Nightfall

I think what is being lost in the shuffle is that Visnovsky had a no trade clause with the Ducks. http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2012/9/4/3290481/lubomir-visnovsky-arbitration-no-trade-clause His agent was on NHL Network Radio and said that Visnovsky was upset about the teams circumventing the no trade clause. I don't know all the particulars or his contract, but if I had a no trade clause and then I found myself traded without my consent, I would be a little miffed as well. Even his agent said that he would stay over in Slovakia until this matter was settled.

A couple things.... First, I am not 100% convinced that every owner was for the lockout. That being said, I do believe that Illitch is tired of spending money to bail out owners who are not making money AND Illitch believes he should be making 50% of the revenue and not 43%. So was Illitch the driving force behind the lockout? No. Was he participating willingly with much to gain? Yes. I live in MI so I will be able to watch the Wings on FSD. No gamecenter live for me this year. This coming from someone who has subbed to them for the last couple years. I am going to miss it a little bit as a hockey nut, but I just cannot spend money on the NHL this year due to the lockout nonsense. I will watch them on TV when I can. The NHL network, NBC Sports Network, and NBC will have games too. I will also attend Griffins games when I can instead. If I lived out of town and I needed to watch the Wings, then I would relent and probably buy the Gamecenter Live package. I hate to admit, but thats a fair price for a half of a season.

That really is a discount over what they charge for a full season. Kudos to the NHL for that.

I think 7th is about right for this team. Keep in mind that Detroit was the #1 team in the NHL through a little over half of the season last year before injuries hit.

At this point, I am looking forward to the schedule. 48 games probably means games every other day. Trade deadline April 9th probably means the regular season will go until the end of April.

The personal insults of "Are you a Robot?" also do not help matters. Agree to disagree really is the right approach.

Those aren't bandwagon fans. Those are real fans that bleed Honolulu Blue. They are not people who are just there to watch a good team win and ***** about how every player sucks.

I agree. That kind of negative attitudes aren't shared by people who supported the team through thick and thin. I know a lot of people who supported the Wings back in the 80s when they were considered to be the "Dead Things". They don't have the same negative attitudes that many others today have when the Wings hit the skids and go on a 4-5 game losing streak. As you said though, this happens no more than anyone else. The author has it right though. The Wings have been riding a huge wave of bandwagon fans because of all the success in the last 20 years. When the Wings decline and don't make the playoffs for a couple seasons, the bandwagon fans will be gone.

I just saw a video on TSN that involved 4 reporters talking about the fans and what the league should do. One of the reporters asked why fans would be willing to not attend games and say it was a "self imposed punishment". As if watching the NHL on TV was more of a punishment than going to the games. I disagree. To not watch the games at all would be a punishment. To make a conscious choice to not attend the games is going to be slightly painful, but not as painful as it was to see Fehr and Bettman whine, *****, and pontificate for the media. I will remember that exchange for a long time to come. Which is why I won't be watching the Wings live for a couple years.

Seriously, the fans will return. The hockey fan is one of the most loyal fans out there. I am a hockey fan, but I am speaking with my wallet. I have typically spent around $1500 a year on NHL tickets, merchandise, NHL center ice package, transportation, food, and so on. Now, I am not going to attend a NHL hockey game for the next 2-3 years. I will watch and support the Wings on TV. I will attend bars and restaurants around the area and spend my money there to support the community. I will not spend a dime on NHL merchandise or tickets though. What can the NHL do for the fans? Make Gamecenter Live for free for next season. Have NHL clubs drop ticket prices by 20% across the board. Those would be signs that the NHL cares about the fanbase.

Negative. This is now the point where we discuss how everyone on the team except Dats and Zetterberg suck and should be traded, bought out, or cut from the team. This is also the point where we discuss how Kenny and the management of the Wings suck a big one and where Detroit is not a destination for free agents because of the aging and out of touch management. Hockey is only seriously discussed in about 25% of the threads here. You are right that now we stop discussing who's fault it is.

I hope that the fans return, but there is part of me that worries that this lockout has damaged the games and turned the fans off. Matt is a great guy and I hope the fans return to this site. As of right now though, I am not holding out much hope.

Thats funny, I could say the same thing about Fehr and threatening decertification. Bettman and Fehr won't be stupid enough to cancel the season. There is too much riding on the season going forward, even in a reduced 48 game format plus playoffs.

A disclaimer of interest will only be filed if the NHLPA believes that progress isn't being made. With progress being made recently, they won't file now. Now if the discussion goes off the rails, then expect that to happen. If the NHLPA does file for disclaimer of interest, then the season will probably be lost as this will be tossed into the courts.

This right here. I couldn't agree more.

At this rate, both leaders need to pull their collective heads out of their asses and make something happen.

We can only hope they go this far. I would also like to see a 24/7 featuring the playoffs on HBO.

So referee error on a power play they never scored on? Sorry, but I guess I have to agree to disagree. The Pens were not handed the cup by anyone but the Wings themselves. The Wings had that series in the bag at 3-2 and they couldn't score more than 1 goal each of the last two games. The Pens deserved the cup in 2009 and the won it fair and square. IMHO, the ultimate copout in sports is to say that your team had won a championship, but was robbed by the refs, league, bad luck, etc. That doesn't happen in a 7 game series in the NHL. The better team always wins.

I have a better question. If the owners were making 57% and the players were making 43%, and the players went on strike, would you be on the side of the owners because they didn't strike? Would you be calling the players greedy because they wanted an equal share?

They better thats for sure.

Using it as an excuse in the SCF is. Every team is banged up. Its a war of attrition. I give the Pens full marks for winning game 6 and game 7 of that series and winning the cup. To say that they won because of Bettman, the schedule, poor health, luck, and so on is really just a cop out. The Wings were beaten fair and square. To not give the Pens credit is a show of poor sportsmanship IMHO.

Its either the NHL "Take it or leave it" attitude or the NHLPA "overhauling the whole deal". Neither of these attitudes are acceptable or constructive to a deal being made.

I agree. The compromise has to come from both sides for a deal to be done. The NHL compromises, now if the NHLPA can play ball and do the same thing, then the NHL follows suit, we should have some real traction.

My statement of "The worst copout" was in regards to your entire post. Not just the last sentence.

I agree. The best way to speak is with your wallet. The NHL makes a ton of money off gate receipts. Just don't go to games. That will be a pretty big blow to the NHL. The problem is that many people aren't dumping their season tickets over this. So the NHL and NHLPA have zero incentive to do anything for the fans.