NHL 2011/2012 Season

[tim_m]

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.

[Alan]

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

[tim_m]

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

[Alan]

I highly doubt it.

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

[tim_m]

Yeah, i'm not very hopeful either.

[AxlsMainMan]

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

[tim_m]

The lockout has begun, goodbye NHL season.

[AxlsMainMan]

Gretzky says we'll have hockey in January

[CheapJon]

Gretzky says we'll have hockey in January

That would be a good thing...

[tim_m]

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

[AxlsMainMan]

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

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

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.

SO MUCH FOR THAT!

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

[AxlsMainMan]

Bettman is offering a 50/50 deal.

[AxlsMainMan]

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

[tim_m]

Everyone that saw that coming raise your hand!

[Alan]

Fuck them all.

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

[AxlsMainMan]

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

[tim_m]

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

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.

[Sober_times]

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.?

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.

[tim_m]

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.?

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.