Hockey Is Back: NHL And Players Reach Tentative Deal, Ending Lockout

[Kreskin]

Bettman is a clown, but blaming the owners on this, I think is wrong.

If the NHLPA wants a fixed % of the revenues, then shell-out that same % of the money to build the arenas and the team jets..

Hell, they were even bitching about getting money from beer sales and parking? Maybe these chumps can help sell the beer and be the parking attendant if that's what they feel they're owed

I'm not just speaking about collective bargaining. He has always been a public relations disaster. When not in CBA mode he should be a positive marketer of the game.

Collective bargaining must be his strong suit because public affairs isn't. And if CBA is what he does best it's not saying much about him or the owners employing him.

 

[#juan]

It'd be interesting, that's for sure..... But it still makes my head spin how a group that has zero money at risk can demand guaranteed salaries (with no return guarantee of performance) and still demand such a big slice of the pie without risking one penny of their own?

An NHL player puts his career on the line every time he laces up his skates. He doesn't know when he is going to get tripped
into the boards or block a puck with his face. Every check is potentially a career ender.

 

[damngrumpy]

Hockey has burned its bridge for a while with me. This whole thing it turns out
was not necessary they came to the conclusion that was as plain as the nose
on ones face.
As for junior hockey, we are catering to the wimpy crowd again and we are losers.
fourth place is not acceptable period. I ended up cheering for Sweden as I do not
cheer for Americans when it comes to hockey. Why is it we have produced such
inferior teams the last three years at least. We sent over the tougher guys on the
coaching staff and we do well.
There is no way in hell we should be producing teams like this. It is time we got
back to winning. Yes winning is everything as hockey is as much about politics as
anything else.

 

[Risus]

Who gives a crap watching a bunch of multimillionaires playing for a bunch of multimillionaires? None of whom give a crap for the people they expect to support them.

 

[#juan]

Who gives a crap watching a bunch of multimillionaires playing for a bunch of multimillionaires? None of whom give a crap for the people they expect to support them.

That pretty much says it all Risus........

 

[captain morgan]

Without knowing what they have invested in, which could be vendors, parking lots, t-shirts and poutine it's hard to say.

That's how they should participate, but if this were the case, they wouldn't be moaning about wanting someone else to take the financial risk just so they can demand 50% of the upside

An NHL player puts his career on the line every time he laces up his skates. He doesn't know when he is going to get tripped
into the boards or block a puck with his face. Every check is potentially a career ender.

A ditch digger puts his career on the line every time they grab their pick axe, as do bus drivers and cabbies take career ending risks each time they get behind the wheel, but you don't see them demanding 50% of all the fares collected and taxes levied.

If the sport is too risky for these girls, they'd be wise to drop the risk and take a job at Walmart stocking shelves

 

[Locutus]

Haven't watched the NHL since they trade Sitler and McDonald.

 

[gerryh]

A ditch digger puts his career on the line every time they grab their pick axe, as do bus drivers and cabbies take career ending risks each time they get behind the wheel, but you don't see them demanding 50% of all the fares collected and taxes levied.

If the sport is too risky for these girls, they'd be wise to drop the risk and take a job at Walmart stocking shelves

The ditch digger and the bus driver are covered under WCB and/or EI, the hockey player is not.

 

[talloola]

glad the lockout is over. listened to many players being interviewed by phone this morning, they are very
excited, as this is their work, they have been waiting all this time to get back to it, some played in
europe, but most didn't.

players didn't strike, they were locked out, and they said prior to lockout they would play thru negotiations, but that didn't happen, so they are very excited to get back on the ice, as the
game they played all of their lives was gone from them.
The one player said, his wife wouldn't even let him play board games any more because he was so
pent up from not playing, he was far too competetive at the games, so he was banished. lol

The players lost money from the settlement, as new contract has done that, but they fought hard
to maintain many other parts of their game, eg. pensions, etc, so the players held fast to their
other needs, but gave up money, and that will go toward the have not teams, who are losing lots
of money, guess bettman needed that, as his poor choices of new teams certainly haven't worked
out very well.

The average length of career for a player is about 8 years, and many are not that long, and their
risk of career ending injury is very high, and many players are pushed out by new players along
the way, who beat them out at training camps, or just get older and lose a step or two.

The multi million dollar players are the minority, and sit as the cream at the top, but also have
big risks as well.

Their pension plan and their medical coverage has been steadily improved over the years, and any
player who had gone into this lockout 'injured' long term, got paid right thru the lockout,
eg. ryan kesler for canucks and alex edler.

I have no grudges against anyone, I see that is was a battle royal all the way thru, but I give
credit to player assoc leaders, as they did not buckle and collapse under the strain of the NHL
who constantly tried to bring them to their knees.

It is now a ten year wait till next negotions, so that is a good improvement.

I haven't thought much about hockey since last fall, but I will gradually get back into it, I
have no anger against anyone it is what it is, a lockout, nothing strange about that, we have
seen strikes and lockouts from many areas all of our lives, this one is no different.

So, welcome back to all the players and coaches, they are hoping to get started by jan 15, which
will give them 50 games, but maybe the 19th, which will give them 42 games.

 

[captain morgan]

The ditch digger and the bus driver are covered under WCB and/or EI, the hockey player is not.

If the ditch digger is a contractor, then they pay WCB but don't get to collect if something happens.

Point is, if these players are so upset about the risks, then get outta the game - no one has a gun to their heads on this

 

[talloola]

If the ditch digger is a contractor, then they pay WCB but don't get to collect if something happens.

Point is, if these players are so upset about the risks, then get outta the game - no one has a gun to their heads on this

players are not upset about risks, but they are at risk, they love what they do, and play for that
reason, make a good living, and deal with the consequences as they come along.

 

[petros]

That's how they should participate, but if this were the case, they wouldn't be moaning about wanting someone else to take the financial risk just so they can demand 50% of the upside

Doubling up is a common contractual business practise. I figured you'd understand that.

 

[Risus]

players are not upset about risks, but they are at risk, they love what they do, and play for that
reason, make a good living, and deal with the consequences as they come along.

No, they love the pay check. They don't care about the game, the team or the fans. They are as selfish as the owners. Its me. me, me.

 

[captain morgan]

players are not upset about risks, but they are at risk, they love what they do, and play for that
reason, make a good living, and deal with the consequences as they come along.

Fair enough, but to use that as an argument as to why they should be be taken seriously in their demands to be treated as the senior partner with a guaranteed salary in addition to getting senior participation in all forms of revenues when they haven't kicked-in one dime is simply unreasonable.

Don't think for one minute that if the players decided to hold-out that the league wouldn't consider bringing in replacements from Europe and (more likely) the various leagues throughout North America (incl farm teams).

The players are a time sensitive asset to both the team and themselves and if they can make the argument to get paid in spades, then all the power to 'em, but this horse sh*t in trying to hold ransom the league is a non starter as far as I'm concerned

Doubling up is a common contractual business practise. I figured you'd understand that.

Sure it is, but there are also strong issues with conflict of interest in what was/is suggested here.

 

[talloola]

No, they love the pay check. They don't care about the game, the team or the fans. They are as selfish as the owners. Its me. me, me.

no, I don't believe that about the players, they want to be treated fairly from owners who make a good
profit from hockey, fair is fair, doesn't matter if one is sweeping floors or playing hockey.

If they didn't love the game, they would never have climbed that far up the ladder of success, it takes
a very strong person both mentally and physically to reach that level, and just running after the money
doesn't work, and that goes for any sport, there must be intestinal fortitude, guts, ability and a
certain amount of luck, and to sit back and accuse them of just wanting the money and they don't
care about anything else, just shows me that you know nothing about scratching and scraping and working
through injury and striving and never giving up, that is what they have, or they don't get there and
they don't stay there.
______________________________________________________________________________

Fair enough, but to use that as an argument as to why they should be be taken seriously in their demands to be treated as the senior partner with a guaranteed salary in addition to getting senior participation in all forms of revenues when they haven't kicked-in one dime is simply unreasonable.

Don't think for one minute that if the players decided to hold-out that the league wouldn't consider bringing in replacements from Europe and (more likely) the various leagues throughout North America (incl farm teams).

The players are a time sensitive asset to both the team and themselves and if they can make the argument to get paid in spades, then all the power to 'em, but this horse sh*t in trying to hold ransom the league is a non starter as far as I'm concerned

______________________________________________________________________
Anything they have now has been negotiated over the years thru other lockouts or strikes, no one held
a gun to anyone's head, it is tough negotiating, they sat in that room over the months, negotiating
argueing threatening, but that is how all negotiations go, and the NHL and the Players association now
have settled on what they both finally had to do to bring the lockout to an end.

they didn't hold the league at ransom, but they weren't going to buckle under and lose progress that
was made over the years, and also the league wasn't going to give them an inch, and finally the league
did gain on money, but the players assoc. held fast to their other benefits, which have been fought for
for a long time, from a time when they got 'nothing' in benefits and were horribly underpaid, and under
the thumb of any owner who threatened them if they didn't do what they were told.

this is a democracy, this is how our society works, we are not in arabia/iraq/iranj/syria/and many other
countries where the regular person trying to better them selves don't get any fairness dealt their way at all.

 

[gopher]

On another site several Yanks have said they learned to appreciate AHL and OHL thanks to the shut down.

 

[Mowich]

On another site several Yanks have said they learned to appreciate AHL and OHL thanks to the shut down.

Not surprised, gopher..........I've been reading similar sentiments on many other sites as well. One can only hope that the fans that have been attracted to those leagues continue to support them well after the NHL is back in business.

Think of all the big bucks more that the fans will have to shell out for a NHL game. The fat cats in Toronto won't notice but the rest of the league will and the teams in the NHL will start to fall like a house of cards.

That may not necessarily be a badthing, LM...........I can think of at least two teams that should have fallen awhile ago.

Hockey has burned its bridge for a while with me. This whole thing it turns out
was not necessary they came to the conclusion that was as plain as the nose on ones face.
As for junior hockey, we are catering to the wimpy crowd again and we are losers.
fourth place is not acceptable period. I ended up cheering for Sweden as I do not
cheer for Americans when it comes to hockey. Why is it we have produced such
inferior teams the last three years at least. We sent over the tougher guys on the
coaching staff and we do well.
There is no way in hell we should be producing teams like this. It is time we got
back to winning. Yes winning is everything as hockey is as much about politics as
anything else.

Fourth place is just fine with me..........as would be any lower ranking though I doubt that will happen.

It used to be about the medals for me............now it is about the sport of hockey and these kids - our Canadian Teams. It is about the time, energy, dedication, sacrifice and determination that they show in playing for our country. I hold them to no higher standards then I do other representatives of sports. As in any other sport there will be times when our teams will have epic fails. Sure it's a shame. Sure a medal would have been nice. But the lack of same in no way takes away from what these kids did accomplish during that tournament.

I am very proud of them. :canada:

I am also proud of the fact that should one count the entire contribution that Canada has made to bringing the IIHF up to the level of play it is today...................we have everything to be proud of and nothing to be ashamed of. It is to 'our' credit that the other teams are doing so well. It makes for a much more entertaining series and the increase in fan base is a testament to the excellence seen during the World's.

 

[talloola]

Not surprised, gopher..........I've been reading similar sentiments on many other sites as well. One can only hope that the fans that have been attracted to those leagues continue to support them well after the NHL is back in business.



That may not necessarily be a badthing, LM...........I can think of at least two teams that should have fallen awhile ago.


[/FONT]

I don't think the abbotsford heat has done very well since their arrival, but i'm sure this season, so far
they have done much better, it will beinteresting to see if that continues. It was a bit of a gamble
bringing in a calgary run team to play in canuck land, they have not been embraced by the fans, and
abbotsford has had to put funds into their franchise to prop them up.

I'm sure that many AHL teams do well, and have done well over the years, the ahl is a well established league
very well known by many, they have their followers, and for fans in those areas it is good because they can
go to games as a family, as it is affordable. Teams like the canucks have become more corporate, toronto too,
and montreal, and i'm sure many others.

But the canucks have thousands waiting on the season ticket list,so until people decide'not' to do that,
nothing will change, and if some stay away for awhile,they will gradually return, as that is 'what' they
want to do, the building is always full, so that means success.

I think bettman, over time will move the particular struggling teams into different areas, eg. quebec, then
as soon as seattle has their building finished, a team will be moved there, so until then, some teams will
struggle, and it seems over the next 5 years or so another franchise will be moved into southern ontario.
So that will be 3 of the struggling teams, moved to good hockey markets.

 

[Mowich]

I think bettman, over time will move the particular struggling teams into different areas, eg. quebec, then
as soon as seattle has their building finished, a team will be moved there, so until then, some teams will struggle, and it seems over the next 5 years or so another franchise will be moved into southern ontario. So that will be 3 of the struggling teams, moved to good hockey markets.

The sooner the better for the entire league, talloola.

 

[PoliticalNick]

An NHL player puts his career on the line every time he laces up his skates. He doesn't know when he is going to get tripped
into the boards or block a puck with his face. Every check is potentially a career ender.

Poor babies...what do you think me and most of the guys I work with & around do on drilling rigs and service rigs and wells full of H2S. Just a few months back a Kelly hose (high pressure line) let go and 2 of my buddies got hit. Resulted in 4 broken legs and Ken lost one above the knee. With any luck Sean will return to work in April or May. So don't give me a sob story about risk of a blown knee or losing teeth being worth millions.