frankgrimes

I am in total agreement with you.  The owners really want to bring a championship to their city and team though.  There are 20 such owners that want to do that right now.  So many of them write checks their franchises can't cash, and they cry foul when they have to cash in on revenue sharing.  Actually, the rich franchises are the ones crying foul as well because these owners are spending foolishly.  If I was a owner in a struggling market, such as Florida, I would find it hard to spend foolishly.  My fans would be disappointed because we aren't a top tier team, but we wouldn't be spending money we don't have.

Good point. I mean you don't have to look further than Nashville, they aare a small market team but are doing quiete well in fact they are doing so well they can pay 27 million for one season to mr. Weber. So the system can't be as broken as the dwarf is thinking. Florida on the other hand has been spending crazy money to average at best players just to reach the cap floor, so again they can't cry foul.

My biggest beef with this whole t hing is how the  NHL is trying to portray the PA as the bad guys here, when in fact the owners are the ones who can't control themselves.

This would never happen, but what do you think would happen if the players agreed to the nhl's latest offer but included that Gary Bettman would have to be replaced as commissioner? Would the owners bite, and what would Bettman do, if anything to save his job?

It really is an idea I have been thinking since the whole process started and the NHL proposed their insulting offer. Definately something the PA should be shooting for like

Ok you want us to give back again? Fine, we are going from 57 to 55 (just a number), increase UFA by 1 year but you need to replace the commissioner we are not going to fourth lockout with this guy. Deal?`ok lets sign :-)

I'd choose Helm since we can't talk hockey why not talk about some chicks or other stuff?

Has it already been mentioned that the players who are going to play in other leagues for less money during the lockout only prove the owners point that they are paid too much?  or is this just angry fan speak?

esteef

Not sure if serious, Malkin will easily make more, same thing applies to Datsyuk and some other Russians.

The owners are the ones giving out such massive contracts, you can't howl with the wolves and then cry poor, the league has been absolutely ridiculous in terms of handeling this CBA process.

The new proposal is just another way for the dwarf to say screw you. Does this moron really believe Fehr would stupid enough to not see the rollback?
I am starting to think some owners gave out these huge contracts expecting the players to take less again.
They won't roll over this time Europe would be more than happy to welcome them back. We need a new commiSsioner asap.
Owners should be embarassed by this offer.

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What's sad is that your predisposition against Bettman makes you believe a fabricated story and then you use that as evidence that he should be fired.

Can anyone name one thing they know for certain about this guy that is a justification for their animosity?

Easily (will contain strong words

1. Parity crap:
He is using money from the leagues backbones (original 6 + some tank to win teams), in order to protect his failed and flawed ideas. Yes I am talking about the sunbelt expansion.

2. 2 lockouts in a row and he is going for the hat-trick
What else needs to be said? He is the only commissioner in all of sports with such a "track-record", thats disgusting and should get him fired before the season - whenever that may be - is starting.

3. No respect for integrity of the game
He will do everything to protect failed franchises but had no problem relocating the Jets, Whalers and Nordiques. There are already options outthere for the NHL to make more money by relocating some teams but no he is a stubborn idiot and prefers to keep them, letting tax payers and well run franchises - such as ours - pay for them.

4. Atrocious person
Yes, I get it he is working for the owners and his job is to make them money, blablablabla but he also has to represent the NHL and he is doing an extremely poor job in doing so. There is a reason why this guy gets boo'ed everywhere, save for his cock-sucker tank to stanleycup teams. Everytime he opens his mouth you know immediately he will have to say something stupid and sound like a complete moron, who doesn't even understand one bit of hockey but yet is making more than 88 % of the players.

5. No love for the original 6
Under him the NHL will shoot for the moon to promote some of their failures but when was the last time original 6 matchups got the PR attention they deserve? I really can't remember anything despite the lazy effort such as "two original six teams are playing each other" oh well for how much money we are giving back to this joke of a league under him we should get way more out of it.

6. Changed the game for the worse
Daily and him did an absolute horrible by changing the NHL into something it will and should never be, a mainstream sport instead of focusing on already existing real hockeyfans. Agitators having a freepass nowadays because they know exactly they won't have to answer for their crap. Gone are the days when guys like McCarty, Probert (RIP big man)  or Koccur would beat the crap out of you if you've done something real dirty, read that carefully Shea Weber!

I could go on and on but I'm not risking a ban or warning so I leave it at that, this guy is an atrocious person and an agitator himself ***** him and his suits parity crap.

I've tried to use the search-function but couldn't find anything matching. We have the boring offseason and maybe another lockout looming so I've decided to take a look at all NHL websites and I must say, I am not impressed with our one. Doesn't look that bad but save for red/white and different background-images the page is looking exactly like all the others.

I mean just LGW the site is looking fantastic, clean, simple and yet very modern why can't the site of an O 6 franchise look as good?  Please note, not that I am saying it should be filled with flash animations, super gfx effects just a bit more modern while resembling while also having reference to the great history of HockeyTown.

Why not hire some coders and designers to create a great looking one. Mr. I should give you a call Matt :-)

I still think a luxury tax system would be the best thing.
Why force owners to spend? If they don't want to fine, but don't cry foul if You aren't competitive. Same goes with owners who just spend senseless and then cry poor.
Players aren't at fault here they're just taking what owners are offering aren't they?

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Sure the job is hard but guess what? The dwarfs salary has been rising since the last lockout this guy has made more than 90 % of the players! Bettman will be responsible for 3 lockouts in a row there is no excuse for that. He is the guy who wanted the sunbelt expansion and promised some franchises, who just don't cut it to get them on track. One would think, guys like Mr. I, Sneider, MLSE (now Bell & Rogers) and some other owners aren't too happy with paying for his failed decisions.

If the owners can't control themselves screw them. The way he has responded to a fair offer for me indicates, he doesn't give a ... about the players so I really hope the players will return the favor and give him and his greedy owners a ridiculous new offer. Fehr did and excellent job by creating a war inside the owners :-)

You can be the mouthpiece of the owners sure thats the job of a commissioner but being an absolute **** is not required for the job, so this guy is the wrong person and he needs to canned.

I say if it really comes down to it, let them fail. These owners are all rich as hell so if they overspend and fail to get the franchise on track its not the players fault, it is their own damn fault and the dwarf is absolute idiot for not acknowledging that fact. Fehr played it pretty well, now the NHL has to fight the players and itself :-)

There is already revenue sharing if franchises still can 't cut it do something against it, if we end up with less but overall more profitable teams so be it. Funny how the NBA and NFL are always getting mentioned but not the MLB with the luxury tax  which is a way better system of course. This is hockey not the NBA, NFL and MLB so who cares what they are doing? Only one guy the dwarf, why not let him be the commissioner of these leagues? Hockey would benefit a great deal from this.

Personally the NHL will lose me for some time if its comes to a lockout, even as die hard fans we need to show them we do care and won't tolerate this s*** every 5 or 8 years.

Bettman just stfu you stupid little undersized dwarf. The NHLPA presented a fair offer you on the other hand insulted them with an outrageaus one.

If we lose another season because of you, I hope the owners will get as sick of you as all the fans, players and media already are. Worst commissioner by far.

So a fair offer presented by Fehr oh the irony is still not good enough for you? Guess what the players aren't dumb they wont roll over so you can have your failed franchises and stupid parity going on forever. I am sure Mr. I is sick of you too.

sorry for the rant but this little guy is driving me nuts.

Think the players shouldn't earn what they do? How about having your head down and run into a check from Big John Scott or Steve MacIntyre? Maybe then you'll understand how physical demanding th is sport is. That guy really successfully defines every sterotype of a dwarf, he is the epidome...

If this lockout occurs, it'll be the players who are to blame. The system is out of control right now. The cap is too high, and this makes teams almost always able to retain their pending UFAs; and if those UFAs decide to hit the open market, the overly-high cap allows other teams to issue ludicrous contract offers. This, combined with the lack of a cap on contract length, leads to those offers often being of ridiculous length, which in turn means that even fewer star UFAs will hit the market in the future; said stars will have been locked up forever. More, the cap is so high that it has made a mockery of the cap's entire purpose: parity. Yes, the purpose of the salary cap, that which caused the season-long lockout, is, as things stand, is not at all being fulfilled. Low-budget teams cannot hope to compete in spending with the bigger-market teams; even worse, some have trouble reaching the salary floor.

This is all evident, and it all must be addressed. And it'll be the NHLPA that will stand in the way of the changes.

Are the players holding a gun on the owners saying "100 million contract or you are toast?" nope, the owners are flying with their not so cheap jets, helicopters and luxury cars to the players mansion presenting them with such contracts. Players would be stupid not to sign them you can be damn sure I would. Nobody is forcing the smaller markets to spend to the cap, if they even cant survive with revenue sharing fold them, simple as that having a record breaking league with fewer teams will be more beneficial longterm.

Why do teams like Montreal, Toronto and Detroit have to pay for the dwarfs failures? Doesn't make sense to me oh and please some of the smaller markets can hand out 100 million $ + contracts so they aren't as poor as you might think.

Another lockout this time will be blamed on the owners thats for sure and I highly doubt the NHL would recover from that. 3 lockouts are unacceptable dwarf needs to be canned even the players are making fun of him now.

<3 Prust's statement :-)

dont you think, this guy - Doanld Fehr - at least worth mentioning too? Those MFs, unions are ruining it first hand!!

Hardly Fehr was part of the strongest MLB players union ever, this Minime clown is part of 3 lockouts now if things are going his way. He is an absolute joke and should be booed loud and hard.

Someone needs to lock that Minime out. It would be the third lockout under him, no way Fehr and the NHLPA will dance like he wants them to do.

The owners got exactly what they wanted and now they will lockout their players for getting what they wanted? Talk about a big FU to the fans, Bettman you are the biggest disgrace this sport has ever seen resign already!

Golden rule: don't feed the trolls (quote, reply, pm....) and they're gone as quick as possible.

Anyhow just wanted to mention something:

Ray Shero (Penguins GM) what has he done this offseason? despite the Staaltrade nothing
Chiarelli (Bruins GM) less than both
Poile (Predators GM) resigned his starplayer other than that?
Lombardi (stanleycup winning team GM) brought back the whole team again

So the top 5 GMs haven't done any ridiculous overspending on non-eliteplayers, did all these teams lose their motio or maybe just maybe, spending for the sake of spending with an uncertain CBA is not the best way to handle a franchise longterm?

Shane just sign somewhere or resign this sopopera is getting old.