OT: NHL Cancels Games up to 10/24
Breaking on ESPN, here's a Chicago Tribune article.
More great news for hockey fans...
Also, apparently the NHL is waiting for an updated NHLPA proposal.
ESPN tracks overseas signings.
October 4th, 2012 at 2:21 PM ^
October 4th, 2012 at 2:22 PM ^
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
October 4th, 2012 at 2:23 PM ^
Well, hopefully everything is good to go by January 1st. I was looking forward to watching the Wings play in the Big House.
October 4th, 2012 at 2:30 PM ^
Rutledge's eyeballs are a-okay and Michigan can find some scoring.
October 4th, 2012 at 2:33 PM ^
I've got a bad feeling about this season. I don't think it's gonna get played
October 4th, 2012 at 3:45 PM ^
Dear NHL:
Fuck you.
Sincerely,
Everyone
October 4th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
Well, shit.....
October 4th, 2012 at 2:55 PM ^
October 4th, 2012 at 3:00 PM ^
This is terrible. PLEASE get this figured out soon so we can have some form of a season.
October 4th, 2012 at 3:04 PM ^
Forgive my ignorance of the labor dispute, but what is the main issue, aside from the probably obvious of each side wants more money? Is there anything else holding this up? And who do we blame in this one, the players or the owners?
October 4th, 2012 at 3:22 PM ^
This portion summarizes rather well what is unquestionably the biggest issue:
"The sides are fighting about how to divide up more than $3 billion in hockey-related revenues. Players received 57 percent of that pot in the previous collective bargaining agreement, and the NHL wants that number to drop under 50 percent in the new deal."
There are also a few other things which I believe are points of contention, such as the salary floor, which is part of how the cap works and aids in redistributing money across teams. The league and owners want to lower it or eliminate it, or at least this was my understanding. That would probably create a divide between richer and poorer teams. Guaranteed contracts are also a point of argument, I have heard - owners clearly want to drift towards an NFL-esque use of non-guaranteed contracts.
October 4th, 2012 at 3:25 PM ^
It isn't just the percentage (and I believe the owners' initial offer was 43%) -- the owners also want to redefine what that hockey revenues pot is, so they want the players to take a lower percentage of a smaller, redefined pie.
And if a team can't make money at the salary floor, then the owners probably need to either fix their revenue sharing, allow that team to move, or contract it (the players wouldn't like the contraction option either though).
October 4th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
October 4th, 2012 at 5:03 PM ^
Thanks for explaining. That is a really crappy offer from the owners, to drop rev share by so much. I hope this gets resolved soon, but as its been said elsewhere on the boards there's really plenty of other places to watch hockey than the NHL so if I need a fix I've got other options. I just don't want to see another season wiped out.
On the other hand though, a long strike would get rid of a lot of the fair weather or bandwagon fans when they finally come back, so tickets might be easier to get, so there is that.
October 4th, 2012 at 3:21 PM ^
I think most people are blaming the owners. The owners' initial proposal was absurd.
October 4th, 2012 at 3:12 PM ^
October 4th, 2012 at 3:19 PM ^
Hockey lost me the last time this shit happened. They're not doing very much to bring me back.
October 4th, 2012 at 3:21 PM ^
October 4th, 2012 at 3:25 PM ^
Gary Bettman is an idiot. That's 20 days away. Why would you make a news release regarding 20 days of hockey? Is that shocking? How about he has one news release saying the NHL is locked out until further notice? Total moron.
October 4th, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^
I see and understand your point. He did it because it's a tactic to put pressure on the players and cause anxiety within the union. This lockout hasn't meant jack-shit until now because the players don't actually start getting paid until October 18th. Now the players will definitely not receive their first few paychecks, which is going to cause players to start turning on each other because a lot of these guys live almost paycheck to paycheck, believe it or not.
Also, I really can't stand Bettman, but this is not his doing. He works for the owners. Period. He does what they tell him to do, and his job is to be a lightning rod and make sure that all the fans direct their negative attention towards him, and not their nearest owner or franchise, which is what they fear most.
If you want to send Bettman and the league a message, then start voicing your displeasure to Mike Illitch, or whoever owns your favorite team. Let them know that you're done putting up with this bullshit, and if the season is lost, his franchise will no longer be receiving your support.
October 5th, 2012 at 12:46 AM ^
Jim Lahey is a drunk bastard
October 5th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^
A coupla drinks!
October 4th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^
I read the title as; "NHL Cancels Games up to 2024"
I about choked. At least I can go watch the Chicago Wolves. They're the best hockey team in Chicago anyways.......
October 4th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
Really? They just won the cup in the 09-10 season, still have Kane, Toews, Keith, Sharp, et al, and you think the Wolves are better?
I do agree that the Wolves games can be a better experience, especially for families because the ticket prices are so much cheaper (not to mention I pass Allstate Arena on my way to the UC so I save on gas) and they do a lot to get the crowd into it, but at the end of the day there's no pro hockey game I'd rather be at than Red Wings vs Hawks.
October 5th, 2012 at 3:47 PM ^
October 4th, 2012 at 4:24 PM ^
Annual TV contracts:
NFL 5 Billion divided into 32 teams = 156M each
MLB 1.5 Billion divided into 30 teams = 50M each
NBA 500 million divided into 30 teams = 17M each
NHL 200 million divided into 30 teams = 6.6M each
The NHL cap at 70M a team with the NFL at 120M a team.
October 4th, 2012 at 4:40 PM ^
You know this just sucks.
Like most of you I get upset when Michigan loses, but at least they will never have a lock out.
Here is my suggestion to the players accept what they offer with the condition that Gary Bettman is let go.
October 4th, 2012 at 4:44 PM ^
The worst part is that us hockey fans aren't so passionate that we're going to go knock down Bettman's door, yelling and screaming. We'll just go watch college hockey, or juniors or something until it comes back.
It's not like there's a dearth of hockey to watch, and it's not *that* much less fun than going to watch the big boys. In fact, aside from the I-paid-a-buttload-of-money-to-see-this-so-I-better-have-fun factor, I probably have more fun watching college and high school hockey games anyway.
October 4th, 2012 at 5:02 PM ^
A) Players- none of you are worth 10 million dollars a year,
B)Owners- If you don't want to risk loss, don't buy the FUCKING FLORIDA PANTHERS
C)Fehr**-Douche- Donald what exactly would you say you do here?
D)Bettman***-Douche- If a guy wants to buy a league owned team that is losing $25 million/yr, even if he dare propose moving them OUT OF THE FUCKING DESERT, let him
F)KHL- Buy some fucking defibrillators, then come talk to me
*workstoppage
add more anger if you would like
October 4th, 2012 at 8:45 PM ^
Just raise ticket prices and concessions. Soon, only the fucking owners and other professional hockey players will be able to afford to watch.
October 4th, 2012 at 8:44 PM ^
Gary Bettman and the owners who pursued an idiotic expansion policy that installed teams in markets that cannot compete in the NHL. So in return for short term expansion fees we now have 2 work stoppages, a watered-down league, crappy markets, no ESPN contract and, selfishly, an end to Red Wing dominance.
That is all on Bettman and the owners who are doing their best to ruin what was once a great league.
October 4th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 8:14 AM ^
Best memory from years ago, visiting a mfg plant in Bowling Green, KY...transplanted engineer had a ticket stub for a Wings vs. Nashville (or Carolina, don't remember perfectly) game...$5.
I don't care if it was SRO...there is no way the worlds premier hockey league should be selling ANYONE entry into their venue for $5.
Hell, I don't think even student tickets at Yost are that low.
And don't think that the "competitiveness" of certain southern/desert-based teams during the past few years playoffs had anything to do with talent or skill...it was deteremined by the league to drum up enthusiasm for lackluster teams.