to start playing with between eight and 10 teams, each of which will have at least one marquee player that are excepted from an approximate US$15-million salary cap.
"It's not carved in stone for obvious reasons: we feel we may have more marquee players than we anticipated," Smith said. "As a result, we'll change it accordingly."
In an interview with The Hockey News last month, Smith said he would renew efforts to sign 17-year-old Rimouski Oceanic forward Sidney Crosby, who is currently playing with Canada's world junior team. Crosby rejected a US$7.5-million contract in the summer to play with a proposed WHA franchise in Hamilton, Ont.
For a league looking to make an immediate impression, Esposito could be an equally important addition. He was the NHL's class clown during his playing days, and was behind the Tampa Bay Lightning stunt that made goaltender Manon Rheaume the first woman to play one of the four North American professional sports. Rheaume played against the St. Louis Blues during a September, 1992, pre-season game.
While not committing to the WHA venture, Esposito has had a lot of time to think over his missed opportunities with the original rebel league, which ran from 1972 to 1979.
"The only thing I ever made a mistake in, as far as I'm concerned, is I should have gone to the WHA in 1975 to make a million dollars and get a long-term contract," Esposito said. "I chose to stay in Boston, signed a contract with the Bruins and was promised I'd never be traded. Three weeks later I was traded to New York.
"Had I known they were going to trade me I would have signed with the WHA, because a couple of years later the Vancouver Blazers went under and guys like Derek Sanderson, Gerry Cheevers, they all came back and played and I got screwed out of a million dollars.
"I won't make that mistake again if indeed the league comes to fruition."
Smith said he could only reveal that there will be franchises in Toronto, Vancouver and Phoenix. Plans are for an eventual 14-team league, although there could be as few as eight the first season.
Quebec City's La Colisee could also host a franchise.
A television contract -- fundamental income for any professional sports league -- is being worked on and will depend upon where the remaining franchises land.
"As you can imagine, there's a certain amount of a domino effect, people have shown interest in the league, but want to see geographically where we're going to be."
Quote:
Esposito in talks to join rejuvenated WHA
Hall-of-famer cautious: League's new owner plans restart after NHL talks sour
Allan Woods
National Post
December 17, 2004
Hockey legend Phil Esposito could take on a major role -- perhaps president -- in the World Hockey Association as the league plans a February 2005 return to fill the NHL's void, the National Post has learned.
The man who rallied Canada to hockey dominance in the 1972 Russian Summit Series could join fellow great Bobby Hull, who was the poster boy for the WHA of the 1970s and is the league's current commissioner.
The revival of the rebel league has been discussed for months -- and a pair of player drafts were held in the fall -- but the hope of playing this season appeared to end when co-founders Alan Howell and Nick Vaccarro lost the confidence of a number of potential WHA franchisees. Still, owner Rick Smith, who took over the league in October, decided it was time to act after the NHL lockout turned sour earlier this week.
"This has been going on for a while, trying to get the thing together," said Esposito, who had 717 goals and 1,590 points during an 18-year NHL career, and later served as the general manager of the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. "Rick Smith has done a tremendous thing. We'll see what happens.
"We've talked. I won't lie to you about that, but I've got to see whether the money's there. I've got to see whether the league is going to be solvent or not. There's a lot of things to be considered before that decision is made."
Esposito was in talks with Smith last summer when they were considering running an Orlando franchise together in the WHA.
It was Esposito who was instrumental in raising a US$50-million franchise fee and convincing the NHL board of governors to grant an NHL franchise to Tampa, Fla., for the 1992-93 season.
He was Tampa Bay's general manager during the team's first seven seasons, and was working as a radio announcer for Lightning games before the lockout.
Brother Tony Esposito, who could also land in the WHA's front office, was the club's first director of hockey operations.
The WHA plans to stage a news conference at Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame on Jan. 4, 2005. to announce the original 1970s league has been resurrected.
Smith, a lumber magnate who moved back to the Toronto area from the U.S. south to oversee the WHA's resurrection, said the league's famed Avco Cup will be dusted off for the occasion. A number of high-profile but recently idle NHLers may also be on hand, he said yesterday.
Smith has been busily working on plans for the new league -- visiting potential venues, chatting up players and their agents, and securing financing .
"We've been in discussions with many, many players," he said. "By discussions I mean by telephone, here in North America, in Europe. And we have met with some personally in the United States and Canada. Obviously after what happened a few days ago they're upset, so they want to play and they want to play in a serious league."
The upstart WHA is looking to snipe NHL talent as part of its plan to start playing with between eight and 10 teams, each of which will have at least one marquee player that are excepted from an approximate US$15-million salary cap.
"It's not carved in stone for obvious reasons: we feel we may have more marquee players than we anticipated," Smith said. "As a result, we'll change it accordingly."
In an interview with The Hockey News last month, Smith said he would renew efforts to sign 17-year-old Rimouski Oceanic forward Sidney Crosby, who is currently playing with Canada's world junior team. Crosby rejected a US$7.5-million contract in the summer to play with a proposed WHA franchise in Hamilton, Ont.
For a league looking to make an immediate impression, Esposito could be an equally important addition. He was the NHL's class clown during his playing days, and was behind the Tampa Bay Lightning stunt that made goaltender Manon Rheaume the first woman to play one of the four North American professional sports. Rheaume played against the St. Louis Blues during a September, 1992, pre-season game.
While not committing to the WHA venture, Esposito has had a lot of time to think over his missed opportunities with the original rebel league, which ran from 1972 to 1979.
"The only thing I ever made a mistake in, as far as I'm concerned, is I should have gone to the WHA in 1975 to make a million dollars and get a long-term contract," Esposito said. "I chose to stay in Boston, signed a contract with the Bruins and was promised I'd never be traded. Three weeks later I was traded to New York.
"Had I known they were going to trade me I would have signed with the WHA, because a couple of years later the Vancouver Blazers went under and guys like Derek Sanderson, Gerry Cheevers, they all came back and played and I got screwed out of a million dollars.
"I won't make that mistake again if indeed the league comes to fruition."
Smith said he could only reveal that there will be franchises in Toronto, Vancouver and Phoenix. Plans are for an eventual 14-team league, although there could be as few as eight the first season.
Quebec City's La Colisee could also host a franchise.
A television contract -- fundamental income for any professional sports league -- is being worked on and will depend upon where the remaining franchises land.
"As you can imagine, there's a certain amount of a domino effect, people have shown interest in the league, but want to see geographically where we're going to be."