The Official NHL Thread

[Green Manalishi]

I love hockey especially the NHL . Up until this year , it has been my traditional " sports fix " while baseball hibernates . I love the NFL but it functions only once , sometimes twice a week . The NBA bores me to tears .
I can't even begin to explain how deeply dissapointed I am in this whole scenario . Another case of millionaires vs. millionaires while the average Joe suffers . As of today , it truly looks like there may not be a 2012 - 2013 season at all . The NHL has a core fan-base that is incredibly loyal , but , our time and patience is running out . Hopefully , the powers that be will actually realise this .

[So this is love]

don't hold you breath.....guy on my street plays in the nhl and he just left this week to play in Europe...

[Take 'Em]

The guys that have gone over to Europe like Ovechkin and Kane are smart enough to stay in game shape and while making money at the same time. Both of them I think are even selling their own branded apparel with the teams they are playing for over there while the asswipes at the NHL keep the doors locked. I don't blame them the players a bit.

[VAiN]

except that in fla hockey tickets do not cost $125 each and not to mention $11 for a beer like up here...oh and its 6 degrees right now and we have snow....Cheers!

Sure they do. We have one of the best arenas in the game and shit is crazy expensive. The saving grace is we've been a terrible mismanaged team for the last 10 years so tickets have been relatively cheap and easy to get, but that's changing after the turn-around that begun last year. If I recall correctly, beers were $8 last year. Fucking rip off. And that's not the good, strong Canadian beer either.
I'm sure snow and blizzards makes going to games fun, easy and exciting. Rolling up in shorts and a t-shirt isn't bad either. Come down when/if the season starts and I'll show you S. Florida hockey. It's a good time.

[Nickdfresh]

I love hockey especially the NHL . Up until this year , it has been my traditional " sports fix " while baseball hibernates . I love the NFL but it functions only once , sometimes twice a week . The NBA bores me to tears .
I can't even begin to explain how deeply dissapointed I am in this whole scenario . Another case of millionaires vs. millionaires while the average Joe suffers . As of today , it truly looks like there may not be a 2012 - 2013 season at all . The NHL has a core fan-base that is incredibly loyal , but , our time and patience is running out . Hopefully , the powers that be will actually realise this .

A lot of people in the bar industry are suffering here, there's a real difference in patronage on game nights during the season. They're especially leery of no playoffs as almost every bar/pub/tavern/grill is packed in Buffalo when the Sabres are in the playoffs...

[So this is love]

Nickfresh you know I appreciate your sig but this can get me in trouble with the wife and kids around...lol

[Nickdfresh]

Nickfresh you know I appreciate your sig but this can get me in trouble with the wife and kids around...lol

You need to have multiple windows open!

As for the thread, all games CANCELLED 'TIL January 1st...

[Nickdfresh]

President Obama: President Obama: NHL players, owners need to ‘do right by your fans’:

You know, look. I've got to say, because we've had an NBA lockout, we've had an NFL lockout during the course of my presidency, the president of the United States shouldn't have to get involved in a sports lockout. My message to owners and to players is, you guys make a lot of money and you make a lot of money on the backs of fans, so do right by your fans. You can figure out how to spread out a bunch of revenue that you're bringing in, but do right by the people who support you. And I shouldn't have to be involved in a dispute between really wealthy players and even wealthier owners. They should be able to settle this themselves. And remember who it is that's putting all that money in their pockets.

Yahoo Sports

[POJO_Risin]

Hey! NHL Games were cancelled until mid-January...

yeah...I didn't notice either...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Hey! NHL Games were cancelled until mid-January...

yeah...I didn't notice either...

I think that was the NHL's plan all along in an attempt to squeeze the NHLPA to accept a deal they felt they needed to sign....

IMO, they'll get the deal signed, play a 48-game season, and all is well....

[POJO_Risin]

...and all is well....

wishful thinking...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

wishful thinking...

I know, but I really think that even as stupid as this lockout has been, and as many millions that both sides have already lost, they both realize that they just can't lose another season...

The long-term impacts would be huge....

[POJO_Risin]

I know, but I really think that even as stupid as this lockout has been, and as many millions that both sides have already lost, they both realize that they just can't lose another season...

The long-term impacts would be huge....

They may already be...maybe not in hockey hotbeds...but in the fringe towns...like Raleigh for example...

Ultimately, that may not be a bad thing for the NHL...but overall...just fucking ridiculous...

[Romeo Delight]

The only reason there is a lockout is because of Bettman's failed plan.

I know he had a dream of the big TV contract, but he went about it the wrong way.

He should have come from a position of strength...going only to the strongest hockey markets with some consideration for population, etc.

I mean in Anaheim if you buy one season ticket you get one for free. That can't be a sustainable plan.

This lockout is to prop up the bottom 10 teams that Bettman is ultimately responsible for as well as protecting the owners from themselves.

You are correct VA, this was always the date and always the number of games that was to be played this season.

[POJO_Risin]

You are correct VA, this was always the date and always the number of games that was to be played this season.

It's always good to see that the plan is to fuck over the fans...to get what they want...

Well-Played..

[Romeo Delight]

Yes...not cool. You have to think Bettman's hold on the NHL is waning.

He is simply there at the behest of a particular group of owners, led by the idiotic Bruin's owner and chairman of the NHL Board of Governors - Jeremy Jacobs.

As long as that group votes Bettman in to attend to their agenda this will continue.

I remember when I forgot about baseball after the labour disruption. I have never really been back.

I imagine the very same thing is happenning in the US for hockey as we speak.

[POJO_Risin]

Yes...not cool. You have to think Bettman's hold on the NHL is waning.

He is simply there at the behest of a particular group of owners, led by the idiotic Bruin's owner and chairman of the NHL Board of Governors - Jeremy Jacobs.

As long as that group votes Bettman in to attend to their agenda this will continue.

I remember when I forgot about baseball after the labour disruption. I have never really been back.

I imagine the very same thing is happenning in the US for hockey as we speak.

While there is a staunch, core group of fans that are standing by hockey, and will always stand by hockey...

I can safely tell you that for most, it's almost a non-story...

What's the old saying...

"fool me once...shame on me...fool me twice...shame on you?"

[POJO_Risin]

Wait...I think that's wrong...

'Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again.'

Ahhhh...President Bush...

1.jpg

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Well, Fehr isn't a Boy Scout himself, remember.....

Let's not forget who was in charge of the MLBPA when MLB missed the World Series in '94....

And friggin' Congress got involved with that one....

[POJO_Risin]

Well, Fehr isn't a Boy Scout himself, remember.....

Let's not forget who was in charge of the MLBPA when MLB missed the World Series in '94....

And friggin' Congress got involved with that one....

Yeah...Fehr's been a dickhead for years...but players love him because he holds his ground...

Hockey is on the edge of fringe...and some would say they are already fringe...

[Romeo Delight]

Fehr's history aside, the players have moved considerably and the league not at all. The league had a date in mind at the very beginning.

What can the union do? The attempts at bargaining are nothing more than a PR move because everyone knows the owners game all along.

[POJO_Risin]

Fehr's history aside, the players have moved considerably and the league not at all. The league had a date in mind at the very beginning.

What can the union do? The attempts at bargaining are nothing more than a PR move because everyone knows the owners game all along.

It was the same in the NBA...

new era where Unions are disregarded...and it's applauded...

Fuck them both...

I applaud nothing...lol...

[POJO_Risin]

Fehr's history aside, the players have moved considerably and the league not at all. The league had a date in mind at the very beginning.

What can the union do? The attempts at bargaining are nothing more than a PR move because everyone knows the owners game all along.

Form a new league...

In all honesty...these guys could feed into one of the minor leagues...and make it a major league...

Or just fucking make their own...and play in smaller arenas...

hell, they'd probably get ESPN involved...and would immediately end the NHL!!!

WAHOO!!!!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Form a new league...

In all honesty...these guys could feed into one of the minor leagues...and make it a major league...

Or just fucking make their own...and play in smaller arenas...

hell, they'd probably get ESPN involved...and would immediately end the NHL!!!

WAHOO!!!!

They were damn close to an agreement in December, UNTIL Bettman and Fehr joined the negotiations, that is.....

[Nickdfresh]

Light at the end of the tunnel? Some speculate that negotiations seemed to be more professional and devoid of the public condemnations of yore...

[Nickdfresh]

Congratulations on Team USA for winning the World Juniors Tournament and taking the gold...

Sweden takes the silver, the Russians the bronze, and the Canadians get...er...a set of steak knives!

[Nickdfresh]

NHL, union have tentative agreement
Updated: January 6, 2013, 6:17 AM ET
By Katie Strang | ESPNNewYork.com


NEW YORK -- The lockout appears to finally be over.

A tentative agreement has been reached between the NHL and NHL Players' Association, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.com.

A source told ESPNNewYork.com that the emphasis should be placed on the word "tentative." That source said there is still work to be done but there has been a verbal agreement between the two sides on the major points.

The tentative agreement includes a 10-year collective bargaining agreement with a mutual opt-out clause after eight years and contract term limits at seven years (eight years for a team to re-sign its own players), a source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com.

Sources said the 2013-14 salary cap, a very divisive issue, will be $64.3 million while the floor will be $44 million.

Word of the agreement came after the two sides hashed out their remaining differences for more than 16 hours at a hotel in midtown Manhattan, spelling the end to a lockout that has persisted for almost four months and cost more than half the regular season.

George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, issued a statement congratulating the NHL and NHLPA.

"The negotiated agreement represents the successful culmination of a long and difficult road in which the parties ultimately were able to reach mutually acceptable solutions to a wide variety of contentious subjects of bargaining," he said.

[Matt White]

BRILLIANT!!!

I've been missing HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA!!!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

FINALLY !!!!

[Nickdfresh]

The so far boring NFL Playoffs are making me even more excited about this...

[VAiN]

Finally!! I'm looking forward to seeing our shiny, new SE Division Champs banner!

[BITEYOASS]

So does Gary Bettman still have his head up his ass, or have they finally gotten an ear or two to pop out of his sphincter?

[Nickdfresh]

NFL playoffs have been so lame so far.

I thought Seattle's victory over the over-hyped RGIII mania was kind of cool. I also like the way Pete Carroll has a bunch of jaded millionaires playing and whooping like belligerently enthusiastic college kids. Other than that, it's been boring, predictable, and 'safe' football...

[Nickdfresh]

The gist of the agreement laid out by The Buffalo News

BY: Mike Harrington / News Sports Columnist

• It’s a 10-year term with an opt-out by either side after year eight. So that means no more labor issues until 2020 at the earliest.

• There will be a 50-50 split of revenues between the players and league, with the NHL providing $300 million in make-whole money to fund previously signed contracts.

• For this season, the salary cap for player contracts is $70.2 million, based on a full season of 82 games. The cap for next year will drop to $64.3 million, which was one of the most contentious issues. The league had wanted that figure also to be at $60 million. The salary cap floor the next two years will be $44 million.

• Teams will be allowed two amnesty buyouts of player contracts, beginning in June. The contracts will have to be paid at two-thirds of their value, but the entire value will be removed from a team’s cap. The buyouts must be used up following the 2014-15 season, either by one in each year or two in one year and none in the other.

• Player contracts will be limited to eight years for returning players or seven years for free agents, with contract salary variance capped at 35 percent per season. The league had wanted as little as a 5 percent variance. The salary of no year will be allowed to be less than 50 percent of the highest-paid year.

• Revenue sharing between teams will be pumped to $200 million, with a $60 million growth fund put in place.

• The union will also have defined pension benefits, with owners assuming liability.

• The draft lottery will be weighted, with all 14 nonplayoff teams having a chance at the No. 1 pick. Previously, only the top five teams were able to move to No. 1.

• In other issues, the players stood firm on the July 1 opening to the free agency period, and that will remain. NHL players’ participation in next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and a geographic realignment of the NHL’s teams for next year were not part of the agreement and will be worked on through league committees.

[Green Manalishi]

So , I'm guessing that whoever wins the Stanley Cup in this severely shortened season will have an asterisk (*) beside their name . Whoever wins it all this " season " will carry the stigma of winning the cup in a not so legitimate season for all of the obvious reasons . Watch it be my St. Louis Blues . After 45 long years of nothing this would be the only Cup the Blues will ever win . Figures . Please God , kill me now . Just shoot me .
Other than that , I'm oh so happy that Hockey is back !

[Matt White]

The end of an ERA

Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom decides to hang 'em up

http://www.freep.com/article/2013010...des-hang-em-up



Scotty Bowman has coached a thousand players, but no one quite like Tomas Holmstrom. Here was a guy who came over from Sweden with none of the usual skills of a European forward, but something else: Determination so immense it was tangible.

Holmstrom’s willingness to go where no one else would go — the front of the net— earned him a distinguished career with the Red Wings, but one that he’s ready to call over. He informed the club this afternoon that he’s done playing. The announcement will be made formal later this week, a person familiar with the situation told the Free Press.

A news conference will be held the day before training camp opens or the day camp begins. The problem is that the new collective bargaining agreement has to be ratified before any such dates are announced, and that may not come until later this week. The other problem is finding a venue for the announcement: Joe Louis Arena, Holmstrom’s home for 15 seasons, has been rented out to Ford Motor Company until the middle of next week.

Holmstrom, who turns 40 on Jan. 23, hangs up his skates after 1,026 games, during which he scored 243 goals among 530 points. He won four Stanley Cups, the first as a reserve in ’97, and another in ’98 as a full-fledged member of the team. During the 2002 championship run, he was part of one of the best fourth lines ever, next to Igor Larionov and Luc Robitaille. The last Cup came in ’08.

Many of Holmstrom’s goals are legendary: Teammates often joked no one scored more often with his back to the net, and best friend and former teammate Nicklas Lidstrom used to delightfully chide Holmstrom about all the goals he had stolen from Lidstrom thanks to a slick tip of the stick.

Holmstrom, drafted in the last round in 1994, broke into the league during the ’96-97 season, prompting him to wear the No. 96. His first coach was Bowman, who recently reminisced about their beginnings. Known originally by the moniker he’d picked up in his native Sweden, “Demolition Man,” Holmstrom fought for every shift he got during his rookie season.

“He never played a lot of minutes like some guys; he scrapped for his ice time,” Bowman said. “That’s the thing I like the best about him; he never complained. He was a terrific player because he accepted his role. That’s why he’s going to go down as such a solid player. He’s had a great career.”

Bowman recalled how he encouraged Holmstrom, a thickly built 6-footer, to be a pest along the lines of Dino Ciccarelli, but without the proneness to penalties. Holmstrom responded by absorbing abuse from opposing defensemen — like Chris Pronger — and opposing goaltenders — like Ed Belfour — without retaliating.

“We were hopeful he could replace Dino — he sure enough did that,” Bowman said. “He scored the tough goals, learned how to play in the crease, and just outside the crease, and didn’t lose many goals that way.”

Unlike his friend Lidstrom, whom coach Mike Babcock has described perfectly as being “touched by the hand of God” in talent, Holmstrom showed what hard work could do for the more mortal of players. He didn’t care than he didn’t have any ligament in one of his knees, or that he had to wear more padding than any other skater. “There weren’t many guys tougher than him that I ever had that could play,” Bowman said. “If he missed a game, I knew he was really badly injured.”

Holmstrom worked his way up from reserve to valued role player and power-play specialist. On and off in his career, he’d see time on a top line, playing next to superstars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Why? Because Holmstrom was the guy who’d go into corners and get the puck to them, who’d go to the net and set screens or provide tips. He became so good at his job he was selected as part of Sweden’s 2010 Olympic hockey team, although he ended up not playing after suffering a knee injury.

Years of grueling work made last season hard on Holmstrom, and he has been widely expected to retire since last summer. His departure will leave a void his first NHL coach doesn’t easily see replaced.

“They’ll miss his spirit,” Bowman said.

Holmstrom became a beloved figure in the locker room over the years — his origins in northern Sweden inevitably brought on accusations that he was or worked for Santa Claus every Christmas. His heavily accented English was dubbed “Swenglish.” Asked what the locker room will be like without Holmstrom, Daniel Cleary said: “Quiet and boring.”

When he played in his 1,000th game last February, teammates bought him a snowmobile and gave it to him after a practice. He drove it around the ice at the Joe, grinning and laughing, as if it were his backyard. It was a reward, and a feeling, he’d richly earned.

[Nickdfresh]

So , I'm guessing that whoever wins the Stanley Cup in this severely shortened season will have an asterisk (*) beside their name . Whoever wins it all this " season " will carry the stigma of winning the cup in a not so legitimate season for all of the obvious reasons . Watch it be my St. Louis Blues . After 45 long years of nothing this would be the only Cup the Blues will ever win . Figures . Please God , kill me now . Just shoot me .
Other than that , I'm oh so happy that Hockey is back !

I don't agree with that at all. A team that can win it in 82 can win it 48 (plus playoffs). You could argue that the shortened season might benefit either an older team or a younger team (it was argued both ways last time). And a team suffering a serious injury (but not season ending) to its star player(s) might piss and moan. But that happens in regular seasons too...

[Nickdfresh]

An interesting take from a Buffalo hockey writer...

NHL's return brings relief to little guy

BY: Bucky Gleason / News Sports Columnist | @TBNbucky

Two words immediately came to mind Sunday morning when it became clear the lockout had ended: thank goodness. Thank goodness relief was coming for people who relied on the NHL for income, hard-working people who were buckling under grocery bills, insurance premiums and gasoline prices.

Some are people you see such as ticket-takers, ushers, popcorn vendors and members of cleanup crews. The financial strain ran much deeper, to restaurant employees and food suppliers and truck drivers, to hotel housekeepers, valet parking attendants, waiting staff, bartenders and beyond.

Thank goodness the lockout ended – for their sake.

Let me get this out of the way before anyone jumps to conclusions: Despite my job description, the only effect the NHL lockout had on my life was a positive one. It mattered little whether they played this season, next season or never. The NHL is a lousy league that grossly overrated its relevance.

For me, its absence was rejuvenating. Part of me wished players and owners would have kept fighting until another season was wiped out and both sides suffered severe consequences. Maybe they would have understood desperation as defined in the real world rather than a postgame cliche used to explain their fantasy existence.

For months, feelings of entitlement were revealed by both sides when bickering about the unfairness of the other. You want inequity? Ask fans who for years shaved a few bucks from necessities so they could take their kids to a game, only to see a half-hearted effort and hear half-baked excuses about bad bounces, tough breaks and, of course, injuries.

Steve Ott was acquired to pump much-needed leadership and professionalism into the Sabres. He's known as a quality player and person. Getting him was a good move, but for him to say the lockout was “nerve-wracking” should be an insult to anyone who has ever emptied the change jar to buy a quart of milk.

In the coming days, if not already, players and league leaders will apologize to fans for taking away their game. They'll plead for forgiveness and promise it will not happen again. They'll talk about the give-and-take of negotiating a fair deal. They'll talk about being happy for the fans.

Good heavens, get over yourselves.

Nothing is more revolting than rich people fighting over money, and nothing is more false than a second-rate league and its players claiming they care about fans. They don't care about fans. They care about what fans do for them. Fans fueled a $3.3 billion industry that led to billionaires and millionaires growing greedier than ever.

The NHL needs fans, but here's a better question: Do fans need the NHL?

It could take time, but my guess is fans will be back in full force when the league gets rolling again. Buffalo is a true, blue hockey town that filled First Niagara Center for the Amerks. Television ratings for Stanley Cup playoffs are always high in Buffalo no matter how many times the Sabres fail to reach them.

We'll see how they respond in non-traditional hockey markets that could take or leave hockey. Push fans away once, and they might return. Push them away three times in Gary Bettman's reign of error, and they could be gone for good. The NHL did such a good job of expanding its fan base before alienating the very customers it needed.

You know it's a mess when it takes 113 days for Bettman and NHLPA chief Donald Fehr to solve a problem that the average Joe could have fixed in 113 minutes. Bettman and Fehr weren't negotiating for four months so much as deciding whose chest was hairier.

Owners who collected 43 percent of revenue are now getting 50 percent. Players who were getting 57 percent are getting 50 percent. They split the sandwich down the middle.

They reached various points of absurdity while trying to share big money that was flushed away with every game lost, every event canceled, every day that passed. One of the final obstacles was about player pensions. Players shouldn't need a pension given their annual salaries. They need a financial adviser and half a brain.

Who won? Who lost?

Really, who cares?

They salvaged part of the season, which is now compromised. Owners walked away with a greater percentage of revenue than they had under the previous agreement and the long-term deal they wanted. The players kept their long-term contracts that still allow for salaries to skyrocket.

Owners had more time and money than players did. The extreme wealth of the owners could withstand another year getting tossed in the trash can. In some cases, killing the season was a better alternative than playing one. In the end, owners were going to get more than they did under the previous CBA. It was a matter of how much.

If you're looking for someone to blame for this rumble, start with the owners. In 2005, they all but drew up the last CBA and stuffed it down the collective throat of the NHLPA. Seven years later, they came back complaining about their own contract. They demanded a new agreement more suited to filling their coffers.

No, it wasn't fair.

It was business.

The new collective bargaining agreement, much like the last one, is largely designed to protect owners from themselves. They have lacked discipline for years and will in the years ahead. Nobody could blame players for signing massive deals when the money was there. Players take what they can while they can.

Under this deal, assuming revenues climb, franchise values will increase again. It's impossible to say whether they will rise at the same rate as they did in the previous years because there's no calculating the damage.

History suggests harm will be minimal when looking at revenues that soared by 83 percent between lockouts.

Keep that in mind when walking into First Niagara Center or running to the store for merchandise. I'm not here to tell people how to spend their money, but fans can punish players and owners if they feel it's necessary. They can skip the game and take their family out for dinner and a few drinks. If you need to see the game, by all means, buy tickets.

Just be sure to tip the popcorn vendors and support the people from the real world. They needed the NHL more than anyone.



email: bgleason@buffnews.com

[Nickdfresh]

Each team plays: 4 games vs. two Divisional opponents (8); 5 games vs. two divisional opponents


Schedule to come tomorrow...

[Nickdfresh]

I guess not. I mean, I know it would be difficult for the NHL to have a series of contingency schedules ready to go with various season lengths, especially since it had been speculated a 48 game season was the most likely, assclowns!