NHLFA.com is intended to give average hockey fans across North America an affordable (that is, free!) way to express their views on the NHL. We all recognize that hockey today is first, big business and second, sport. It's the fans who keep this business afloat. But of all the interest groups involved in hockey, fans are generally at the bottom of the pecking order, while paying top dollar at the ticket office, the concession booth and the souvenir store.
The National Hockey League and owners have Gary Bettman as their representative; the players have Bob Goodenow, Executive Director of the NHLPA; the fans have had, until now, no representation. The NHLFA aims to change that and to give fans a voice in the future of the NHL.
Another advantage to joining the NHLFA is the twice-yearly fan polls (The Fan Report) which are made available only to members, usually twice per year. These polls give members the opportunity to comment on a wide variety of issues related to NHL hockey, players, rules and operations. Those results are then provided to the members and to the media, the NHL and the NHLPA.
After more than a year and half in operation, the NHLFA still does not charge for membership, and we hope we can keep it that way. With that in mind, we continue to pursue corporate sponsors to defray costs, to keep membership free and to allow us to expand our Association to fans without Internet access. Feel free to pass along any comments at any time.
The Challenge
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he's fine with our Association, but that if we purport to represent NHL fans we should increase our membership numbers – dramatically. We agree. To that end, we have accepted a challenge of reaching 75,000 members. It's a large number, but one we can reach if all our members work hard at spreading the word and getting their hockey-minded friends and relatives to join with us.
Who is the NHLFA.com?
Jim Boone and Jim Spendlove have been hockey fans for as long as they can remember. After a number of years in the telecommunications industry, both Jims now work for themselves as independent consultants. Both play recreational hockey in Ottawa, Ontario.
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