I don't think Bettman wants to or should make a deal. He needs to break this union once and for and all. If it takes 2 seasons, they have my support.

If they don't want to play under the NHL system, the players should go elsewhere and stay there.

Honestly, except the top 100 or so players in the league, the rest are interchangeable parts with plenty of inventory.

Go Gary!!!
- scoot174

And after this lockout when gary is fired, you should follow him to wherever he goes. Just sayin

why is he a joke

he never said his kid has the most talent in the world, he said at its finest

his kid goes out for the pure joy of the game, win or loose hes there because he loves it

the NHL players get a minimum of half a million dollars to play and still complaining.... hockey at its finest?
- nightmare3020

blah blah blah ... the players love the game just as much as a 9 year olds... everyone is just butt hurt over this, so its all greed instead. they are being told what to do.

I hope all these people who say they will never watch again keep thier word.

I see both sides of this, I dont care who "wins" ...

blah blah blah ... the players love the game just as much as a 9 year olds... everyone is just butt hurt over this, so its all greed instead. they are being told what to do.

I hope all these people who say they will never watch again keep thier word.

I see both sides of this, I dont care who "wins" ...
- senstroll

I want the fans to win by getting Hockey back.

Hockey at its finest is still the NHL and always will be, saying otherwise is just stupidity.

You are all in here whining about the lockout because you want to see hockey at its finest...which is no question the NHL.

He was quoting Ek saying the "finest", not the "purest"...so his lame comparison to his son makes zero sense. The purest form of baseball is watching it down in the Dominican, but that doesnt make it the finest form of baseball.
- C.J

i personally think the WJC championship every christmas break is the finest hockey there it... i know many people that make the same argument

... im here because this is a blog site about many other forms of hockey as well, chl, ohl, ahl ... and i have a computer job so it kills time. Also hit up buzz feed and a few other forums

i personally dont care if the lockout ends or wipes out the season, even when its back ill be a casual fan instead of the diehard i once was

so pretty much all your rant doesnt obtain to me

blah blah blah ... the players love the game just as much as a 9 year olds... everyone is just butt hurt over this, so its all greed instead. they are being told what to do.

I hope all these people who say they will never watch again keep thier word.

I see both sides of this, I dont care who "wins" ...
- senstroll

+1

Its a business, and both sides have valid points and ideas as to how to make the business grow and survive....hopefully the can figure it all out soon.

Sucks that there is no hockey, but all the whiners and armchair "lawyers" make it even worse with their simple minded opinions as to what the league or the NHLPA should be doing.

At this point, I think Linus is going to have more luck waiting for the Great Pumpkin, than us waiting for the NHL to start any time soon.

i personally think the WJC championship every christmas break is the finest hockey there it... i know many people that make the same argument

... im here because this is a blog site about many other forms of hockey as well, chl, ohl, ahl ... and i have a computer job so it kills time. Also hit up buzz feed and a few other forums

i personally dont care if the lockout ends or wipes out the season, even when its back ill be a casual fan instead of the diehard i once was

so pretty much all your rant doesnt obtain to me
- nightmare3020

Actually it does ace......your are posting in a thread, posted today, specifically about the NHL lockout.

This isnt a thread about the WJC championship or any other forms of hockey bud.

With so much time on your hands you would think you would know how a forum works no?

if they cancel the classic then why would they have a shortend season? no point, the WC propbably birngs in about 20% of HRR so why would they operate without that, if you ask me if the WC gets canceled then so does the season.. owners still have the same expense with or without WC

And after this lockout when gary is fired, you should follow him to wherever he goes. Just sayin
- uf1910

And when Gary isn't fired after this lockout (and trust me, he won't be), I look forward to hearing you explain why he wasn't.

Look at that from the Flyers prospective. Many fans are in favor of limiting contract term, from what I've read. So say it's 5 years like the League wants. And just for conversations sake, say the cap is around 50M. So if 20% is Max salary, then Max salary is 10M. If Giroux continues to be one of the top players in the League, then he's going to want top dollar. Why would he take less then the max? So with the ability to sign players to long term deals with low years on the back end, removed. Your looking at a player with a 10M Cap hit, which will be 1/5th of the total cap. Not going to be easy to re-sign top players for teams.
- MJL

And where exactly is the problem?

If the Flyers can't pay Giroux $7-8-9-10M per year, because they are against the cap, then some other team will gladly do it.

The more teams against the cap, the happier the NHLPA. Best way to do that is to preserve existing long contracts at current values, so that when these players come up, other teams with cap space will take them on, raising that team's salary... eventually will trickle on...

the WC propbably birngs in about 20% of HRR so why would they operate without that
- thegodfather

Really? The WC brings in $660 million or so in revenue?

And after this lockout when gary is fired, you should follow him to wherever he goes. Just sayin
- uf1910

Gary will not get fired.

He made the owners richer than ever before - in profits and franchise value. In fact, the players should be grateful to Gary for taking a league from $400M in revenue to $3.3B in revenue that they get to share.

Bettman is a d-bag, but he does his job too well to be fired.

Really? The WC brings in $660 million or so in revenue?
- Irish Blues

maybe more like 10 % but you get my point

blah blah blah ... the players love the game just as much as a 9 year olds... everyone is just butt hurt over this, so its all greed instead. they are being told what to do.

I hope all these people who say they will never watch again keep thier word.

I see both sides of this, I dont care who "wins" ...
- senstroll

I'm a sucker so I will watch the very first game on tv. But there will no doubt be people season ticket holders in many cities who cancel and never come back and casual fans who simply forget there is still a league. Way to go NHL.

And when Gary isn't fired after this lockout (and trust me, he won't be), I look forward to hearing you explain why he wasn't.
- Irish Blues

We will agree to disagree then.

Gary will not get fired.

He made the owners richer than ever before - in profits and franchise value. In fact, the players should be grateful to Gary for taking a league from $400M in revenue to $3.3B in revenue that they get to share.

Bettman is a d-bag, but he does his job too well to be fired.
- JDJ

Exactly.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman received nearly $8 million in salary and benefits during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011

The owners pay him a boatload of money because they believe in what he does.

And where exactly is the problem?

If the Flyers can't pay Giroux $7-8-9-10M per year, because they are against the cap, then some other team will gladly do it.

The more teams against the cap, the happier the NHLPA. Best way to do that is to preserve existing long contracts at current values, so that when these players come up, other teams with cap space will take them on, raising that team's salary... eventually will trickle on...
- JDJ

The problem is that as a fan, I don't want to see my team lose a player like that. But I guess as a Flyers fan, I've been spoiled by not having to deal with that, too often. Fans of other teams have had to deal with it regularly

The problem is that as a fan, I don't want to see my team lose a player like that. But I guess as a Flyers fan, I've been spoiled by not having to deal with that, too often. Fans of other teams have had to deal with it regularly
- MJL

The NHLPA does not give a (frank) about whether players stay with their team, they care about players getting max dollars.

Now if a player chooses to stay with a team by accepting less contract, that is their prerogative.

The problem is that as a fan, I don't want to see my team lose a player like that. But I guess as a Flyers fan, I've been spoiled by not having to deal with that, too often. Fans of other teams have had to deal with it regularly
- MJL

To me, there are only 3 Star Wars movies and thats all there ever will be.

I'm a sucker so I will watch the very first game on tv. But there will no doubt be people season ticket holders in many cities who cancel and never come back and casual fans who simply forget there is still a league. Way to go NHL.
- Buffalo--Sabres

I hate that there is no hockey to watch, but its entertainment like anything else. If you are crying yourself to sleep over this, time to seek help or move on.

Our PM is doing a pretty good job...so not as easy as one might think.
- Pen15

Gary will not get fired.

He made the owners richer than ever before - in profits and franchise value. In fact, the players should be grateful to Gary for taking a league from $400M in revenue to $3.3B in revenue that they get to share.

Bettman is a d-bag, but he does his job too well to be fired.
- JDJ

We shall see. Personally I see too much friction in the ownership as a group for Bettman to escape. The 04 lockout they were 100% in favor. This time I guarantee there is a significant portion (if not a simple majority) who are NOT in favor of how this lockout has gone or been handled. I will be shocked if he escapes this lockout in place.

Maybe I'm wrong but if the owners were smart they would send him packing when all of this is done. If anything it would (in the owners eyes) give the fans the scapegoat to divert negative pub from the lockout. And honestly, if you thought the boos were loud before, imagine the first time he steps up to a mic with fans as the audience and not cameras.

The NHLPA does not give a (frank) about whether players stay with their team, they care about players getting max dollars.

Now if a player chooses to stay with a team by accepting less contract, that is their prerogative.
- JDJ

Obviously, I wasn't talking about it from the perspective of the NHLPA. But looking at it as a fan. Hence I started my reply with "as a fan"

But to look at it from the NHLPA perspective, having contract term's limited to 5 years is going to prevent players from getting max dollars in some cases. So I expect the NHLPA to fight against that.

Damn this mouse is pissing me off!!!
- LeftCoaster

You mean Bettman? I'd say he's more of a rat....and he's pissing me off too.

Really? The WC brings in $660 million or so in revenue?
- Irish Blues

OK, so the WC brings in $330 million? Last year's game had an attendance of 46,967; let's pretend gate receipts are only 10% of the total revenue generated, so that's $33 million.

$33 million / 46,967 = $702.62 per customer.

Ask yourself if that really makes any sense.