Tag: NHL

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.

12/12/12 proves Newsworthy for the Predators

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Day 88 of the NHL Lockout produced little insight on the CBA talks, but there was plenty of news on the home front for the Nashville Predators. Okay, so it was both good news and bad news…

Let’s begin with the bad news, shall we?

– Word out of Minsk, Belarus today was a bit disheartening. Though details haven’t made their way to us yet, it looks like Pekka Rinne suffered a groin injury, which has him sidelined for a while. Rinne, as you know, is currently goaltending it up for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL whilst the lockout continues to ruin the NHL as an organization. As we stated, not much more has been released, but if the lockout were to end relatively soon, it looks like Chris Mason would be taking the reins.

While you lick your wounds from that punch in the gut, we will go ahead and let you know that’s the only bad news from today. So let’s bring on the good news:

– Continuing with Pekka Rinne, although he is injured, he is still leading the goaltenders in the KHL’s ballot for their All-Star Game. Although Peks hasn’t exactly had the best luck in the KHL, he is obviously doing something right to get the fans of Dinamo Minsk to vote for him.

– Like Rinne, Sergei Kostitsyn is leading the ballots in the forward category. Yes, we said Sergei Kostitsyn. He’s been on fire since joining up with Avangard Omsk, putting up points in just about all of his games. It’s no wonder he’s been vocal about hoping the lockout continues; he’s the star he’s always wanted to be without ever leaving home (err… sort of). When you’re beating out more notable forwards such as Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Evgeni Malkin, it’s completely understandable why you’d want to stay in the KHL.

– Patric Hörnqvist is leading a ballot of his own; one that consists of frequent flier miles. Horny has joined up with the Swiss club Fribourg-Gotteron during the Spengler Cup. This is Hörnqvist’s third club since the lockout began (if you do not include his minor stint with Tre Kronor) and his second Swiss team. Horny first joined Switzerland’s Martigny Red Ice before changing over to a familiar Swedish team, Djurgardens. Can’t quite get his bearings or does he just miss Nashville and the NHL that much?

So, although not much progress was made during today’s CBA talks (surprise, surprise), it was an eventful news day regarding the Predators. If you are interested in following the KHL All-Star standings – seeing as how our dreams are dashed – check out the site here.

Here’s to hoping Peks heals quickly and holds his lead in the ballots, to Sergei remembering the NHL is better, and to the airline points Horny has accumulated during the lockout.

NHL: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

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With no surprise, the NHL announced today that all games schedule until December 30th have been canceled. It’s hard to believe, after 86 days of lockout, there are fans that still give a hoot.

We’ll be the first to admit; it has been very difficult to continue to show optimism amongst such disappointment. However, we understand our frustrations do not come from the franchises themselves, but from those who run the organization as a whole. If and/or when the season begins, we will return to the Bridgestone Arena to support the sport we have come to love.

We asked on our Facebook page yesterday if Season Ticket Holders have already or would be canceling their season tickets due to the dragging lockout. Most fans said they have already canceled them, unable to take the uncertainty of a possible season and the fact the money could go towards more important needs. Others said the thought has crossed their minds, but the perks that the Predators have offered for hanging on to the tickets have kept them for now. But a few hopefuls have made it known that they will hang on to their season tickets, not swayed by the unpredictable future that the lockout holds.

We can see the reasoning behind all of these fans and their opinions on their season tickets. You wouldn’t waste that much money on season tickets if you did not truly love the game, but that money, being unused, could go to so much more. Items that are needed, not so much wants.

But what about those who depend on the games being played for their livelihoods?

We aren’t talking about the players, the owners, or the hierarchy of the individual franchises. We’re talking about the concession stand workers, the ticket takers, the businesses surrounding the arenas, and so on? How are their lives being affected by this, the 86th day of the NHL Lockout?

Here’s a how they are being affected in a nutshell:

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Tough nutshell, isn’t it?
It’s hard to believe, with Tweets like these and other stories floating about, how the NHL and NHLPA can go on with this drama. Surely, they have seen examples like this; someone has to have shown them, right?
It’s almost sickening to read, honestly.

The sad reality with all of this is as the old adage goes: It’s easy to overlook those who are not directly in your daily life. Gary Bettman, Don Fehr, and the like have seen the devastation the lockout has incurred, but similar to the children of third world countries commercials go, it’s easier to sleep at night if you just change the channel. That’s essentially what the NHL and NHLPA are doing.

So, what can be done now to get this show on the road to a season?

Reporters speculate that the NHLPA will extend a ‘Disclaimer of Interest’ within the next week or so, essentially kicking Don Fehr to the curb, not allowing him to speak for the players any longer. This is also the route the NBA took when they, too entered a lockout last year. You can read up on the details of a ‘Disclaimer of Interest’ here.

Wether a DofI happens or not, the NHL is slow dancing in a burning room. Fans are turning their backs and employees are finding other means of work; businesses are cutting hours and closing up shop. Those low on the totem pole hold you in the sky, and the pegs are being chopped off left and right. Again, the NHL is slow dancing in a burning room.

Twitter post courtesy of @PredsNBolts

Kevin Klein joins Herlev Eagles

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Kevin Klein joins a few other Preds in Europe during the Lockout

We missed this news last week, but it looks like Kevin Klein has made the move to Europe as the lockout continues to chip away at the 2012-13 season.

Nashville’s defenseman will be teaming up with the Herlev Eagles, a team in Demark, part of the AL-Bank Ligaen (the highest league in Denmark). Klein will now be the sixth Predators to head overseas, with Craig Smith returning to the U.S. not too long ago.

Klein recently signed a contract extension with the Preds worth $14.5 million for five years. With a career high of 21 points last season, the Predators were more than happy to re-sign the 27-year-old defenseman.

As a reminder, here are the current Predators skating it up in Europe:

Pekka Rinne is with Dinamo Minsk
Sergei Kostitsyn is with Avangard Omsk
Patric Hörnqvist is with HC Red Ice
Roman Josi is with SC Bern
Craig Smith was with SM-Liiga

This picture makes us sad.

Players Speak Out against Lockout as Games continue to Cancel

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Don Fehr back in September.

 

As you all know by now, the NHL has announced that it has canceled all games of the 2012-13 season through December 14th, along with the much anticipated All-Star weekend in Columbus.

That brings us up to 423 regular season games canceled thus far, including the Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. How much money has been lost thus far, too? Here are the status up to

Salary lost: $416,998,959.25
Days Lost in Regular Season: 45
Days since the Lockout: 71

By the time you read this, those numbers will probably have changed, which is absolutely unbelievable. However, with each day that passes, more and more players are becoming vocal about their opinions on the lockout at hand. The NHL and NHLPA will tell you that these players’ outbursts have nothing to do with the “progress” that the two sides have made, but it’s very clear that the players are getting just a frustrated as the fans at this point.

“(Bettman’s) the only guy in pro sports that likes lockouts. It’s ridiculous. The only people who have record revenue and try to cut everything from us are the owners. There needs to be a give-and-take. We’re willing to take less revenue. We’ll do a 50-50 split if they honor our contracts. That seems fair. When you sign a contract, you look the GM in the eye and you expect them to honor your contract.” – Jason Chimera, Washington Capitals

“I personally think (Gary Bettman’s) an idiot. Since he’s come in, he’s done nothing but damaged the game.” – Ian White, Detroit Red Wings

“It’s disappointing that the approach for Gary [Bettman] and the ownership group has been to make these hard dates and final offers and not budging and on and on. There’s no real answer to why except ‘We think we can lock you out and your careers are short and we can shake you down’. Not a good feeling.” – Mike Cammalleri, Calgary Flames

“The two sides are close enough to a deal that missing the bulk of a season is wrong and missing an entire season is not only insane, it is a blatant disregard for the sport, the fans and the culture we have grown over decades — just to satisfy egos, not the needs of either side.” – Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

“But not to be able to play, and for the fans, too – they pay our salaries, anyway. It’s not fair for fans not to have hockey right now.” – Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks

And, let’s not forget our very own Sergei Kostitsyn: “Let’s put it this way – it would be better [for the players] if the lockout continues. Players want a definite answer. If the NHL season is lost – let it be that way. I would then play in Russia for the whole season.”

We could continue to add and add all of the players that have spoken publicly about the lockout, but it would make for one long, drawn-out blog post. It’s clear the players aren’t ready for another lockout, with the last one (in 04-05) still fresh on everyone’s minds.

The real losers here are both the franchise and city of Columbus. With an already struggling hockey market, the All-Star weekend was going to boost both the city’s economy and possibly push some life into the Blue Jackets’ sinking organization. And, to top it off, with Columbus losing their hosting duties at an All-Star game, the chance of Nashville hosting one in the near future will be pushed back as well.

Fans have also expressed their opinions on the lockout, with even a Flyers fan jumping at Commissioner Gary Bettman while leaving a meeting on Wednesday. To be honest, we are surprised it hasn’t happened earlier. So, the question is, how long will fans continue to let both the NHL and NHLPA drag the knife wound through their backs? The optimism is slowly but surely dying off, leaving just a heap of diehards clinging to the dagger. Even we are having a hard time keeping interest, as you can see our posts have been few to none.

How long will the NHL and NHLPA continue to drag the “supposed” season until they finally call it off for good? What good is a season that will start mid-December? We’d be happy for any hockey, championship-worthy or not, but even if the lockout ends tomorrow, the NHL is still the worst-run professional organization in the world. Bettman will still be the commissioner; Fehr will still be the executive director of the NHLPA. Will they just disagree once again and throw the league into another lockout?

Again, the optimism is fading fast and we’re pulling the dagger out at an alarming rate. Time to take notice, NHL.

Hörnqvist to Play for Tre Kronor

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We’ve been quiet lately with the lockout in full force, but the life of a writer always gets the best of us. We are tired of not discussing hockey-related material that is worthy of a blog post (if you follow us on Twitter and Facebook, we are always blabbering).

The news we have tonight will come to no surprise to most Predators fans (Horny fans) that Patric Hörnqvist will be teaming up with Tre Kronor as the start of the 2012 Karjala Cup begins.

With the European leagues taking a two-week break, many players have made their way back to North America as the NHL and PA have resumed talks since the letdown of October 18th. We would like to remain optimistic about the meetings (with both sides meeting for eight hours today and are expected to resume tomorrow), but it is a tad bit difficult.

Back to Hörnqvist, the Predators’ right wing will be representing Sweden’s national team alongside Carl Söderberg and Gabriel Landeskog, the youngest player named captain in NHL history. We attempted to read the Swedish news release, but Google Translate can only help you so far.

Again, this news should come as no surprise to Hörnqvist fans. The 25-year-old has given a majority of his time to his national team over the years.

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We may or may not be ready to see him in the blue and gold…

Sergei Kostitsyn’s True Feelings about the NHL

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Welp, he’s done it again.
Is it because fellow European players are speaking out, or is it because he doesn’t realize his comments to a Russian-based media outlet will still make its way to America and the NHL?

Unfortunately for Sergei Kostitsyn, the young Predators forward isn’t a huge bread-winner like Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Bryzgalov and well, his outbursts only make him look like a jerk.

Here’s a little excerpt from Sergei’s interview with Russian Daily Sport-Express and his thoughts on the current lockout:

“Let’s put it this way – it would be better (for the players) if the lockout continues. Players want a definite answer. If the NHL season is lost – let it be that way. I would then play in Russia for the whole season.”

He is also on record saying how much he disliked living in North America and that he just couldnt understand the American way of life during his time in the NHL.

Dang, dude! Are we unaware of SK74’s god-like idolization in Belarus? Well, he has been doing pretty well while with the KHL, but for such a quiet, barely audible Predator, he sure his confident across the pond in the Motherland.

Does he still have his undies in a wad due to his brother getting dismissed from the NHL altogether or does he honestly feel this way? As we know, not all can be translated correctly and believed by the Russian media, but with his rocky history with defiance, it’s sort of believable. What happens when the lockout ends? Sergei still has to honor his 2-year contract with the Predators, yea? How awkward will that be…

Bryzgalov and Ovechkin have always been outspoken, but Sergei sounds like the nerd trying desperately to fit in the the jocks and just spitting out whatever word vomit the other two say.

Again, when the lockout finally does come to an end, how will Sergei (and the other outspoken Europeans) respond to returning to North America and the NHL?

NHL & NHLPA: Out of Touch with Reality

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After yesterday’s massive letdown, we couldn’t help but feel, not only bitter and defeated, but utterly dumbfounded by how out of touch with reality both the NHL and players truly are.

We will never fully understand what both sides are dealing with or what’s going on inside their heads, but from the outside looking in (the fans’ point-of-view), it’s nothing more than a bunch of indecisive businessmen who are controlled by the greed of money.

What happened to the love of the game? The reason they are in the positions they are now?

Downhearted from greed; that’s just one of the mixed emotions NHL fans are experiencing along this rocky, blind route we’d like to call the lockout.

Although it would be nearly impossible to have a fan presence during the meetings other than standing outside with picket signs, it would still be ideal that we have a voice in the situation. We are the ones who give you that money to fight over, right?

By our accusation of the league and players being “out of touch with reality”, we just can’t begin to fathom the idea of being that well off monetary wise and still have the nerve to fight over more.

What is that you need so badly that you are willing to put people (who don’t make nearly half of what you do) out of work while you negotiate splitting their hard-earned money? What can you not afford now that you want? I highly doubt it’s something you need because nothing materialistic is needed with the kind of money you are arguing about.

Maybe it is because we cannot justify blowing our money on five matching Land Rovers and a Lamborghini that matches our favorite shirt or maybe because we’ve never experienced such luxury. What we can tell you, and this goes for all professional sports entities, is that we hope we never get to the point in our lives/career where we forget about the people who got us to where we are.

This can’t be said for all professional athletes or owners, for most athletes have their own charities and are well-versed in the community. However, as a whole, the NHL and NHLPA have made themselves out to look like a bunch a money hungry jerks with nothing better to do.

So this post is more of a rant than factual based, but wether they truly care or not, both sides are not making friends with fans who don’t understand the ability to fight over revenue when they have enough money already to support themselves and about twenty of their closest friends and family. When you struggle to support yourself and family on one or more jobs, it’s pretty darn difficult to see eye-to-eye with both the players and owners.

This is how the NHL will lose more than just a few games. They are enviably going to lose strong and weak fan bases due to their lack of true connection with the fans that provide then with the revenue that they are currently fighting over.

The NHL is not the NFL or NBA. They do not have the fan base, the time and experience like these two organizations do and they never will if they continue to alienate the people who fund them.

It’s time to take off the rose colored glasses and end this before the fans do.

NHL Shoots Down PA’s Proposals

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Well boys and girls, the optimism for a full season is dwindling fast. The NHL and NHLPA met today to discuss possible CBA negotiations, with the PA giving three counter offers of their own.

Unfortunately, what seemed like a positive step turned into a “backward step” per Gary Bettman as the he and the NHL shoot down all three of the NHLPA’s offers.

Back to zero.

What were the PA’s offers? Here they are in a nutshell:
– Proposal #1: A fixed players share for the next three years and, depending on growth, the amount will be decided.
– Proposal #2: The owners take 50% with 5% growth.
– Proposal #3: The players go 50/50 as long as the owners honor all the current contracts signed by the players.

Lots of room for discussion, right? Well, Bettman said both sides were “speaking different languages” when all was said and done. Personally, we believe Proposal #3 is the best of the choices, but obviously the owners do not feel the same way.

Information is still making its way to social media, so we’ll update with all the latest information.

Let the Negotiations Begin: NHL deals Proposal to NHLPA

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After more than 100 days after the NHL/NHLPA CBA talks began, the two sides have finally decided it’s time to negotiate. 

The National Hockey League, under the guidance of commissioner Gary Bettman, has proposed a 50/50 split amongst hockey related revenue (HRR) with the NHLPA. With this proposal, Bettman is attempting to  save the 82-game schedule, with it expected to start on November 2nd, if the NHLPA agrees.

With fans sighing with relief that at least one side has made a move, all is not quiet on the home front. The current split is at 57% in favor of the players, which (without doing the math) tells you with this new proposal, the players will lose money, wether all at once or long-term. 

So what could possibly hold the players’ association back from accepting this slice of pie, besides the 7% decrease in possible income? Well, there’s more to this proposal than a 50/50 split of HHR. Here is some of the fine print:

  • Five-year limit on long-term contracts. As of right now, there aren’t any limits.
  • Salary arbitration stays the same.
  • Unrestricted Free Agency would begin at the age of 28 and/or eight years of a NHL term.
  • Entry-level contracts would be extended from three years to four. 

     

 

So, what does Don Fehr and the players have to say? Not too much; at least, not for now. As much as we would have enjoyed the NHLPA to announce they’re acceptance to the proposal today, that was definitely a long shot in the dark. The NHLPA did announce that they will respond to the NHL’s proposal within 48 hours, so sometime on Wednesday or Thursday (hopefully).  Fehr also mentioned that, if the new proposal is agreed upon, the deal would last at least six years.

Again, after 100 days, we have lift off to a possible end in the lockout. 

– Photo courtesy of: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images