New "resale" ticket plan shameful

The NHL and Ticketmaster sent out an e-mail release Friday, announcing a new agreement under which fans can buy and sell previously purchased NHL game tickets through three websites - NHL.com, Ticketmaster.com, and TicketsNow.com.
The release took great pains to link the new resale concept to such events as the upcoming Red Wings-Blackhawks Winter Classic and the Stanley Cup Finals.
I asked a Ticketmaster spokesman if tickets could be sold above face value. The answer: The tickets can be sold for any amount the buyer and seller agree on.
Great. The NHL not only is endorsing scalping for its marquee events, it's facilitating it. Oh, and at least coming off as if it is bragging about it, too.
Granted, "resale" isn't a new concept.
Of late, teams themselves have gotten into facilitating the process with such programs as the Avalanche Prime Seat Club TicketExchange, which is membership-based. It can be credibly argued that those programs take the storefront scalpers — oops, I mean "ticket brokers" — out of the loop, and they indeed serve constructive purposes. It beats what happens for the hottest music acts or shows, when shills are paid to stand in line or otherwise obtain tickets — which immediately are marked up by the brokers. (Of course, within 14 minutes of this story posting, I will hear from a broker who says he performs such a wonderful service, he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize more than did Al Gore and Martti Ahtisaari.)
The theory for the teams getting involved in such programs is that it's a win-win proposition, especially in markets where tickets aren't otherwise available. Season-ticket holders can unload tickets for games they won't attend — to fans who want them. I'm fine with that, whether it's at the team site or such enterprises as StubHub, even if there are "service" fees tacked on.
But the league's involvement with this new, more widespread enterprise is shameful. The wording of the announcement seemed to be blatant braggadocio that the league had found a way to not only encourage scalping — which we all know goes on — but be part of it! This isn't about a season-ticket holder recouping the cost of two tickets for the Florida Panthers' visit in November. Or passing along two great seats for the Boston Bruins' appearance to some fan who says chowdah for the soup with clams in it.
This is a blatant invitation to scalp tickets to the league's high-profile events. The NHL should be embarrassed to be associated with it — much less thump its chest about it.