Good grief, Eklund... I fully praise you for clinging to the last straw kind of attitude but I think we all should accept the simple and bitter fact that unfortunately, there will be no miracle, camps won't open on time, meaningful games will be cancelled while the millionaires attempt to make peace with other millionaires.
- Aliaksandrhn

The leafs have horrible management. Players would love to play there if they could stop claiming they are on a 50year rebuilding team. Not once have I heard Leafs management talk about the Stanley Cup. All they do is talk about how they will make the playoffs because of Burkes 5 year plan.
No Montreal doesn't get the "Big" names, but they don't need them. They drafted Price, Subban, and now Galchenyuk. If they would have over paid for a Parise, that would spell failure.
In the end, success in the NHL comes through management. Draft, FA, Coaching. Now because of money.

Until the Leafs themselves believe they can compete for a cup, players wont want to believe it either.
- l3ig_l2ecl

And you still suck, actually your worse then the Leafs......Great Job....

Frankly.... I'd be happy to sign an Erik Cole type player every year... He had a terrific season on a crappy team!
- mlindsay

That's awesome because that's as good as it's going to get.....Not only are no top talent players going to the Leafs / Habs no Canadian teams are signing these guys.
It's an equal playing field for all the slug teams so the talent is heading to USA....
Rick Nash wouldn't even waive his no trade to come to one Canadian team....lol

Eklund wants hockey back in the worse way because his stories are getting 20 comments per day......He has no stake in this game at all....lol
Lock the players out if the money teams are going to have to support the loser franchises in the next CBA.....
These teams should be folding......not holding there hands out looking for freebies...
Plenty of cities that can support a team...
Quebec, Seattle, Southern Ontario, can replace Phoenix, Columbus, Florida.....Delete more as needed

Eklund wants hockey back in the worse way because his stories are getting 20 comments per day......He has no stake in this game at all....lol
Lock the players out if the money teams are going to have to support the loser franchises in the next CBA.....
These teams should be folding......not holding there hands out looking for freebies...
Plenty of cities that can support a team...
Quebec, Seattle, Southern Ontario, can replace Phoenix, Columbus, Florida.....Delete more as needed
- tmlfan17

I'm for the end of long term revenue sharing. How about a ceiling and floor on ticket sales? That way, people in Toronto aren't paying ten times the amount for tickets, for Florida, Phoenix and Nashville. The subsidies have to stop. I'll bet a ceiling and floor for ticket prices will never see the agenda at the CBA meetings!

http://www.youtube.com/wa...xTMA&index=1&feature=plcp

Great vid on the impending lockout.

Good job NHL, owners and players both to blame. Greed reigns supreme.

who believes this crap for a second

who believes this crap for a second
- S Kaspar Rollins

What are u trying to say???

Eklund wants hockey back in the worse way because his stories are getting 20 comments per day......He has no stake in this game at all....lol
Lock the players out if the money teams are going to have to support the loser franchises in the next CBA.....
These teams should be folding......not holding there hands out looking for freebies...
Plenty of cities that can support a team...
Quebec, Seattle, Southern Ontario, can replace Phoenix, Columbus, Florida.....Delete more as needed
- tmlfan17

Just FYI, revenue sharing is not necessarily restricted to teams in terrible markets. Just because a team is in a good hockey market doesn't mean they will automatically make money - for all people like to blame Bettman for Winnipeg and Quebec leaving in the 90s, it's not like he suddenly took control of them and moved them. I don't know why people have this perception. There's a reason revenue sharing exists in other leagues and largely works.

Now, I will agree that several teams need to move or fold (although this is also never going to happen) but that doesn't mean revenue sharing as a concept is a bad thing. Hell, the owners don't even disagree with this, they just disagree on how it should be funded.

What are u trying to say???
- Fruitcakenipple

Lockout Ek is quite possibly even funnier than regular season Ek

I'd like to know where ek gets his information from ?

BULL. The NHL would never extend teh deadline. They would think it makes them look weak..... by whom... I have no idea but their egos woudl never let that happen.

No way.

The Rangers and the Flyers seem to makes big splashes every offseason. Maybe Toronto and Montreal would attract more free agents if they had a competent GM and could ice a semi competitive team.
- fiveandagame

It would definitely help

Boom boom boom. Let me hear you say whey ho

Oh please, enough with the "Owners took them to the cleaners" argument. In 2003, the minimum player salary was 170k, after 2004 it became 450k. What happened is the best payed payers couldn't get their 11mil per season. Instead they had to settle with 8mil.
In the end, the players crying about their salary roll back are the ones who haven't yet signed and might not get the newest 8million 10 year contract.
I'm willing to bet that every player making under 4mil would say "Accept the NHLs proposal and lets play some puck!!".
Yes the owners want more money, but they are asking for a 50/50 split. So the NHLPA should work with 50/50 and then work on the escrow details, etc...

I'm sick of people thinking the owners took everything from players in 2004.
Especially when they have 100% of the leverage. I'm amazed they arn't asking for more.
- l3ig_l2ecl

I agree. If the "owners written" CBA in 2004 was so bad for the players then why is the NHLPA and players willing to extend that CBA and play under those terms? If it was so bad, shouldn't they be striking? The current CBA greatly benefited the players.

I agree. If the "owners written" CBA in 2004 was so bad for the players then why is the NHLPA and players willing to extend that CBA and play under those terms? If it was so bad, shouldn't they be striking? The current CBA greatly benefited the players.
- Jacob582

Undoubtedly it did, but the problem is that the owners haven't exactly proven it was bad for them, either. They did take the union to the cleaners so far as getting everything they wanted, HOWEVER the end result of that was much more balanced than Goodenow would have forecasted. I think the union realizes in retrospect it was really dumb to resist the cap for as long as they did. This time however, it's simply an issue of dividing the money, which is why I say the lockout will at worst wipe out the first three months.

After reading Bob Mackenzie's analysis yesterday, I understand the union's behaviour isn't THAT reasonable right now, but I still place most of the blame on the owners.

The fact is that nobody knows the status of these talks other then the participants in the room. They can spin their pr anyway they like, but anybody in the blogosphere or main stream hockey media is just throwing darts at a wall. Anybody that claims to have inside information knows nothing and anybody pretending to is full of it.

My advice- grab your bottle of choice and wait till the 15th.

Tired of the Leafs flippin the bill for half the leagues problem teams and then can't position itself to sign a top tier free agent in 7 yrs...It's pretty sad when Canadian kids avoid cities like Toronto and Montreal because of the pressure.
I hope the owners lockout the players and stay lockout....Richest team in the league by far can't attract big name free agents it's a disgrace to the league.
Imagine the Yankees, Lakers, Cowboys & other great franchises being unable to attract big name players.....It's a F-ing disgrace to be a hockey/Leaf fan....Hope Habs fans feel the same way....Unless your happy signing Erik Cole's every year...
- tmlfan17

TMLfan17 - what's ridiculous is that people in toronto don't know why players avoid playing there. It's because the franchise is a f-ing joke, lols... get a clue already. No one wants 'blue and white' disease. Toronto is where hockey players go to end their once promising careers or to get a good paycheque before retiring. No one signs in toronto to win anything....

I live in the GTA and I don't hate the city, just the constant whinging from the fans about "pressure" being the reason no one wants to play there. The team and franchise sucks, bottom line.

Undoubtedly it did, but the problem is that the owners haven't exactly proven it was bad for them, either. They did take the union to the cleaners so far as getting everything they wanted, HOWEVER the end result of that was much more balanced than Goodenow would have forecasted. I think the union realizes in retrospect it was really dumb to resist the cap for as long as they did. This time however, it's simply an issue of dividing the money, which is why I say the lockout will at worst wipe out the first three months.

After reading Bob Mackenzie's analysis yesterday, I understand the union's behaviour isn't THAT reasonable right now, but I still place most of the blame on the owners.
- S Kaspar Rollins

Not sure why the owners need to prove the CBA was bad for them. Shouldn't the players have to prove why they should be at a salary % that is not in line with the rest of the professional sports sector?

Help me out here then.....
What Canadian Cities are signing big name players....Enlighten me Fruitcake!
Vancouver......Noped....That team was basically setup pre lockout and have added a few pieces....None top tier by free agency...
- tmlfan17

This is the problem with people in Toronto, they want to put their deficiencies on everyone else as well...

The Canucks have signed top tier free agents. They signed the Hart and Pearson trophy winners who were the back to back league scoring champions when they were free agents.

They signed Jason Garrison who was one of the top free agent d-men for less than he could have signed for, they signed Dan Hamhuis when he was the top D-man on the market. The reason they didn't sign Weber, Suter and Parise is cause they didn't want to pay that kind of money or give that kind of term in a deal. Why would Nash put the Canucks on his list when he knows they don't want to pay the asking price from Columbus?

The Leafs have to offer guys huge money and term per year just to get consideration. The Canucks are a good team so they don't have to do that cuz it would throw their payroll out of whack.

Get a clue. Study the game and quit embarrassing yourself and your team. Top teams don't need to go out after every big name free agent.

This is the problem with people in Toronto, they want to put their deficiencies on everyone else as well...

The Canucks have signed top tier free agents. They signed the Hart and Pearson trophy winners who were the back to back league scoring champions when they were free agents.

They signed Jason Garrison who was one of the top free agent d-men for less than he could have signed for, they signed Dan Hamhuis when he was the top D-man on the market. The reason they didn't sign Weber, Suter and Parise is cause they didn't want to pay that kind of money or give that kind of term in a deal. Why would Nash put the Canucks on his list when he knows they don't want to pay the asking price from Columbus?

The Leafs have to offer guys huge money and term per year just to get consideration. The Canucks are a good team so they don't have to do that cuz it would throw their payroll out of whack.

Get a clue. Study the game and quit embarrassing yourself and your team. Top teams don't need to go out after every big name free agent.
- kaptaan

Whoa... instant truth, just add keyboard. Well said.

Help me out here then.....
Pre lockout Leafs have no problems being a competitive team...Able to use their financial clout to attract big name players, despite being a city with huge pressure placed on their players and being taxed a lot more than the neighbours to the South...
So I'm a good Canadian boy and I'm heading to free agency....Gee should I play in Toronto for the next 6 yrs under a microscope and have my money taxed at a much larger precentage or sign in the States.
What Canadian Cities are signing big name players....Enlighten me Fruitcake!
Vancouver......Noped....That team was basically setup pre lockout and have added a few pieces....None top tier by free agency...
Montreal.......LOL
Edmonton....have drafted top tier talent but they'll bolt as soon as they go to UFA status...signed none
Toronto.....Not one in 7yrs despite being the richest team in the league by far. If the young guns on Edmonton wanted to bolt they would not of signed 7 year deals.
Ottawa....Hasn't signed any big name free agent since the lockout...
Calgary.....haha no chance in hell.
Winnipeg.....not a long enough sampling to see if they can attract big name talent but I'll go with no.

I'm fine with the League locking out it's players and I'm also fine without ever watching the Leafs again because with the way things are now the Leafs won't be able to sign a big name free agent.
Why should any Leafs / Habs fan spend big money to watch the type of talent they've been putting in front of their fans.....
So if your cool with the exodus of top Canadian talent only playing in the United States unless their drafted by a Canadian team than enjoy the current sh*t show you have.
- tmlfan17

This is the problem with people in Toronto, they want to put their deficiencies on everyone else as well...

The Canucks have signed top tier free agents. They signed the Hart and Pearson trophy winners who were the back to back league scoring champions when they were free agents.

They signed Jason Garrison who was one of the top free agent d-men for less than he could have signed for, they signed Dan Hamhuis when he was the top D-man on the market. The reason they didn't sign Weber, Suter and Parise is cause they didn't want to pay that kind of money or give that kind of term in a deal. Why would Nash put the Canucks on his list when he knows they don't want to pay the asking price from Columbus?

The Leafs have to offer guys huge money and term per year just to get consideration. The Canucks are a good team so they don't have to do that cuz it would throw their payroll out of whack.

Get a clue. Study the game and quit embarrassing yourself and your team. Top teams don't need to go out after every big name free agent.
- kaptaan

BINGO! If you honestly think the reason the Leafs (or any other crappy team for that matter) suck is because they have difficulty winning the bidding wars on UFAs, you're delusional. The best teams build their own systems through drafting and trading, THEN the free agents come, and the flashiest trade/UFA targets and championship-caliber teams only occassionally correlate. Certain teams have natural advantages and disadvantages in free agency, maybe Toronto and some other teams have an inherent disadvantage that they need to overcome somehow.

at the term "exodus of Canadian talent", as if it's at all realistic at this point to reverse that.

Not true.

They then force the players in to their teams and camps and do not allow them to go to Europe. Opening day is not for a month and the players are not paid until October. The NHL still has the lockout card to play at a later date and it by no means negates their position. I hope this happens.
- Iggysbff

do you seriously think Euro teams wouldn't jump on every NHLer possible regardless of training camp start? these guys are all walk ons. what point of the season they are means nothing in comparison to the revenues they will get when the bring them in. that statement is a waste of time.