Tag: national hockey league players association

Preds to face Ducks in First Round

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Source: Harry How/Getty Images

With the Anaheim Ducks shutting out the Washington Capitals 2-0 tonight, Nashville finally knows who it will face in the First Round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Anaheim Ducks.

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Game 1: Friday, April 15th @ 9:30PM – Honda Center
Game 2: Sunday, April 17th @ 9:30PM – Honda Center
Game 3: Tuesday, April 19th @ 8:30PM – Bridgestone Arena
Game 4: Thursday, April 21st @ 7:00PM – Bridgestone Arena
Game 5: Saturday, April 23rd – TBA – Honda Center
Game 6: Monday, April 25th – TBA – Bridgestone Arena
Game 7: Wednesday, April 27th – TBA – Honda Center

Bold: If Necessary

The last time the Predators faced in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs was back in 2011. Nashville ended up defeating the Ducks, securing their first advance to semi-finals in franchise history.

Can Nashville do it again? There’s only one way to find out. See you Friday.

 

 

CBA Talks Continue: Progress, Methinks

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Rest In Peace, Winter Classic.

After a Christmas hiatus, we are back and… no good news or bad news really to report. A lot has happened, though and we will cover it all in one sugarcoated nutshell.

Let’s start with what we know:

  • Commissioner Gary Bettman has set a date for hockey doomsday: January 11th. If both the NHL and NHLPA have not come to an agreement in CBA talks by that date, the 2012– err, 2013 season will be kaput. 
  • The league proposed a new bargain last Thursday, basically consisting of 10-year CBA with a mutual opt-out after eight years, no contractual rollbacks on players’ salaries, 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue, $300 million towards the “Make Whole” provision, max-limits on free agent contracts, and one compliance buyout before the 2013-14 season. Phew – that’s a lot to throw on the table at once.
  • Late Tuesday night, the player’s association presented the league with a counter-proposal, but not too much has leaked to the media regarding what exactly the proposal entails. However, it has been noted that the NHLPA is not happy with the league’s pension offer, which is an entire argument in itself.
  • The NHLPA has a two hour (midnight EST) deadline to decide if they want to go ahead with the Disclaimer of Interest.

    Alrighty, got all that? A sense of false optimism has us biting our nails; we just can’t help ourselves. Progress is being make ever-so-surely, as the two sides are still meeting as we post this. As stated above, the NHLPA still has until the stroke of midnight to go with the DoI, but this is no Cinderella story – if the players’ association passes, they can always vote again in favor of it at a later date.

    We probably missed something, but that is what’s going on in the world of CBA talks at this time. Not good news, not bad news. Progress, methinks.

It’s Off to Europe for Rinne, Hornqvist, & Josi: Who’s Next?

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Pekka Rinne, Patric Hornqvist, & Roman Josi have hit the trail to Europe.

With all of September’s preseason games cancelled and three already missed, the Predators (along with players across the league) are struggling with the decision of wether to wait out the NHL Lockout or head over seas to continue what they do best.

Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Alexander Semin have been vocal about their departure for the ‘Mother Land’, prompting fellow NHLers to consider the same decisions, wether they nestle in the KHL or not.

Rumors have been swirling around particular Preds, with Martin Erat supposedly returning to the Czech Republic and Sergei Kostitsyn possibly signing with a KHL team, but the only truth for Predators fans is this: Pekka Rinne has signed with a KHL team, Patric Hornqvist signs with Sweden, and Roman Josi (who actually made his announcement earlier in the week) returns to Switzerland.

Amidst rumors of him signing with the Finnish Elite League, Pekka was adamant about settling with a KHL team instead of one in his native Finland. Rinne will be goaltending for Dinamo Minsk out of Belarus during the duration of the lockout.

Patric Hornqvist naturally returned to Sweden, signing with Djurgården, a key team of Sweden’s Allsvenskan league. Preds’ first rounder Pontus Aberg is active on Djurgården’s roster, giving Hornqvist the opportunity to help the youngster prepare for (maybe one day) a shot in the National Hockey League.

Roman Josi was the first to announce his departure to Europe under the Predators roof, shipping back to S.C. Bern of Switzerland. Former Pred J.P. Dumont played for S.C. Bern last season, gaining eight goals in just 31 games. Josi is expected to hit the ice for S.C. Bern on September 29th.

With Pekka, Patric, and Roman packing up and heading overseas, it’s only a matter of time before the other members of the Nashville Predators inevitably agree to the same decision. As mentioned, SK74 and Martin Erat are already in negations with European teams, so only time will tell when they sign.

The NHL and NHLPA have scheduled a formal meeting on Friday to discuss options on the current lockout, hopefully coming to some sort of an agreement.

NHLPA denies Conference Realignment

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Against the better judgement of everyone, the NHLPA denies the realignment change.

Earlier today, the National Hockey League Players Association addressed the proposal for the new four conference realignment. What would have been a good move for the NHL and would have reduced long distance traveling amongst the current two conferences, the NHLPA agreed to deny the proposal of new four conferences.

“It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a plan that an overwhelming majority of our clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including players,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said.

This decision will not only affect the players and teams, but inevitably the fans as well. With the Nashville Predators, for instance, it is almost inconceivable for a fan in Nashville to fly to Vancouver, buy tickets, find boarding accommodations, and whatnot. It’s not impossible, but it’s not plausible compared to only be in a conference with teams like Columbus, Chicago, and St. Louis, which are all in reasonable driving distances.

Rumors of a lockout and other disasters have been running amuck, but only time will tell as to what will play out with this decision. You can read the official press release from the NHLPA here.

As a fan, we think this is a terrible, terrible decision. As much as it would have been a change (with the Predators not facing Vancouver or Anaheim nearly as much), it was in the best interest for all teams, not just the Nashville Predators. As more becomes available, we will be quick to add it to this post.

Until then,
GO PREDS.