I caught this film almost by accident. Being an ardent Ice Hockey fanatic I stumbled across this and decided to stick with the 1995 TV movie but I didn't have high hopes, however I was pleased to find that this was a fantastic historic piece around the original six, Ted Lindsay and the formation of the NHLPA. Not only did I find an absorbing off ice story told with great honesty and integrity but also some excellent on ice action too! I didn't really know the story of the original six and trials and the tribulations they went through in the 50's and 60's but this film really opened my eyes to what was going on! I wont tell you though, go out, hire, buy, beg or borrow and see for yourself! Miracle and the other Hollywood films get the attention but for me this is one ice hockey film you have to own if you are a true fan of the game!
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dean-harwood30 May 2006
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LaxFan9411 December 2021I liked this film since it looked at how the NHLPA all started. Ted Lindsay was the one who originated the first NHL players' union. But it's called an association and not a union because they felt that hockey players were not from just another blue-collar group. Hockey players were and are elite athletes, not average joes like myself with 9 to 5 jobs.
Anyway, some see Ted Lindsay as a pioneer for starting the first Players Association while others see him as a bad guy for allowing players to speak out against any so-called injustices against the players. I don't think it was so much about wanting more money. It was more about needing a retirement package, more benefits, security, etc. Most people want more money, but it's more important to grab security benefits, pensions and the sort. I admire Ted Lindsay for standing up to the NHL and demand better treatment of the players that came as forming the new Players Association.
I think the NHL hated what Lindsay did because he did the unthinkable by forming the group behind the NHL's backs. Of course, they would have never consulted the NHL if they wanted to form the new association, because the NHL would have never accepted such a proposal. Thus began a new era with additional problems for the NHL.
Anyhow, this film deserves an 8 out of 10. -
mm-395 May 2021Net Worth is a movie which fills in information like a documentary. Net Worth explains why there was only 6 teams in the N H L for so long, which cook books mentions the loss revenues, when the owner took the money in the arena revenues. The pension fund was a huge money maker. Ted Lindsay asked questions and stood up for himself, with a lawyer. The players had to wait to get the books opened when a union was certified, but management lied, trades , guilted, and cohered Lindsay into dust. Howe was either scared or did not understand what was going on and the N H L remained a sweat shop. Lindsay was ahead of his time, and the NH L opened up for rival league W H A years later. Well written and directed. Net Worth is a good movie. 6 stars.
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ram-3012 May 2000Who better to make a docu-drama about hockey's early history than the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation who were covering hockey at the time of this story's setting. The story is about Jack Adams, the penny pinching hockey owner played by Al Waxman. Adams's scoring star Gordie Howe(played by Kevin Conway who fits the role of Mr. Hockey)is willing to work for peanuts but his tough guy Ted Lindsay(Aidan Devine)feels the hockey players need to form a union to get what they deserve. The film also has familiar Canadian actors Billy Van, Richard Donat and R.H. Thomson who has made a living starring in TV movies about Canadian heroes("Samuel Lount", Charlie Grant", "Hal C. Banks", "Terry Fox", "Frederick Banting"). The plot has the predictable highs and lows as Lindsay gets moved out of town and Howe provides the voice of reason. The film ends with a look at some hockey stars of lore that spent their later years in poverty. While it's hard to sympathize with the NHL Players Association today with the average player salary well over $1 million a year, it's interesting to see how far they have come thanks to people like Ted Lindsay who fought bravely for players' rights at a time when any talk of union branded you a communist and a traitor.
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Jimbo-966 February 2001I had very low expectations for this film, but it was excellent through out. I think the film was set in the late 50's, but I am not really sure. As per the film, tickets then were $4 per game and players made approximately $10,000 for 7 months work. Better players made a little more. Players then, still made 50-100% more than average workers. I remember paying $2 to see ice hockey games, with Joe Public, in Baltimore (highest minor league). Today, I would have to pay $60 and travel 50 miles to Washington, D.C. to join the wine and cheese crowd. So, considering that, and the fact that players now average upwards to $2 million per year, I was prepared to be unsympathetic to the theme of this film. The theme being unionization of the players. On the other hand, the players of that era were vastly under payed. With my pre-existing beliefs nicely balanced, I could watch this film with an open mind. The film flowed nicely, without the Director injecting boring art house stuff in order to please the high brow, stuffy movie critics. I had no idea where the film was going or how it was going to end. I would give it 9 stars and a G rating. I am not willing to accept everything I saw in the film at face value. I am sure some facts were changed to manipulate audience opinions. No mention was made of the NFL where players were in the same financial boat.
The next time the NHL players go on strike, you might want to pop this movie in the VCR. Under this circumstance, Net Worth would only be worth 7 stars. -
gschlinkert15 January 2002This movie goes beyond the game, into the seamier side of sports. The backroom deals and exploitation of the early NHL and those players that were brave enough (and smart enough) to change the game. This movie also explains why some of those men in the Hockey Hall of Fame did more to be in the HOF than just play hockey. A great movie if you are a hockey lover.
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ZacAttackFeelsGood23 December 2005I must say, for a TV movie, and even for a movie at all, this is a great movie. It talks of Ted Lindsay's failed attempt to form an association in the 1956-57 season.
Set in the 1950s, Net Worth is a dramatic interpretation of events involved in the National Hockey League.
The fact that I personally know Ted Lindsay is considered a plus for me and this movie. I watch it and realize that this did happen, for I talked to Mr. Lindsay about it years ago when I first viewed it.
With a talented, yet unknown, cast, the movie gives you a feeling of history and past, present, and future as you watch the drama take place.
Nobody knows what would've happened had the association worked, nor does anyone know why the Wings didn't win the Stanley Cup until 4 decades later (1997).
I leave you with this thought: See this movie and you'll know why hockey is the way it is today.