View Poll Results: Is your team in cap hell?
Yes
0
0%
No
0
0%
Don't care
0
0%
Go Nordiques!
0
0%
Voters: 0. You may not vote on this poll
Hockey: News and Discussion Thread
08-09-2012, 10:13 AM
Who is teh bleacher report.com #1 goalie?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...enders/page/31
HANK!
2011-12 Stats: 62 GP, 39-18-5, 1.97 GAA, .930 SV percentage.
2011-12's Vezina Trophy winner remains the most outstanding goaltender in the league going into 2012-13.
Henrik Lundqvist hasn't had a SV percentage below .920 percent since 2008-09, and he is poised to break the 40-win plateau this season as he is surrounded by one of the best all-around teams in hockey.
Lundqvist has been nominated for four Vezina Trophies and a Hart Trophy, leaving the Stanley Cup as the only major piece of hardware he hasn't come close to yet.
That could all change by next June, because Lundqvist looks poised to lead the most dangerous Rangers team in years to the Stanley Cup Final.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...enders/page/31
HANK!
2011-12 Stats: 62 GP, 39-18-5, 1.97 GAA, .930 SV percentage.
2011-12's Vezina Trophy winner remains the most outstanding goaltender in the league going into 2012-13.
Henrik Lundqvist hasn't had a SV percentage below .920 percent since 2008-09, and he is poised to break the 40-win plateau this season as he is surrounded by one of the best all-around teams in hockey.
Lundqvist has been nominated for four Vezina Trophies and a Hart Trophy, leaving the Stanley Cup as the only major piece of hardware he hasn't come close to yet.
That could all change by next June, because Lundqvist looks poised to lead the most dangerous Rangers team in years to the Stanley Cup Final.
08-09-2012, 10:22 AM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
08-09-2012, 10:29 AM
The sizzle in the Steak
Well then hand Lundqvist the Conn Smythe and the Stanely Cup......
oh wait.....never mind.....Quick has both of them!
oh wait.....never mind.....Quick has both of them!
08-09-2012, 10:47 AM
Senior Moderator
Here's the grand plan: Fire coach midway thru season, trade a d-man for a semi-flashy forward who likes to dye his hair different colors, play mediocre hockey for 80% of the season, then slide into the playoffs as the 8th seed and hope to catch fire. Yeah, thats the new magic recipe in teh Count's league.
The only thing missing as you pointed out is that the above only works with a rock solid goalie. Howard is better than avg, but certainly not a superstar. As for the hole on D. Boy, that Philly offer was damn near brilliant, but Holland is too nice to pull a sneaky move like that. Now Nashtucky isn't going to have much flexibility to improve their team in the near future. Weber is worth every
Suter/Parise/Doan - not so much.
But I digress. Even if Holland doesn't sign or make a trade, I think our D will be okay. As I said before, this is Brendan Smith's time to shine and it wouldn't shock me to see him discussed (if there is a season) for the Calder. Wings desperately need a big, physical, stay at home shutdown guy - we don't have one.
The only thing missing as you pointed out is that the above only works with a rock solid goalie. Howard is better than avg, but certainly not a superstar. As for the hole on D. Boy, that Philly offer was damn near brilliant, but Holland is too nice to pull a sneaky move like that. Now Nashtucky isn't going to have much flexibility to improve their team in the near future. Weber is worth every
Suter/Parise/Doan - not so much.But I digress. Even if Holland doesn't sign or make a trade, I think our D will be okay. As I said before, this is Brendan Smith's time to shine and it wouldn't shock me to see him discussed (if there is a season) for the Calder. Wings desperately need a big, physical, stay at home shutdown guy - we don't have one.
Ah well...doesn't matter really. He'll have more time to develop since a lockout is incoming.
08-09-2012, 10:56 AM
08-09-2012, 11:03 AM
Senior Moderator
08-09-2012, 11:15 AM
08-09-2012, 01:46 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
Yea, because the Vezina is a much better prize than the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup. 
I wonder if Quick would trade the Conn Smythe and the Stanely Cup for a Vezina......yea.
I think they throw a parade in downtown Manhattan when you win a Vezina.....oh wait....they only do that when you win the "other" trophy.
....but he does have a nice consolation prize.....I'll give him that.
I wonder if Quick would trade the Conn Smythe and the Stanely Cup for a Vezina......yea.
I think they throw a parade in downtown Manhattan when you win a Vezina.....oh wait....they only do that when you win the "other" trophy.
....but he does have a nice consolation prize.....I'll give him that.
08-09-2012, 01:54 PM
Yea, because the Vezina is a much better prize than the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup.
I wonder if Quick would trade the Conn Smythe and the Stanely Cup for a Vezina......yea.
I think they throw a parade in downtown Manhattan when you win a Vezina.....oh wait....they only do that when you win the "other" trophy.
....but he does have a nice consolation prize.....I'll give him that.
I wonder if Quick would trade the Conn Smythe and the Stanely Cup for a Vezina......yea.
I think they throw a parade in downtown Manhattan when you win a Vezina.....oh wait....they only do that when you win the "other" trophy.
....but he does have a nice consolation prize.....I'll give him that.
08-09-2012, 01:57 PM
Senior Moderator
Over a longer period (the last few years), I will say King Henrik is the better goalie. And no doubt, the guy arguably had the better REGULAR season hence the Vagina Trophy. 
Still, Quick was ultimately the better goalie overall...CUP and Connie Smith FTW.
So, not sure if there is any debate here.
Still, Quick was ultimately the better goalie overall...CUP and Connie Smith FTW.
So, not sure if there is any debate here.
08-09-2012, 01:58 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
^^ What debate?
08-09-2012, 01:59 PM
I simply posted a link & story.
I am not saying anything about Quick but he was amazing. Should I say sorry?
The Vezina is for the regular season. There is no playoff component to it.
Quick was a machine and he earned his accolades.
I am not saying anything about Quick but he was amazing. Should I say sorry?
The Vezina is for the regular season. There is no playoff component to it.
Quick was a machine and he earned his accolades.
08-09-2012, 02:00 PM
Senior Moderator
08-09-2012, 02:04 PM
Stand down from what? I posted a story that had nothing to do with anything but Hank.
Moog as he has been doing since the well deserved win has made everything about the Kings.
This was not in any way shape nor form any kind of jab at anyone, it was a link to a story about Hank.
Where does Moog's worst winner in the world award go?
Moog as he has been doing since the well deserved win has made everything about the Kings.
This was not in any way shape nor form any kind of jab at anyone, it was a link to a story about Hank.
Where does Moog's worst winner in the world award go?
08-09-2012, 02:05 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
08-09-2012, 08:45 PM
Senior Moderator
Bettman: Players Locked Out if No Deal 09/15
Here we go... 
Thirty-seven days.
That's how much time remains for the NHL and its players' association to bridge a wide gap in collective bargaining negotiations or face another lockout.
Commissioner Gary Bettman made it clear during Thursday's bargaining session in New York that the league is prepared to lock out its players when the current agreement expires Sept. 15.
"I re-confirmed something that the union has been told multiple times over the last nine to 12 months," Bettman told reporters after a two-hour meeting. "Namely, that time is getting short and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon. And we believe there's ample time for the parties to get together and make a deal and that's what we're going to be working towards."
The clock is ticking.
It makes next week's meetings in Toronto particularly important, with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr expected to deliver the union's first official proposal on Tuesday. It won't look anything like the one the NHL handed over July 13.
The union found very little, if anything, it liked in that document, which called for a lowering of the players' share in revenue, introduced new contract restrictions and called for an extended entry-level system.
One change the players will seek is a broadening of the revenue- sharing system between teams. Fehr raised that issue Thursday during the talks at NHL headquarters as a way to illustrate why the NHLPA wasn't in favour of the league's proposal.
"We made a presentation directly related to the owners' proposal -- a revenue-sharing system as it would be combined with the player compensation system that they had proposed," said Fehr. "In the course of doing that, (we) indicated to them that for a couple of different reasons it didn't look to us like it was the way to go.
"In particular, the biggest reason was that it seems to us, both overall and on a club-by-club basis, all of the revenue-sharing payments -- both the new ones and the existing ones -- would be paid for by player salary reductions."
That was by design.
Bettman indicated that "fundamental economics" are more of a key element to the negotiations than revenue sharing.
"The fundamental proposal, our initial proposal, relates to the fact that we need to be paying out less in player costs," he said.
The NHL lost its entire 2004-05 season to a lockout and seems to be facing the growing possibility of another one. It would be the third on Bettman's watch.
Fehr has floated the idea of continuing negotiations while players report to training camp if a new deal wasn't in place by Sept. 15.
"Under the law, if an agreement expires, that may give someone the legal ability to go on strike or in this case to impose a lockout," he said. "There's no requirement that they do so and if nobody does anything you (can) continue to work under the old conditions."
However, with the NHL unwilling to do that, negotiations will need to pick up pace. Even though the sides have been meeting regularly since the end of June, very little progress has been made on what they refer to as the "core economic issues" -- how revenues should be divided.
"There's a meaningful gulf there," said Fehr. "I'll leave it at that for now."
That's how much time remains for the NHL and its players' association to bridge a wide gap in collective bargaining negotiations or face another lockout.
Commissioner Gary Bettman made it clear during Thursday's bargaining session in New York that the league is prepared to lock out its players when the current agreement expires Sept. 15.
"I re-confirmed something that the union has been told multiple times over the last nine to 12 months," Bettman told reporters after a two-hour meeting. "Namely, that time is getting short and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon. And we believe there's ample time for the parties to get together and make a deal and that's what we're going to be working towards."
The clock is ticking.
It makes next week's meetings in Toronto particularly important, with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr expected to deliver the union's first official proposal on Tuesday. It won't look anything like the one the NHL handed over July 13.
The union found very little, if anything, it liked in that document, which called for a lowering of the players' share in revenue, introduced new contract restrictions and called for an extended entry-level system.
One change the players will seek is a broadening of the revenue- sharing system between teams. Fehr raised that issue Thursday during the talks at NHL headquarters as a way to illustrate why the NHLPA wasn't in favour of the league's proposal.
"We made a presentation directly related to the owners' proposal -- a revenue-sharing system as it would be combined with the player compensation system that they had proposed," said Fehr. "In the course of doing that, (we) indicated to them that for a couple of different reasons it didn't look to us like it was the way to go.
"In particular, the biggest reason was that it seems to us, both overall and on a club-by-club basis, all of the revenue-sharing payments -- both the new ones and the existing ones -- would be paid for by player salary reductions."
That was by design.
Bettman indicated that "fundamental economics" are more of a key element to the negotiations than revenue sharing.
"The fundamental proposal, our initial proposal, relates to the fact that we need to be paying out less in player costs," he said.
The NHL lost its entire 2004-05 season to a lockout and seems to be facing the growing possibility of another one. It would be the third on Bettman's watch.
Fehr has floated the idea of continuing negotiations while players report to training camp if a new deal wasn't in place by Sept. 15.
"Under the law, if an agreement expires, that may give someone the legal ability to go on strike or in this case to impose a lockout," he said. "There's no requirement that they do so and if nobody does anything you (can) continue to work under the old conditions."
However, with the NHL unwilling to do that, negotiations will need to pick up pace. Even though the sides have been meeting regularly since the end of June, very little progress has been made on what they refer to as the "core economic issues" -- how revenues should be divided.
"There's a meaningful gulf there," said Fehr. "I'll leave it at that for now."
08-10-2012, 05:42 AM
I feel the need...
Commissioner Gary Bettman made it clear during Thursday's bargaining session in New York that the league is prepared to lock out its players when the current agreement expires Sept. 15.
08-10-2012, 07:21 AM
Adios season.
08-10-2012, 09:27 AM
Trolling Canuckistan
<object width="640" height="383" id="embed" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/embed.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="flashVars" value="catid=53&id=185154&server=http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/&pageurl=http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/&nlwa=http://app2.neulion.com/videocenter/nhl/" /><embed name="embed" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/embed.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="383" quality="high" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashVars="catid=53&id=185154&server=http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/&pageurl=http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/&nlwa=http://app2.neulion.com/videocenter/nhl/"></embed></object>
08-10-2012, 09:36 AM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
meh, even without watching the video I have plenty of reasons to want to punch him in the face
08-10-2012, 10:00 AM
Senior Moderator
The owners need to be punched in the face too. The Count is just a symptom of a larger problem.
08-10-2012, 10:28 AM
The sizzle in the Steak
All the players who did not take the big $$$ deals this off season....SUCKERS!!!!
Good luck getting a deal anywhere near what could have been had in the past year or two.....it's all about to change.
Good luck getting a deal anywhere near what could have been had in the past year or two.....it's all about to change.
08-10-2012, 10:55 AM
Senior Moderator
08-10-2012, 11:10 AM
The sizzle in the Steak
08-10-2012, 05:50 PM
Trolling Canuckistan
08-10-2012, 07:16 PM
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/82...e-new-cba-time
Fans should bolt if CBA halts season
Updated: August 10, 2012, 3:35 PM ET
By Scott Burnside | ESPN.com
"See you in December."
That's what hockey folks keep saying.
Unless they say, "See you in January."
Is there a single person connected to the game who believes the NHL and its players can get a deal done before the current collective bargaining agreement ends Sept. 15?
I think they can.
In fact, I can't think of a single good reason why it shouldn't happen, even though NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr referred Thursday to a "meaningful gulf" between the two sides on the important issue of revenue sharing.
Think of all of the reasons the two sides not only can -- but must -- get together on in a new pact, starting with the $3.3 billion in revenue reported last season, a record for a league that just eight years ago closed its doors for an entire season because the owners were so determined to redefine the labor landscape with a salary cap.
CBA Talk
Commissioner Gary Bettman:
"I reconfirmed something that the union has been told multiple times over the last nine to 12 months, namely that the time is getting short and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon. And we believe there's ample time for the parties to get together and make a deal, and that's what we're going to be working toward."
On revenue sharing:
"We start from the premise that the fundamental proposal, our initial proposal, relates to the fact that we need to be paying out less in player costs. That's something that while revenue sharing has been an important part of the existing collective bargaining agreement, we intend to have it going forward in an enhanced way. Revenue sharing isn't the key element. It's an element that has to be dealt with, but the fundamental economics need to be dealt with first."
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr:
"Under the law, if an agreement expires, that may give someone the legal ability to strike, or in this case to impose a lockout. There's no requirement that they do so and if nobody does anything, you can continue to work under the old conditions."
On revenue sharing:
"There is a meaningful gulf there. ... The biggest reason was, it seems to us that both overall and on a club-by-club basis, all of the revenue-sharing payments -- both the new ones and the existing ones -- would be paid for by player salary reductions."
So there's the money, more of it than ever before, and all the two sides have to do is find a way to split it.
And the source of that money presents another compelling reason to get a deal done: fans, sponsors and television.
The fans have turned out in record numbers, the sponsors have followed by committing dollars in record amounts, and the television networks, whose ratings continue to impress, have committed to the NHL and its players long term.
Eight years ago, this league dodged a bullet when it did the unthinkable, turning out the lights for an entire season, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. And remarkably, when those lights came back on in fall 2005, the game was better, the fans returned, and slowly but surely, so did the corporate money.
The NHL did a tremendous job of selling them on this new game and new elements, such as the Winter Classic, wholesale coverage of playoff games, and unprecedented access in the form of products like HBO's wildly successful "24/7: Road to the Winter Classic" reality show.
Since the lockout, we've had seven different Stanley Cup champions.
We saw fans flock to watch the moribund Phoenix Coyotes advance to this past spring's Western Conference finals, then saw the Kings raise their first-ever Stanley Cup in Los Angeles, as hockey once again became cool on the West Coast.
And now the league and its players appear on a collision course. Again.
The NHLPA early next week is expected to produce a long-awaited counter proposal to the wildly one-sided proposal the league first brought to the table almost a month ago. Maybe it starts the process rolling toward a settlement, although if you talk to agents, players, staff and media, there is a disconcerting amount of pessimism that the two sides can find common ground in time to get the 2012-13 season off as scheduled.
Maybe it's the overriding cynicism that in spite of so much good surrounding the NHL, there is still too much greed, too much stubbornness when it comes to finding a way to split a pie that has grown far larger than anyone could have imagined.
At the very heart of this battle between the owners (who simply can't seem to find a system they won't wreck themselves) and the players (who continue to make money hand over fist, courtesy of those owners) is one mighty conceit: The fans will always come back.
This conceit is based on history -- they came back last time -- and it speaks to the unmistakable passion of hockey fans across North America. We're not just talking in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs sell out every night for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since the last time the lights went out, and hasn't won a Cup since 1967. But also in Carolina, where they are itching to get back to the RBC Center to see the remade Canes. Or in Minnesota, where Zach Parise and Ryan Suter put "hockey" back into the "State of Hockey" this summer, in spite of owner Craig Leipold's foolish comments regarding the flaws in the current system while spending nearly $200 million on those two free agents.
Many believe that's the card commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners hold closest to their vests, and why few believe the coming season has any chance of getting off on time: The owners can wait for the players to say "uncle" one more time, because the fans will always come back.
Shame on Leipold, Philadelphia owner Ed Snider, Washington owner Ted Leonsis and the rest if this is truly their quiet strategy: Wait until the players start to feel the pinch when the season should have started, then force them to give up even more than they did eight years ago.
Here's hoping that if one single training camp session is missed, if one single useless exhibition game is postponed, that the fans bite back.
Here's hoping they stay away, because this time they should.
If the league's owners can't find a way to make a system with $3.3 billion of revenue work -- and work on time -- without simply saying to the players "give us this," then they don't deserve these fans.
Remember when the NHL's ice surfaces were painted with the simpering, "Thank You Fans" message after the last lockout? Here's hoping fans remember it and say, "Thanks, but no thanks," especially if fall without hockey stretches into November or December, which is when everyone figures the real pressure points for the players and the owners will come into play.
Surely with so much wealth and so much optimism surrounding the game, the game itself deserves the best effort from its owners and players.
But if the owners and players don't respect what's been built enough to get the deal done, then why should the fans bother?
So here's a suggestion as the clock ticks toward the Sept. 15 deadline: How about a pledge from the owners that they will bargain through the end of the agreement and into the coming season?
The players already have said they are willing to do so.
So how about a commitment from the owners that they will not lock out the players, and a similar commitment from the players that they will not strike?
Bettman said Thursday the owners will not have another season under the current system. Fair enough, but what about a commitment to the fans that they will work until they get a new agreement without having to resort to closing the game's doors once again?
Wouldn't that be the ultimate signal that what the owners and players say is true, that they do want a deal and the fans really do matter?
Unless, of course, that's not what the owners have in mind at all.
Fans should bolt if CBA halts season
Updated: August 10, 2012, 3:35 PM ET
By Scott Burnside | ESPN.com
"See you in December."
That's what hockey folks keep saying.
Unless they say, "See you in January."
Is there a single person connected to the game who believes the NHL and its players can get a deal done before the current collective bargaining agreement ends Sept. 15?
I think they can.
In fact, I can't think of a single good reason why it shouldn't happen, even though NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr referred Thursday to a "meaningful gulf" between the two sides on the important issue of revenue sharing.
Think of all of the reasons the two sides not only can -- but must -- get together on in a new pact, starting with the $3.3 billion in revenue reported last season, a record for a league that just eight years ago closed its doors for an entire season because the owners were so determined to redefine the labor landscape with a salary cap.
CBA Talk
Commissioner Gary Bettman:
"I reconfirmed something that the union has been told multiple times over the last nine to 12 months, namely that the time is getting short and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon. And we believe there's ample time for the parties to get together and make a deal, and that's what we're going to be working toward."
On revenue sharing:
"We start from the premise that the fundamental proposal, our initial proposal, relates to the fact that we need to be paying out less in player costs. That's something that while revenue sharing has been an important part of the existing collective bargaining agreement, we intend to have it going forward in an enhanced way. Revenue sharing isn't the key element. It's an element that has to be dealt with, but the fundamental economics need to be dealt with first."
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr:
"Under the law, if an agreement expires, that may give someone the legal ability to strike, or in this case to impose a lockout. There's no requirement that they do so and if nobody does anything, you can continue to work under the old conditions."
On revenue sharing:
"There is a meaningful gulf there. ... The biggest reason was, it seems to us that both overall and on a club-by-club basis, all of the revenue-sharing payments -- both the new ones and the existing ones -- would be paid for by player salary reductions."
So there's the money, more of it than ever before, and all the two sides have to do is find a way to split it.
And the source of that money presents another compelling reason to get a deal done: fans, sponsors and television.
The fans have turned out in record numbers, the sponsors have followed by committing dollars in record amounts, and the television networks, whose ratings continue to impress, have committed to the NHL and its players long term.
Eight years ago, this league dodged a bullet when it did the unthinkable, turning out the lights for an entire season, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. And remarkably, when those lights came back on in fall 2005, the game was better, the fans returned, and slowly but surely, so did the corporate money.
The NHL did a tremendous job of selling them on this new game and new elements, such as the Winter Classic, wholesale coverage of playoff games, and unprecedented access in the form of products like HBO's wildly successful "24/7: Road to the Winter Classic" reality show.
Since the lockout, we've had seven different Stanley Cup champions.
We saw fans flock to watch the moribund Phoenix Coyotes advance to this past spring's Western Conference finals, then saw the Kings raise their first-ever Stanley Cup in Los Angeles, as hockey once again became cool on the West Coast.
And now the league and its players appear on a collision course. Again.
The NHLPA early next week is expected to produce a long-awaited counter proposal to the wildly one-sided proposal the league first brought to the table almost a month ago. Maybe it starts the process rolling toward a settlement, although if you talk to agents, players, staff and media, there is a disconcerting amount of pessimism that the two sides can find common ground in time to get the 2012-13 season off as scheduled.
Maybe it's the overriding cynicism that in spite of so much good surrounding the NHL, there is still too much greed, too much stubbornness when it comes to finding a way to split a pie that has grown far larger than anyone could have imagined.
At the very heart of this battle between the owners (who simply can't seem to find a system they won't wreck themselves) and the players (who continue to make money hand over fist, courtesy of those owners) is one mighty conceit: The fans will always come back.
This conceit is based on history -- they came back last time -- and it speaks to the unmistakable passion of hockey fans across North America. We're not just talking in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs sell out every night for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since the last time the lights went out, and hasn't won a Cup since 1967. But also in Carolina, where they are itching to get back to the RBC Center to see the remade Canes. Or in Minnesota, where Zach Parise and Ryan Suter put "hockey" back into the "State of Hockey" this summer, in spite of owner Craig Leipold's foolish comments regarding the flaws in the current system while spending nearly $200 million on those two free agents.
Many believe that's the card commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners hold closest to their vests, and why few believe the coming season has any chance of getting off on time: The owners can wait for the players to say "uncle" one more time, because the fans will always come back.
Shame on Leipold, Philadelphia owner Ed Snider, Washington owner Ted Leonsis and the rest if this is truly their quiet strategy: Wait until the players start to feel the pinch when the season should have started, then force them to give up even more than they did eight years ago.
Here's hoping that if one single training camp session is missed, if one single useless exhibition game is postponed, that the fans bite back.
Here's hoping they stay away, because this time they should.
If the league's owners can't find a way to make a system with $3.3 billion of revenue work -- and work on time -- without simply saying to the players "give us this," then they don't deserve these fans.
Remember when the NHL's ice surfaces were painted with the simpering, "Thank You Fans" message after the last lockout? Here's hoping fans remember it and say, "Thanks, but no thanks," especially if fall without hockey stretches into November or December, which is when everyone figures the real pressure points for the players and the owners will come into play.
Surely with so much wealth and so much optimism surrounding the game, the game itself deserves the best effort from its owners and players.
But if the owners and players don't respect what's been built enough to get the deal done, then why should the fans bother?
So here's a suggestion as the clock ticks toward the Sept. 15 deadline: How about a pledge from the owners that they will bargain through the end of the agreement and into the coming season?
The players already have said they are willing to do so.
So how about a commitment from the owners that they will not lock out the players, and a similar commitment from the players that they will not strike?
Bettman said Thursday the owners will not have another season under the current system. Fair enough, but what about a commitment to the fans that they will work until they get a new agreement without having to resort to closing the game's doors once again?
Wouldn't that be the ultimate signal that what the owners and players say is true, that they do want a deal and the fans really do matter?
Unless, of course, that's not what the owners have in mind at all.
08-10-2012, 11:49 PM
Senior Moderator
Yup...another write-up on how 
Bettman and the owners are: http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blac...medium=twitter
Bettman and the owners are: http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blac...medium=twitter
08-11-2012, 08:10 AM
I feel the need...
Love, Loss, and the Lockout: Qasa’id for Hockey Fans
Posted by Ellen Etchingham under Rant on Aug 10, 2012
http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2012/0...r-hockey-fans/
Nominated for best off-season rant of the year.
Cut the bond
with one you cannot reach!
The best of those who make a bond
Are those who can break it.
- Labid, The Mu’allaqa
with one you cannot reach!
The best of those who make a bond
Are those who can break it.
- Labid, The Mu’allaqa
Nominated for best off-season rant of the year.
08-11-2012, 08:16 AM
Has anyone made a fan blog or site to show them that we are sick of millionaires complaining about money?
Maybe (dreamer) if enough people chime in to something like that they will see another lockout is counterproductive.
Maybe (dreamer) if enough people chime in to something like that they will see another lockout is counterproductive.
08-11-2012, 11:05 AM
Trolling Canuckistan
I worry about the Shaun Thorntons of the league. The guys who are in their mid 30's and have just gotten their first million dollar contract. The guys who bust their asses training to be able to compete with those who are naturally more talented than them.
Those are the guys who are really screwed in this mess (them and the fans). The owners will stay rich regardless of what happens, the guys who have limited time to make enough money to provide for their families for a lifetime won't.
08-11-2012, 11:25 AM
Interesting but how about the minimum wage people that work in the arenas? Sorry but they are the ones this will truly screw.
08-11-2012, 02:48 PM
Trolling Canuckistan
Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with the stadium workers but they will have a much easier time replacing the lost income than the players will. A season could represent 1/10th of a players lifetime income, for a minimum wage employee, it's about 10 months if even that when you consider there are only 41 home games so it could represent as little as 41 days of employment. Minimum wage earners also most likely won't have to retire in their early forties because they can no longer do their jobs.
Honestly, I sympathize most for the fans who are minimum wage earners because the NHL was at least 82 nights of great nearly free entertainment that they lost over the more wealthy folks greed.
08-11-2012, 03:08 PM
Regardless I am sick of greedy millionaires and think they need to come to an agreement.
I was just watching the Yankee Toronto game. They said Toronto has not sold out more than 20 games a year since the last baseball stoppage and that they were among the only teams that never recovered from it. Seems to me the NHL needs to take heed of that.
I was just watching the Yankee Toronto game. They said Toronto has not sold out more than 20 games a year since the last baseball stoppage and that they were among the only teams that never recovered from it. Seems to me the NHL needs to take heed of that.
08-11-2012, 03:19 PM
Senior Moderator
Regardless I am sick of greedy millionaires and think they need to come to an agreement.
I was just watching the Yankee Toronto game. They said Toronto has not sold out more than 20 games a year since the last baseball stoppage and that they were among the only teams that never recovered from it. Seems to me the NHL needs to take heed of that.
I was just watching the Yankee Toronto game. They said Toronto has not sold out more than 20 games a year since the last baseball stoppage and that they were among the only teams that never recovered from it. Seems to me the NHL needs to take heed of that.
08-12-2012, 09:37 AM
Seems so.
08-13-2012, 12:18 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
@ Nucks Fans.....Willie bring The Cup to Vancouver
08-13-2012, 12:25 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
meh...everyone always complains about the Owners when the CBA expires.....it's like clockwork.....and like clockwork more times than not, fans come back and buy their tickets & merch...and continue to watch on TV.
Sure, I don't want a lock-out like any other fan, but this is how it goes in sports.
It's just how it's done. Owners want more...so do the players.
It's all about the $$$ in sports....what a shocker!!!
I'm sure if the fans propose a boycott of sorts, that will work...because boycotts always work!!!!
The league, owners, and players know we all will come back....why? Because we love to watch professional sports. PERIOD. End of Story.
Sure, I don't want a lock-out like any other fan, but this is how it goes in sports.
It's just how it's done. Owners want more...so do the players.
It's all about the $$$ in sports....what a shocker!!!
I'm sure if the fans propose a boycott of sorts, that will work...because boycotts always work!!!!
The league, owners, and players know we all will come back....why? Because we love to watch professional sports. PERIOD. End of Story.
08-13-2012, 12:43 PM
Senior Moderator
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
Regional Coordinator
(Mid-Atlantic)
iTrader: (6)
08-14-2012, 04:06 PM
The sizzle in the Steak
NHL studying players' labor proposal
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and his negotiating team are huddled Tuesday afternoon to discuss an NHL Players' Association proposal that would reduce players' share of revenue by as much as $465 million while preserving the salary cap system.
"It's clear to me that they didn't put it together in an hour or two," Bettman told reporters as he left the negotiating session where the NHLPA proposal was presented. "As a result, we're going to need a little time to evaluate it, understand it and we told them that we'd go back to our offices and do that and that we would be prepared to meet again (Wednesday)."
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr provided the $465 million figure and said the proposal calls for expanded revenue sharing to help financially distressed teams. He said the players' proposal could "stabilize the industry."
The Canadian Press is reporting that there is a luxury tax included in the proposal that would allow some teams to go above the cap, and some to stay below.
The NHLPA proposal would call for a three years of players accepting a lower percentage of the revenue and then players have the option to revert back to their current share (57%) in the fourth year.
A large contingent of players, including Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, were present for the presentation of the NHLPA proposal.
The two sides are scheduled to meet four days this week in an effort to avoid the lockout of players on Sept. 15. Bettman has already informed the players they will be locked out if the old agreement expires without any resolution.
"I'm not going to characterize (the NHLPA proposal)," Bettman said. "I'm not going to tell you what it means because we need time to evaluate it and make sure we fully understand it."
The NHLPA proposal was characterized by Fehr as an "alternative view" to a league proposal that called for player givebacks, plus some changes in revenue sharing. Owners want to reduce players' share of revenue from 57% to 46% (the NHLPA says the figure is 43%), plus they would eliminate salary arbitration, limit contract lengths and keep players longer in entry-level deals and restricted free agency.
"It's clear to me that they didn't put it together in an hour or two," Bettman told reporters as he left the negotiating session where the NHLPA proposal was presented. "As a result, we're going to need a little time to evaluate it, understand it and we told them that we'd go back to our offices and do that and that we would be prepared to meet again (Wednesday)."
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr provided the $465 million figure and said the proposal calls for expanded revenue sharing to help financially distressed teams. He said the players' proposal could "stabilize the industry."
The Canadian Press is reporting that there is a luxury tax included in the proposal that would allow some teams to go above the cap, and some to stay below.
The NHLPA proposal would call for a three years of players accepting a lower percentage of the revenue and then players have the option to revert back to their current share (57%) in the fourth year.
A large contingent of players, including Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, were present for the presentation of the NHLPA proposal.
The two sides are scheduled to meet four days this week in an effort to avoid the lockout of players on Sept. 15. Bettman has already informed the players they will be locked out if the old agreement expires without any resolution.
"I'm not going to characterize (the NHLPA proposal)," Bettman said. "I'm not going to tell you what it means because we need time to evaluate it and make sure we fully understand it."
The NHLPA proposal was characterized by Fehr as an "alternative view" to a league proposal that called for player givebacks, plus some changes in revenue sharing. Owners want to reduce players' share of revenue from 57% to 46% (the NHLPA says the figure is 43%), plus they would eliminate salary arbitration, limit contract lengths and keep players longer in entry-level deals and restricted free agency.