The NHL sent out a memo to NHL teams late Sunday night. In it, the league has confirmed that the season will in fact be 48 games long, not 50.
CBC's Elliotte Friedman tweeted on Sunday night.
The season will kick-off on January 19.
The NHL will not release the season schedule for all teams until later this week. The NHL Board of Governors will meet in NYC on Tuesday to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement.
The NHL memo also mentioned that all 30 teams will have to wait to open their training camp doors until next weekend (or possibly next Monday). This will give all NHLers playing in Europe the opportunity to fly back to their respective cities in the U.S. and Canada. It will also allow the maintenance crews and operations teams the opportunity to tuirn on the chillers and to begin the ice-making process.
The league has said that if the BOGs ratify the new deal in quick fashion, perhaps camps can open sooner than next weekend.
Ryan Miller has been an outspoken NHLPA leader during the lockout. Miller's comments and criticisms of the owners made him a focal point of attention a couple of times. Miller hasn't sugar-coated his takes and feelings during the NHL lockout.
Today, he shared his thoughts about the end of the 113 day NHL lockout, with my friend, Adam Benigni, of WGRZ-TV in Buffalo via text.
Miller is sorry for mess that became of the NHL lockout.
"I am relieved more than anything. Its is hard to feel overly happy or satisfied with the result because of the way in which we arrived at an agreement. I am still embarrassed that we players have such a poor relationship with our league as a whole. It is so poor that we wasted 34 games for each club and have alienated our fans and sponsors.
An apology doesn't really help right now but I would like to start somewhere with our fans, especially in Buffalo: I am sorry.
There won't be a lot of time for finding ourselves. Maybe that is a good thing for our team.... less time to think, more time to play.
There is a tasty subplot running parallel to the post-lockout drama in Buffalo.
The zillion dollar question in Buffalo right now is:
Where will Sabres 2012 first round stud, Mikhail Grigorenko be playing this season?
Photo source: Russian Ice Hockey Federation
As you know, I've been watching the Grigo situation like a hawk since last Summer. Fresh off his virtuoso performances at the recently concluded 2013 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Grigo's home land of Ufa, Russia, there are answers to your questions.
I turned to Kathleen LaVoie, who covers Grigo and the Quebec Remparts for Le Soleil in Quebec. Kathleen is very close to the Grigo situation on a daily basis, and she has told me today that she spoke with Roy on Saturday about Grigorenko. She expects to speak with Roy again today.
Where is the NHL Hall Of Famer's head at?
Here is the latest update on Grigorenko:
* Grigo wasn't in Quebec City yesterday, but he may be today.
* The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is handling Grigo's travel arrangements.
* Grigorenko has declined the offer of his Remparts owner/GM/Head Coach to take a week off to recover mentally and physically from the demands of the WJCs.
* Grigo should arrive back in Quebec City today.
* Grigo will then travel to Buffalo early this week to participate in the abbreviated training camp with the Sabres.
* Its likely that when the camp closes, Grigo will jump on a charter flight back to resume his role as leader of the Quebec Remparts. Might this schange in th enext 48-72 hours? Perhaps it may, but the more I talk to my sources, it appears unlikely that the Sabres will convince Patrick Roy to allow Grigo to stay in Buffalo. Despite the smack of Alexander Semak of Ufa Tolpar, Grigo is only 18 years old (not 20). He still has some grooming to do. Not much, but a little bit. The prevailing thought is that its been decided by the Sabres and Remparts that its in Grigo's best interest to have him play the full season in Quebec City, rather than have him play his first NHL season in a 48 game NASCAR-style shootout.
Could things change? Of course they can. Thats why you will continue to read this blog multiple times per day for up-to-the-minute Grigorenko news. Have I failed you yet?
As I told you in mid-December, Roy is intent on having Grigo complete this season with his Quebec Remparts club. The reason is simple: Roy has a loaded team with the likes of Grigo, Sorensen, Erne, Duclair, Shaw, Etchegary, Houde and a handful of other high-skill prospects. Roy's desire to is to keep his team intact so that they can make a deep playoff run in the QMJHL this season. Roy's end game is to win the Memorial Cup.
With Grigo in the Quebec Remparts lineup, his chancesof winning increase exponentially. Without Grigo, Roy's goals are still attainable, however, the odds decrease dramatically. Whats not to love about a world-class stud who potted 29 goals and 50 point sin his first 30 games in Quebec City this season. Roy wants to give Grigo the opportubity to pick up right where he left off just before he flew home to Russia to train with Team Russia in preparation for the WJCs.
Amerks head coach, Ron Rolston, and his coaching staff have been dreading this day.
The NHL lockout is officially over, which means that the Amerks will be losing several key contributors from their starting lineup. Namely, Cody Hodgson, Marcus Foligno, and T.J. Brennan.
As NHLers try to pack and skate as fast as they can to the airports in Europe tofly home to the U.S. and Canada, many AHLers will be pulling up their tent stakes in order to dash away to NHL camps.
The AHL has benefitted greatly from the NHL lockout in that NHL-ready players have been biding their time and honing their skills while waiting for the street lights to go one, so to speak. At 6am EDT Sunday morning, Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr made the official announcement in New York City that the NHL lockout has ended. Therefore, the kids who have ben populating "The A" are now packing their bags to head to the training camps of their respective big clubs. The preliminary word in Buffalo is that Sabres camp will open up on either Wednesday or Thursday. You better believe that CoHo, Marcus, T.J, (and perhaps others) will be shipping their personal belongings to Buffalo from Rochester.
The loss of such key players will have an immediate impact on the Rochester lineup. The team (17-13-2) presently sits in 9th place in their division with 37 points, just two points behind 8th place Lake Erie, and only 8 points behind first place Toronto. The timing of the lockout resolution comes at a time when the Amerks are finally getting back on the winning way after injuries sabotaged their lineup for the first three months of the season.
Hodgson is penciled in as the opening night top line centre. He'll likely skate between Vanek and Pominville.
Hodgson missed the month of November and part of December as he recovered from a broken bone in his right wrist. He now is 100% healthy, and has 19 points in 19 games played. He's ready for a break out season in Buffalo.
Foligno will resume his rugged, scoring winger role with Ennis and Stafford.
Big Marcus is Rochester's most valuable player. Sure, he has 10 gaols and 17 assist in 33 games and is contributing consistent offense. However, he's leading his team in the grit and effort departments as well. He's been the heart and soul of teh Amerks squad this season. Losing him now is going to leave a leadership void.
Brennan has been an AHL first team all star all season long and has earned the right to compete for a job in Buffalo's top six D corps.
Brennan has been a beast in Rochester this season, scoring 12 goals and adding 18 assists. He's been a consistent performer at both ends of the rink. He will head to Buffalo camp looking to crack into an already jam packed blue line that includes: Myers, Ehrhoff, Regehr, Leopold, Sulzer, Weber, and Pardy.
Brennan is a wild card in that he will have to pass through waivers in order to get back down to Rochester after the Sabres wrap their brief mini-camp next week.
Here why:
Brennan has been with the Amerks on atemporary American Hockey League contract. Hus temporary deal takes precedence of his NHL/AHL contract.
Now that the NHL and NHLPA have agreed on the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement, Brennan must clear waivers in order to remain with the Amerks.
Operative words:"Temporary Contract"
This puts a ton of stress on the Buffalo Sabres as they now have to decide what they will do with Brennan. They have two plausible options:
1). Give him a job in Buffalo's top six by trading a veteran D like Sekera, Weber, or Pardy.
2). Hope that he clears waivers (and he WON'T) after training camp ends. I can guarantee you that 29 other clubs will be looking to make a waiver claim on Brennan if he is exposed to waivers next week.
The Sabres could pull a Shaone Morisson and park Pardy in Rochester, however, that doesn't solve the defesnive log jam for the long term benefit of the team.
I say keep Brennan, for obvious reasons. This kid is too young and too good to gamble with. The Sabres have invested four years of development time and money into him. He's a break out star, the likes of which Sabres haven't seen since Soupy Campbell left town for San Jose.
Sekera's tab for the next three seasons is $2.75 million. A very cap-friendly number, especially considering the cap will be set at $63.5 million next season. Brennan is RFA after this season. He'll earn only $550,000.
The NHL lockout, for all intents and purposes, is over. The final brush strokes will be painted later this morning when the NHLPA and owners reconvene their marathon sessions that began on Friday and Saturday in New Jack City. The ten year CBA is pending ratification of owners and players, which will likely occur tomorrow. Training camps will likely open Wednesady pr Thursday.
From the NHL:
The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association reached agreement on the framework of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement early Sunday morning.
After a marathon 16-plus hour negotiating session at the Sofitel Hotel that began Saturday afternoon, the sides announced an agreement in principle shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday.
The League did not announce the start date of the season or the number of games each team will play. Those details will be announced soon.
The deal, agreed to at approximately 4:40 a.m., was announced jointly by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr in the same hotel conference room where the negotiations were conducted with the assistance of Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director for Mediation Services for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
The deal is subject to the ratification of the NHL Board of Governors, as well as the NHLPA.
We're looking at a season puck drop date of January 19th. How'd you like to be an NHLer in Europe right now? Talk about mass confusion!
Here are Bettman and Fehr:
Thanks, NHLPA
You've had 113 days to think long and hard about whether or not you will return to the rink.
So, I ask you.
Can you see your way clear to forgiveng the owners and players for this lockout? Or, will you be voting with your wallets, and holding it against them until such time that you feel like being a fan of the NHL again?
If you are on th efence about whether or not you will return to being a fan of the game you've loved your whole life, I'm curious to know what things that the NHL and your team can do for you, in order for you to change your mind
Regarding the season schedule, that still has to be ratified by the owners and players as well.
There are two schools of thought for when games begin.
The first is a 50 games season which will commence on January 15.
The second is a 48 game schedule that will see pucks drop on January 19.
Right now, the Sabres are scheduled to play Ottawa, on the road on 1/15.
They are scheduled to play Carolina at home on 1/19.
The thought process behind this truncated and compressed schedule is to give teams more games against its division and conference rivals. No travel to the West coast for teh Sabres.
The Sabres would play six times each against Boston, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. They would then play conference foes Philly, Carolina, NY Rangers, Ny Islanders, Tampa, etc. The exact number of games against conference foes is still TBD. I'm certain that the schedule has already been drawn up, its just that the number of games in the schedule has to be agreed upon, either 48 or 50.
Personally, I like 48 games because it allows the Sabres to open at home, not on the road. My wish is for a season puck drop against the Boston Bruins on Saturday January 19 in Buffalo.Steve Ott and John Scott can pound on Milan Lucic all night long! A home opener would give Buffalo fans the opportunity to give Ott an ovation in his new #9 Sabres sweater.
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