Straight Talk

by Jon Steitzer on November 19, 2012 in Morning Mashup - 89 Comments

So we had three Marlies game this weekend, two televised Morgan Rielly Super Series games heading into the weekend and a Biggs multi-goal game as well. By midday Monday I’m sure all the talk will have shifted back to the CBA and the potential for talks.

There was some brief optimism after it was reported that Ed Snider might be distancing himself from the owner’s stance.

“Behind the scenes, there seems to be a seismic shift going on among the NHL’s Board of Governors, also known as the group that Bettman answers to collectively.
And Flyers chairman Ed Snider may be the big mover-and-shaker behind it all.
Multiple sources confirmed to the Daily News on Friday that Snider, once seen as a supporter of the Bettman’s push to rein in the players’ share of revenue, has soured on the process after it became apparent that a deal would not be brokered in time for a Dec. 1 puck drop.
Put simply: Snider and the rest of the NHL’s owners were promised a big win by Bettman, with player concessions on revenue division and contracting rights. The best they’ll get now is a small win in revenue split – coupled with a demoralized fan base and all-important corporate sponsors that are ready to quit.
A source familiar with Snider’s thinking characterized it as: “If this is the deal we are going to get, what’s the point of dragging this out?”

Darren Dreger then added some comments from Bill Daly to encourage the fact that the owners are willing to look for a deal.

“But we told them that we are open to discussing other ways to address those issues if they want to propose any,” continued Daly. “In fact, we used the exact example of “if we need five and we have proposed 3+2 to get there, that we are happy to listening to and considering 4+1 instead. I’m not sure why they chose to characterize the way they did. As I’ve said before, I can only control what we say.”

My thoughts on all of this is simple: Who Cares. The talk is cheap and very little has been done in the way of concessions on either side. It’s probably best to just enjoy what we have.

The Marlies will hopefully keep on keepin’ on, and Morgan Rielly will be featured in Sportsnet’s Friday Night, and we’re finally nearing the point in the season where we can start debating the Canadian World Junior Team roster.

It may not be the NHL, but it’s better than nothing. And it’s still better than pretending to care about the Argos.

Monday Morning Links…

Leaf Related Thoughts on the Super Series
Our good friend Blue Chip Prospects (Curt) takes a look at Morgan Rielly and others and how they’ll eventually save the Leafs franchise.

Marlies Can Sure Light it Up
The Marlies Meatloaf-ed the weekend nicely and have given us some hope that scoring can come from inside the organization and not via expensive free agents.

Sacrifice
Hope in the Big Smoke takes a look at the how the lack of a 2012-13 season impacts the Leafs

Morgan Rielly at Leafs Camp? Why Would We Do That?
Answer: The Maple Leafs have historically made bad decisions that hinder the development of prospects. Vintage Leaf Memories discusses a topic that has concerned many of us.

Ryan Murray has separated his shoulder
Only relevant in that it will hopefully create a spot for a guy like Stuart Percy on the World Junior team.

NHL Players Likely to Retire in the Event of a full season lockout
Interest list. I disagree with most of it, unless we see radical changes to the way the game is played like we saw in 2005. Players like Shane Doan aren’t going anywhere, but declining filler like Matthew Lombardi might be on the way out

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