NHL: At This Point, Do We Even Bother?

Now, don’t take this the wrong way; I am as big of an NHL fan as the next guy. I am just as bummed to be watching basketball rather than having a few cold beers in front of NHL network on my TV.. A little coaches corner, a little Don Cherry. I wanna hear the sweet words of O Canada,  following the Star Spangled Banner of course. However, is December too late to start a season, is there a point to start now, outside of “just playing the game”? We have already lost the Classic, which really is the only reason I look forward to New Years Day. Can you really judge a team on half a season? Is ‘The Cup‘ void if they play?  or will there be an asterisk next to the winners name? These are the questions we should have answered today.

Surely outside of my love for the sport one of the biggest reasons I would like to see some sort of season is for the crews of the arenas, they are losing out hard in this deal, these guys need the NHL to survive.. however I am sure Bettman is not in the least concerned about this.

Regardless, I voted today… I voted for the NHL. (Ha, that’s going to be my first paid endorsement.)

Nobody Puts Chachy in the Corner.

NHL 50/50 Split: Lockout Explained With Beer

Wow. That was absolutely perfect, Really broke it down for me too.

“I buy the Mrs. Vickies, I buy the fuckin smokes”

Thanks Wes W. for the video.

NHL UPDATE

 

Well, once again empty hope for the 2012-13 NHL season as games are nixed through November 1st.

ESPN – It is the second round of game cancellations since the lockout went into effect Sept. 19. Earlier this month, the NHL eliminated the first block of regular-season contests through Oct. 24. A total of 135 games are canceled, which amounts to 11 percent of the season.

“As expected,” New York Rangers goalie Martin Biron told The Associated Press in a text message. “We continue to work hard to find an agreement and get back to playing hockey.”

Also, these games are not necessarily lost yet.. they are technically postponed while the possibility to squeeze 82 games into the season still exists it is highly unlikely.

All I know is my fantasy football team has been better than ever strictly because i haven’t lost concentration in October like most years before… Thank you NHL.

 

 

 

 

NHL Cancels Season Through October Into November

Somewhere Gary Bettman is sipping a cosmo laughing like this:

Ladies And Gentleman We Are Headed For A Lockout

“Nein Nein Nein Nein NHL“

 

BOSTON – With a lockout drawing ever closer, the NHL and the players’ union are in touch with each other after a day of internal meetings.

But no new negotiating sessions are scheduled for Friday, one day before Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he will lock out the players. This would be the NHL’s fourth work stoppage since 1992.

On Thursday night, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke to special counsel Steve Fehr, the brother of union executive director Donald Fehr. They did not, however, discuss a possible return to the bargaining table. The contract expires at midnight EDT on Saturday. Bettman has said the season won’t start without a new deal. Training camps are to open Sept. 21, and the season is to begin Oct. 11.

Kept it optimistic until there was no progressive news today. Bettman and the owners are pushing for a for sure lockout.  Its a shame that the players receive 57% percent of Hockey Related Revenue (which is what the owners are bitching about)… the players are the ones who drive the fucking league. give em what they want.

End The Lockout.

Wow this video is fucking awesome, perfectly puts it into perspective, I dont have to say much more, just letting this video speak for itself. However, To kick Gary Bettman in the face, sign your name: http://www.change.org/nolockout.

What Does A Lockout Mean For The Canes?

SI – NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL and NHLPA remained at an impasse in the latest round of collective bargaining talks as the deadline for a lockout looms. The players’ association took issue Wednesday with the latest NHL proposal that commissioner Gary Bettman called “meaningful” and “significant.” Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, and his assistants have broken down Bettman’s latest offering. Fehr is expected to make a counterproposal as early as Thursday.

The two sides are at odds over hockey-related revenue. The league wants to knock down the players’ percentage to 46. The players’ share of HRR was 57 percent last season. Fehr said changes in how HRR is calculated would see the amount of money players give up to escrow increase “significantly.” Under the NHL’s proposal, the union said current contracts would not be paid in full.

“From a players’ standpoint, you should understand, it doesn’t make much of a difference,” Fehr said Wednesday. “Should the player not get the dollar value that is on his contract because there is a rollback, which is simply a name for crossing out one number and writing in another, or whether he doesn’t get an amount because there is escrow, he still doesn’t get it.”

The current CBA expires Sept. 15 and the league has said it will lock the players out if a new agreement isn’t in place by then. Bettman says he’s content to wait for that aforementioned response from the union, but declared that players shouldn’t feel any “entitlement” to 57 percent of revenues.

“We want the cup” a chant we haven’t realistically heard in Carolina since 05-06.  Following the last NHL lockout, the Canes battled the rankings to defeat the Habs, Devils and Sabers only to face Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final. Through six grueling games the Hurricanes found themselves heading back home in a forced game 7. The rest is history.

This post season, the Canes have made all the right moves in building a championship worthy roster. Personally I would hate to see a lockout however, if it came to that the canes would double their time to increase chemistry with new recruits and hone their on ice plans to bring the cup back to the south.

Lockout or not the canes have a real shot, will they make history for a second time?

Bring Back the NHL Already.

It looks like Gary Bettman will be putting the league on hold if no deal is met by September 15. Well two words for you Gary Fuck you. I’m not even sure Gary Bettman is familiar with the sport of hockey, certainly he is not familiar with the consequences of a Lock out. With a statement like : “We recovered well last time [there was a lockout] because we have the world’s greatest fans.” This guy has to be one of the biggest douche bags on the planet.. The NHL recovered at a slugs pace last time when it remained locked out for 301 days. Surely us fans will come back to the sport because we love it, its most certainly not because of the NHL however. We couldnt give a fuck about Gary Bettman and the rest of the owners.

This is all I care about:

and this:

and this: