Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Well since the NBA is filled with overpaid, selfish pricks, I am now turning my attention to hockey.  I have only casually followed hockey over the years, living in close proximity to the Devils and Rangers.  I have been told I would love hockey because everything I hate about today's NBA doesn't exist over there.  It is a team sport and players dont put their ego's above the organization.  Plus it is physical, not like today's NBA which can be confused with a ballet from time to time.  So lets go hockey!!! 

Hockey is a great sport. I've been a ranger fan since i was just a little kid.

Let's go Blackhawks!!  :smoking:

Lets go Leafs lol, back at it tonight against the Flames after a week off, Flyers looking impressive

Lets Go Buffalo!

Go Oilers Go

god my team has sucked over the last 2 years

KINGS

Kessel & the Leafs.....Chyea

BLACKHAWKS ;D :yes: : ok: :peace: :beer:

NYR :smoking:

GO JETS GO
It took 15 years, but we got ourselves a team back   :peace:

Was very happy to see that happen

How has the fan reaction been?

Major realignment coming as soon as next season.

NHL approves radical realignment plan
ESPN.com news services

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- NHL officials approved a radical realignment plan Monday that will give the league four conferences instead of six divisions and guarantee home-and-home series among all teams.

The Board of Governors authorized commissioner Gary Bettman to implement the proposal pending input from the NHL Players' Association. It could be put in place as early as next season.

A New Look

Here is the four-conference format approved by the NHL board of governors Monday night. Under the realigned format, which still needs to be officially implemented by commissioner Gary Bettman, every team would play every other club in a home-and-home matchup:
Conference "A"
Anaheim
Calgary
Colorado
Edmonton
Los Angeles
Phoenix
San Jose
Vancouver
Conference "B"
Chicago
Columbus
Dallas
Detroit
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Winnipeg
Conference "C"
Boston
Buffalo
Florida
Montreal
Ottawa
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Conference "D"
Carolina
New Jersey
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington

The league considered two plans to accommodate Atlanta's move to Winnipeg this past summer. The first would have simply moved the Jets to the Central Division and either Detroit or Columbus to the Southeast.

"The simple one wasn't as simple as it looked when you got done with it," Bettman said.

The board opted to go with the more dramatic switch, creating four geographic conferences -- two with eight teams and two with seven.

The new format will increase overall travel in the regular season, especially for Eastern Conference teams who will now have more trips West. But it cuts down on travel for some Western Conference teams, which was a critical issue for teams like Detroit, Dallas, Columbus and Nashville.

"This is not a subject that everybody is going to get their first choice on," Bettman said. "What you try to do is come up with something that everybody can live with, get comfortable with and understands the value of. Because if you ask 30 clubs, you'd probably get 30 different solutions. That's what makes this a difficult process."

The new look has two conferences with seven teams all based in the Eastern time zone: New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Washington and Carolina in one and Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay in the other.

The third conference consists of eight teams in the Eastern and Central time zones: Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg. The fourth conference has eight teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado.

The conferences have not been named.

"The chance to stay in our time zone the chance to play two Original Six teams lots (Chicago and Detroit) and other very good teams in that conference and the chance to have every team in the league come into our building every year I think is a real positive," said Mark Chipman, chairman and governor of the Jets.

Teams will play home-and-home series against all nonconference teams and five or six games in their conference. The top four teams in each conference will make the playoffs, with the first two rounds consisting of solely intraconference matchups. Bettman said he will consult with general managers in the spring before deciding whether to reseed the playoffs in the third round or to have pre-determined matchups.

Bettman said he liked the current format that he devised of six five-team divisions but that Winnipeg's move from Atlanta forced some change. He didn't take a stance on either proposal, but simply explained the pros and cons and allowed the teams to vote.

There was about an hour of discussion, and representatives from about a dozen teams spoke before the plan was approved.

"We had clubs, a number of clubs, that were unhappy with the current state of affairs," Bettman said. "In the context of having to make a change anyway, I felt it was important that their needs and concerns were recognized."

Chipman added there was no acrimony in the discussion that led up to the change.

"I think it was a matter of everybody trying to make their points but I got the sense that people were acting in the best interests of the league and there was a compelling argument that what was agreed to today was in the best interests of everybody," Chipman said. "You can't satisfy everybody, everybody knew that going in."

Among the teams pleased with the new alignment plan were the Penguins, whose fears of being separated from cross-state rival Philadelphia were allayed with the radical shift.

"It was important to us to stay with long-time rivals. Not just Philly. And I think it was important to us to make sure we maintained the rivalries that we developed over the years and they're very good rivalries and our fans love to hate some of the teams we play against. I'm sure their fans love to hate us too. So we're encouraged by that," team CEO and president David Morehouse said Monday.

"In the end I think this will be a good thing for the league," he said.

Information from ESPN.com's Scott Burnside and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Florida teams in the same division with Canadien teams..makes sense :no:

Can you say re-alignment again in 5 years?

I found that odd too. I think making an east, south, midwest and west conference would have been easier.

'west' and florida get screwed, rest of the east will be happy.

5 in a row for the Blackhawks :smoking:

Should be a great game tonight on TSN2 against Pittsburgh, All these concussions really are a shame but will still be a great game...My Leafs are sliding ouuuch

Jordon Eberle does not seem capable of scoring 'dirty' goals, seems like every time he scores it's a highlight reel one.

Another good win today for the Rangers in the Winter Classic. That's 3-0 against the Flyers this year. They are really starting to look like they could be the real deal.

Headin to the Leafs n Jets game tonight in Toronto...Go Leafs go : ok:

People are fucking sick!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Updated: January 5, 2:01 PM ET
Video: Flyers fans attack Rangers fans
By Katie Strang
ESPNNewYork.com

NEW YORK -- The Philadelphia police department has released surveillance video of a brutal attack following Monday's Winter Classic game in an effort to identify the three suspects involved in the beating of two men wearing New York Rangers jerseys outside a South Philadelphia cheesesteak shack.

The graphic video shows three suspects wearing Philadelphia Flyers jerseys beating and kicking the two victims outside Geno's Steaks in South Philly at 7:15 p.m. ET.

More From ESPNNewYork.com

Rangers. Islanders. Devils. If you want hockey information, ESPNNewYork.com has you covered. Blog

One of the victims was an off-duty Woodbridge, N.J., police officer, according to Woodbridge Township spokesman John Hagerty. NBC New York identified him as Neal Auricchio, 30, who the station says also served as a Marine in Iraq.

"He got banged up pretty badly," his father, Neal Auricchio Sr., told NBC New York Wednesday. "Stitches in the one eye, and the other eye is pretty puffed up. He went for a CT scan today, and we're waiting for the results on that."

Hagerty confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com that Auricchio, who is currently on medical leave until cleared to return to work, has been released from the hospital.

"He's in fine condition," Hagerty told ESPNNewYork.com. "He's resting and doing well."

Hagerty said the "investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department is ongoing," and that the Woodbridge Police Department has offered its assistance in the matter.

A Flyers-geared hockey website also has provided some help in identifying at least one of the suspects.

According to the website, Broad Street Hockey, one of the suspects identified himself on the site's Facebook fan page and admitted he took part in the attack, but then backtracked.

A source told ESPNNewYork.com that he later denied his involvement to police but will be interviewed Thursday.

Police are seeking assistance in identifying the three men and are asking anyone with information to call the Philadelphia Police South Detective Division.

According to NBC New York, Auricchio earned a Purple Heart in Iraq and even returned for a second tour after being shot in the leg.

"We root, we play, we win, we lose, and we go on," Woodbridge mayor John McCormac, a friend of the family, said to NBC New York. "And regardless of the result of the game, this should not have happened to a good, decent young man who's truly a war hero."

Katie Strang covers the NHL for ESPNNewYork.com.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/7426297/video-shows-philadelphia-flyers-fans-attacking-new-york-rangers-fans

Wow to bad to hear bout that, theres always a few idiots when u get that many ppl together...in other news...LEafs are on a big 3 game winning streak, was at the game Thursday when they had a big 4-0 win over the Jets and then an even bigger 4-3 win over the Wings

good news...

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20120113_Arrest_in_Genos_Steaks_assault.html?cmpid=124488429

S. Jersey man charged in assault at Geno?s Steaks
 
A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged in the beating of two New York Rangers fans outside Geno's Steaks after the Winter Classic hockey game on Jan. 2.

Dennis Veteri, of Glassboro, was released early today after posting 10 percent of $50,000 bail, according to court records. He is charged with 2 counts each of aggravated assault, conspiracy aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment, the records show. Police are looking for other alleged assailants in the beating, which was caught on video and posted online.

Two Rangers fans who were wearing team jerseys were injured in the attack outside the South Philadelphia landmark eatery. The assault resulted in the hospitalization of Neal Auricchio, an off-duty Woodbridge, N.J., police officer and Iraq war veteran who suffered a concussion and required numerous stitches. An edited, police-version of the video shows a Flyers fan in a Claude Giroux jersey throwing the first punch.

Veteri's Facebook page lists one of his interests as "Broad Street Bullies." Court records show that Veteri has been sentenced to probation for aggravated assault and drugs possession in Philadelphia in the past. He was arrested in 2006 in Vero Beach, Fla., for probation of a felony conviction. Records show he lived there at the time. Veteri was also also has a 2001 arrest out of Fort Lauderdale for battery.

Good i hope he gets the max sentence. Absolutely disgusting what he did.

Sam Gagner 8 point night!

The Blackhawks should maybe ship someone to The Islanders for Nabokov - the goaltending situation has definitely become cause for concern.

Huge shutout win for my Rangers tonight in Boston our closest competitor. Rangers are looking more and more like they are gonna be the team to beat in the east. Lunqvist has become a beast in goal. You gotta consider him one of the elite goaltenders in the league now and i think the clear favorite for the vezina.

Anyone see that Chicago game last Thursday?

 http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/ny-rangers-four-game-winning-streak-chopped-chicago-blackhawks-4-2-loss-madison-square-garden-article-1.1024230?localLinksEnabled=false

Yeah, bad game for the rangers. They are much better then that. The defense just wasn't there at the start of the game. It got better in the last two periods but they just got too far behind. Also, had Lundqvist been in goal no way Chicago scores 4 goals. I have no idea why Biron was in net. Rangers have two days off now and a game against the league worst Blue Jackets Sunday night. Should've played Lundy last night and played Biron Sunday.

take back khabi  :hihi:

hey timothy, whats your opinion on Nash to the rangers?

don't want the guy myself. far too big contract and too much to give up player wise IMO


(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/321653_10150367026493038_720713037_8280823_1829884855_n.jpg)
^me before attending Rangers-Ducks in Ericsson Globe in October. one of my dreams come true  ;D though it shoulda been a better game and result

CBJs Jeff Carter to LA for Jack Johnson and first round draft pick. Less likely with a Nash trade now?

Yeah, i'm not sure i mean on one hand we definitely could use the added offense he'll bring but as you said the player cost will be high. I'd hate to see us give up a few of our top defensive prospects to get him. This is one time i really would like us to stick to developing and keeping home grown talent. Its really starting to payoff. We have a great young defense that we should have for awhile and they are gonna get much better. We've got a coach i think that can take us all the way. We just have to get some more scoring. I just don't want us to sell away the future to get it now.

i'm with you all the way! I don't even want to see Rangers dealing Dylan McIlrath. that guy's gonna be a beast in a blue shirt, not a blue jacket.

This is one time we have to give the young guys their chance to develop and shine. Its paying off with guys like Callahan, Girardi, Mcdonogh etc. I would love to see us win this year but this is a time where we have to not have the win NOW mentality. If we can get a scoring forward on the cheap side i'm cool with it. Just don't give away guys that are the future for a winning team now.

Crappy game for the Rangers tonight. You can't even in a shootout loose to the piece of garbage of a team that is the Islanders.

the only times the rangers ever needed erik "mr soft" christensen was in the shoot outs.

though i'd almost rather lose than have him in the line up.

Had Lundqvist been in goal i think we win in regulation. Biron lets in so many soft goals its ridiculous. I understand Lundy needs days off but god Biron sucks.

I like the Carter trade because I think it lowers the price for Nash, who the Leafs will hopefully get

Ryan "Captain Cally" Callahan.

Good bounce back win for the Rangers tonight after an ugly game last night against the Islanders. It took overtime but we got the win and two points which is what matters.

Wolski to Panthers.


I's all for that trade. thank you sather!

Yeah, it frees up cap room. I think the move means we are going after Nash. Funny thing is Wolski scored the tying goal for Florida tonight to send the game to OT.

Major props to the rangers for refusing to give up too much to get Nash. We may not have a cup contender right now, but with all the young talent on the team and in the minors one might not be far off. I'm glad we didn't sell away that future for a win now attitude. Management seems to finally get it you build a winner from the ground up with the draft.

Prust, Rupp, Bickel, Duby and now John Scott.


Expected something more. Buffalo asked for too much for Gaustad. I'd be happy to give up Boyle and a second round pick for Gaustad. Never a first round pick. IMO Boyle's too soft.

Maybe Souray as well.

I did too but they were asking too much for Nash and Gaustad. I'm glad we stuck to not giving up too much. We did the right thing this time IMO. We may be too soft on defense and not have enough offense to win this year but its gonna pay off with all the young talent we have soon.

Yup, my sentiments exactly.

Just have to stay patient with this and soon with the talent on both the nhl team and in the minors Tortarella will have a championship caliber team. Its definitely exciting to be a Ranger fan right now! The guy we picked up from the Hawks looks like he could help out. He looks like a big strong guy who could add some toughness to our defense. Perhaps he replaces Boyle.

Fantastic defensive game by the Rangers tonight shutting out the Devils, and what a game from Hagelin. Love that kid and he's only 22. Henrik another great game getting the league leading 8th shutout. To me this guy is the best goalie in the league hands down. Now with 7 consecutive season with 30+ wins to start his career.

A hard fought win for the Rangers today at home against the Bruins. We definitely didn't play out best especially in that second period but we got the two points which is what matters the most. We really are missing our captain Callahan. Hopefully he isn't out much longer.

Milan Lucic, I bet that name means scumbag in at least on language

Yeah, what he did at the end of the game should draw a fine and suspension.

this season has seen the lowest amount of power plays per game for over 30 years, the last time it was lower was 78/9 season

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/washington-capitals-players-signs-critical-coach-removed-censorship-191921448.html#more-27088

Total heartbreaking loss for the Rangers tonight in Chicago. Overall i thought they played well enough to win the game. They just had a slight lapse with their defense for a few minutes and it cost them the two goals. If we don't let in that empty net goal we tie that game and go to overtime and maybe win it. If we're gonna struggle though, i'm glad its now and not the playoffs. Its good we are facing some adversity now while we have time to learn from it and make adjustments we need to. A very young team still learning how to win big games. So as much as i hate losing i'm glad we are having these learning experiences now instead of playoff time.

This Ranger team needs to wake up and in a hurry. We can't be eeking out wins in OT against the Islanders. Giving up 3 goals with Lundy in net to this team inexcusable. The D needs to get its act together too many brain farts the last 4 games. We have some very tough opponents coming up that we need to play better than this against.

haven't been able to see any games lately. hope i can see the rangers-pens game on thursday.

nice to see zuccarello in the blueshirt again.

Be glad you missed the last few. You would've wanted to throw something at the tv. Awful games against NJ and Ottawa, a game we should've won against Chicago then last night barely beating the Islanders. We have games against Pittsburgh, Detroit and Colorado coming up. We have to get our act together.

sounds bad. the future is ours though  ;)


2 hockey news. Crosby makes his comeback tomorrow against the rangers and Sean Avery retire as a player.

Pittsburgh scares me right now. They've won 9 in a row.

yeah i'm not too fond of that streak. let's break it

I hope we can. They are getting a little too close to us for the  no.1 seed for my liking.

Even with our subpar games against NJ, Ottawa and Chicago there are positive signs from the game against the Isles and Canes tonight. Richards and Gaborik have a combined 5 goals so far in those two games. Make that six.

Not the biggest Crosby fan...but I do hope he can stay healthy

Yeah, i don't like the guy but i don't wish injury on him or anyone.

Watching the Ranger game on NBC sports network, they are showing the Pittsburgh feed. The announcers for Pittsburgh are the biggest tools i've ever heard. They even are having a PIP cam of when Sidney Crosby comes on the ice. Give me a fucking break. The guy isn't the second coming of Christ. LOL and they are trying to say Fleury is as better then Lundqvist and should be the favorite for the Vezina. Fleury is 10th in GAA and 17th in Save%. He's not on the same planet as Lundqvist. They may be beating us tonight, but, we don't have Lundqvist, Callahan, Del Zotto or Anisimov.

I'm watching the games with NHL game center or whatever it's called. best thing is that i can choose which teams feed i want. it's great to see gaby and richie finally having chemistry we all expected :D as a swede it's awesome to see hagelin fitting in as well!

Unfortunately, i didn't have that option unless i watched it online illegally, but i preferred to see it on tv in HD. So i had to put up with the morons on the Root sports network in Pittsburgh. I've never heard such idiotic homer statements from any other broadcasters. Yeah, it is good to see the Gaborik, RIchards and Hagelin line finally coming to life. We need to get healthy though. We need our captain back and Del Zotto and Ansimov. Lundy i expect to play the next game. He should be completely recovered from the flu by tomorrow.

Fuck that loss tonight is a tough one to swallow. we outplayed Colorado the whole game but their goaltender stood on his head tonight to win that game for them.

Blackhawks looking good going into the playoffs; just hope we get Toews back sooner than later.

I'd love to have Landeskog in a blueshirt.

I'll try to watch the first period for toinghts game between the rangers and the red wings. nice to clinch the playoff spot early but the rangers game has been lacking lately after what I've read. better now than the playoffs. But it's not like we have only one shot and it's this year. the rangers are a young team!

Don't like the guy but Crosby is scary good. 1.75 ppg this season. counting his games last year he has 87 points in his latest 53 games. 1.64 ppg. I just hope the pens can't resign all their players when their current contracts are up.


exciting to see Radulov back in the NHL even if it's just for a short while.

We clearly missed our captain during the last week or so, glad to see him back. We played much better against the Devils with him and Del Zotto back. Hopefully Anisimov is back soon too.

Ryan Callahan! On his birthday game winner!

Blackhawks get the best of Bobby Lou yet again  ;D

duncan keith shows class against dan sedin..

Torres took out Seabrook in the playoffs last year - Pot meet kettle..

well that justifies everything

Keith will get what he deserves by sitting a few games and giving up some cash.

I'm not sure that any these guys gets what they deserve.. Doesn't matter if they're Blackhawks, Rangers. Canucks, Swedes, North Americans or whatevs. They're multi millionaires.

When Rene Bourque took out Nick B?ckstr?m he got a 5 game suspension. Nick was having a career year with 1.1 ppg through 38 games. haven't played since. Elbowing have no place in this sport.

I don't even like Sedin that much.  :smoking:

I agree, especially with how conscious they are now about head injuries. Bettman needs to take the stance on player safety Roger Goodell has in the NFL and put an end to those kinda hits that target the head.

God what in the hell was that by the Rangers tonight. They haven't stunk up an arena that bad in a long time. That was the most uninspired going through the motions game i've seen in awhile. Bad plays left and right leading to goals by Buffalo. Rangers need to wake up in a hurry with Pittsburgh right on their heels. We better win tomorrow in Toronto.

Sabres are the hottest team in the league right now! Keep it up boys!

Went to the Leafs/Rangers game last night...Really good game even though Leafs lost in a shootout...btw Tortorella has to be the best coach ever, i cant imagine any boring moments with him around

He's been successful wherever he's coached. He finds a way to get the best out of the players he has and totally gets them to buy into his system. You can't argue with what he did in Tampa Bay and is now doing with the Rangers. The scary thing about the Rangers is they are very young still, have some excellent prospects that will be ready to join the big club soon. This team could be very very good for a long time.

Its funny he got ousted in TB, due to St. Louis and Lecavalier, when maybe one or both of those should have gone :hihi:

I'm glad he's with the Rangers now cause he's doing a fantastic job with this team.

Wow, fuck the penguins. What a bunch of thugs. Starting a huge fight at the end of the game just cause someone pushed that pussy Sidney Crosby in the back. Even their fans were trying to start a fight with the Flyers bench. Rangers better beat Boston tonight to secure the no. 1 seed. I don't want those pukes from Pittsburgh as the top seed in the east. That was a clean hit my ass NBC, his elbow clearly came up and hit the guy under his mouth in the throat area.

Rangers clinch no.1 seed in the east! Hell yeah! It wasn't pretty though, that was the most undisciplined game we've played in a while, way too many penalties. We gave Philly too many chances to get back in this one. Tortarella will do a lot of yelling after this one.

The rangers really disgust me at the moment. What the hell was that garbage they just did? All we had to do was beat an awful team and we couldn't even do that. Now forget the presidents trophy, We may have to face Ottawa in round one who's owned our asses all season. We better get our heads out of our asses before Wednesday cause if we play another stinker like this we don't even deserve to survive the first round.

Penguins & Flyers should be a slobberknocker.

I hope Philly kills that cheap shotting thug of a team.

Go Leafs

How about playoff predictions?

Rangers vs. Ottawa: Rangers in 6.
Boston vs. Washington: Boston in 5
Florida vs. New Jersey: New Jersey in 5
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: Philadelphia in 6
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles: Vancouver in 5
St. Louis vs. San Jose: St. Louis in 4
Phoenix vs. Chicago: Phoenix in 7
Nashville vs. Detroit: Nashville in 6

Go Kings.

have no idea at all,. i just know that the rangers has had a pretty hard time with the sens this year. that + the recent "no-shows" makes me a bit concerned.

I also hope that philly fucks the pens up. that's a nice match-up. preds and red wings will be a nice series.

Rangers vs. Ottawa: Rangers - 5
Boston vs. Washington: Boston - 5
Florida vs. New Jersey: New Jersey in 6
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: Penguins in 6
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles: Vancouver in 6
St. Louis vs. San Jose: San Jose in 7
Phoenix vs. Chicago: Phoenix in 7
Nashville vs. Detroit: Nashville in 6

Yeah, going 1-2-1 against them this year doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy inside. That last game against the Caps particularly made me want to puke. We just went through the motions. A win would've made things so much easier on us. We would've had to play the Caps instead, but we had to play awful and act like we didn't even care about the presidents trophy or playing a tougher team.

Oh me too, the pens are a bunch of whiny pussies who get upset over every little thing and then turn around and try to intentionally injure opponents.

Rangers vs. Ottawa: Rangers - 5
Boston vs. Washington: Boston - 5
Florida vs. New Jersey: New Jersey in 6
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: Penguins in 7
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles: Vancouver in 5
St. Louis vs. San Jose: St. Louis in 6
Phoenix vs. Chicago: Chicago in 5
Nashville vs. Detroit: Nashville in 6

In case you guys missed this awesomeness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkvO3Dnzggg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkvO3Dnzggg)  :smoking:

It seems that Chris Kreider will sign with the Rangers. Wonder if he'll make the team. Many fans have huge expectations on the guy, I'm not sure what would be best. Maybe he should start off in the AHL and debut for the Rangers the next season? Or maybe have him play a couple of games against the Sens.

Yep, its official he has signed with the Rangers. From what i hear the kids got amazing speed and skill for his size. He's gonna practice with the big club starting tomorrow. Its still uncertain if he'll see any action in the playoffs. I'm not sure it would be best to throw him right into the fire of playoff hockey even if we make a deep playoff run. I'm thinking it would be best if he starts off in the AHL then come to camp in the fall and see if he can make the team out of camp. Plus if he plays in the playoffs that takes a year off his contract. Do we really wanna take a year off of his deal for a possible two months?

Oilers won the lottery  :rofl:

Yay Kings.

bang a guys head into the glass when the game is over. a game which your team won = 2500 dollar fine.


a coach saying the f word during an interview after a loss = 20,000 dollar fine.



nice priorities there NHL, good job!

yeah the NHL needs to get it's shit together when it comes to fines.

but the current CBA means a player can't be fined more than $2,500.

Also go kings go  :hihi:

he should've gotten a game anyway. the guy makes 7.5 million this year. dafuq is 2,500 compared to that?

Go Rangers! Overall a strong game and a big win in the first game of the series. We got a little lax when it was 4-0 but overall good game.

yeah, it was real exciting to watch. almost everybody stepped up a notch or 2 :)

Exactly what needs to happen this time of year. Guys like, Callahan, RIchards and Gaborik need to come up big. If those guys can continue to play like that we can go very deep into the playoffs.

Suck it Pittsburgh! Hahahahaha, your defense couldn't stop a nose bleed this series. You're not seeing round two.

Ttwo games into the playoffs and Vancouver and Pittsburgh are down 2-0.

Woo Kings.

I'm real satisfied with the kings and flyers winning.

Kings, please kick out the Sedins and Edler so that they can join team Sweden in the world championships next month.

Daniel is damaged goods and Henrik can't play without brobro.

Rangers really played like garbage tonight. We deserved to lose this one. We play like this again we're going home after this series.

I'll be at the game today.

This is where I bring in my bad luck and bad vibes and ruin the whole season.

ALL ABOARD THE FAILBOAT!

missed the rangers game last night. not too sad about it.


awesome with early games today for us european fans. watching the detroit - nashville game rite now. dunno who too root for. detroit for their swedes or nashville because of detroit's swedes  :P

We were bad all around and losing Dubinsky to a game misconduct made it even harder.

Its shocking how dirty Pittsburgh becomes the second things don't go their way.

The Sidney cry babies and thugs one game away from elimination! The league needs to do something about the Penguins. Everytime things go south for them they get childish and dirty and try to injure anyone in sight. John Tortarella was 100% right about these thugs.

Both Vancouver and Pittsburgh one game away from going home hahahahahaha! Also, fuck you Brendan Shanahan, how the fuck do you give Hagelin a 3 game suspension and only one to that thug Carkner with a history of cheap shots like this. I'm not saying Hagelin didn't deserve at least one game, but Carkner deserved more than Hagelin. Also, how can you give Hagelin 3 and only a slap on the wrist fine to Weber? All those hits during your career really fucked up your thinking Shanahan.

Ole Kings.

Henrik Lundqvist is a fucking beast! Best goalie in the league and maybe the world.

Oh hai guyz, just passing through.

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mqNiAkT1BtI/TN9scP7P8JI/AAAAAAAABME/wTovHDALybg/s1600/jonathanquickkings2010-11z.jpg)

nice try garry.

i've been giving boyle a hard time but now he's shining. goals in all 3 games against ottawa. great to see!


i've fucking had it with the NHL sucking penguins dicks and other major stars. get a clue shanny!

I know you love Lundy like I love Quick, and I give MAD respect to Hank...but he had scoring to support him.

Ever watch the Kings during the season?  When they weren't scoring AT ALL?  Getting shut out by teams like the Blue Jackets?  Quick singlehandedly got them into the playoffs while being near the top of all statistical categories AND leading the league in shutouts.

Do yo research son!

And yes, the NHL sucks.  Weber should have been suspended just like Bitz was.

Jon and Timothy's NHL viewership seems to be primarily centered around Rangers games :hihi:

Garry, Lundy has done that for 5 years now. It's only this year that the rest of the team has really stepped up. Do your research son!

And of course I primarily watch the Rangers. It's my alltime favorite team and I don't have as much interrest watching the others. With that said I watch other teams as well. Mad props to Quick of course, he's having a spectacular season.

Mostly watching eastern games, you all know I live in Sweden and most Rangers games start at 1 am. Can't really stay up to 4 Am when I have work just to watch the Kings  ;)

Since the Carter trade the kings have been top 5 in goals for per game  ;)

Raffi Torres strikes again  >:(

Yep, he won't be playing another game this series or possibly playoffs.

I agree, only 4 games for Asham and one for Neal? They both deserved to not only miss the rest of these playoffs but into next season.

And that was at the end of the year!  And Carter missed the last handful of games.

I love me some Hank Lundqvist, but he has a superior team around him.  It's good he finally got himself some scoring this year.  It helps having scoring support.

New York was 11th in goals scored.

Los Angeles was 29th.

We all know there are 30 teams in the league.  :-X

This Raffi Torres guy, I don't like him.

it's basically 3 games if youre a rookie, 1 game if youre ? star and a fine for superstars

Devastated -- hope the Blackhawks can regroup and refocus  :(

Its a fucking joke, both players deserved like 10 games for their actions.

Should be interesting if the Penguins actually come to play tonight.

It's gonna be a bloodbath.

I think the rangers will be golfing by monday, they just aren't playing like they care. You can't have one good period and expect to win a game in the playoffs.

Boo Kings.

"Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is fined 4 Zetterberg head-slams for not applauding the NHL's unassailable reputation"

A tweet from Adam Proteau of the hockey news

The leagues most respected player might've played his last game last night.

The league suspends Raffi Torres for 25 games. Finally they made the example out of someone, it should've been Neal and Asham though. What those two did was worse.

Rangers can bend over and kiss their asses goodbye, just awful play this whole series. You can't have one good game or one good period and expect to win a series this time of year. If we comeback and win the next two to take the series 4-3 i'll be shocked.

I don't recall their victims being wheeled off on a stretcher.

That's true, however, it doesn't change the fact that Neal's a repeat offender and went after the heads of two players and Asham went after the throat of Schrenn. That's a dangerous and vulnerable area to hit with a stick.

Goodbye Pittsburgh! Don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out.

Yay Kings

Nice eliminations last night.

before the playoffs, who woulda thunk that pittsburgh, detroit, canucks and maybe boston and the rangers would be out by the first round? phoenix could kick out chicago as well.

goddamn hope that the rangers pull through but i'm not optimistic, they've had a hard time with the Sens all year.

I'm not either, but clearly not having Hagelin for games 3, 4 and 5 hurt our top line. They need his speed and puck handling playmaker ability to get scoring. Hopefully with him back tonight that line can do something. We clearly struggled without him though. We won't have Boyle tonight cause of the concussion, but Hagelin is much more important to our offense then Boyle.

Da Raynja'z live to play another day.

Yep, we finally played the way we are capable of, we play like that in game 7 we'll be playing the Flyers this weekend. I'm so pissed about that goal at the end of the game. That goal should not have been allowed. The league screwed the pooch on that one. Not only did that thug Neil push Henrik out of the crease with his stick he kicked the puck. The puck doesn't automatically accelerate on its own morons! I wonder who on Ottawa payed the league off to try and help them win this game. Also, LOL at Neil complaining like a little baby that he got blindsided. I guess doing it to Boyle is ok but not someone doing it to him. He got what he deserved.

I hate Ottawa but THEY GOT SCREWED last night!!

The goaltender interference penalty against Foligno, that the rangers scored their first goal, lost them the game! He was checked into the goalie and got 2... That killed the Sens momentum... If anyone paid the refs it was NY

The final goal I have no problem with.. Lundy scooted out of the way on his own (yea neal had his stick on him, but it was his own doing)

Not sure how anyone thought he kicked the puck? He made a kicking motion, wiffed, and Spezza hit it under his skate

What are you smoking dude? There was no stick anywhere near the puck. It was clearly stopping until you see the kicking motion. The laws of physics do not cease to exist on the ice in Scotiabank place. If he had whiffed like you claim the puck would not have suddenly change direction and accelerate. Henrik just having the stick on him should've been interference. It clearly hindered his ability to get to the puck. You have to allow the goaltender to have a chance to make the save and Neil made sure he didn't period. I'll agree the interference call against Ottawa was questionable, but both teams have had bad calls against them this series. Its just lucky for the Rangers this one woke us up and got us back in this thing. I feel good about game 7 at home. If we play like we did last night we'll win. Its just amazing the difference with Hagelin in the lineup. He creates so much with his speed and puck handling.

rinne, elliot, quick, smith = no goals will be scored in the western conf. semifinals

Those are gonna be some very low scoring games, total crapshoot as to who survives to play for the conference championship.

Stop being such a sore homer  ::)

Watch min 4 of this video... His skate NEVER touches it... If anything it was Lundys stick puts it in


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziUbPmy2qC4

If you can't tell his skate hit it at 4:00 you are blind. The puck even wobbles after his skate hits it! You are right Henrik's stick does touch it, but as it passes by Neil's skate it wobbles and picks up speed. How else can you explain this? A puck that's sliding completely flat is not going to start wobbling unless something hits it.

LOL wouldn't it be hilarious if those guys turned into Fleury and Bryzgalov?

I just don't see that happening. Those guys have been absolutely outstanding so far.

Na na na na na na na na hey hey hey good bye ottawa! It wasn't easy, that game was all on Lundqvist. He may have just played the game of his life. He was absolutely bombarded in that third period. Now bring on the Caps!

Good start to the semis by the Rangers. This kid Kreider is fun to watch. His speed, holy shit can he fly. It was definitely the right choice letting him play in the playoffs. He's making everyone he's on the ice with better, with guys like this coming up from Hartford the future is very bright for the Rangers.

Second round picks

New Jersey vs. Philadelphia: Philly in 6
New York vs. Washington: Rangers in 5
Nashville vs. Phoenix: Nashville in 7
St. Louis vs. Los Angeles: St. Louis in 5

Yay Kings.

9 goals on pekka rinne after 2 games. 6 on Smith. dafuq is happenin!

Told ya'z.  Nobody believed me'z.

Yay Kings.

you're not supposed to touch it. now your kings will never win it  ;)


kuhracey game last night eh?!

Brother, I don't know when I'll ever get to be that close to Stanley again.  I touched it, I kissed it, and did some other things to it that I shouldn't mention on the interwebzerz.

Totally kuhracy game yesterday.

I'll be'z at the game tonight.  I hope the Kings win!

Epic game last night between the rangers and capitals. I'm so glad we came away with that one. I loved Lundqvist's reaction at the end looking up like thank god lol. I'm sure both teams today are thankful there's two days before game 4 cause they get a day off from practice today to recoup. That wouldn't be the case if there were a game tomorrow.

Yay Kings.

that game was amazing, well worth staying up all night to keep watching.

I'm loving this series hope it goes to 7

Kings looking good!


I'm rooting for the flyers against the devils. rangers had hard times playin the devils during the season while they won all their games against philly. sure it's the playoffs now but still.

Oh god, i hope not my nerves can't take it lol.

Actually, i believe philly won the last meeting of the season against us.

pretty sure rangers won all. lost a couple to the pens though.


yup. rangers won 5-3 april 3. lost against pens 2-5 two days later.

Ahh ok, i couldn't recall if they had lost the last game against the Flyers or not.

Yay Kings.

The kings look scary, but will they have enough offense against the Coyotes.

Huge game 5 tonight at the garden. Rangers do not want to go the same route they did against Ottawa.

Holy shit! What an ending to the Rangers/Caps game. Six seconds away from going down 3-2. We score a pp goal then another in the first two minutes of OT. We really fought hard in this game and its about time we played a complete game like that. We play like this again tomorrow i think we go to the conference finals.

I'm going to Phoenix.

Yay Kings.

Stupid ass rangers, what in the hell was that last night? It was like they were inventing a new game called pass the puck. They need to remember you have to shoot the fucking thing to score and quick. They went from game 4 where they shot the puck every time to just passing it around. A 4 minute power play and we passed it around for more than half of it.

dood. we root for the same team but you can't be saying "we" when the team's winning and "they" when they're losing.  ;)

4 "theys" and 1 "we" in the losing post.

5 "we" in the winning post. no "theys"  :hihi:



it sure is frustrating though, the way the rangers are playing.

It was just so frustrating how they played last night. How they got away from their strategy in game 4 that worked in just one day i can't figure out. Its like they were trying to be too cutsey last night, looking too much for the perfect shot or pass. Just get the puck and fire it at the net. You never know what will happen. We have to get back to that in game 7 or we aren't going to play the devils. Last night was by far the worst i've seen us play at least in this series. The way we played last night especially during that long power play made me want to throw something at my tv.

Bring on the Devils!

THE DEVILS MAN, THE DEVILS!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftUR6AFTNMA

Since the conference finales get underway tonight how about some predictions?

Coyotes vs. Kings: Kings in 5

Rangers vs. Devils: Rangers in 6

Yay Kings

more game sevens please ;D

Yay Kings.

there's no doubt the kings will be in the finals. i just hope the rangers can be there to hopefully beat em. however hard that will be. shiiot.

IT sure will be. We looked very tired tonight. Hopefully two days off will help us.

Yay Kings.

Boo Kings.

Wow, what in the hell is our problem with game 2's and 4's? We just can't buy a win in those games in these playoffs. Game 5 is pretty much a must win for us. I don't see us winning game 6 and 7.

I think the Rangers will make it, more depth on their team. Devils and Rangers are very well matched though.

I hope so, game 5 is huge. I think whoever wins it wins the series. I don't think either team is going to win 2 in a row. I wish i could figure out what it is in game 2 and 4 that we can't win one. Its completely wacky that we haven't won one of those games in any series.

Yay Kings.

Goodbye Rangers, there's no way we're winning the next two games. We just don't want it more than New Jersey. We should do ourselves and the fans a favor and just stay home friday.

Hope to go the Rangers go away.. Cant stand to watch another game from that craphole MSG..

What do they have about 6 flood lights, lighting up the ice?  ::)

just turn the TV off and spend some time with your loved ones  :P

but seriously, that's just one of the things they'll fix during the renovations, remember only a third of the renovations are done. it'll be complete at the start of 2013-2014 season I think.

me, I'd rather support a great team with bad lightning than an average team with spectacular lights  ;)


probably, but at the same time. I've had this feeling the entire playoffs. but it's not as if it's this teams last shot, they're all pretty young, 4th youngest or something in the NHL. there's been times this season where i already was longing for the next season, how stupid is that?  :hihi:

Didn't realize they weren't done with renovations, thought they had been completed


Well You'll be able to have both next week! NJ vs LA :hihi:

Nope, they are doing it in phases. If they didn't the arena would be unusable for a long time which obviously wouldn't work with two teams residing there.

I'm hoping we can pull off another 94 type situation, without the drama of that game 7 of course. This series is eerily similar though. The only difference is we lost that game one and won game two, Other way around this year. If we can just find some way to win tomorrow night i like our chances at home in game 7. We have never lost a game 7 on home ice. Lundqvist hast to be better though tomorrow and we can't have Richards making a brain fart that cost us the 4th goal. You can't under any circumstance clear the puck to the front of your own net with an opposing player waiting right there. What the hell was going through his head? You're right though, this is a great young team that has a ton of young talent that will be on this team for awhile before they can even think free agency. We are gonna be a force to reckon with for awhile and we still have promising talent in the minors.

Madison Square Garden is awesome!

I wish the renovations never took place.

4 more  8)

Goodbye rangers, we fought hard in this one but just didn't have enough taking it to ot. I hate ot games it always ends on a wacky play and this game was no different with the puck squirting behind Lundqvist enough for the devils to get it. Now lets go kings! You could not pay me enough to root for the Devils and that piece of garbage excuse for a person Brodeur.

I hope the Kings win, and I also hope Penner eats pancakes out of the cup.

Pancakes? That would be a new one.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/Los-Angeles-Kings-Dustin-Penner-pancake-breakfast-back-spasms-010912

 ;D

LOL that's funny.

N0o0o0o0o please get off the bandwagon, none of you are welcome.

it's cool. i aint rootin fo yo team.

I have to root for someone new since my team is gone though!

you tell them gary.

You ain'tz rootin fo my team, so you iz da koolz.
You don't, you really don't.

Stick to the Yankees and Cowboys, really.  No need for the negative vibes.

I will, Tonee.

Go Devils

I just want to see anyone not named the Devils win and i don't like the Cowboys. I hate them with a passion.

Ha! Suck it Brodeur and the Devils. What a move by Kopitar to win it in OT. Faked Brodeur out so bad he didn't have a chance in hell at stopping that puck.

Yay Kings.

Nick Lidstrom has retired.

Gonna be weird not seeing him playing, especially with the Winter Classic scheduled for the Big House for this season. I was hoping he'd go on for at least another year.

That's a shame one of the best of all time and also great classy guy. He's gonna be missed in the league.

You know, i really wonder what the NHL is thinking with the schedule for the finals. Why did they put two days off between game 1 and 2? Wouldn't that be better served between game 2 and 3 when the teams have to travel from New Jersey to Los Angeles? And then again between 5 and 6 when they go back to New Jersey?

Radiohead are playing at the pru center

Well that sucks for both teams having only a travel day in between game 2 and 3.

Yay Kings.

both games for kings at overtime!!!
devils had plenty of chances to win the game but gladly kings won!

Devils are in a world of trouble now. Game 3 is a MUST win.

Isn't every game a must win?

Well technically yes, but you can't go down 3-0 to this team. Not with the way they are playing this postseason.

LOL Devils are in serious trouble now.

Ok NBC sports, calling Quick the best goalie in the NHL based on this playoff run is a bit silly. Yes he's been spectacular this postseason but neither he or the the kings were great during the regular season. He's gonna have to play this good a lot more then 17 games before he's considered as good as guys like Brodeur and Lundqvist.

yeah but as the playoffs have once again showed, the NHL regular season means dick.  All that matters in the regular season is finishing in the top 8 of your conference to get in the playoffs after that all bets are off.  Quick has been unbelievable this postseason and so have the Kings, Devils had their opportunities in games 1 and 2 but didn't make the plays, the Kings did.

Calling Quick the best goalie in the NHL is just what dumb sportscasters do, he is certainly playing the best right now but I don't they are saying he is better than Brodeur or Lundqvist overall or all time.  Nobody is better than Brodeur, unless his name is Roy, and some would argue that as well.

Devils definitely weren't bad the first two those games could've gone either way for sure. I don't know what happened tonight but they looked awful and i don't see them coming back from this. The kings are just unreal this postseason.

They actually said best in the league that's what i had an issue with. Playing the best in the league right now? Aboslutely, if he wants to be the best in the league he's gotta have several years in a row like this. He could become the best in the league but for me right now its still Lundqvist. He's been this good now since he came into the league. I would agree Brodeur as much as i dislike the guy is the best ever. You can't just overlook what he's accomplished. Its just amazing.

yeah for sure, Brodeur is 40 and the Finals again, he really has nothing more to prove.  I wouldn't read too much into what sportscasters say though, they are hype machines no matter what sport it is.

And been this good for 20 years that's insane.

Yay Kings.

And...

Ahhh man, Timothy.  You're a top guy.  Much respect to you.  But I'm going to have to insult you right now.


IDIOT!  You definitely didn't watch a single ding-danged Kings game during the regular season.  If you did, you would know that Quick BY HIMSELF got this team into the playoffs.  Singlehandedly!  He stood on his head for 82 games!  The team was so bad that ONE goal was enough to beat the Kings.  The man has been a brick wall all year long.

Well shit, he's definitely better than Brodeur and Lundqvist THIS year!

No one is saying that Quick is the best goalie ever.  He needs to win a few more Cups for that to happen, but he has monster, absolutely monster numbers this year and this postseason.

LOL, LeBron is better than Michael Jordan.  And Kobe Bryant. OK now....

Is game 4 a MUST win for the Devils too?

better than brodeur yes, hank? no. quick has surely been a beast but no king.


for career, no one will ever beat brodeur's stats. just imagine if it wouldn't have been for the lockout shortened season 94-95 or the no-season of 04-05. he would've had over 700 wins. then there's loads of more stats.

Nearly identical numbers and one win away from the unthinkable while Hank is playing golf somewhere.  I would say Quick has been the best this year.  ;)

I wasn't saying that they said he was the best ever. They simply said he was the best in the league and that is just silly. There's no doubt he had a tremendous year and CheapJon is right. The numbers are nearly identical for this season. He's had one spectacular year. Until this year he was good but nothing special. Lundqvist has been putting up numbers like that since he entered the league and had a few seasons where he alone got the rangers in the playoffs like Quick did for his team this year. If Quick puts up numbers like this for the next several years i'll say he's the best in the league. He's certainly been the best in these playoffs but until he can prove he can play like this for more than a season he's not the best in the league. Hell earlier in the playoffs those idiots were saying Lundqvist is the best now they are saying Quick?

Well obviously it is. If they lose again they go home crying. Which will make me very happy.

On another note. It appears Marion Gaborik has a torn labrum and will be out six months. That puts him out until Janurary at least. That would explain his struggles during the postseason. He apparently played through it. Someone is gonna have to step up until he is back. Hopefully this gives us a chance to let another young kid have a shot.

Damn Devils. I guess i shouldn't be surprised the Kings get another chance to win another series on the road.

1 down 3 to go, still alive!  Yeah the Kings don't like winning series at home this year for some reason.  The Devils have also never been swept in 43 playoff series.

They don't like game 4 either apparently. They've lost 3 of the 4. I still think the Kings are gonna win it and probably in game 5.

I don't know about that, the Devils appear to be very focused now:  http://deadspin.com/5916449/new-jersey-devils-coach-peter-deboer-will-not-be-distracted

I actually saw that on TV as it happened and couldn't tell if it was real or a poster or something.  So I kept rewinding on the DVR to get a better look and then missed the Kings' tying goal. 

Focused or not the odds aren't in their favor. Only one team has ever come back from 3-0 in the Cup Finals.

Boo Kings.

Well, the Kings are the Cubs of baseball, so if anyone can fail and fail so hard, it's the Kings!

They just haven't been good in game 4 this postseason for whatever reason. Its like they enjoy clinching on the road. I'd love to see them skate the cup around Jersey's ice.

Of course you would, skating around Jersey's ice is about as close as that cup is getting to Madison Square Garden anytime soon, only about 10 miles...  :hihi:

LOL that was low man. You can dislike all the rangers all you wan but you can't deny that's a good young team there that should be good for a long time.

Damnit LA you've let a dangerous team back in the series.

Boo Kings.

On another note, Slava Voynov is the leading goal scorer for the Devils!  :rofl:

haha just messin with ya, I actually do like the Rangers as well, I know that is blasphemy in this area,  but if the Devils lost to the Rangers I would have been pissed but I would have been rooting for them in the Finals against LA. If the Devils are out of it Im more than happy if the Rangers win the title    I just wont root for the Islanders, fuck those guys, haha.

Another good game last night.  This is really a series now.  2 down 2 to go.

Ranger fans have good reason to be excited for the first time in a long time. This is a good team now. We didn't come within a win of the presidents trophy by accident. They just need to find a way to take that next step from very good to elite team. A full season with Kreider and some more of the young talent in the minors could do that. Not having Gaborik until January or so with the torn labrum is gonna hurt.

Kings want to do their best to end it in game 6. Wacky shit happens in game 7's.

The President's Trophy doesn't really mean anything, just ask San Jose.

Oh i know it hasn't meant much come the postseason with a few exceptions. I'm just saying bad teams don't come as close as the Rangers did to winning it.

The bucket list just got shorter.  I will be at the game tonight.

Have fun and i hope you get to see them win it in person. I've never seen a team of mine have a chance to win a championship in person. That would be such a thrill.

Have fun, duder :beer:

Congratulations to the Kings and their fans for not only their first cup but being the first 8th seed to win. P.S. Thank you for beating that jerk Brodeur and the Devils. I think this makes 4 in a row a team that started the season in Europe won the cup. Now the guessing of what happens to the coming season. Will there be a work stoppage. I have to say though, the broadcasters for these playoffs are some of the dumbest morons i've ever heard. After the game they were already trying to crown Quick as the best goalie of our time. Give me a fucking break you morons. One great season doesn't make you the best at anything. Brodeur is the best ever though. At least they got that right.

Yay Kings!

OOOOOOWEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

It's a trip, this is my second championship game!

I was there when the Lakers beat the Celtricks in game 7 in 2010. I was sitting one section to the right, and one row lower today in comparison to the Lakers championship clincher.

We got the Cup!

When is the parade planned? Will you be able to attend?

The parade is on Thursday.  After the parade, they are having a rally inside, and I JUST got my ticket!

Awesome. That will be a blast.

Henrik Lundqvist wins his first vezina trophy. It could've gone to Quick to with no complain but during the regular season Lundqvist was slightly better. So i think he deserved it.

I'm sure Hank would rather have the Conn Smythe.  ;)

No doubt but winning the Vezina is still a big deal. Its not like its trophy for worst goalie lol. Hopefully and the end of next season he will be holding the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup.

I get to see Hank at Staples while the Kings put up a fresh piece of laundry up on the wall.  I'll think of you and CheapJon.

Someone with a really odd sense of humor had to of made that schedule having the Rangers open against the Kings. The team they literally came within two goals of playing in the finals. Rangers score the last goal in game 5 and 6 and you would've played us. I guess i get to root for the Rangers to ruin your party though.  ;D

I see the Rangers will be here in Dallas again this year in Janurary for the first time since the 08-09 season. Hopefully i can get to the game. I just pray there is no work stoppage.

Wow did not expect Staal to be traded before next year, huge trade to carolina to play with his bro, time will tell who won this trade

Did not see that one coming either. I can see them working well together, very close family.

I guess the Oilers motto has become who needs D.

another high end forward. expecting a top 6 next year of:

Hall - RNH - Eberle
Hemsky - Gagner - Yakupov

Pavel Bure, Adam Oates, Mats Sundin and Joe Sakic elected to the hall of fame. All well deserved. Congrats to them.

Holy shit! The Kings just gave Quick a 10 year deal. I think that's ludicrous. You have no idea if he's gonna keep playing like this that long. I know he's young but c'mon.

Now Crosby signs a new 12 yr deal worth $104 million dollars. If the owners are gonna cry salaries are out of control during the CBA talks. The deals for Crosby 12/$104 million and Quick 10yr/58million have just killed and credibility that would have.

Crosby still has the 8.7m cap hit he's had for the past few years.

Its a big risk. He could be on concussion from being the next Lindros.

Now Jordan Staal signs a 10 year 60 million deal. The owners are killing any chance in hell at getting anything they want in labor talks. If they even think of crying poverty or that they are losing money they will lose all credibility. 3 owners now have dolled out $222.4 million in the last 3 days.

This sounds awesome :smoking:

CHICAGO -- The NHL's all-time wins leader in goal, Martin Brodeur, is drawing interest from the Chicago Blackhawks, a source familiar with the situation told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun. And a separate source indicated that Brodeur has mutual interest in the Hawks.

Brodeur, 40, has played for the New Jersey Devils for his entire 19-year career. He is the all-time leader in wins (656) and shutouts (119) and is a three-time Stanley Cup victor and four-time Vezina trophy winner.

Brodeur is an unrestricted free agent after talks with the Devils broke down earlier in the week. If he did join the Blackhawks, he would immediately become the starter and the Hawks would have to make a decision on their two netminders already under contract, Corey Crawford and Ray Emery. Both are signed to deals for the 2012-13 season. Crawford's deal runs through 2013-14.

It's not known if the Hawks have made a firm offer to Brodeur, but they have contacted his representatives, according to a source.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/8119564/chicago-blackhawks-goaltender-martin-brodeur-mutual-interest (http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/8119564/chicago-blackhawks-goaltender-martin-brodeur-mutual-interest)

I hope he doesn't play elsewhere next year. Seeing him on a different team would just be wrong.

The same was said once upon a time for Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, Albert Pujols, etc.

True and outside of LeBron those were shocking to see. Brodeur has just meant so much to New Jersey, he's their version of Derek Jeter. Could you ever picture him in something other then a Yankee uniform?

Wasn't there talk of him being traded/signing elsewhere just last year? If Brodeur means as much to NJ as you claim then surely the Blackhawks nor him would be on each other's radar. 

There was never really any danger of Jeter signing elsewhere prior to last season. If NJ isn't really serious about keeping him that's sad. I realize he's gonna be 41 before next season ends but he clearly has something left. Both sides should show some loyalty. He deserves to finish his career as a Devil.

So much for Brodeu going to Chicago. He just resigned with the Devils. 2 yrs, 9million. Looks like he did exactly what Jeter's agent did. Scare the team into thinking he might leave to get more years/money.

Parise and Suter both Signs with Minnesota!

Cool! They'll have a pretty damn good team in a few years, some potentially great prospects in that organization.


Also happy that Parise denied both Devils and Pens :smoking:

I did not see that coming.

Really don't like how my Blackhawks are toying with the idea of bringing in Luongo.

I don't blame you, he's not a very good goalie imo.

I think he showed a lot of promise before the Blackhawks destroyed him in '09 and he hasn't been the same since (especially after the same thing happened in '10). Outside of maybe nabbing Nabokov from the Islanders, I'm content with Crawford and Emery.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenceman Shea Weber to a 14-year offer sheet worth upwards of $100 million. The Nashville Predators have seven days to match the offer if they wish to retain Weber's services.


WOW

The owners initial offer to the players is looking more and more ridiculous with these signings.

Rick Nash to the Rangers!


CBJ gets:
Dubinsky
Erixon
Anisimov
1st round pick

Wow and the only guy there i remotely care about is Dubi and he had an off season last year. Erixson didn't play much, Anismov was ok.

Duby had his worst season. Not good enough for a 4.2 million cap hit. Especially when demoted to the third line behind Hagelin and Kreider. Erixon will get a better shot at making the team in CBJ, he developed a great deal in the Whale. The Rangers however got the same type of player when they drafted Brady Skjei this year + Skjei is 3 years younger than Erixon. Anisimov was a third line center who can maybe become a second liner, wouldn't get that chance in the Rangers I think with Stepan and Richards in front of him + he's a restricted free agent next season and would be looking for a raise. Nash got a cap hit of 7.8 million. Anisimov, Erixon and Duby has a combined cap hit of 7.825.


Great deal for the Rangers IMO. Hope it works out for everybody as I care for the players sent away.

Same here, i loved Dubinsky and Ansimimov. Wish them well with their new team. Hope Nash works out with the rangers and can hopefully help put us over the top. He will help soften the blow of not having Gaborik the first few months. I hear we are also still in the running for Shane Doan.

Preds match the offer for Weber, which i really think they had no choice but to do that. They couldn't lose him and Suter. It will be interesting to see if they can still compete in the long term having to swallow that kind of contract being a mall market team.

No new CBA will mean lockout
By Katie Strang
ESPNNewYork.com

NEW YORK -- Commissioner Gary Bettman made the NHL's intent very clear Thursday, saying the league plans to lock the players out if a new collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached by Sept. 15, the date the current CBA is set to expire.

Bettman said this stance was reiterated to the NHL Players' Association during the day's bargaining session.

"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," Bettman said outside of the league's offices in midtown Manhattan. "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."

The two sides, which have been engaged in labor talks for six weeks, have five weeks to broker a new deal and a significant divide on a number of issues.

"Our efforts are going to be devoted to making a deal, but as I said the owners are not going to operate under the economics of this collective bargaining agreement," Bettman said.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr has previously addressed the possibility of playing even while a deal is in negotiation, although that does not appear to be an option the league is willing to entertain.

"Under the law, if an agreement expires, that may give someone the legal ability to strike, or in this case to impose a lockout," Fehr said. "There's no requirement that they do so and if nobody does anything, you can continue to work under the old conditions."

Fehr returned to the negotiating table Thursday after spending the past week in Europe, briefing players overseas on the proceedings. With his return, the two sides dove back into the core economic issues.

The NHLPA made a presentation on the league's proposed new revenue-sharing system, voicing concerns that the players would bear the brunt of concessions with salary givebacks.

Although the PA did not present its alternative solution -- a counterproposal that will address this and other core economic issues is expected to be submitted Tuesday -- Fehr said the sides have a significant gap in their desired solutions.

"There is a meaningful gulf there," he said.

The alternative proposal that will be offered next week when the sides reconvene in Toronto will likely show a large divide in other areas as well, such as salary rollbacks, hockey-related revenue and the entry-level contract system.

With such polarizing topics and little common ground in meaningful areas, a lockout appears likely. The last NHL lockout was in 2004, when the league canceled the entire season.

Fehr talked about the PA's objection to NHL's proposed revenue-sharing system.

"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," he said.

Bettman offered a response.

"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," he said. "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."

This time i am completely on the side of the players. How can the owners with a straight face cry poor with the insane contracts handed out this off season. They are causing the problem not the players and they expect the players to agree to these insane concessions? I hope the players strike before the league locks them out. Fuck the greedy owners.

Theres no way they can afford to go through another lockout

they need a new CBA, can't play under the current one, Fehr will pull the same strike before the playoff stunt he did with MLB.

I'd expect a January start realisticly

Negotiations are going nowhere.

I'm on the players side this time. The NHL are asking way too much. They are essentially asking the players to save them from their own stupidity. How they can cry poor with the insane contracts they've given out this offseason is laughable.

They have to offer those contracts, otherwise the players could sue them for collusion.  The teams cannot get together and say right we won't offer any contracts over x years or x amount of $. It would be illegal and cost the owners a fortune.

The owners have offered increased revenue sharing, and have tabled 2 offers now, the second one has larger revenue sharing than the first and shifted 3% more of the HRR split towards the players.

The players on the other hand have offered to unlink the cap from HRR for 3 seasons before reverting back to the current CBA share of 57% HRR in the 4th. Growth on salaries would be 2% 4% then 6% under the players proposal for the unlinked years.

I was with the players after the 1st offer the NHL put on the table, the players 1st offer was just as stupid though. So at that point I just wanted the season to start, the 2nd NHL proposal seemed to offer hope the season might actually start on time as it shows willingness to compromise. Then the players basically gave the fans the finger by not presenting a counter to it.

I'm not saying get together and just decide not to offer those deals. Just don't offer that much. Say you can't afford it. The players will either sign for less or not play if they demand more then a team can afford.

bidding wars don't work like that.

Suter and Parise both got huge contract offers from multiple teams, each one trying to outdo the other to get the star free agents for this year.

And some teams can afford it. NYR, Leafs, Habs all making huge profits right now. Other teams like the Sabres have a billionaire owner who is willing to lose money to bring the cup to Buffalo.

But a league cannot opperate with teams constantly losing money.

I still don't think buttfucking the players as bad as they want is the solution though.

Landeskog is announced as the new captain for Colorado Avalance.

Youngest in history. Cool news in these times.



(I'm too frustrated and tired of the upcoming lock-out so I won't even comment on it, just makes me fucking sad)

EDMONTON - It seems rather odd that NHL owners are hurrying to sign as many players as possible under the current CBA before locking those same players out because the current CBA just isn't working.

But that actually sums up hockey's latest labour strife perfectly: it makes absolutely no sense, millionaires squabbling with billionaires over who gets the bigger slice of an obscenely big pie.

If the players were a little more understanding and the owners were a little less stupid, they could solve this thing in a week.

But they aren't, and they probably won't.

Why should owners worry about making smart business decisions, like not putting hockey teams in places where 12-year-olds knew they couldn't survive and not trying to cheat their way around their own salary cap, when all it takes to get about $350 million in taxpayer money for a new arena is stamping their feet and threatening to leave town?

And why should players settle for $4 million a season when they can get $4.5 million? Think it's easy scoring 12 goals a year?

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/02/nhl-lockout-makes-absolutely-no-sense (http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/02/nhl-lockout-makes-absolutely-no-sense)

You never open negotiation with your best offer. You always open with your perfect view.

If the owners had opened with 50/50 split in HRR which will come into effect when that 50% surpasses the current cap limit then they have no room to give up percentage points.

The fact they gave up 3% in their second offer shows they're not expecting it to be close to 46% to the players 54% to them.

The players essentialy still have not budged from saying we want the old CBA and thats it, we're not negotiating. 57% of HRR is unrealistic when you see the other major sports are around 50-50.

Both sides started out with proposals that would 'buttfuck' each other. One side has moved theirs.

Depends on which side you believe. Both are accusing the other of stalling the talks. I assume the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The sad fact is likely no real movement will come until revenue begins to be lost.

The NHL offered to open up CBA talks during the All-Star break Feb 2011. The NHLPA agreed to talks July 2012. The PA stalled for 17 months before allowing talks to even begin.

I agree nothing will be done untill sept 15th when the league announces it is locking the players out.

Also there is no 'which side you believe' with this, the contents of the proposals are out there to see if you want them, you can choose which side to support but facts are facts.

What I hope to happen is the CBA gets done quickly after that date, and it would hopefully look something like this:

Revenues & Sharing:
HRR definition:
 Tickets, concessions, parking, and merchandise sales, all revenues from TV and radio broadcasts, all merchandise sales, luxury box income (pro rata, per game), sponsorships.
Revenue sharing:
100% National TV & Radio contracts, 50% Local TV & Radio contracts, shop.nhl.com purchases

Travel & Accommodation costs for road teams tallied and split equally amongst all teams. (Accommodation is counted as 2 players per room)

Contracts:
8 Year contract limit
3 year ELC
UFA at 27
Arbitration rights for RFA stay the same


Cap:
70.2M until such time that 50% of HRR surpasses 70.2M from that point cap is based on 50% HRR
Contracts which extend past a player?s 35th birthday have those years counted against the cap regardless of retirement.
Luxury tax charged at $1-$1 rate up to $5m over the cap in 1st season over, $1-$2 second season and so on. Luxury tax money goes into revenue sharing.


edit:

CBC just added an article on the owners proposed changes to HRR

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2012/08/nhl-proposals-to-change-revenue-formula-would-be-significant.html

What really bums me out about all this is the Rangers are set to be here in January to play Dallas and i planned to go. Its been several years since the Rangers came here to Dallas and i was finally gonna see them in person again. Now that is unlikely to happen depending on how long both sides piss and moan instead of trying to make a deal.

I'm supposed to be in Edmonton in October. So I know how that one feels.

Was planning on catching a couple of games flames & lightning

Maybe they'll work it out in time for that game to still happen but i'm not hopeful.

I highly doubt it.

Under NHLPA orders the Flames players have pulled out of a charity golf tourament run by the team.

Yeah, i'm not very hopeful either.

Hockey fans, small business owners and servers from coast to coast reacted to news of the near-certain lockout on Friday.

"Every night, me and my dad watch a hockey game before I go to bed,? says Nolan Garnett, a 13-year-old hockey player from Cole Harbour, N.S. ?If this lockout happens, we won't be able to do that.?

In Winnipeg -- home to the newly re-established Jets -- business owners and workers who rely on fan revenue told CTV Winnipeg they?re concerned about the loss in income they?ll suffer should the work stoppage proceed.

?I?m going to be worried about how much money I?m making,? said bartender Jarrett Petit.

Petit works in downtown Winnipeg and said if the Jets aren?t playing this season, he may find it more difficult to pay his rent.

?When the Jets are here, the money is a lot better,? he said. ?When they?re not, it?s slow and I?m fighting for hours with other bartenders.?

The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce said a lockout would have far reaching effects on the local economy.

?Those people were paying for parking. Those people were going to restaurants. Those people were going to bars,? said chamber vice-president of policy Chuck Davidson. ?Those people were spending money when they were going to games.?

At the heart of the disagreement between the league and the players is over how to share the overall revenue.

The league is insisting the players get no more than 49 per cent of revenue -- a drop from the current 57 per cent they now receive.

The Players? Association is asking for 54.3 per cent, with the percentage dropping over the course of a six-year contract.

The last NHL labour stoppage caused a complete cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season, a lockout that ended only when the players agreed to a salary cap and a 24 per cent cut in salary.

If the lockout proceeds, it will be the NHL?s fourth work stoppage in 20 years.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/with-deadline-looming-nhl-lockout-appears-to-be-a-near-certainty-1.957224

The lockout has begun, goodbye NHL season.

Gretzky says we'll have hockey in January :-\

That would be a good thing...

First two weeks of the season cancelled. No big surprise there.

It's one of the things taken for granted in Lockout 3.0.

Once the greed is sorted out and NHL owners and players figure out how they're going to pocket the fans' hard-earned dollars, those fans will flock back to the rinks, tune in the NHL on their flat screens and buy up team sweaters.

That's the way it went down last time, right?

There's a sense this time is way different and it would seem to be a presumptuous assumption the fans will be there the way they were in 2005.

If the owners and players needed another reason to come to an agreement and play hockey this season, they might want to consider the longer this lockout drags on, the better the chances fans will stay away this time.

The previous time there were probably a lot of fans who understood the "cap-no-cap" philosophical battle.

A year without NHL hockey, well, if that was going to be the price to pay for labour peace and a system that guaranteed the financial health of the NHL, fans didn't like it but could understand it.

Now, it just looks like two greedy sides fighting over the fans' money.

When the 2005-06 season was resurrected out of the nuclear winter of 2004-05, the NHL had lots with which to shower the fans to entice them back into the fold.

The NHL, thanks in large part to the Shanahan Summit, roared back from the dead with a new set of rules and a completely different looking game. After more false starts than any of us care to remember, the NHL got serious about cutting down on obstruction, restraining fouls and interference. The game opened up and the result was there was a place again for the smaller, more skilled player.

The red line was eliminated for the purposes of two-line passes, the goal lines were moved out, the neutral zone was shrunk by four feet and the "tag-up" offside rule was reinstituted. The "no-touch" trapezoid for the goaltenders was introduced and teams couldn't make a line change after being charged with icing.

Tied games were decided by the controversial shootout, the skills competition which still appals many hockey purists, but was a hit with the fans.

The timing was also perfect for the league to make a splash coming out of the lost season with the debut of a generational player in Sidney Crosby. He had been touted as such for years going into what turned to be the hastily convened 2005 draft with the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the expanded draft lottery.

The arrival of Crosby and the debut of Alex Ovechkin, who had been the top pick in the 2004 draft, and Evgeni Malkin, second overall in 2004, created a perfect storm of new, exciting rules, new, vibrant players and a game that shifted from old and slow pre-lockout to fresh-faced and fast in the new era.

The fans came back and boosted the game to record revenues.

The NHL won't have that kind of buzz to sell this time.

There's no Crosby or Ovechkin to debut nor little that can be done with the rules. Maybe a new alignment scenario -- a new plan proposed by the owners in December was one of the first casualties of this negotiation -- could generate a boost in interest.

Maybe the owners could continue to work on reducing the size of goaltenders' equipment to boost scoring or bring in hybrid icing.

But those amount to tweaks rather than a revolutionary re-engineering of the game.

Better not to lose the fans in the first place rather than have to worry about how you're going to coax them back after another unnecessary nuclear winter.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/05/hey-nhl-whats-in-it-for-the-fans (http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/05/hey-nhl-whats-in-it-for-the-fans)

SO MUCH FOR THAT!

Oh well, at least I've kissed the Stanley Cup 3 times since the Blues series.

Bettman is offering a 50/50 deal.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday that an 82-game regular season is unlikely now because a Collective Bargaining Agreement is not yet in place.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the New York Islanders' move to Brooklyn starting with the 2015-16 season, Commissioner Bettman said the National Hockey League Players' Association has opted not to negotiate off the League's latest proposal, which was tabled eight days ago in Toronto and called for a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue and would have allowed a full regular season to begin Nov. 2.

Commissioner Bettman said last week in Toronto that if a deal could be in place by Oct. 25, teams would be able to have a one-week training camp prior to the season opening Nov. 2.

The NHL and the NHLPA have not held a negotiating session since last Thursday and there are none scheduled.

"Obviously as you know we made an offer to the Union last week to share revenues 50-50 and to deal with the so-called 'make whole' provision that was contingent on playing an 82-game season, which we believe [would require that we] drop the puck Nov. 2, which would necessitate making a deal by [Thursday]," Commissioner Bettman said. "The Union has chosen not to engage on our proposal or to make a new proposal of their own, so unfortunately it looks like an 82-game season is not going to be a reality.

"Things seem to be not progressing the way we would like. It's disappointing."

Commissioner Bettman said the League told the leaders of the Union it would be amenable to another negotiating meeting provided the NHLPA was willing to negotiate off the NHL's latest offer or if the union was prepared to table its own new offer.

"They have no inclination on doing either and so there really was no point in meeting at this point," Commissioner Bettman said. "There are just some times where you need to take time off because it's clear that you can't do anything to move the process forward and we're at one of those points right now because we gave our very best offer. And, that offer, for better or for worse, was contingent on playing an 82-game season. So, I think things actually in some respects may get more difficult."

Nevertheless, Commissioner Bettman said he remains optimistic that something will get done and indicated that playing an abbreviated season is an option, though clearly not what the NHL wants.

"If we go past Nov. 2 we can not play an 82-game season," Commissioner Bettman said. "Sure you can play an abbreviated season; I'd rather play a full season and I'm sure our fans would rather we play a full season. That's why we made the offer we did.

"We very much want to play and we're very disappointed that we're not."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=644182 (http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=644182)

Everyone that saw that coming raise your hand!

Fuck them all.

I'm watching local hockey and the AHL, occasionally some KHL too.

The only talking the NHL and the NHL Players? Association did Friday was to the media.

Less than 24 hours after the union learned Gary Bettman had suggested the two adversaries take a break from negotiations, some players lashed out at the commissioner and claimed he didn?t want to make a deal.

Unlike Chris Chelios in 1994, nobody expressed any concern about Bettman?s safety, but Detroit Red Wings defenceman Ian White did question the intelligence of the league?s top man during a candid session with Motown reporters.

?I gotta be honest: I personally think he?s an idiot,? White said. ?Since he?s come in, I think he?s done nothing but damage the game.?

The NHL and the Players? Association didn?t hold talks for a collective bargaining agreement Friday and there likely won?t be any in the near future and Bettman suggested the two sides take a two-week hiatus.

While the union is prepared -- and wants -- to return to the bargaining table, the league is convinced the two sides have nothing to talk about until the NHLPA is ready to negotiate some small points and sign the deal that the league put on the table.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told QMI Agency in an email that Bettman came up with the idea of a break after NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr suggested he wasn?t sure what steps the two sides should take next.

?It was suggested only in response to (Fehr) saying he didn?t know how to proceed from here,? said Daly.

Speaking on Hockey Night in Canada Radio, Fehr indicated the two sides had conversations Friday and he remained hopeful there wouldn?t actually be a 14-day break.

?We were told earlier this week when I asked, ?How do we get back together if we?re not meeting?? and the response was, ?Maybe we should just take a two-week moratorium.? I hope it doesn?t turn into that,? said Fehr.

?We?ve been prepared to meet on any day to try and work through things on the theory that whatever likelihood we have of reaching an agreement it has to be higher if we?re meeting and talking than if we?re several hundred miles apart and not meeting and not talking.?

League insiders say Bettman has been instructed by the owners not to go any further in negotiations with the players. He doesn?t have any wiggle room after putting a 50-50 deal on the table last month.

?(Bettman) is done,? said the insider. ?Pointless to pretend (he?s going to go any further) and give false hope.?

The NHLPA isn?t opposed to a 50-50 split in revenues -- which were $3.3-billion last season -- but they want the road there to be gradual. Sources say Bettman is under major pressure from the owners to get there right away.

The union insists the players are the only ones who have given up any meaningful concessions by offering to go to 50-50 over the terms of a five-year agreement that will result in putting $1-billion in the owners? pockets.

Many believe Bettman offering up a break is a bargaining ploy. American Thanskgiving is next Thursday. That means no talks through the holidays, more cancelled games and another missed paycheque for the players on Nov. 30.

Daly said if the union wants to talk they can pick up the phone. Both sides are entrenched in their positions. Neither wants to move. The NHL doesn?t see any rush to get back to the table if there?s nothing to discuss.

?Not sure there is anything new to say,? said Daly. ?(The NHLPA) knows where we are. They know where there is flexibility and room to negotiate and they know where there?s not. Up to them what they want to do with it.?

Where this negotiation heads now is anybody?s guess but it would appear to be going nowhere fast.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/16/red-wings-defenceman-ian-white-gary-bettman-an-idiot (http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/16/red-wings-defenceman-ian-white-gary-bettman-an-idiot)

That's exactly what they need to be sitting on their asses posturing for two weeks instead of negotiating. Someone needs to lock them in room for 24/7 until they figure this shit out.

Regardless of how this has played out or continues to play out, I think White nails it. Bettman is a total fucking idiot and should have lost his job years ago. Just a total fucking moron.

Agreed, there has been too much labor unrest on his watch. He was hired on the promise of ending long labor disputes and we maybe seeing the second season cancelled in 7 years under him. If he thinks he can fuck with Fehr he is sadly mistaken.

Lockouts will happen in all sports when a CBA expires after what happened to Baseball while Fehr was head of the players union.

2005 players could have avoided the lockout and got themselves a better deal, they wasted a season and got a worse one.

Same will happen this time.

Bettman has done an excellent job growing the game, the lockouts are on the owners not him.

Bettman has not done a good job growing the game. He has done bad television contracts and expanded in areas that were not right to expand in. He has done a horrible job overall in acting as NHL commissioner. Not just because of both lock outs but that is a factor. By all accounts he is a main reason why they are in another lockout. He didn't have the foresight to see that teams would take advantage of the language in the last deal to offer stupid contracts that put forward this lockout. He is by far the worst commissioner and has done more to hurt the game than help it. This a majority opinion not a minority one. He is a problem.

His job is growing the game.

The league has got record revenues year after year during his time in charge.

It is not opinion that he's grown the game it's fact.

People hate him for the lockouts, which is fine for him, because it means his bosses (the owners) don't get the heat.

The reason there is a lockout is because costs have risen faster than revenues, and the big markets have seen more growth than the small ones, this causes the smaller teams to lose money hence the need for a lockout to fix this.

Now onto him putting teams in the wrong places. Anything 1993 or earlier can be discounted.

Colorado Avalanche - solid franchise making money - success
Phoenix Coyotes - bleeding money - failure
Carolina Hurricanes - Solid stable franchise, success
Nashville Predators - Solid stable franchise, success
Atlanta Thrashers - bombed under Atlanta Spirit Group ownership and were relocated - failure
Columbus Blue Jackets - teams sucks but are stable. - not a huge success but not a failure by any means.
Minnesota Wild - Solid franchise sells out frequently and just saw a huge jump in season ticket sales - success
Winnipeg Jets - Sold out the arena for the next 5 years, success.

Looks like he has teams in the right places, fixed one 'mistake' and has one left to fix.

He signed the biggest television contract the NHL has seen, and got every game of the playoffs onto US national television, the cable deal has the NHL as it's main sport so it's not buried on ESPN like it was previously, I'd love to see the explanation of why the TV contact is bad.

I don't think anyone expected teams to start loading cheap years onto the back end of a contract which a player will never play on.

------------------------------------------------------

And now away from Bettman's past and onto the present.

The NHL first approached the Fehr's PA to talk CBA at the 2011 All-Star game. This shot down because Fehr needed to check things over etc.

The second NHL approach to the PA came in the 2011 off season, Fehr was still gathering information,

The third attempt at CBA negotiation again instigated by the NHL, the 2012 All-Star game, this excuse is quite an important one for later points, 'the majority players can't work on a CBA and be playing at the same time, we'll talk at the end of the season.

The fourth attempt at CBA negotiation was again the NHL trying to talk to the PA, we'll talk after the playoffs.

The fifth attempt from the NHL after the cup final was met with, we'll talk in July.

The first time the NHLPA agreed to negotiations was when the Sept 15th date for a lockout was set, however they also said a lockout isn't needed, we can play under the current CBA and work on a new one at the same time.

So it took 18 months and 5 failed attempts before the PA would even entertain talks over a new CBA.

Now prior to that the NHL and the PA under Kelly were actually already working on a new CBA, but the players wanted a war, axed Kelly and hired Fehr.

Now Fehr's history regarding strikes immediately meant there was no chance in hell the NHL would not lock the players out if an agreement couldn't be reached.

Since September 15th the NHL have moved significantly off their initial offer. Offered an additional $220M in revenue sharing, have said they'd pay for all players to have their own hotel rooms, pay for any extra opinions players need on injuries, and hire extra medical staff for them.

The NHLPA have moved off theirs once, and that was yesterday, and it wasn't far.

The basis of the first 4/5 'offers' from the PA was guaranteed money and guaranteed raises, which may or may not reach a 50% split on HRR over the course of the deal. Infact Bill Daly gave a spreadsheet based on the PA's numbers to a journalist and it showed that under the players most recently proposal before this week they would have gotten somewhere between 60-77% of revenues from the 2012-13 season.

The NHL called their bluff on guaranteed pay for contracts already signed part of the deal with 'make whole' which while it isn't going to guarantee every cent gets paid out, it did ensure for the first 3 years every contract signed would be covered, after that it is assumed(using the PA's own numbers) HRR would have risen enough to cover it.

This led to Steve Fehr claiming that the players 'were losing billions' under the NHL's proposal, not actually true at all, the NHLPA have lost more money by not agreeing to the last or second last NHL deal than they would have by agreeing to it. The downside for them is that the same thing as last time will happen, the NHL will not continue to improve offers, they will start to get worse as more of the season is missed.
--------------------------------------

As for players calling Bettman an idiot or a cancer in Versteeg's case.

Fehr really should have put a gag order on them, they've come off as absolute morons on social media and in the regular media.

Atlanta was just a total disaster. The ownership group was terrible and had no intention of making the team a success. I hope the Coyotes can stay put. That's a good young team there. If they get a good owner like the former San Jose guy i think they can be profitable in Glendale.

The Coyotes lost $25M+ last year, this has been going on for a while, they should have been moved when they filed for bankruptcy and the league took control of them.

Bettman's biggest fault in my eyes is not moving them out of Glendale.

Quebec or Seattle would be my first choices, ideally Seattle to spread travel out a little more evenly and to give Vancouver a natural rival.

I think that's partially due to a shitty lease agreement with their arena. The place sells out. I saw how excited people were during their playoff run last year. Hopefully things will change with new ownership. I agree about teams in those cities though. It seems just wrong still not seeing a team in Quebc

I think it's mainly to do with the fact they moved from Phoenix into Glendale.

The arena in Glendale has a capacity of 17,125
Since the lockout these are the Coyotes average attendance.

2005/06 - 15,582 (22nd in the NHL)
2006/07 - 14,988 (24th in the NHL)
2007/08 - 14,820 (second lowest in the NHL)
2008/09 - 14,875 (third lowest in the NHL)
2009/10 - 11,989 (lowest in the NHL)
2010/11 - 12,188 (second lowest in the NHL)
2011/12 - 12,420 (lowest in the NHL)

The sad thing about this is as the team has gotten better attendances have dropped.

And the sellouts they achieved are often on the back of big/Canadian teams, I know there are a load of people from Edmonton fly out to watch the Oilers there because it's cheaper to fly and watch them in Phoenix than it is to watch them in Edmonton.

That's very strange it dropped so sharply as they got better. Hope the new ownership can turn it around somehow. I know they can't leave Glendale cause of the lease to return to Phoenix.

Depends on council elections in January.

They could overturn the lease agreement if a new council gets in, because the city giving $25M a year to a hockey team is kinda insane when the city itself is broke.

I'm so tired of reading about all lock-out shit.


However I do enjoy reading what you write Al and Tim  : ok:

Me too. Part of me wishes they'd just go ahead and cancel the rest of the season at this point.

Based on what far more informed people than me are saying that could happen December 15th.

There has been one positive from this lockout however. I actually have a normal sleeping pattern.

Also regarding the Phoenix situation, there has been a petition put forward to have a referendum on the lease agreement, it needs 6,900 signatures.

In actual hockey playing news, the new Oilers defenceman Justin Schultz is apparently some form of god.

Top 3 in AHL scoring

1 Justin Schultz Oklahoma City Barons 20GP 11G 20A 31Pts
2 Jordan Eberle Oklahoma City Barons 20GP 12G 15A 27Pts
3 Tyler Johnson Syracuse Crunch 20GP 15G 8A 23Pts

December 15th? I know the players and owners plan to meet without Fehr or Bettman. Surely it'll be before then though.

Yeah, they are meeting today. That's not what Alan was talking about though. As of right now, all games are cancelled until december 14. The next time they might go ahead and cancel the whole season.


It could be a pretty fine world championships in may if the whole season gets cancelled. Played in Sweden as well. However, that's about the only positive thing about it. Rangers would've had a good chance this season.

They would, but they are a young group. They'll have just as good a chance next year.

Yeah but this year could be a big building year. it's another year lost in the primes of the King, Richie, Gabby and Nash.

Yeah Edmonton's future should be brighter than it's been in a while. I just kinda wish they didn't win the lottery this year as well, or that they'd pick Ryan Murray instead. Might get to top heavy with Yakupov. + I would've really liked to see Yakupov with Anisimov in CBJ.  :P

Think of having an offensive core of Hall, RNH and Eberle then the D led by Schultz, Klefbom and Murray. Guess you're just gonna try to work it out with "Yak"  ;)

Yeah, hopefully something positive comes out of today's meeting and the league doesn't commit suicide for the second time in less than a decade.

Next season as in 2013/14 I expect to see something like this

Hall - RNH - Eberle
Hemsky - Gagner - Yakupov
Hartikainen - Horcoff - Pajaarvi
Eager - Lander -Jones

Smid - Petry
Whitney - J. Schultz
N. Schultz - Tuebert/Peckham

Dubnyk
?

I'd expect Smid & Petry to take the tough minutes again, giving Whitney & J. Schultz easier defensive duties, while still getting a lot of time to move the puck up to the top 6 guys.

Looks like after the players owners meeting there could be hope.

And i think the final nail in the NHL season coffin is now in.

adater ‏@adater
From deep inside players side: ?We were ready to play again. But Don came in (Wed.) and told us we could get more and to hold out?

doesn?t sound like it.

Dater is the Avs beat writer

Also we have these statements from moderate owners.

Statement From Larry Tanenbaum, NHL Governor And Chairman of MLSE
Thursday, 06.12.2012 / 8:47 PM / News

?I was pleased to be asked to join the Player/Owner negotiation sessions. I had hoped that my perspective both as a businessman and as one of the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs would be helpful to the process. Like all other teams, this work stoppage has hurt our fans, our employees and our business. Neither the owners nor the players will ever recover the losses incurred with this work stoppage.

I understand how important it is to have a strong league and 30 healthy teams. I must admit that I was shocked at how things have played out over the last 48 hours. The sessions on Tuesday felt cooperative with an air of goodwill. I was optimistic and conveyed my optimism to the Board of Governors at our Wednesday meeting. However, when we reconvened with the players on Wednesday afternoon, it was like someone had thrown a switch. The atmosphere had completely changed. Nevertheless, the owners tried to push forward and made a number of concessions and proposals, which were not well-received. I question whether the union is interested in making an agreement.

I am very disappointed and disillusioned. Had I not experienced this process myself, I might not have believed it. Like all hockey fans, I am hopeful this situation can be resolved as soon as possible. I miss our game
???????????

Pittsburgh Penguins owner Ron Burkle?s statement:

Quote:
?The idea to put players and owners together in the same room was a refreshing idea. Commissioner (Gary) Bettman should be thanked for proposing it and (Donald and Steve Fehr of the NHLPA should be thanked for agreeing to it.

?The players came with a strong desire to get back to playing hockey. They were professional and did a good job of expressing their concerns and listening to ours.

?We wanted to move quickly and decisively. We have all spent too much time without any real progress at the expense of our fans, our sponsor and the communities we serve. It was time to make bold moves and get a deal. Many people think we got over our skis and they are probably right, but we wanted to do everything we could to get back to hockey now. We didn?t hold back.

?We made substantial movement on our end quickly, but unfortunately that was not met with the same level of movement from the other side. The players asked us to be patient and keep working with them. It?s not what they do and they wanted us to know they were committed. We understood and appreciated their situation. We came back with an aggressive commitment to pensions which we felt was well received. We needed a response on key items that were important to us, but we were optimistic that we were down to very few issues. I believe a deal was within reach.

?We were therefore surprised when the Fehrs made a unilateral and ?non-negotiable? decision ? which is their right, to end the player/owner process that has moved us farther in two days than we moved at any time in the past months.

?I want to thank the players involved for their hard work as we tried to reach a deal.

?I hope that going backwards does not prevent a deal.?

First Published December 6, 2012 8:51 pm

---------------------------

Mark Chipman, Chairman and Governor, Winnipeg Jets:

"I'd like to thank the NHL for giving me the opportunity to participate in this very important process.

I came here optimistic that we could find a solution. That sense of optimism grew after our first few sessions, including the small group discussions late last night.

Regrettably, we have been unable to close the divide on some critical issues that we feel are essential to the immediate and long-term health of our game.

While I sense there are some members of the players association that understand our perspective on these issues, clearly there are many that don't.

I am deeply disappointed that we were unable to bring this extremely unfortunate situation to a successful conclusion and I wish to apologize to our fans and sponsors for letting them down."

-----------------------

Jeff Vinik, Chairman and Governor, Tampa Bay Lightning

"After working this week with our players toward what we hoped would be a new agreement, owners presented a proposal we believed would benefit those great players, ownership, and, ultimately, our fans for many years to come. While trust was built and progress was made along the way, unfortunately, our proposal was rejected by the Union's leadership. My love for the game is only superseded by my commitment to our fans and I hold out hope we can soon join with our players and return the game back to its rightful place on the ice."

Looks like we're in for a nasty court battle :-\

There are many words you could choose to sum up the NHL lockout of 2012, but never let it be said "surprising" is one of them.

That we approach Christmas of this year knowing no NHL games will have been played in 2012-13 is a bitter pill to swallow, but it is in many respects as it was ordained by prior events.

I knew we were headed for a perfect storm of labor strife as early as September of 2011, and truth be told even before that.

It was actually the confluence of three things that led us to where we are today.

One was the NFL lockout and subsequent settlement in July of 2011.

Another was the NBA lockout and subsequent settlement in December of 2011.

And the other one was the hiring of Don Fehr as executive director of the NHLPA just over two years ago.

It's as easy one-two-three and simply connecting the dots.

The NFL players ended up settling for a CBA that gave them a 47 per cent share of overall revenues. The NBA players wound up with a settlement that left them with, more or less, a 50-50 split.

When the only other salary-capped sports leagues in North America ended up with the players getting 50 per cent or less of revenue, it wasn't difficult to discern two things:

One, the NHL would expect to follow suit and get in that same 50-50 revenue split universe as the NBA and NFL.

Two, because NHL players, at the conclusion of their existing CBA, were getting 57 per cent of revenue there was going to be no easy way to go from 57 to 50. At a time when the NHL's Hockey Related Revenue was at an all-time high of $3.3 billion -- up from $2.2 billion seven years ago -- it was a given NHL players were not going to look kindly on a takeaway or concessionary CBA though we knew that was precisely the NHL's expectation.

Especially with Fehr as their new executive director.

Fehr's legacy is that as a tough, relentless advocate for players who led a Major League Baseball strike that once killed the World Series. He was directly involved in a period of massive labour unrest in MLB before it finally led to many years of labour peace that baseball is now enjoying.

In Fehr, the NHLPA hired the most ardent supporter of player rights at a time when the NHL, in part because of what happened in the NFL and NBA, were coming for massive player concessions and takeaways.

I was actually a little surprised that Fehr professed to be able to negotiate off a salary cap system he so clearly opposed with all his being in baseball. But I knew damn well that he wasn't about to accept the premise players should have to "give" anything.

And here we are. In a nutshell, that's the dynamic that has been at play. If we had been able to crack this nut before Christmas, it would have been a most unexpected but welcome gift.

Obviously, that's a big picture oversimplification of a truly complex issue.

The NHL would maintain that in spite of record revenues the industry needs a reset because the majority of NHL clubs are not as financially viable as they need to be.

The NHLPA would maintain that if the players are offered less money and less contracting rights, what possible reason is there for them to accept that.

Though many of the critical issues have been bridged over the last few months -- or more precisely the last few weeks -- and on one level it seems we're oh so close to getting an agreement, the stalemate continues.

As the days and weeks go by without agreement, we get closer to the abyss of another lost season, which last happened in the NHL lockout of 2004-05.

Logic would dictate it doesn't happen again but so much of what has transpired is illogical. One missed step now and the game could go hurtling off the edge of the cliff.

In some respects, it wasn't supposed to be like this. The 2004-05 lost season was understandable to the extent of the philosophical divide between the NHL and NHLPA over the salary cap. The NHL wanted one and the NHLPA was adamantly opposed to it.

No one liked that we lost a season but most everyone understood. And, in fact, many fans who thought a salary cap was needed actually supported the premise of a lockout to get it.

But this time? As some fans put it, billionaire owners fighting millionaire players over how to share a burgeoning pot of $3.3 billion? Seriously? We're going to lose a season, or a good portion of one, for that?

Well, we should find out soon enough. If we're not at the final act of this tragic comedy, we can't be far off.

If the NHL isn't playing games on or around Jan. 20, there is every reason to believe there will be no games at all.

That means the two sides have to have an agreement in place by the first week or two of January. We're coming to the crossroads.

No one knows for sure which way it will go but at this point, many have stopped caring and those who still do either want to be watching games in a month or mercifully be put out of their misery.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=412056 (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=412056)

I think what is happening in the NHL is horrible.  It is a shame there is no way for the fans to rise up and become the third party here.  My son is so disappointed he waited all summer fr the hockey season and now we are weeks away from the entire game being cancelled. 

Big day today in the lockout. The players have until midnight to decide whether or not to file the disclaimer of interest or not. If they don't i believe its cause they feel a deal is imminent. If they do the season is lost with lots of lawsuits and other bullshit to follow. Personally, i don't think it'll be filed. I believe a deal is very close and the tight lips over the last few days of negotiations tells me they are. I believe this gets done very soon and probably by the end of the week.

And on the 113th morning of the lockout it ends with a tentative agreement. Now lets go play hockey! I called it, damn i'm good. Go Rangers!

Woo-fuckin-hoo!!!

Let's go Caps  :beer:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2013/01/06/nhl-union-agreement-lockout/1811799/

I hope they get the ratification process and camps open quickly enough to do the 50 game season. The more games the better. It appears it'll be Wednesday when we get the Board to vote on ratification. That's gonna make it hard to do the 50 game schedule.

I live about 90 mins from Nashville, and Have been wanting to go to some Preds games... guess Ill get to now!

Yep you will, the season will start on either the 15th or 19th.

Yay, I finally get to go see the banner raised!

Well i can think of a few positives about the lockout. If the season had started on time the Rangers would've been without Gaborik until January and without Hagelin for a time too. Now Gaborik, Hagelin and Nash are all recovered from injuries and ready to go.

Excited for my Blackhawks :smoking:

this has worked out perfectly and exactly as i had hoped. 48 games is what the NHL season SHOULD be. the 1995 season was one of the most exciting i can remember. every game means so much more.

season is expected to open with Flyers/Pens (Giroux/Crosby) on Sat, Jan 19 at 1PM. can't wait for the games to start!!

I disagree, the out of conference games will be missed.

(http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/303570_10151206683771762_787139017_n.jpg)
Via instagram:
# goalie Braden Holtby back on the ice at KCI for today's team led practice.
 

Can't wait for my CAPS!. I feel tickets are going to alot higher than usual for this season  :P

Yeah you sure did

You can't deny though that back in early December it looked really really bad.

Apparently two very key issues were not part of the negotiations, realignment and player participation in the Olympics. Both are expected to be discussed very soon. Realignment of some form must happen. You obviously can't keep Winnipeg in the Southeast conference. The traveling would be absolutely be brutal to continue for them beyond this shortened season. Hopefully they agree to continue to let the players participate in the Olympics. I love seeing the best players in the world representing their countries. Its exciting.

Absolutely.... I've said almost the entire time there would be no hockey season... I've been pleasantly proven wrong :)

Yeah, when i said that i really didn't think they'd get back to negotiations in time but once they did i knew a deal would get done.

Rangers 'don't want to ease into it'
By Katie Strang

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The unmistakable barking of coach John Tortorella and the sharp chirps of his unrelenting whistle were both missing from the ice, but there was otherwise nothing else that separated Thursday?s ?informal? session from a regular midseason practice at the Rangers? facility in Westchester.

All 23 players who are expected to be in training camp when it opens (tentatively) Sunday were on the ice Thursday for an up-tempo, intense double session. Rather than bask in the silver lining of the lockout -- that a shortened training camp means less time for Tortorella?s grueling conditioning tests -- players battled hard in the corners and put themselves through a taxing course of skating drills.

Why?

?That?s really part of the identity we?ve been trying to establish the past three years, a team that works hard and is in good shape,? captain Ryan Callahan said. ?With a five-day camp, that would?ve been tough.?

With a union vote expected to ratify the tentative agreement reached Sunday between the NHL and NHLPA, players are slated to open camp this Sunday. However, they must first complete physicals and medicals, which realistically only leaves Monday through Friday to conduct a significantly shortened training camp.

After 113 days of enduring a long and bitter lockout, players had waited long enough. So Callahan and alternate captain Brad Richards huddled together, threw around some names and reached out to their teammates to suggest hiring a guest coach -- NYU?s Chris Cosentino -- and getting a jump-start before camp began so the team can hit the ground running when the puck drops Jan. 19.

?Only one week with Torts, we didn?t want to ease into it, and we knew he wouldn?t want to ease into it, either,? Richards said. ?We?d rather be practice-ready -- we can?t be game-ready because that?s kind of impossible -- but at least we won't be shocked Sunday.?

With a truncated 48-game season comes unpredictability -- which teams will benefit, and which will falter? -- but Richards and his teammates wanted to control at least one variable.

?It?s the one area that?s going to be unknown -- conditioning,? Richards said.

Conditioning, both mental and physical, has always been a primary component and strength of the Rangers during Tortorella?s tenure as head coach.

The lockout will not change that.

?People from the outside might think it?s a big deal, but for us it?s just the way our team [has] developed an identity,? said young defenseman Ryan McDonagh, whose conditioning was tested on a nightly basis last season when he averaged 24:44 minutes per game.

Oh, and Tortorella wasn?t missing entirely. He was merely watching from a perch above the ice with assistant coach Mike Sullivan and Rangers brass Glen Sather, Jeff Gorton and Jim Schoenfeld.

The pressure to be in midseason form wasn?t a mandate from the top, however; rather, it was an expectation from within.

?It?s for us. We?re going to feel better for it. I think everybody realized that. It?s not punishment or anything like that,? Richards said. ?It?s more about self-preservation."

Looks like the rangers are determined to be ready for next Saturday having intense practices on their own already.

can't wait for the schedule to drop, going to be taking quite a few afternoon naps again so I don't feel like shit the day after Oiler games.

Hopefully we'll get it later today after the players vote results and they finish putting the memorandum into writing. They are still working on it.

Players have voted to ratify the tentative agreement. Once they finish drafting the memo of understanding the lockout will officially end.

Memorandum of understanding is now finished and agreed upon by both sides. Lockout officially over. Now lets see those schedules and play hockey!