haroldsnepsts

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie Nonis appointment as GM and senior VP is not interim.

Agreed. It's time, but he will be missed. Homer gets most of the attention for what he does in front of the net, but the dirty work he did in the corners digging out the puck was just as important.

I know it's not the case but I would love for it to be that he's replacing Bettman as commissioner.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie OK, a little review of the critical path: NHL B of G will have CBA ratification vote this afternoon. Simple majority (16) req'd for approval Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie NHLPA ratification vote tentatively set for Thurs/Fri, with entire process hopefully complete by Saturday. Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie The Memorandum of Understanding between NHL and NHLPA is not expected to completed and signed off on by both sides until Saturday. Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie If all goes well and according to plan, training camps will open Sunday Jan. 13 and 48-game season would open on Sat Jan. 19.

Right, but if there's not an official announcement of that from the Leafs or Luongo (which I understand why they wouldn't do until Thursday) then it's still basically a rumor. When there's a link to a reputable source confirming it, you can create a new thread.

Is there a link from a reputable source? Otherwise this will be relegated to the Rumor Mill forum until it's better verified. The Luongo to Toronto rumors have been swirling for a while.

That'd be a terrible blow to the Devils. Between him and Parise they will have lost two of their top three scorers. Combined they had 68 goals and 152 points last season. And Zajac, Elias, Zubrus and Clarkson are all UFA's at the end of the season.

I think it was definitely the beginning of the hostilities. The NHL didn't include the NHLPA in the discussion at all, then showed them the realignment plan when they basically showed everyone. If memory serves the NHLPA requested more info which the league either didn't provide at all or provided very close to the decision deadline they set for the union. Bettman in his infinite wisdom even made snide comments about not really having to include them. It was definitely the start of hostilities between the NHL and NHLPA. I think ultimately it's something both sides could get behind when handled correctly. That was the ridiculous part. They made concessions to teams in the east not because the realignment would make things terrible for them, but because it would make them less favorable of a schedule than they already have, which is currently much better than most teams in the league have it.

The Kings have most of their Cup winning lineup intact, though Kopitar apparently injured his knee in Sweden and will be out for a few weeks. And who knows what kind of game shape Dustin "pancakes" Penner is in.

These guys are top three for me for reliable news and updates Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger Pierre LeBrun ‏@Real_ESPNLeBrun

I'd still be a little surprised if they bought out Mule though I think this season will be an important one for him. The Wings will need him in a big way to get into the playoffs and to go very far. It'll clarify if his past playoff success was an aberration or him living up to his potential. The shortened season should suit his short attention span though.

With this whole CBA mess I forgot he was even on the team.

Glad it's over, mostly because now I can stop policing the lockout thread. Honestly I am glad it's over, but this half-season will have a strong stench on it. A part of me would've been willing to do without hockey for the season if it meant a good housecleaning all around on the NHL and NHLPA leadership. Right now I'm still bitter and hoping fans stay away for a while and it really hurts a couple franchises. There's still not nearly enough revenue sharing, but I guess the silver lining is we won't have to do this again for 8-10 years instead of 7. And as is often the case with a short training camp, get ready for a lot of pulled groins those first few weeks.

I was just coming here to post the same thing. It's basically 10 or 15 fans overreacting on twitter. Much worse things are said here when the Wings are knocked out of the playoffs.

McKenzie sums it up the best:

Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger PA hotel is buzzing in anticipation. Down to minimal issues...but, still not done. And definition of "minimal" may differ. Darren Dreger ‏@DarrenDreger Issues still include cap in 13\14, max contract and variance. So, "minimal" may not be best word unless significant movement from both.

Lebrun:

If people wish to include Twitter updates, please only include those that have actual information about the CBA process. Using tweets that comment on the NHL or NHLPA is the same as stating it yourself here in the thread.

Honestly at this point I don't believe much of anything except for the most basic tweets about when and if they're actually meeting. There's been so much misinformation out there as everyone tries to break news. I'm tired from riding all the highs and lows. I have a feeling it'll come out of nowhere if a deal is done or the season is cancelled.

Lebrun:

Per Dreger: To put it in context, he means today (i hope).

The mods don't want the incessant arguing over as to who is at fault for this whole mess of a CBA negotiation, including taking little pot shots at either side during a discussion of the cba. It has been beaten to death. Arguing over who cares or doesn't care about canceling the season is essentially the same thing. I'm fairly certain there isn't going to be any reputable source establishing people saying they do not care if the season is cancelled. As vladdy pointed out in one of her previous warnings, the discussion should be about details of the cba. It can also include updates from reputable sources, like Dreger or Lebrun's twitter.

That's Doughty. I used to like Kesler a few seasons ago and hoped he'd straighten out the antics as he got older. Unfortunately in Vancouver he's gone the wrong way. Maybe if he ever got on a team without that climate of diving he'd straighten up. There's a lot to like about his game otherwise.

Even if he did cast the vote, it's part of his job. That's not necessarily an endorsement of how he feels about it personally. I think there's so much anger from the fans about this lockout that they'll boo anyone. Even some of the hockey writers are getting noticeably angry in their articles on the lockout, Lebrun especially.

Every morning i wake up and read about what the idiotic little children involved in this CBA negotiation have done now. Then I go through the thread and delete a few posts from people here who continue to ignore the endless warnings from the mods. The whole thing has gotten very old. At this point the main reason I want a season is so people will post here again and Matt can hopefully break even on this site for the year.