NHL talks reaching a breakthrough?

[pchang]

Even Barry Melrose now believe a deal is imminent.

[Agathon]

It'd be cool if there was a shortened season. That way the geriatric Leafs would have a chance to get to the playoffs without the team being dead on their feet.

[reismark]

I just find it strangely hilarious how, just like that, we move from "season definitely cancelled" to "deal is imminent" the second the owners finally stop acting like whiny hard-asses and begin negotiating with the players for real. Was it so difficult, Bettman? Apparantly so, because if the owners had done this back in October they would have been playing for weeks now...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, it was the owners acting like hard asses... did you miss the point where the UNION agreed to a cap for the first time at the 11th hour?

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Problem is that without a 'save the season' hanging over the heads of both parties, there will be no impetus for a deal at this point in time. The longer the two sides wait, the more ****ed the NHL is going to be.

No, the more ****ed more players are going to be. All that has to happen is at least 8 owners stick to their guns and this silliness of the players running the league will be done.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I'm not saying that a super short season won't suck, but it may be necessary to save the game, no matter how crap.

Maybe in Georgia or the Carolinas, but not where hockey matters.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Maybe in Georgia or the Carolinas, but not where hockey matters.

If this deadline wasn't a determining factor, there is NO way that the sides get this close together. If it wasn't for that, who knows when the sides would have gotten together. The elite players (and the union reps) will just go to Europe and play there.

[notyoueither]

The only coming together that has happened is the players realise they are well and truely screwed, because enough owners are standing behind Bettman and they are willing to let the season go so they don't have to write paychecks that their franchises can't support.

In short, the players who are each losing millions as individuals are going 'oh, ****, the boss is serious that my union doesn't run the league anymore. **** the union, get me on the ice so I can at least earn a quarter of my salary. The mortgage is due.'

[notyoueither]

In short, getting the game on the ice for people in Tampa or Atlanta or Los Angeles is not going to be the salvation of the game. Having Calgary or Boston or Vancouver being able to be serious contenders year in and year out is.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Ming
I also wouldn't mind seeing Wirtz, the owner of the Black Hawks, drop dead so that maybe a new owner would actually try to win

Not sure of the circumstances of the Hawks, but why should an owner be forced to flush money to bring home cups?

Shouldn't the league be able to support 24 or so teams that all have a chance to win on their own strength without needing a sugar-daddy to pump millions into it?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by notyoueither
In short, getting the game on the ice for people in Tampa or Atlanta or Los Angeles is not going to be the salvation of the game. Having Calgary or Boston or Vancouver being able to be serious contenders year in and year out is.

Because having the NHL not be around for 1.5 to 2 years will save the game? Perhaps it's just that you don't know what happens to a sport when the championship is trophy. Baseball was devestated when the World Series was canceled. It's a HUGE deal and a lot of hard core fans decided to tell the game to screw off for letting their greed get in the way and cancel the championship. That will harm the NHL much more.

Besides, a salary cup, while good business sense, doesn't guarentee Calgary or Boston or Vancouver being serious contenders year in an year out. Look at the NFL's salary cap... most teams won't be serious contenders year in and year out (they may contend one year and then fall back to the pack the next... only a few will break out of it).

[notyoueither]

The damage has been done to Tampa and the Canes.

Best to see it through so that the heart of hockey (those cities with a population who live with snow and can be expected to have been exposed to skates, if not hockey itself while children) keeps beating at a healthy pace.

A healthy pace means being able to sustain viable teams without requiring cash infusions from owners with more money than sense. Get a good manager, and build a good team based on heart and loyalty, and you should be able to compete.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Who IS talking about Tampa and the Canes? You aren't seeing the picture. There are polls showing that 40% of Canadians don't give a damn that the NHL isn't currently around. That number will just grow the longer it gets. People say the hard core fans will come back, but the longer a labor situation goes, and ESPECIALLY if a championship is called off, more and more hard core fans will say both sides stick and tell them to sod off. We've seen it south of the border already. And its a long process to get it back.

[notyoueither]

Oh, and people will go back to the game from Vancouver to New York and Philidelphia, when the frackus is over.

If a few fans who would rather watch a tractor pull were lost, **** 'em and their franchises. Hockey does not need the Dale Earnhearts of the world. It does need the Bobby Hulls.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Who IS talking about Tampa and the Canes? You aren't seeing the picture. There are polls showing that 40% of Canadians don't give a damn that the NHL isn't currently around. That number will just grow the longer it gets. People say the hard core fans will come back, but the longer a labor situation goes, and ESPECIALLY if a championship is called off, more and more hard core fans will say both sides stick and tell them to sod off. We've seen it south of the border already. And its a long process to get it back.

The polls are full of ****e, and I'll tell you why.

It is easy for many of us to not miss it when it is not going on. Still, our news is dominated by it, and attention to juniour and AHL is way up. How much are we not missing it again?

However, the 'not missing it' is not in the middle of a season. Sure, many may be slow to renew seasons tickets when they think to themselves 'hey, I didn't miss it last year.' I would expect nothing less given how people think. However, by 10 games in they will realise what is different from the year before. Their team will be on the ice, and they will want to go watch it, so most will return.