Oilers President Glen Sather said that small-market
Canadian teams can survive, but success will mean "convincing
the rest of the NHL's owners, both in Canada and the United
States, that they are on a self-destructive course,"
according to David Shoalts of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL.
Sather said that he doesn't expect to receive any public
assistance, but that teams need to control salaries: "The
market is created by us. If we decide not to pay Sergei
Fedorov $36-million, that changes the market." But he added
that the market won't change since owners will spend whatever
it takes to win, so small-market clubs, "instead of bitching
and moaning about salaries," are going to have to target new
revenue. Sather said one "key" area is TV, where the Oilers
are bringing all production in-house and looking at PPV
telecasts as a "major growth area." Sather added that he
would like to see more revenue sharing and said the six
Canadian clubs "would be a hell of a lot better off if we
could keep the 'Hockey Night in Canada' revenue," instead of
the current Canadian Assistance Plan. Sather, on fellow
owners: "Everybody, because they want to chase the Stanley
Cup, can rationalize what they pay these players. Owners
start to fall in love with their stars" (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/8).
