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Just a quick note to those of you who I have been interacting with.... First off, I would like to apologize for my crappy behavior. I have sent out a few parting shots at people, and this isn't the way to act on a public forum. As many of you know, I feel strongly about this situation in blaming both sides for their conduct. I also understand that I am in a forum of people who, as a majority, like the NHLPA and what they stand for. While I don't agree with everything everyone says here, there are some good points being made for the NHLPA that I acknowledge. There are also some things which I believe to be incorrect that I have tried to correct people on, but not the right way to do so. Some of the parting shots I have thrown people have not been right and I wouldn't like it if I was put in your shoes. To put it simply, I am going to be tossing in discussion points, but I won't be engaging people in active discussion like I have been. I really have been almost emotionally involved in this discussion because of just how upset I am with the NHL and NHLPA with this whole mess. This lockout has consumed me to a certain point, and that is bad for my health. I have spent time on social networking publicly speaking about the faults of both of these sides and how upset I am with them. This is not the kind of person I am to be honest. This coming from someone who is positive, energetic, a leader, respectable, and most importantly, a real hockey fan. To those of you who I have upset, I apologize. To those of you who are typing up responses to things I have posted here, don't anticipate a reply. I will still be active, but I am really going to knock things down and go low key for a while. Its time I put this lockout and the way I feel about it out of my head and concentrate on something else. Maybe computer games, work, refereeing hockey, or any one of the many things I enjoy doing. This lockout is really upsetting, but its time to move on. Thank you all!

One thing is for sure.... That is the closest the Maple Leafs will come to the Stanley Cup this year. Yup.... Because there is rumor they will just delay the game until the following year. All tickets will be accepted then. May as well let the NHL have a interest free period with millions to line the coffers for another year.

Thought this was funny, probably a big reason why were locked out, the Wild are spending ridiculous amounts of money on retired players like Gary Suter...

Sure, I have no clue. But still, I can read. I read what Suter had to say, and I read what NHL had to propose. I compare. Than I read you saying how good of job Ferh has done, and I laugh And I say, players are being way too politically correct towards PA leaders...

That's what has me boiling.

This really is the right way to go. The NHL and NHLPA need to be told that this kind of behavior, unwillingness to negotiate, and general bullheadedness won't be tolerated. By speaking with your wallets, the fans have a great opportunity to really tell the NHL what they think when they come back. I have already vowed to take every penny that I spent on NHL merchandise and tickets and put it towards something else. I can find something else to spend $1500-$2000 a season on. No more hotels or travel expenses to see games. No more time involved driving to games. No more NHL Center Ice. If we want to be heard, then speaking with our wallets is really going to be the best option.

They will cancel the season but keep winter classic, winner of that wins cup?

Haha, I predicted it 8 years ago

I certainly hope they cancel it at this stage. My interest in NHL hockey has went from rabid to non-interest in a few short months. I could really care less at this point if the league impodes. By cancelling the Winter Classic, the league will be returning back to the lockout levels of business in 2005. The fans are tired of being crapped on.

Unified, players roll with punches i wish both sides would put away their pride and egos and get a deal done for the sake of hockey. i don't think either side realizes the long term damage this lockout is going to cause.

I am not trying to stir up a fight here, but I had to make a point on this last statement you made. Obviously the owners locked out the players, and refused to let them play under the old CBA. That being said, yes the NHL and the PA are both at fault here to varying extents. I believe the owners and Bettman are more at fault, which is partially why I take the players side, lets look at the facts; - Bettman and the owners have been negotiating in bad faith since day 1 (look at the first proposal they made), and they refuse to negotiate unless it is under preconditioned terms. - Fehr and the players have consistently put out proposals with different methods of how to get their revenue share to what the league is asking, and they got shot down without any consideration for what they are proposing. - Bettman and Fehr are both trying to win a PR battle, difference is Bettman is making proposals that look good to fans, so they will back him, but when they players read through it, they realize he never had any intention of doing anything the players asked. - The players are willing to go down to 50/50, it will take about 2 seasons to get there, but they will get there, all they ask is current contracts thatthe OWNERS willingly signed before the lockout be honored (not a lot to ask, considering they were given a contract right before the lockout stating they would be payed X amount) but the owners are refusing that now. I am on the players side, but nothing I mentioned was based on opinion, or bias. Everything I wrote is factual, and if you really want I can post links to back up everything I have written.

You win, apparently if you say something enough it makes it true. Just out of curiousity, can you find even one other source that says he doesn't have incredible speed? Didn't think so. Edit: Hey what do you know, here's an article where the guy's coach actually says "lightening fast" when describing Brunner. Granted, you've seen a few of his highlights and so you'd probably disagree, but I suppose just this once I'll go with the guy that knows what he's talking about. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2012/10/31/sp-hockey-nhl-henrik-zetterberg-damien-brunner-ev-zug-swiss-league-detroit-red-wings.html

Ha, right. The players are the ones with the keys to the car. They're in control. Which is precisely why the league has locked them out from the ability to do their jobs twice in seven years, forcing hundreds of the better ones overseas, while the more average players sit on an absolute loss. First, we need to understand that the idea of a 50/50 split is totally arbitrary. There is no logical reason that hockey related revenues have to be "equally" shared between players and owners, except that it's the type of logic that makes sense to 4-year-olds, or people who barely pay attention to hockey. Real-life businesses don't work like that. Companies and management have the power. Say you are an attorney in a law firm and you bill $300 an hour. At the end of a 1900-hour year, you have generated $570,000 for the firm. Your salary is not $570,000. It may be $100,000, or something in that ballpark, but the revenue has to go to cover costs, pay for staff, benefits plans, etc. The attorney looks at that and says "Not fair! I'm only taking home 18% of what I generate for the firm!" But of course it isn't that simple. Attorneys are very replaceable. There are thousands of law school graduates every year, and lateral hires available from other firms and other markets. But NHL-caliber hockey players are much more rare, and the differences between the really good ones and the really average ones are much more noticeable. Moreover, if you staffed most teams with all the same facilities and resources, but ONLY average players, demand for your product would dry up very quickly. The 2005 CBA was a unequivocal win for the owners at that time, which became a net win for the players in the coming years due to the growth of the game and the owners own stupidity. The owners found every way possible to spend additional money beyond the CBA constraints they themselves negotiated to put in place. They circumvented the cap, buried NHL-level salaries in the minors, and paid out huge bonuses to front load deals well beyond the what the CBA appears to allow. And yet, teams like Minnesota, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, etc. can afford to do this and still operate. Teams like Nashville and Phoenix cannot. The solution to this problem has nothing to do with what percentage of HRR the players take. Increasing the owners' share is just throwing good money after bad. The root cause of the problem is in the lack of revenue sharing to benefit the overall health of the league. That's an owner vs. owner issue, but since all the owners can seem to agree on is taking more money from the players, that's all we ever debate.

The Wild have 21% of their cap space tied up with Parise and Suter for a very long time. The Wings have 16% of their cap space tied up with their top forward and top D-man (Datysuk and Kronwall) The Wings have 18% of their cap space tied up with their top 2 overall players (Datsyuk and Zetterberg) I'd also refer to the OP's points per dollar section of his article. If the only goal of the off-season was to sign Suter and Parise, then yes we failed on both accounts. However, if one of our goals was also to "spend our money wisely" then we succeeded where the Wild failed. Datsyuk at 6.7 > Parise at 7.5 Zetterberg at 6 > Parise at 7.5 Kronwall at 4.75 > Suter at 7.5 We don't overpay for FA's when we can wait and develop our home grown talent and put them on reasonable contracts. Build through the draft.