stevkrause

Jesus. It's a pretty bad time to be a Wings fan I guess, if we're already bashing Holland for making the wrong 2013, 1st or 2nd overall draft choice.

Talk about insanity.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="stevkrause" data-cid="2338073" data-time="1357536482"><p>
All of you proposing, or suggesting, Franzen be bought out have lost your damn minds. He STILL scored 29 goals last year and led the team, on a down year, AND his cap hit is less than 4m a year... Take a look around the league at comparable contracts... Kenny would be certifiably INSANE to buy out his contract and just give him a TON of money to NOT play here... this isn't just cap space, this is real money and this is still a business... Furthermore, I GUARANTEE teams would trade for him, if for nothing more that a low draft pick (and even that is an insane suggestion) if we truly just wanted him gone, so why in the hell would we buy him out?!? Suggestions like this really make me think some people on this board have been enjoying recreational drugs WAYYYY too much...</p></blockquote>


This is my sentiment. Im not a huge fan, but the contract for Franzen is fair.

 

Franzen would have been worth about 6mil in free agency this off season, I stand by the fact that anyone who can score 30+ goals for us is worth 4mil.

I agree with Z.

So looks like a deal will get done, how many of those 53 that voted yes, would still vote yes now?

Well if a deal is getting done, obviously not many.  Most people said if they're gonna lose the season anyway, it'd be nice to get rid of Bettman too.  

But we can take a poll again when he locks the players out at the end of this coming CBA.

it just shows you how well the PA has played the pr battle

I'm basing it more on the sum total of his career than any PR attempts by Fehr.

3 CBA negotiations. 3 lockouts.

1st major North American pro sport to lose a season due to a labor dispute.  Other leagues have similar issues and problems but have managed to solve them without losing an entire season.  

1,780 games lost to lockout under his watch and counting.  That is by far more than any of the big pro sports.

How is that not a failure?  The NHL commissioner is not just a shill for ownership, part of his job is to protect the integrity and public confidence in the league.  The commissioners of other leagues have to deal with owners just like Bettman does.

7 years after losing an entire season to implement a hard cap, with an increase in revenue of 50% since the last CBA, there's no way there should be a lockout right now.   Bettman and his hardliners want too  much too fast.  And unlike in 1995, the owners aren't going to be able to overrule him and salvage the season.

I think we're going to lose it anyway.  Might as well get something in return for it.

Did not say this earlier because this looks like the op is just bitter about Nashville beating us.

But since it has made it to page two,
25,000 polar bears
vs
50,000 Inuits

If only the "civilized" world had sanctions in place to protect the people who lived here before we came and took their lands.
Seriously, the only reason our country is in a place where they can look down on people because of what they eat, is because they had no morals or conscience when it came to slaughtering and enslaving people they perceived as inferior.

Try to remember that these are human beings like you and I and that their society has been around for over a thousand years, they have always been an arctic, maritime people.
Polar bear meat is one of the reasons they survived to today and I don't think anyone has the right to tell them they are wrong for it, they did not overfarm bears in 1000 years and polar bears did not get to their endangered status from natives, but from the same expansion that endangered the natives.

Boyle should have kept his mouth shut. Even if he was privy to some inside information (Which he probably isnt) does he honestly beleive there arent players out there who just want to play and arent in favor of asking for the moon? I am willing to bet my life savings (Granted it isnt much) that there is a MUCH higher percentage of players who just want to play then there are owners who do. This is why the players will cave first and revenue will probably end up being split some where close to 50 -50. Like every other sports league.

The best thing the owners have done is not say anything. Every single time a player opens his mouth in the press it ends up sounding selfish, immature and just plain stupid.

Every other sports league?

Look at baseball's salary situation.  And the NBA may have a close to 50% split but they also have a luxury tax system the NHL doesn't.  And a lot more revenue sharing among franchises.  As does the NFL.

It's not really fair to just take the percentage while ignoring all the other differences between the leagues.

Just by sheer number, I'm sure you're right about there being more players wanting to play than the 29 owners.  And like I mentioned in another thread, Bettman only needs 7 to keep from being overruled so it doesn't even matter if the majority of owners wanted to end the lockout.

I'm really starting to think that Bettman is in way over his head. I think the PA brought Fehr in to take Bettman out and save hockey from this dictator. Fehr has taken on MLB many times and won every time. Bettman and the NHL are small compared to MLB, so Fehr can win this without breaking to much of a sweat or losing to much sleep.

The owners have allowed Bettman's to get to powerful, and his self inflated ego is way to big to think straight. Along with being at a disadvantage against Fehr, Bettman is also facing this:

1) Most fans and media are on the side of the players, the longer this goes, the more pressure the owners face.

2) NBC signed a 10 year deal to show games on TV. NBC will pressure Bettman to get a deal done, or they'll do what ESPN didn't and not cover them anyone.

3) The outdoor game and HBO 24/7 is Wings-Leafs. If there's no outdoor game, that's a huge amount of revenue the League will miss out on.

4) 1/3 of the teams are bankrupt. I wouldn't be surprised the longer this goes, teams like Phoenix and Florida may not exists anymore. The owners of those teams may say, "forget it, I don't want to lose anymore money, I'm out"

I'd seriously be surprised if Bettman keeps his job after this lockout. I'd put money on it that this will be his undoing. Seriously how can he ever present the Cup again without his life being threatened? I know I'd be throwing stuff at him.

Contracts are not etched in stone folks.  I'm a contractor myself and see modifications and changes to them in the middle of the contract period all the time.  Just sayin'.

esteef

You need a better contract lawyer.
NHL contracts can not be modified without changing the CBA. They are etched in stone.

Caring about the fans does not mean capitulating to the other side.

I would hope they love the game more than it's fans.
This deal also will affect hundreds of players not even in the league yet, there are more things to consider than "will fan X have something to do after work tonight?"

I want hockey back also, but in no way am I pretending I am the victim here.

The simple fact: The OWNERS locked out the PLAYERS, because the OWNERS saw a opportunity to take back guaranteed contract money and use it to subsidize teams in non-traditional markets.

I sign contracts with people all the time, never has anyone ever suggested that I take less money and do the same amount of work.
I don't know why people feel entitled to these players, they don't owe you anything, they owe their family for all the time they are gone and cutting their household income by 1/4 doesn't fly.

If Mario had to give back 1/4 of his money back in the day then there might not be a Penguins team today.
Yet now he has the balls to demand that of the people he inspired to join this profession.

Bottom Line: The league is not losing money, it is earning a profit. Some teams are winning, others losing.
The heaviest contributing factor to the losing of said teams is that they don't have a big enough fan base in their non-traditional market.
Taking money from the players allows owners to operate the flawed system longer, but does nothing to fix the problem.
If there is no problems then what will they point to next time they feel like changing all the rules because their team can not win the cup.

Any player that wants Bettman fired is a fool.  The current lockout is based on the fact that the players want to retain a high percentage of the revenue that Bettman is largely responsible for creating.  No reasonable player has any intention of going back to the "good" old days.

Edit:  As evidenced by the fact that the players' whole position in these negotiations has been to keep everything exactly the way it is right now.

Anybody that defends Bettman is a fool. Bettman is not responsible for the growth, in fact he has hindered it. Hockey has grown in popularity in the States because more kids became exposed to it because of international success the Americans have since the Miracle on Ice, something they have never had before.
Bettman is the worst thing to ever happen to the game of hockey

All of the names listed are great, and I agree on them all... With that said, I'm going to go left field on this and take one that people don't think about very often and one that was the worst scape goat in RW history... Curtis Joseph

Had he been given his fair shake and was here through his prime, it would have been epic

Good point...Looking back he should've stayed a Leaf; he was worshipped there, and unlike today - they had a really good team...The 2002 Cup Finals would've been alot more interesting had we faced T.O.

All of the names listed are great, and I agree on them all... With that said, I'm going to go left field on this and take one that people don't think about very often and one that was the worst scape goat in RW history... Curtis Joseph

Had he been given his fair shake and was here through his prime, it would have been epic

I wish we could have done better for him.  The guy did all he could when he was here.

He's soft, but hockey sense I disagree with. He's very rarely out of posistion, has a good stick with size, good decision making, great passes, and probably one of the best skating defenseman in the league. He made Team Canada for a reason, Sutter(s) don't have a great track record of flourishing defenseman either.

There's no doubt he's soft, and overpaid. But he's still an above average stay at home, 10 goal, 20+ minute defenseman. The concern I have with bouwmeester is going to be what we'd have to give up, and frankly he's not worth anything close to what's being reported.

I think JBo would be great on our team...but only if JF will trade him for something we can afford to lose.