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ogreslayer

2012 Lockout Watch

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This is what drives me nuts.

They're working on finding a date where they can meet??

That should be the easiest part of the whole process to decide and they still don't even have a date to meet? It'sf****** late june!

If there's another lockout, I'm hiring Chelios to kill Bettman.

You do realize that there are 2 sides to the negotiating process? I haven't heard crap from the union. It seems like both sides are posturing and really not doing much. There seems to be no sense of urgency from either side. Personally, I could do without the updates from Bettman, but at least we are getting updates from him. The players union seems content with being in a permanent cone of silence and keeping the public guessing.

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You do realize that there are 2 sides to the negotiating process? I haven't heard crap from the union. It seems like both sides are posturing and really not doing much. There seems to be no sense of urgency from either side. Personally, I could do without the updates from Bettman, but at least we are getting updates from him. The players union seems content with being in a permanent cone of silence and keeping the public guessing.

this is what bothers me. they should have started negotiating long before now imo

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this is what bothers me. they should have started negotiating long before now imo

I agree.

Some media pundits and hockey fans are already sounding off on how the NHL is the one at fault for speaking to the media. No harsh words for the players association?

Both sides on this "negotiating process" are equally at fault for the last lockout, and if there is a partial or lost season this time around, both sides will be at fault again.

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Parity exists in standings but not with club profits according to Forbes:

http://www.forbes.co...could-kill-nhl/

DId anybody else catch this?

The “haves” fall into clear categories that make the challenges all the more daunting for the league: the Canadian clubs, and those with long, storied histories in large markets such as the Bruins, Red Wins, and Blackhawks.

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Parity exists in standings but not with club profits according to Forbes:

http://www.forbes.co...could-kill-nhl/

If there is any ounce of truth to this we mostly likely will be facing another lockout this year. If I read this right only 11 teams can basically afford there rosters? It sounds like the salary cap needs to be lowered substantially for the league to be healthy as a whole. I just don't see the players agreeing to reverse the cap level to the point the league will want it without lossing another season.

I know most people will not agree with me, but the NHL just doesn't have the fan base to pay there top players 8 to 10 million a year. The top guys should be making around 5 million while the second line guys making in the 2 to 3 million range. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but the fan base just isn't there LEAGUE WIDE.

I understand there are a few clubs like the Wings that can afford the 8 to 10 million contracts, but that's the reason they added the cap in the first place because most teams can't. I guess we will see how it plays out in the coming months, I just don't think the fans will be as forgiving this time.

Edited by cupcrazy

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You do realize that there are 2 sides to the negotiating process? I haven't heard crap from the union. It seems like both sides are posturing and really not doing much. There seems to be no sense of urgency from either side. Personally, I could do without the updates from Bettman, but at least we are getting updates from him. The players union seems content with being in a permanent cone of silence and keeping the public guessing.

I'd be completely okay with the cone of silence if they were negotiating.

This one was an exception but Bettman's updates are usually posturing and attempts to make the players union look bad. Bettman and the owners literally ARE the NHL. They're the face of the sport. The NHLPA just doesn't have and doesn't require that public of a presence.

And yes I realize there's two sides to the negotiation. The reality is the owners and league have most of the power. And the responsibility ultimately falls on Bettman. Especially because I said lockout. We're not talking about players striking. It's the owners preventing them from playing hockey.

It'll be interesting to see how Bettman handles it. Because he's always saying the league is better than it's ever been, but he also has to sell the idea that it's in trouble because of the players' salaries.

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Just imagine all the nice contracts some of our notable NHL players are gonna get offered from the KHL if there is a lockout. It's a catastrophic scenario and as much as i'm trying to ignore it as a possibility it still scares me.

cupcrazy I dig the cichlid avatar. :thumbup:

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what i dont understand is why the ENTIRE realignment got thrown away. For negiotiating leverage? I just want hockey and a realignment that works for everybody.

I don't think it got thrown away, did it?

Last I heard the NHLPA just wanted more time than the short deadline the NHL set, since they had zero involvement in the realignment process and wanted time to look it over and discuss it.

To me that was Bettman's first posturing move to make the union look bad. As he smugly pointed out, the NHL isn't required to involve the players union. But requirement or not, think of the message that sends. Your players are who people come to see. Their lives will be most affected by realignment. Not involving them is just poor management of the league's talent.

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Aborting of realignment: 12/03/2012.

This:

"Don Fehr obviously being somewhat new to the job is going through a bit of a learning curve and wants to make sure he understands what his constituents want. And so, we're patient. I'm not concerned about the time frame."

: 28/01/2012

Uncle Gary planted the "seed" a long time before the players were wrongfully accused, when they failed to agree to an obviously flawed change in a system; one that should have dealt with at the bargaining table..

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From http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/1216576--nhl-players-meet-to-set-agenda-for-contract-war:

The posturing is beginning and the prospect of an NHL lockout is looming.

More than 50 NHL players — team reps and alternates — are expected to descend upon Chicago for three days starting Monday to sort out the union’s issues and positions in advance of collective bargaining, set to start “imminently” according to both sides.

...

...

“It’s a whole lot different than last time,” Bettman said.

...

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I'm not sure the NHL could survive another lockout.

Thats why I think they will iron out a new agreement. It will most likely come down to the wire, but I'm hoping both sides realize how much damage a lockout would do and how much more they would lose from a lockout instead of just giving some ground in negotiations.

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It's funny how devastating the 04-05 lockout was, yet people seem to assume that the CBA will inevitably be resolved this time around. In a way, I understand it, since the league has been surprisingly profitable since then. Then again, the NFL is much more successful, yet they nearly lost games and have a terrible labor situation right now. You wonder if player safety/concussions could be a wildcard in this dispute, also.

Aborting of realignment: 12/03/2012.

This:

: 28/01/2012

Uncle Gary planted the "seed" a long time before the players were wrongfully accused, when they failed to agree to an obviously flawed change in a system; one that should have dealt with at the bargaining table..

I was so pissed that the players scrapped that plan for leverage. No plan is perfect, but I thought that could've been a huge improvement for the league.

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The League would survive another lockout.

The players would survive another lockout.

Some of the owners would not.

The NHLPA membership must be proactive in their approach to this.

I also think it's possible a few teams may not survive another lockout.

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The aborting of realignment was something that Uncle Gary knew should have been dealt with at negotiations and he was hoping it would sneak past. Somehow, the NHLPA was labelled as "villains" for turning it down, most vocally by the League and, in particular, Bill Daly, not the least of which was:

"We believe the union acted unreasonably in violation of the league's rights. We intend to evaluate all of our available legal options and to pursue adequate remedies, as appropriate."

No follow up yet on that.

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Guest Hatethedrake!

The aborting of realignment was something that Uncle Gary knew should have been dealt with at negotiations and he was hoping it would sneak past. Somehow, the NHLPA was labelled as "villains" for turning it down, most vocally by the League and, in particular, Bill Daly, not the least of which was:

No follow up yet on that.

Translation...We believed the NHLPA were still a bunch of clownmonkeys and were therefore dumb enough to not be aware that we were trying to screw them over. Now that we know that they are no longer clownmonkeys which can be fooled easily, we will now have to actually negotiate in good faith. Dammit, I hate it when a plan does not come together. Time to bring in the A TEAM now.

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Guest Hatethedrake!

From Toronto Star :

I am pleasantly surprised to read this. And, he's right.

Ovie just doesn't want to go a year without collecting his 9.5 mil a year salary.

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Ovie just doesn't want to go a year without collecting his 9.5 mil a year salary.

I think its more like the NHL doesn't want to hold up $3.3 billion dollars of revenue. They have grown from $2.1 billion to $3.3 billion since the lockout. Thats incredible growth. Owners and players have to come to a decision on the CBA before the season starts to keep things rolling.

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Shockingly enough, ESPN has an article (on hockey!) quoting Fehr as saying the NHLPA expects negotiations to begin soon and that the players won't be bulldozed this time, as they felt they made plenty of concessions last time. (paraphrasing) There are some interesting tidbits of info in here, or so I thought.

ESPN article here.

Strap yourselves in, folks; it's going to be a bumpy ride.

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From Sportsnet:

NHL players may have a small leg up on league owners heading into the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement.

While team officials are under a gag order with talks set to begin as soon as this week, players are free to speak publicly about the negotiations.

The owners have the four-legged "manure spreader" of Uncle Gary and Big Bill.

I can think of a couple of owners who won't like this.

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