League News
The always tedious Hockey Night in Canada Hot Stove brought us a worthwhile nugget to examine this weekend, and that’s our first look at the proposed four new conferences that the NHL will be rolling out next season. Earlier in the week, both Darren Dreger and the more reliable Bob MacKenzie hinted that we are only a week or two away from this realignment being finalized, so we can assume this is pretty close to being set in stone: [more…]
This just in tonight from Pierre Lebrun of ESPN, describing the cap benefit recapture component of the new CBA on existing deals over 6 years. [more…]
The NHLPA has invited U.S federal mediators into today's meetings. They were of little use in late November but do re enter the picture at a more progressed stage than last time around. Bettman expressed zero interest in going the mediation route when talks broke down last week, Bill Daly is setting the bar low for today already, and no owners will be present, so there's no sense in getting your hopes up too high for today. [more…]
There's no anger left to give. Last night's events were just hilariously bizarre.
Four press conferences later, a deal had been all but agreed to and then fully removed from the table. [more…]
Forbes released their annual NHL franchise valuations today alongside an article detailing the financials of league's 30 teams. Unsurprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs top the [more…]
There might have been a little somethin' somethin' crowding your Twitter feed last night, forcing you to miss the updates (or lack thereof.. in this case, possibly a good thing) from the latest round of NHL/NHLPA meetings. No word about what went down, but the negotiating session lasted seven hours and ended with plans to resume talks today (Wednesday).
Considering the last meeting between the two sides took about 10 minutes and preceded two weeks of stalemate, this seems to be a good sign. They're talking at length, and a process that's been riddled with posturing has broken for some welcomed silence and secrecy. [more…]
It looks like the NHL and Players Association are ready to resume talks this week (most likely Tuesday), and now we can briefly have hope again.
Certainly, a marathon talk between Bill Daly and Steve Fehr is a good start, and it gives even more reason for optimism that nothing was leaked from this meeting.
Where I lose some of my optimism is in a) the fact that this deal will rely on Jeremy Jacobs' ability to compromise, and b) we live in a world where players value the opinion of clowns like Allan Walsh.
Neither side is content to reach the compromise we all envision for them, and both sides will need to let go of this “trying to win†philosophy that has cost them a quarter of a seasons revenue.
I’ll cap this rant early, but root for radio silence on both sides (an understandable challenge for the PA with 700+ members). [more…]
Anyway, if you’ve read me or listened to me on the radio throughout this process, you know I’ve been very pessimistic about a deal getting done. I would say I’ve switched to cautiously optimistic now. I have been given hope that the two least turbulent leaders in this negotiation are sitting down talking about things that actually matter, and without storming off in a huff and a puff.
This is a math equation now. Solve the math equation, save some face, catapult this league back onto the national landscape and make sure that a large portion of the 2012-13 season is played.
-Michael Russo updates after last night's lengthy meeting between Bill Daly and Steve Fehr. A meeting involving more representation from both sides is expected to take place early in the week. [more…]
With no negotiations taking place in the past week-plus and a $250,000 payment due to the University of Michigan Friday, the Winter Classic officially got the axe today.
For me, the Winter Classic was spoiled the moment it became apparent the two sides were willing to cancel games and use the fans as a pawn in their greedy game. Say the season came back in time to save the Classic - would it have felt right jumping right back on board and supporting the league in its biggest event of the regular season?
Down Goes Brown nails it with this series of tweets: [more…]
...is what Michael Grange should have called his terrific Sportsnet article from yesterday (SPOILER ALERT: Cold water). If only because A) this whole thing's about money, B) wuns are punderful, and 3) it's probably what Bettman and his negotiating team screamed in frustration when Fehr didn't fall into the baited mudslinging trap that was the NHL's first CBA proposal.
Grange almost gets there. He goes as far as referring to the Trojan horse myth when describing the NHLPA's counter proposal, insinuating that it's far more nefariously designed and player-favourable than it may seem from the limited details we've received. And that despite the proposal appearing level-headed and good faith-y, it will amount to little more than a fleeting gasp of fan relief in these discussions if only because it so sharply contrasted the NHL's laughable initial offer by being, y'know, slightly realistic. [more…]
With NHLPA representatives set to make their counter-proposal to the NHL today, a lot of talk in the last 24 hours has centered around the possibility of a luxury tax system. Apparently it's something that is right up Donald Fehr's alley, as it's been said he'll try as hard as possible to get away from the hard cap system the league currently operates under.
For those who are a little unfamiliar with it, a luxury tax system is simply where a tax threshold is implemented (instead of the hard cap), and when a team spends over that line, they start paying cents on the dollar to the league. It may be included in revenue sharing, it may not. In the MLB, only a handful of teams clear the threshold, and I suspect the NHL would likely be the same way.
Editor's Note: We're pleased to welcome Ian Dudgeon to the MLHS blogging team. Ian was one of the co-founders of McKeen's Hockey.com. He's been busy at work assembling a database of profiles on Leafs prospects for MLHS, which you'll be able to enjoy before long. He's also going to be chiming in with a blog here and there.
Everyone please calm down and resume taking your medication. I have some extra Valium if you need some. There is no imminent NHL lockout. You will not be forced to watch basketball in October or November, or whenever they start playing that alleged sport. I think we will have hockey when we are supposed to and the threat of a lockout or strike is being artificially inflated by sports media who love, live for and need controversy.
The NHL tabled a proposal to the NHLPA this weekend and the collective reaction was as if everyone’s favourite commish, Gary “The Count†Bettman took the Stanley cup and used it to prop up his car while he rotated the tires. From fans and media alike, it was one of the craziest overreactions I have heard since.. well since the Leafs last made a move. But really, I should stop being surprised at how sports media react to things and how fans take their cues from them. The little picture numbers seemed scary but stepping back and seeing the bigger landscape, the NHL’s proposal was really not that concerning. [more…]
