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Got mine today, and looky there! Haha, just kidding...I printed that out and slipped it in the sleeve.

Where are the fans being mentioned in these negotiations? Nowhere? Oh, ok. At least the last lockout we could entertain the idea that with the new agreement would come lower ticket prices. At least throwing out empty promises showed that the fans were on their minds for half a second.

I haven't done either of those, but keep trying. The difference is one side has not budged much from its insane proposal, while the other has not budged much from its pretty rational starting point for negotiating. The reason this is more the fault of the owners and Bettman is very simple. Revenue is up 50% in the 7 years under the CBA. The league has over a billion dollars more in revenue than it did at the start of the CBA. A BILLION DOLLARS. The problem is that rich have gotten richer while other franchises struggle. The biggest problem facing the league is clearly the financial disparity among franchises, not player salaries. The owners solution to that problem is to take more money from the players. That is no long term solution. It is an uncompromising money grabbing strategy that relies on the players union crumbling once again and conceding virtually everything. For that strategy to be effective requires a lockout to break the players will. In other words, the league's strategy from day one was built on implementing a lockout. So while they players haven't come far off their stance, there's still the underlying issue of ownership not even acknowledging that their assessment and proposed solution for the league is a fantasy. That's where Bettman should come in as the voice of reason, diplomat, and steward of the league. He isn't. I don't know if it's his strategy or if he's just parroting what ownership wants, but he seems more intent on breaking the union than on preserving hockey and the long term health of the league. We all can pretty much agree on what the general solution is, plus or minus a few details. The players salary does need to come down a few percentage points, the league needs to increase revenue sharing to struggling franchises, and add some limits to contract lengths and how they're calculated against the cap. Those will all help the smaller franchises compete with the ones flush with cash. The NHLPA's proposal was a starting point in that world. The NHL and Bettman in particular, however, have not joined the rest of us in the real world.

this is retarded

They would get high marks under "Stadium Experience"; every home game might be the last one they play.

Phoenix Coyotes in 6th place? Are you serious? lol

If you think Forbes data, attendance reports, other web reports regarding revenue, and math are "propaganda" then we probably should end this debate. I've looked at the numbers available and drew my own conclusion, it just happens to be pretty close to what the players seem to want. You seem to have just made up your mind that both sides are equally "wrong" without any sort of data, evidence, or analysis at all. You say neither side is right, and not even close to fixing the issues but you can't provide any rationale in support of what you think the issues are. You're right that blindly accepting statements from either side is a poor way to form an opinion, but that doesn't mean both sides are equally wrong, or equally far from right. Not really. Edmonton's situation is mostly the result of bonuses. Any bonus money that can potentially be earned counts against the cap, but if they are never earned they are never paid. Back-loading contracts can also lower the actual dollars spent, and then the player could be traded before the salary rises above the cap hit. And you can say it's "obvious" that the floor is a problem, but as of the most recent numbers available to us, it wasn't. 26 teams should have been able to afford the floor in '10-11. One of those that couldn't moved, and reportedly did much better last year. The numbers we have suggest that probably 24-28 teams should be able to afford the floor now, and that's not even counting additional revenue sharing, or other methods to reduce spending.

Something something kicked the tires, something something price wasn't right something something....

I'm not high on Rozsival, but that's pretty much your standard response for everyone the Wings don't sign. More than anything he likely would've been a middle of the pack defenseman, which isn't what the Wings really need as much as they do a top pairing guy and a cheap depth d-man.

Those of you who believe that the Wings should have signed Roszival are almost certainly thinking about the Roszival of three or five years ago. The Roszival of today is a shadow of his former self so far as hockey is concerned. He is a liability in his own end and poor in the offensive zone.

Whoops, forgot about that. Here's another idea guys...we kidnap Sid and hold him hostage until Bettman agrees to stop the lockout nonsense/retire. Who's in?

I want to kidnap them all, lock them in a room together with no food, water, or bathrooms, and place armed guards outside the door with instructions to not let anyone in or out until a signed CBA is in place. Every four hours a rabid skunk will be let into the room. Every 6 hours Celine Dion will serenade them with "My Heart Will Go On. " Every 8 hours they will have to watch "The Miracle of Birth. " Every 10 hours they will have to eat haggis.

Phoenix is so high because the locals get to watch the Wings play twice a year for dirt cheap.

And lots of leg room and space to spread out...

Leafs dead last

A ranking based on....? Is there an article? I mean, the first thing that pops to mind when I see the Phoenix Coyotes as the top-ranked NHL team, is that the list is bulls***. But I'm clearly missing the basis of how they're ranking teams, because even ESPN isn't that dumb.

Hey! No using the "Holland Defense"! esteef

If Uncle Gary doesn't think of it, it's not a good idea.

I'll take second shift Wednesday's for leftwinger suicide watch

This whole thing has been way overblown, IMHO.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1320786-nhl-tradefree-agency-one-dumb-move-each-team-made-this-summer#/articles/1320786-nhl-tradefree-agency-one-dumb-move-each-team-made-this-summer/page/11 While looking at the Franzen trade bait article I came across this gem. It says what the dumb move each team made this offseason is, and apparently the Wings' 1 bad one is not signing Ryan Suter. Article for Wings part: Yes, Detroit had no power in where Ryan Suter chose to play next season, but the price for Suter not signing in Detroit will be heavy for the Red Wings. With the retirement of Nick Lidstrom and departure of Brad Stuart, the Red Wings' defense is now led by Niklas Kronwall. No offense to Kronwall, but he is a huge step down from the likes of Lidstom and Suter. The Red Wings needed to bring in a replacement and they couldn't. For the first time in a long time, things are not looking so good in the Motor City. I bolded my favorite parts. Their 1 dumb move is something they had no control over, and apparently Kronwall is a huge step down from not only Lidstrom (understandable...who isn't?) and also Suter... I call BS on the 2nd one. Figured i'd comment on the Wings one. But since things are so slow with CBA talks at a halt, let's hash over all of them...

Patty Eaves:

P.S. I love Minnesota's dumb move....spending 196 million on Suter and Parise, while our dumb move was not signing Suter.