I've gotta say, I really don't miss it as much as I thought I would. In fact, I'll go even further: I don't care, period.

They're all ****ing babies and they can go to hell.

this

part of me hopes (even if there's only a .000000000000000000001% chance of it happening) that this kills the nhl completely and something better can rise from the ashes

it won't

we'll blow 0.5-1 year again and nothing will come of it except the owners with crush the players for a bigger piece of the pie

yay, my team's owner will be making more money, sweeeeeeeeet!!!

Yeah, I wish my team had a Jerry Moyes clone in charge

I seriously hope they get locked out for like 3 years. The players are being so ****ing dumb in this, especially the awful ones like Paul Bissonnette who puff their chests and feel real proud because they "stand united".

mother****er you'll be lucky to still be in the league in 2 years and you're willing to risk a full year of salary to make sure Crosby and Ovechkin make more money in the long term.

The only time it bothers me is when I look at my calendar and see Sat Oct 27 anaheim in mtl. Maybe I'll head to mtl that weekend anyway.

So much for going to the Winter Classic this year...

This.

You won't regret it imo.

Was the only positive for the Maple Leafs in like 8 years. Ah ****.

i bet they'll be back for the Winter Classic

might even end up being what they come back for

kinda like the NBA returning for their Xmas bonanza last year

bla bla I think I already mentioned this, but one of my buddy's dads, who is a millionaire economist, ergo he knows a lot about money and business and stuff, says that the American markets make far too much money from the Winter Classic for them not to hold it this year. So it's very likely the season will start Jan 1 or whatever.

Source: Canadian millionaire economist

White, do you seriously think the economist guy has insight others don't somehow? It's not like the other money involved is chimo change. But yeah, obviously pretty much everyone is saying or has heard that playing the classic is a big deal.

Earlier it was revealed that the winter classic could be moved if necessary. Not ideal but it is possible. It was also announced by the college hockey tournament there that they will play at Joe Louis in Detroit like normal if they don't put in the ice.

My prediction, which is about as good and worthwhile as white's buddy's dad's, is that we lost the whole season. February start date possible. To save the Jan 1 Classic would involve solving this thing in 2 months...and I don't think that is going to happen now because they're too far apart and too stubborn.

Get rid of:

Panthers
Hurricanes
Lightning
Coyotes
Jackets
Ducks
Penguins
Senators
Islanders
Predators

2 divisions, top 4 from each division make it out of the remaining 20 teams. Make goalie pads smaller.

you got it, greear!

Crosby and Ovechkin would've made tons more under the old system.

To me, the NHL's initial offer was a terrible gambit, and I have no idea what purpose it served. Professional athletes are bound to stand with people of their own ilk in part because so much of their identity is bound up in the ideals of TEAM. we win together, we lose together, everyone does their part, no one gets out of line, etc. That's why you see guys like Bissonette talking about standing united - if that guy isn't a meathead who has, like, an average to slightly above average sense of humor, if he's just a dick, he's probably making $60,000 in the AHL. Guys like Bissonette get and hold their jobs because they're 'one of the guys'.

So the rhetoric we are hearing is not about dollars and cents but about principle. It's about how much the players hate Bettman. It's about who's going to make the next offer. It's all the things that are totally tangential to finding out where a compromise lies on dollars and working everything else out. I don't know why the NHL had to start at zero - everyone knows they won't end up anywhere near there without at least one missed season and possibly more than one. I guess that first offer is 'okay, you're getting locked out, the question is for how long?'. I just don't get why it has to start there.

greear for commissioner!

Awwwwww, if you get rid of those teams, then which teams are the good teams are going to get the easy points off of? Each other? GL with that.

Ok, in all seriousness, are those the teams that are not making the income from operations that the league expected them to make?

Yeah, the Penguins and Senators are really dragging the league down. Definitely need to ditch them.

Considering Voracek is apparently out for a month with a knee injury, I'm content settling in for a lockout at this point.

Their opening offer was 43%, which telegraphs that they'll accept 49-51 based on a status quo of 57. I considered it a pretty standard opening. You're right about some of the meathead players taking it emotionally, but clients tend to do that. I'm giving Fehr credit for translating the offer appropriately and keeping the rhetoric pretty cool from his side. If I were representing the PA, my initial advice upon receiving the owners' offer would have been something like: they're telling us they'll accept 50%; what's our bottom line, how long can we hold out to get there, and what other concessions do we want if we think we'll eventually take 50%?

No hockey just means more time at Chez Parée.

And for the love of God, get rid of that whack ass overtime loss point.

W-L-T or W-L

**** aint hard man

so basically, datsyuk and radulov are peanut butter and jelly together.

The Mecca of all peelers, vwp.

That's right, keep getting your hopes up for Sochi 2014.

In all seriousness though, didn't Radulov and Detroit make a whole helluva lot of sense?