Red Line Sports

EA Sports: If it's in the game, I need a map

2005-09-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

EA Sports has got to change it's catch phrase - "If it's in the game, it's in the game..." because honestly, it has absolutely no attachment to how the game actually plays.

Since the late 90's, EA's NHL franchise has been in steady decline. With every passing year, their versions of hockey went from the best available to the bottom of the heap (considering the NHL2k franchise, etc.). EA's NHL 04 was a huge improvement over the last several releases, however last year, NHL 05 was a major kick in the face to the game playing fanatics who dished out their hard earned coin for that barrel of dung.

Due mostly to file sharing programs like bit-torrent, several acquaintences were spared the agony of purchasing the product and simply downloaded it. However, the game mostly lay dormant. It truly says alot about the quality of a game when people who have obtained a free version don't even think it's worth the time to play.

Now comes NHL 06 (the PC version, in my case), and after playing the demo for a week or so, I decided that it was good enough, on it's face at least, for me to shell out the $39 to buy the full version. As it turns out, the demo was not indicative of what the full version brings.

The Positives

I'll start with the aspects of the game that are actually impressive - mostly because it won't take me long to type them. EA Sports has always been the leader in graphical presentation, and that holds true here. NHL 06 looks and sounds amazing - at least the on-ice portion of the game does. The player and arena detail are truly amazing, from the teams, players, on-ice advertising all the way up to the scoreboard and crowd. Every visual aspect of the on-ice game has been tuned and the presentation is second to none.

Secondly, the game is much harder over previous versions - at least so far. My main complaint about previous EA Sport's NHL releases was that they were much too easy. Take the last two years for example. Even on the most difficult settings, with the AI aggression tapped out, it was much too easy to score goals and much too easy to prevent the computer opponent from scoring them. I would routinely win games in the 9-1 range, and once I even went through an entire 82 game season with a mediocre team and didn't lose a single game. NHL 06 proves to be a much harder challenge on the 'difficult' setting (the 'medium' and lower settings are still much too easy).

The Negatives

However, as the old saying goes, be careful of what you wish for. EA's NHL 05 had many flaws, and one was the overabundance of hitting which barely allowed any kind of offensive game (for me, nearly 99% of my goals were scored from near the blueline off the rush). This flaw in the hitting game was incredibly annoying. Any player could smack the tar out of any other player despite physical attributes. Paul Kariya would have no problem bodychecking Zdeno Chara clear over the boards in NHL 05. Often a game (set on 5 minute periods) resulted in well over two hundred hits. Obviously this had to be changed substantially.

Well, it has been changed in NHL 2006. The problem is, EA has gone from a system that had way too many lumbering, interefering and ridiculous checks to a system where there are still ample body checks - but they simply have no effect. If an opposing player is carrying the puck and you dish out even the nastiest bodycheck, routinely the opposing player is shaken slightly - along with your own player - but almost always the opposing player manages to retain control of the puck while your own player has just thrown himself way out of position. This is the case for even some of the hardest checks dished out. The effect of body checks is laughable, and given the problems with last years version, highly ironic.

The lack of effective checking is a huge drawback in this game and it makes things extremely difficult when attempting to contain the AI team from moving around at will in your own end. Since body contact has virtually no effect on the opposing team's puck possesion (despite the 'puck control' setting cranked all the way to zero, and 'hitting power' cranked up to the max) there are very limited ways to take the puck from the other team. One option is the poke check. This works occasionaly, but just as frequently as it results in a turnover, it results in a tripping penalty. The other option is to hook or tie up the defender. This is somewhat effective, and there is a toggle setting in the game for how effective hooking is, however it often results in holding or interference penalties.

This brings me to another peeve of mine - lopsided penalties. As with the previous releases of EA's NHL franchise, NHL 2006 has craptastic penalty simulation. 30 games into a season, I've had 18 powerplays, while I've had to kill 102 penalties of my own. Holy lopsided Batman.

Not only is it lopsided in the numbers of penalties called, what's supremely more furstrating is the penalties that are not called on the opposition. The other team always gets away with hooking and interference galore, while your team will be sent to the sin bin as if they were trying to meet a quota. What gives with that, EA?

Given the huge defensive deficiencies that I talked about earlier, you can probably guess that my penalty killing is pretty bad. In fact, at a horrific 46% efficiency, my penalty killing would set world records for ineptness. But as I said before, there's not much you can do to stop the computer team from moving the puck around at will in your own end, especially down a man.

Which brings me to my next point - the goaltenders. Now, I will preface this by saying that I like it that the game is harder. In fact, harder scoring has long been a desire of mine. However, the agility of the goaltenders in the game is ludicrous. It is common for goaltenders to flip flop and sprawl their way to impossible saves time after time. After a while, it becomes extremely laughable - and irritating. Sure, there are always spectacular saves in hockey, however in NHL 06, there are spectacular saves up the wazoo. It gets to the point where you feel like giving up because the goaltenders routinely can and do stop shots that 99 times out of 100 in the real world would be a sure thing. I'm all for great goaltending, but this is beyond ridiculous.

And good luck trying to score on a slap-shot from the point (although the computer manages the feat). I've yet to score a goal from any further out than the hash marks. Even defensemen with cannon shots do not seem to tangle the twine. Gone is the use for the powerplay quarterbacks - and what fun is that?

Another glaring flaw - which has always been a complaint of mine - is that the AI is incredibly stupid. My own teammates will often stand completely still when the puck is directly in front of them. It doesn't matter where on the ice you are, the offensive or defensive zone, you pretty much have to constantly switch player control just in order to get the players to do what would come naturally to them in the real world. Has anyone ever seen a player in an NHL game just stand there and watch the puck slide past his feet as he stands in front of the wide-open opposition net? Or can anyone recall a defenseman instead of clearing a rebound, just standing motionless in front of his own net as the puck sits directly in front of him after his goalie made a save? I didn't think so. It's hard to believe that AI flaws like this still exist after this many years of development.

While the on-ice graphics are stunning, the user interface leaves much to be desired in some cases. Cycling though player and team stats is a chore. And why is it that there is only enough space to see the top 4 or 5 player stats on your team (before having to scroll down)? That's idiotic. I miss the good old days when an entire team's player stats would be displayed on on page without scrolling. Putting together trades is also very clunky and time consuming. They really could take a page from the Microsoft point and click system.

The Conclusion

Overall, EA Sport's NHL 06 is a small step up from 05, but that isn't really saying much. The presentation is impressive, as usual, but you know what they say about not judging a book by its cover. If style over substance is what you are after, then go ahead and dish out the cash, because EA does deliver graphically. However, if the great gameplay is what you seek, I don't think there's enough changes from last year to recommend buying it.

I have to shake my head again at EA Sports. They just seem to fly so far from the mark that it blows my mind. NHL 04 was a great game - it simply needed some minor tweaking to make it harder. Instead, EA has enhanced tha graphics (which is a good thing), but has strayed so far from realism, or fun, for the on-ice action, that I can't believe that we keep coming back to it.

Can the defense hack it?

2005-09-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

I know it's only September, and narry a game has been played. But I have this sinking feeling in my gut. The Vancouver Canuck defense looks, well, thin to me. The top 3 compare well to any other top 3 in the league. But after that, the pickings are slim.

Alot of weight will be placed on the shoulders of Bryan Allen, a thought that makes me nervous.

"He's (Allen) the wild card in all this," Head coach Marc Crawford said. "We're going to be asking him to play 25 or 26 minutes a game."

Wow. 25 or 26 minutes a game from a guy who's never been asked to check the other team's best lines and still wound up a -10. Adding ten minutes/game of ice time is a serious request (he averaged roughly 16:30/game last season) and I have doubts about his ability to effectively punch in for almost half a game.

The fifth and sixth spots will probably be filled by McCarthy and Butenschon/Baumgartner, which is fine, because most teams depth chartys will be fairly thin at these spots anyways.

But in my opinion, the Canucks need one more solid defenseman to be a serious contender - someone of the ilk of Brendan Witt. I'm not a huge Cloutier fan, and I believe that he will need all the help he can get in front of him, and the current edition of the Canuck's blueline likely won't strike fear into the hearts of many.

Datsyuk heads home...

2005-09-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

According to TSN, Pavel Datsyuk has turned down a $5 million contract offer from the Red Wings to play in Russia. Datsyuk thinks he's worth in the $6 millio/season range:

"I think I am worth at least what (Dany) Heatley or (Joe) Thornton got from their deals," Datsyuk told the Russian media.

There's a couple of things wrong with his logic. First, why would he think that his NHL career total of 53 goals matches up with what Joe Thornton has done? Right, it doesn't. Also, his totals in Russia last year were less than impressive.

Secondly, I believe that Dany Heatley is slated to make $3.5 million this year. I realize that over the life of his contract, he will average around $5 million/season, but reportedly the Red Wings have already offered Datsyuk that kind of cash. So what gives with that, Pavel?

I'm so sick of the nature of the modern athlete. Datsyuk is over-estimating his value on a massive scale. There's no way that he's worth that kind of money. I'm frankly shocked that he was offered $5 million. That's a ton of cash for a guy who has really had one solid season - at 27 years old. So you know what? Let Datsyuk move to Russia. Let him leave the cozy confines of a Stanley Cup contender to go play in Siberia.

Something Cooke-ing in Vancouver?

2005-09-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Canucks GM Dave Nonis and veteran forward Matt Cooke are apparently quite a ways apart on a new contract - and the fight is getting messy. Nonis and Cooke's agent, Pat Morris, have excahnged verbal shots through the media in the last few days. According to Nonis, the Cooke camp is looking to be #4 or #5 on the pay-scale for forwards - adding that "If he [Cooke] was looking for Sedin money ($1.25 million per), he would be signed already."

On the other side of the coin, Cooke's agent steadfastly disputes the claim that he is looking to be paid excessively, but refuses to say what Cooke's asking price is.

My question is, what is Matt Cooke doing? Yes, he is a popular player, but in no way is he irreplacable. Does he deserve to make more than the Sedins? I don't think that's the case at all. I may take some heat for that, but truly, Cooke is a 3rd line player - a very gritty and hard working one at that, but he is not indispensable.

If his gamble does not pay off, that leaves Cooke with limited options. If he is not signed by December 01, he won't collect a paycheque for the second straight year. How attractive is that? Considering that Nonis has publically stated that he would have signed Cooke for the Sedins salary, why would he risk that guarantee over an extra couple of hundred thousand dollars?

Sounds petty to me.

The ball is firmly in the Canuck's court here, and Nonis has options. The most likely is to trade Cooke for a decent defenseman. Will that happen? Who knows.

Today Nonis signed goaltender Brent Johnson, and I sort of scratch my head. When will Alex Auld get his shot? He's been waiting in the wings for quite some time and to get pushed back to Manitoba for Johnson this year can't inflate the ego much. If Auld isn't in the Canuck's plans, why keep him around at all?

Personally, I think he deserves a shot at the full-time backup (oxymoron extraordinaire!) spot, regardless of his minor league struggles.

Given the fact that the Canucks are on the verge of passing the cap limit, something has to be brewing here in Canuckville. What that is, we shall see.

Further disection....

2005-08-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

I've already given my opinion on the Maple Leafs, so I turn my attention to who I think will win the Northeast division. It's actually a tough call, because you have two solid teams that I think will challenge right down to the wire.

Of course, I'm talking about the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators. Many of my casual hockey pals are quick to say Ottawa is a no-brainer to lock up the division, but I say hold the truck boys.

The Senators have an impressive line-up, and the defense is solid throughout. But I have a couple of questions. First off, how well is Hasek going to do? Nevermind the arrogant attitude he has, and forget about the second career he will have as a professional diver, question number one is - can this guy still dominate?

Secondly, I rate the forwards very high, and I think you'll see guys like Spezza and Havlat have break-out years. The loss of Hossa doesn't damage them in my opinion, partly because I don't think that the team needs a player with the attitude he seemed to carry (demanding Iginla money is idiotic).

But, my second question is - will Dany Heatley return to All-star form? If the answer to both of the above questions is yes, then I have no problem counting the Senators as early favorites to win the division. But I don't think it's that simple.

Enter the Boston Bruins. They haven't earned much respect, at least out west, despite earning 100+ point seasons in two of the last three seasons. They did lose a few players, but made up for it by signing Zhamnov, Leetch, Scatchard and adding Brad Isbister by way of trade. The Bruins should be more than capable of putting up some offensive numbers. True, there are some minor question marks, but overall, a strong forward group.

The defense is looking a little on the thin side with Leetch, Boynton, Slegr, Girard et al, and Gill may not return. There's a definite edge to the Senators here.

In goal, Raycroft will be solid and is much less of a question mark as Hasek. But, given that Hasek and his Gumby-esque body may have returned to full health, it's a toss-up who has the edge here. Just for kicks, I'll give it to Boston.

Overall, I think these two teams will battle for the Northeast crown, but I guess I have to pick one team. In that case, I predict Dany Heatley to return to form (at least mostly), and the Ottawa Senators to win the division.

Direct your calls, questions, and derogatory comments to my secretary.

Will the new rule changes help?

2005-08-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

I'm a natural skeptic, so when it comes to the NHL supposed crackdown on obstruction and supposed offensive generating rule changes, I'm not so certain that everything will turn out as many expect.

There's no doubt that the obstruction will be called - at least in the first 5-6 weeks of the schedule. After that, I'm not so sure it won't be back to the status quo. Besides, who really wants to see 25 powerplays per game anyways? I'm not convinced that a parade to the penalty box will be better for the game overall.

As for the new rules, such as eliminating the red line, I guess the verdict will come later. But did anyone watch any of the action over in Europe last year? Sometimes it was worse than the crap in the NHL. The current trend amongst NHL coaches - for various reasons that I won't get into now - is to defend, defend, defend. The bottom line is winning and that's the only way many teams can compete. I'm of the opinion that this trend will continue and the elimination of the red line will only drive the "trap line" further back. For those expecting spectacular end to end rushes may be disapointed.

But, for the record, I hope I'm wrong, but I'll have to see it to believe it.

There's rumours, and then there's this bunk

2005-08-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

The latest rumour making its rounds out west centres around three unlikely dancing partners (Vancouver, Florida, New Jersey). Basically, the rumour is a three way trade. Normally I wouldn't even comment on such absurdity, but since I'm bored:

- Florida would end up with Ed Jovanovski and Dan Cloutier (or possibly Bertuzzi), Jamie Langenbrunner, and Jeff Friesen;

- Vancouver would end up with Roberto Luongo and Sergei Brylin;

- NJ would end up with a three high draft picks

I says, pardon?!?

Just so we're clear:

Dave Nonis gives up all-star defenseman Ed Jovanovski, presumably because he feels confident enough in his team to slide Sven Butenschon and Nolan Baumgartner into prime-time defensive positions, and go with five defensemen overall instead of six. Either that or he wants to see how good Luongo really is behind a defense that would have more holes than a cheese grater.

Nonis dumps Cloutier - which I'm actually ok with - and takes on a superb talent, but possible future salary cap nightmare in Luongo, who has already publically stated that his arbitration award of $3.2 million this season is about $265 billion below what he feels he's worth.

And nevermind the abundance of forwards the Canucks have, Nonis takes on Sergei Brylin just because he wants to show ex-Canuck GM Brian Burke that he too can have a guy on his team with the first name Sergei.

New Jersey is in a bit of salary cap trouble, but I don't see them parting ways with Brylin, Friesen and Langenbrunner to land draft picks. With Elias likely gone for a lengthy time, I find it hard to believe that Lamoriello ditches three decent offensive weapons and crosses his fingers that Mogilny turns back into a 76 goal scorer. Who's going to pick up the slack?

And Florida winds up snagging a top flight defenseman in Jovanovski, two solid forwards in Langebrunner and Friesen, and netminder Cloutier. Despite the major downgrade in goal, this is the only team that I can see this trade making sense for.

Mike Keenan may have already decided that Luongo requires an attitude adjustment and will either be whipped, shackled and publically berated or moved to another team - or all of the above. If that's the case, and the decision has been reached to cut him loose because it will be mutually beneficial, then I could see this deal from their perspective. However, I could be wrong about Keenan and Luongo, because Keenan has never been known to hold a grudge...... *cough*

What this rumour adds up to is nothing more than a serious amount of bogus. But I'm sure everyone already knows that. So why am I commenting on it? I dunno. Forgive me, I'm just bored.

One thing is for certain - if Brian Noonan or Stephane Matteau were still available, Keenan would likely trade for them.

Disecting the Northeast Division

2005-08-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've got some friends who share a curious fondness for a certain Eastern team. They cheer for the Leafs, which in itself isn't unforgivable, but it's teetering on the edge. It's not that I mind the Maple Leafs - quite the contrary, it's just that the initiation into Leaf fandom (it is a word, dammit) seems to require ingesting long-term psychosis inducing drugs that de-evolve their brains to a level only slightly above that of a caveman. On second thought, even a caveman wouldn't predict a cup win for the Leafs this year.

Hallucinations amongst the Leaf fans I know are not only common, they're encouraged. Take for example some of the comments that I have been forced to endure over the last several weeks:

"If Allison and Lindros don't get injured the Leafs might be the best team in the league. "

"Talent wise Lindros may be the best player to ever put on the Maple Leaf. "

"The Leaf's depth is unreal with those signings (offseason Lindros, Allison, O'Neil). I don't see how they cannot make the cup final. Who's going to beat them?"

"With Belfour in net, and an all-star lineup the rest of the way, I feel that this is their year. At the very least they'll beat up on the Sens again..."

I will only provide a small sampling, because honestly, as I type these comments out, I cannot help but be struck with fits of laughter. Sometimes my pals make me forget that they are college graduates.

In all fairness, hockey fans are passionate, and Leaf fans are just as intense as any around. There's a sense of homerism (yes, that too is a word --- dammit) in most of the fans I know. And because I don't see a Cup Parade being planned for the centre of the unvierse, my friends have challenged me to disect the great Maple Leaf team, and predict their finish in the Northeast Division.

I will predict their finish, but they won't be happy with me. I see the Northeast shaping up like this:

1 & 2. Ottawa/Boston - I haven't decided in which order as of yet.
3. Toronto
4. Montreal
5. Buffalo

I'll explain my reasoning about the other teams in a later post, as well as the other divisions in the NHL over the next week or two. But as far as the Maple Leafs go, here's the Red Line take:

The Forwards:

Signing Jeff O'Neill was a no brainer, and what a great price. What he showed during the last season in Carolina is not indicative of what he brings to the table. At 29 years of age, he's hardly washed up and I expect him to rebound nicely and find the back of the net at least 30 times this year.

Jason Allison, while a minor gamble because of his strange injury situation (can anyone actually explain what it is he had?), is still a bargain at the base salary of $1.5 million. This guy is a supremely talented offensive guy. He's easily close to a point-per-game player when healthy. Heck, even last season he put up more than a ppg pace when his health was in question. If he can remain healthy, he will put up some solid numbers.

Now we come to Eric Lindros, my least favorite of the new forwards. I've had to endure countless bouts of "Lindros could score 50 goals and win the scoring title" or "Lindros is a better signing than Forsberg". First off, there's no doubting the raw talent he has. But get real, this guy's one stiff shoulder check away from steady speech therapy. While still able to post decent numbers, he's nothing more than a big perimeter player now, and while he may contribute in some situations when he's in the line-up, how often will that be?

However, it's not the centres that fail to impress me. The depth at wing is actually rather striking. I keep hearing that Darcy Tucker or Nik Antropov will slide into the top line along side Sundin and O'Neill. Not exactly prime time on that left side.

Let's look at the other forwards aside from the signed free agents - Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan, Tie Domi, Chad Kilger, Clarke Wilm, possibly Alexander Steen, and Wade Belak. They don't really blow me away, to be honest. Assuming that Allison, Sundin and Lindros will not be on the same forward line together, who's going to score (other than O'Neill)? The centres will have to log mega-minutesto make up for the lack of depth on the wing. Someone will have to have a breakout season, in my opinion.

The defense

The defensive line-up as I type this looks something like this:

McCabe, Klee, Kaberle, Khavanov, Berg, Pilar/Colaiacovo.

I admit, taking a gander around the league, the Leaf's defense is not half bad, especially considering that Eddie Belfour, as ancient as he is, will continue to be an upper-end goaltender. McCabe was nominated for the Norris last year, Kaberle is steady, and Klee is underrated. The defense and goaltending are not the problem on this team.

The conclusion

So what does all this mean? Well, I think that my Leaf pals who have Stanley Cup on their minds will have to settle for the nocturnal emissions brought on by the routine dreams of a Leaf Cup celebration. The forward group does just not have enough depth to be considered a serious contender this year. They will be competitive, and they likely will make the playoffs. But aside from that, unless some moves are made, it could be a longer year than most expect.

I predict the Maple Leafs to finish 3rd in the division, behind Boston and Ottawa.

Ohlund locked up long-term

2005-08-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mattias Ohlund signed on for four more years in Canuckville, and not only the legth of the deal impresses me, so does the price tag. It works out to be $3.5 million/season, and in my eyes, that's incredibly good, because he is one of the most underrated defensemen in the entire NHL.

Despite the ability, Ohlund may not put up huge offensive numbers, but that's not his primary role on this team. What he does bring to the table is a superb overall game. There's not many around that can match his depth of talent. He's routinely matched up against the opposition's top line, and he regularly logs mucho ice-time.

The fact that the Canucks locked him up for less than fellow blue-liner Ed Jovanovski is a feather in Dave Nonis's cap, and a reflection on the type of loyal and unselfish person that Ohlund is. In my mind, and many who know the Canucks, Ohlund is the true #1 defenseman on the Vancouver team.

That brings me to my second musing of the day. What will become of Ed Jovanovski? He'll be come an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and with the trend in the NHL the way it is, he damn well won't be taking a paycut. In fact, I surmise that he will likely command at least $5 million/season on the open market.

So, do the Canucks intend to shell out that kind of money? And even if they do, does Jovanovski have other plans for his future? Well, obviously no one can know what he's thinking on a personal level, but if the Canucks suffer yet another early playoff exit, why would he want to stick around on a team that can't make it over the playoff hump?

If I'm Dave Nonis, I may throw out some inquiring phone calls out to the GM's of the league - just to test the waters. If Jovanovski puts up solid numbers to start the season, his value will be quite high, and it's better to lose him for something than nothing at all. Sounds exactly like the Wade Redden situation in Ottawa, doesn't it? We may have to get used to this kind of thing happening everywhere.

Hossa, Heatley - Hooray!

2005-08-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone's heard by now: Danny Heatley for Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries. My take? I like it from a Senator point of view. They managed to ditch a whining, snivelling little brat in Hossa - who had just signed a much too lucritive 3-year contract today. To boot, they ditched DeVries, who's slated to make $2.3 million this year.

Now the Senators can concentrate on locking up Redden and Chara long term, while in the same breath ridding themselves of a headache in Hossa, a player who had obviously irritated some of the Senators brass.

The only downside is that Heatley may be damaged goods. Everyone knows of his troubled past, and his performance at the team Canada camp was less than stellar. But in my opinion, Heatley will rebound and become the dominant player that he was blossoming into. That's great news for Ottawa fans.

There are those that say Hossa is a better talent whether or not Heatley is at full form- and I've heard that often today - but if Heatley does return to form, that just aint the case, guys. He was a scoring machine for a weak Thrasher team, and was steadily improving. Sure, he suffered a setback last season, but his totals were more than respectable (31gp - 13g - 12a - 25pts) given what he went through.

From a Thrasher standpoint, the deal makes sense because Heatley wanted out of Atlanta. If Heatley had wanted to stay, this deal probably doesn't get done. The addition of de Vries certainly solidifies the Thrasher back-end, and I think they may surprise some people this year. If Kovalchuk doesn't react negatively to this move, and Hossa can remain a consistent goal scorer, they will challenge for a playoff spot.

Ducks sign Selanne, Canucks grab McCarthy

2005-08-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Teemu Selanne has landed back in the duck pond, today signing a one year $1 million deal. Given the price tag - it's a good move, if you ask me.

Selanne has this to say:

"When I can't use my speed, I'm useless. I have really high expectations of this year, not only of myself but the team. It's a new start. I think the new rules are going to help this game a lot. Without the red line, I think the game is going to be faster, particularly for our team."

Will he morph back into the speed demon sniper that he once was? Not likely, but if the new offense producing rule changes hold up (laughter inserted here), he may return to 25-30 goal form, and in today's NHL, that calibre of goal scorer is nothing to sneeze at - especially if he's only making $1 million.

Selanne's career totals:

                                     GP    G    A  PTS
1992-93  Winnipeg Jets               84   76   56  132
1993-94  Winnipeg Jets               51   25   29   54
1994-95  Winnipeg Jets               45   22   26   48
1995-96  Winnipeg Jets               51   24   48   72
1995-96  Anaheim Mighty Ducks        28   16   20   36
1996-97  Anaheim Mighty Ducks        78   51   58  109
1997-98  Anaheim Mighty Ducks        73   52   34   86
1998-99  Anaheim Mighty Ducks        75   47   60  107
1999-00  Anaheim Mighty Ducks        79   33   52   85
2000-01  Anaheim Mighty Ducks        61   26   33   59
2000-01  San Jose Sharks             12    7    6   13
2001-02  San Jose Sharks             82   29   25   54
2002-03  San Jose Sharks             82   28   36   64
2003-04  Colorado Avalanche          78   16   16   32

 NHL Totals                         879  452  499  951

From an overall point of view, Anaheim may have to shake up the roster somewhat because by my count (well, TSN's count actually), they have roughly $35.5 million tied up in 18 players.
That's cutting it pretty close when it's all said and done.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Vancouver Canucks today added some defensive depth by trading a 3rd round draft choice (2007) to Chicago for Steve McCarthy. The Canucks still need some more defensive depth, but I like the addition of the 6', 200 lbs McCarthy. He's a project for sure, but as a 6th defenseman, I don't mind that. In the new look NHL, it looks as though most teams are going to have to suffer through a period where they lack great depth at one position or another, and guys like McCarthy will probably fill out the rosters of many teams.

That said, I still think the Canucks are a couple of solid defenseman away from making an actual playoff run (sorry Canuck fans!). They have enough scoring on the back-end; what they need is some rugged, play it hard bruisers back there. Hopefully Nonis has something up his sleeve to land a rugged guy like Brendan Witt. If they don't, they may have to continue to win their games by outscoring the opposition as opposed to playing a more balanced game, which doesn't bode well for a lengthy playoff run.

Tough times for Tampa Bay?

2005-08-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

With yesterday's signing of Vincent Lecavalier, the Lightning are in a precarious position. And don't think that everyone, including the players, haven't noticed.

"Everybody's doing the math, it's not rocket science to see what it means,'' said fellow Tampa star Brad Richards. "I'm very good friends with both guys (Lecavalier & St. Louis), it's a tough, tough situation - it sucks. There's no other way to put it...We've already lost (goalie) Nikolai Khabibulin and now it's going to be a big challenge to get Marty signed."

No kidding it's tough. Richards goes on to say:

"It sucks, there was a reason we didn't want a salary cap that low, especially for our team,'' said Richards. ''For some teams it's great, for some teams it sucks. But we're going to have live with it. We've already lost one of the best goalies in the world - which we could have signed without a cap - and now we don't know what's going to happen with our Hart Trophy winner."

Well Mr. Richards, your team also could have signed Khabibulin had he decided that hockey wasn't all about the money. Clearly his choice of Chicago screams monetary benefit. For cryin out loud, why else would he leave the defending Stanley Cup Champions, who could probably ice almost the same line-up, for the Blackhawks - a team that hasn't made any kind of serious playoff noise since I've been on this planet?

And did it ever occur to you dunderhead players that maybe taking less money to keep the team intact - in this case, a Championship team - is a good idea for all involved? Oh nevermind, I forgot about the built-in "me first" reflex that was surgically implanted on draft day.

And not surprisingly, Martin St. Louis will no doubt be feeling a little wary:

''I'm really happy for him, I have no problem with Vinny, I like Vinny,'' said St. Louis. ''It's not Vinny's fault. But does it affect me? Of course it does .... I'd be lying to you if I didn't say it affects me. Of course it does, but you have to forget about it when you hit the ice. I'm here to try and make the Olympic team. When I get off the ice, I get on the phone with my agent and try to assess the situation...."

Ah, good. Get on the phone with an agent. Good move from a personal perspective, no doubt. Maybe what you should do is get on the phone with a realtor and a reliable airline.

And of course it's not Lecavalier's fault. He couldn't possibly be expected to turn the dial on his ego down to 'semi-outrageously inflated' and sign a reasonable contract - could he? Good grief, no. In fact, Lecavalier actually did St. Louis a huge favour. Because realistically, if Lecavalier is worth that kind of money, then St. Louis can't be too far behind. He goes on:

''I think right now I'm in a pause mode,'' said St. Louis. ''I have to sit back and analyse the situation and see what's best for me and what's best for the team.''

You can take the last six words out of his last sentence. There's no way that he considers what's "best for the team." That's just not the pro athlete mentality, so please don't force feed us that recycled garbage.

So, what does Vinny himself have to say? Well, the usual drivel:

''Marty congratulated me right away,'' said a clearly uncomfortable Lecavalier. ''But with this new CBA, the GMs have a tough job .... We talked this morning and everything was fine. Marty's a great guy and I hope we play together for a long time.''

Yea, sure you do Vinny. Your gorked contract virtually ensures that either he or Brad Richards - or both - have new mailmen before the start of next season. It also probably ensures that the superb Tampa Bay team is methodically disassembled, or at least wattered down. Way to go, buddy.

Can you tell I'm bitter yet?

Last but not least, why is GM Jay Feaster dishing out this kind of money to Lecavalier. Not only is he not among the NHL's truly elite players (in my opinion), he's debatably not even the best player on his own team. Statistically speaking, he finished 4th in scoring last year while teammate St. Louis won the MVP and Richards won the Conn Smythe trophy. He has never eclipsed the 80 point mark, and only once has he gathered more than 70.

Is this what the NHL has come to? We are now paying 30 goal scorers $7 million per season? Did we as fans just get crapped on for an entire year simply just to take a breather from watching the League dance its way back into financial doom? Because from where I sit, things have not improved. They have gotten worse.

Surely, I can't be serious, right? Well, I am. And don't call me Shirley.

Boltsmag happens to share my point of view (well, more or less), and obviously has a much closer eye on the Tampa Bay situation.

Ground control to NHL GM's...

2005-08-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today, Vinny Lecavalier signed a 4 year contract that will pay him $6.875 million/season. Joe Thornton will make $6.66 million/season. Maid Marian Hossa will probably hold out because he feels insulted by only making $5 million/season. Blah blah blah. The list goes on, and my head goes numb.

What I really want to do is call up every single NHL General Manager and scream at them. I thought that teams were crying foul and that player salaries were escalating to idiotic numbers? Wasn't that what the loss of the entire season was supposed to be about? Well it sure appears that most NHL teams are truckin' along with the status quo. For cryin out loud, you morons, get your heads out of your collective asses. Stop paying these players ridiculous contracts or else we will all end up in the exact same spot in 5-6 years time.

I'm obviously not an NHL GM, and I've travelled down this road several times before, but I'll say it again, players like Vincent Lecavalier, Joe Thornton, etc. etc. should in no damn way be making the ridiculous sums of cash that they are. And damn the NHL GM's for serving it right back up to them after crying poor for so long.

So much for the notion that the players took a huge drubbing in this CBA.

GM's and owners as a collective are idiots, and players are the same greedy scoundrels that they have been for the last decade. The new CBA has done nothing to put a stop to high salaries - it's merely widened the divide between the high end players and the low level grunts. Soon the days of deep and highly skilled teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators will be gone simply because they cannot afford to pay everyone their demands. Hmmm, sounds like a familiar problem, doesn't it?

What ever happend to the concept of a team player? Don't these athletes realize that if they gobble up that large a chunk of a team's payroll, the rest of the team is likely to be filled out by mediocrity? (the same question applies to idiot GM's) Morons.

The new CBA has many new tools that the GM's and owners could use to keep salaries in check. They fought and sacrificed an entire season while alienating fans such as myself. It was up to them to now exercise some common sense and show restraint. Show the players that demand crazy money who was really in charge. But again, the merry-go-round simply spins. It seems as though you can't take the idiot out of the GM, nor the incessantly starving ego out of the player.

Nonis should have his Witt about him....

2005-08-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver Canucks are going to be competivitve, but as I type this, there are some glaring roster holes - especially on defense. Ed Jovanovski is locked up for one more year, and it helps that Sami Salo and Bryan Allen have re-signed today, but they still have to re-sign Mathias Ohlund. Brent Sopel and Marik 'Sasquatch' Malik have left town, and so far, there hasn't been a move to replace them. And when the finally do re-sign Ohlund, the defense still looks less than stellar.

Ed Jovanovski is a top tier defenseman, but is probably over-rated. He brings many fine tools to the table but suffers from chronic bouts of moronitis. Bryan Allen brings an edge to his game, but at this stage in his career is an average NHL defenseman at best. Sami Salo is under-rated and provides a steady hand on the blueline. I'm glad the Canucks ponied up for more than a one year deal to retain his services. And then there's Ohlund, who has such a great overall game. He is the true #1 defenseman on the Canucks.

That leaves some big holes, and for this team to be competative, the defense cannot be rounded out by first year players or journeymen such as Nolan Baumgartner.

Today Brendan Witt accepted his qualifying offer and Capitals GM George McPhee says that he will accomodate Witt's request to be traded to a contending team. If Dave Nonis has any sense, he should be paying close attention. Witt would be a solid addition to the Canucks - a much needed one - and at roughly $1.6 million, he comes at a reasonable price.

Witt is listed at 6'2", 231 lbs. He won't score goals, he won't run the powerplay. But he plays big, which is what the Canucks need. They don't need another offensive weapon, Salo and Jovanovski will be fine. What they need is another workhorse to compliment Ohlund.

So if Nonis is listening - or reading, and I know he is ;) - take a chance on Mr. Witt.

Bertuzzi speaks publically...

2005-08-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

''I've had a lot of sleepless nights trying to think of things...But you know what, it happened. I can't go back and change what happened. The only thing I can do is come back even stronger, a better person off the ice and a better person on the ice.'

The words of Todd Bertuzzi at an afternoon press conference today. I've never really weighed in on the whole ugly incident, and I won't bother to at this point. What I will say is that hopefully Steve Moore makes a full recovery and the entire thing can become a distant memory.

As far as Bertuzzi's continuing career goes, it's still unclear as to which Todd Bertuzzi will hit the ice in the fall. Will he continue to be the raging monster and a dominant presence in front of the net, or will he turn into a mediocre perimiter player? During the 03/04 season, and before the 'incident', Bertuzzi's on-ice performances had suffered somewhat of a setback. At least statistically.

What does Bertuzzi himself have to say about his comeback?

"I'm coming back who I was. I'm not going to change. I've become successful doing what I do best, playing hard every night with a chip on my shoulder. I heard a lot of stuff about people thinking I'm going to come back soft. That's not who I am."

It seems as though he has the right attitude, but we'll see if he really does come back the same player. It will be a rough ride as all eyes will be on him and his moves will be under severe scrutiny. I'm skeptical myself, but one thing is certain - for the Canucks to be successful, Bertuzzi will have to re-emerge as one of the premier power forwards in the game.

The Red Line Rant - Pro athletes

2005-08-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

It seems as though Marian Hossa is not a happy camper. He turned down a 3-year, $11.5 million offer from the Senators, and comes accross as insulted.

"We're at a dead point right now," said Hossa "We are nowhere. They offered me a three-year contract, but it wasn't good enough...It wasn't anywhere close to my comparables. If you look at my points the last two seasons, they've been close to Iginla and (Boston's Joe) Thornton..."

If he's seriously comparing himself to Jarome Iginla, he's gone off the deep end. And because the Bruins are playing hardball - rightfully so, in my opinion - it still remains to be seen what Joe Thornton will get. In fact, Hossa's numbers are lower than Markus Naslund, who has averaged 41 goals/season over the last four (compared to Hossa's 36; only scoring more than 40 once in his career), so why should he even make Nalsund money?

"I'm not pissed off. You know me, I'm not that type of guy. I love the city of Ottawa, I love the fans there. I want to be part of that team for a long time. I just want to be paid what I feel is a fair amount and I don't want to settle for less."

You know, one of my main pet peeves with professional athletes is when they spew out verbal diahrea and expect everyone to buy it as candy. I don't know how many times I've heard empty sentiments such as "I just love the city. I love the fans, if it were up to me I'd spend my entire career here....".

Give me a break you selfish wankers.

Do these players not realize that they are wealthy beyond imagination whether they sign $4 million or $7 million contracts? What's the point of bitching and moaning and making yourself look like a selfish greaseball because your ego is inflated to galactic proportions?

Ego has driven the pro athlete for years now, and apparently there is no end in sight. Does Hossa, and players like him, not understand the team concept anymore? Of course, it's a rhetorical question, because they obviously do not understand that should any player gobble up close to the maximum salary of 20% of a team's payroll, that they severly limit the funds with which to buld a successful TEAM. Does Hossa not grasp the fact that should he get anywhere near the $7 million figure, the Senators can immediately bid adieu to Martin Havlat, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Daniel Alfredsson, etc?

For once I'd just love to see a player put his money where his mouth is at. If you really want to play for a winner and you really love the city, then sign a contract that makes sense for both sides. Take a bit less to play for "the city that you love", take a smaller amount to enable the management to build a winning team. For God's sake, is life really that horrible in the $4 million salary bracket? Is it too painful to get up in the morning and look in the mirror to realize that you don't make $7 million? Does it wound your pride that much to only see 19 Ferrari's in the driveway instead of 12?

It's all about the money - it has been for much too long now, and I'm sick to death of the spoiled brat mentality that pro sports has become. The salary cap was supposed to put a reign on salaries, but now, thanks largely to the incessant demands for ego feeding contracts, it seems as though it may only accomplish the break up of deep and highly skilled teams.

Sedins Ink, Ohlund files for arbitration

2005-08-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Canucks have locked up the Sedin twins for one more year, at $1.25 million/season each. I can live with the financial terms, but this is the year that they had better put up impressive totals, or move on.

Opinion on the Sedins' past performances varies with who you ask, and in my case, I think that they have been nothing more than average NHL players. They do some things well, such as cycle the puck (to death at times), but I fail to see the ability to finish. They have been treated very well in Vancouver for the duration of their tenure, despite the lack of significant progression.

However, now that Brian Burke is gone - the Sedins were his project, and the patience Burke displayed with these two has only been seen elsewhere in professional chess matches - the apparent lack of finish has to be improved upon. GM Dave Nonis has similar thoughts:

"We expect them to take on more responsibility this season and we are extremely excited to have this deal in place."

I'm glad that someone may finally be putting some pressure on these two, because they need to step it up.

Also, Mattias Ohlund has filed for arbitration and given his incredible overall game and the recent contracts signed by NHL defensemen, he will probably fetch a good payday. Here's to hoping Nonis can lock him up long-term.

The more things change...

2005-08-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's the old addage - the more things change, the more they stay the same. Money is being tossed about much in the same fashion it was previous to the ratification of the new CBA. The 24% rollback was virtually meaningless in a sense, considering that there were nearly a couple of hundred free agents roaming the plains and the rollback hasn't affected them in the least.

It's business as usual in the NHL and huge wads of dough are being splashed about with the only limiting factor being the team salary cap. The cap may prove to be effective in creating a much more balanced and competitive field, which is a good thing, but it doesn't seem to be the major drag on salaries that many expected it would be.

Maybe I was expecting too much. I really wasn't expecting a plethora of salaries in the $4 million+ range, nor was I expecting the fairly long length of many deals. For all of the agony that the fans were put through over the past year, it seems as though GM's haven't learned a thing. The players are still making completely outrageous amounts of money, and rationality, it seems, has been tossed right out the window.

Many GM's are making moronic moves, and it could come back to bite them all in the ass. For example, at the time I'm writing this, Brian Burke has $32 million in salary committed to only 12 players. For the Niedermayers alone, he has $35 million committed over the next four years - to only two players. Good grief.

So much for "I work on a tight budget" Burke. And so much for declining player salaries.

Of course, the upside of a cap is that teams like the Rangers et al. cannot simply just sign everyone anymore. And believe me, I'm all for league wide parity. However, I'm skeptical. My fear is that as the league revenues rise, and they will long-term, the cap rises along with it. And when the cap gets to a high enough level, is the NHL going to be any better off considering that the bar on salaries has pretty much remained status quo?

Obviously I recognize that there has been a marginal drop overall, and in some instances significant salary cuts. But those large drops are few and far between, and I fear that we all may have spent a year pulling our hair out for nothing.

If idiot GM's continue to make signings such as Sasquatch wannabe Marek Malik for a craptastic $2.5 million/year, then I fear the fans will be crapped upon for years to come - salary cap or not.

Niedermayer seeing Ducks

2005-08-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

It looks like Scott Niedermayer has landed in Anaheim. The deal is a reported $28 million over 4 seasons. Given the year long fight about fiscal ruin in the NHL, I'm somewhat surprised with the large amounts of some recent signings. I expected salaries to come back down to Earth - at least a little bit, but it looks as though many players are still going to be making mega $millions. I guess the only difference now is that certain teams won't be able to load up with multpile mega $million players. And it's not just the dollar figures that surprise me, it's the length of many contracts raises my eyebrows.

Lots of movement on busy day

2005-08-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

So far, this offseason has been more exicting than the last few previous on-ice NHL seasons. Some key signings and player movement today:

Vancouver - Markus Naslund re-signs with the Canucks and suddenly the wind in BC picks up from the collective sigh of relief. As I stated yesterday, I didn't think that he was worth the maximum salary, and thankfully Dave Nonis didn't shell it out - apparently no team offered more than Vancouver. $6 million/season is reasonable for him, and I can live with that.

The Canucks also traded Brent Sopel - thank God - to the New York Islanders. I'm not a big Sopel fan, but I can honestly say that I will miss his hair. Cripes, there's enough grease in there to lube a race-car.

The Canucks also lost Marek Malik to the Rangers yesterday, so the Canucks have a little bit of work to fill out the backend. No significant rumours abounding about who it may be, however, and given the dollars put aside for Naslund, it likely won't be a star like Niedermayer.

Edmonton - Chris Pronger is a major addition to this club and I'm glad that they locked him up long term. This may be the first truly dominant blue liner that the Oilers have had since Paul Coffey. Suddenly eight divisional games per season doesn't sound like too much to me.

Calgary Flames - had a busy day yesterday with Amonte and McCarty, and today they locked up Jarome Iginla for three years @ $21 million. The best player in the league, in my opinion, and he got huge bucks, but still not the league maximum - further illustrating my point that perhaps many GM's may simply not think it's worth it to shell out 20% of the overall budget to one player.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Sergei Goncahr is a Pen for the next five years. The reported salary is $5 million/season. Fairly good chunk of change for Pittsburgh to shell out, and I'm not convinced that it's money well spent. Lemieux is another year older and although he's truly Superman on skates, there will come a time - and soon - where he packs it in. Add to that, Sidney Crosby probably won't have a significant impact at the NHL level right away (who knows for sure when or if he ever will), and I'm not ready to call the Penguins contenders yet.

Philadelphia Flyers - probably the biggest name acquisition of the day, Peter Forsberg signs on for two years at a very reasonable $5.75 million/season. To make salary room, Jeremy Roenick was given his walking papers - to the LA Kings. In my opinion, definitely a major upgrade at centre for Philly - if he can stay healthy. Big if.

Still on the market - Scott Niedermayer. Given the salaries that Forsberg, Naslund, Pronger and Gonchar signed on for, I'm completely convinced that he won't get anywhere near his reported asking salary of $7.78 million. He won't get it, nor should he.

Naslund signs in Vancouver

2005-08-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

As just reported on CKNW Radio, Vancouver. No numbers released, I cannot find a second source to verify yet. Stay tuned.

Free Agent Signings Galore

2005-08-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Many free agents signed on the dotted line today, and I'll weigh in on some of the higher profile ones.

Pavol Demitra - Los Angeles Kings; Three-years, $13.5-million. A great pickup for LA, and at a reasonable price for a proven scorer. I was crossing my fingers that Nonis may accept the fact that Nalsund is history and open up the bank. Who was I kidding?

Tony Amonte - Calgary Flames; Two-years, $3.7-million. Fairly good move by Calgary. He'll likely see much more ice time here than in Philly, and for less than $2 million/season, he's affordable.

Darren McCarty - Calgary Flames; Two-years, $1.6 million. I like his tough game. The ultimate grinder and a great depth move by Calgary. Overall, the Flames did quite well today.

Bobby Holik - Atlanta Thrashers; Three-years, $4.25M in first year (remaining contract not disclosed). I like this addition to the Thrashers club. A dangerous offensive forward corps has just been solidified with a great two way player. From Holik's point of view, he's got to be on cloud nine. He just got bought out for multi-millions by the Rangers, and he's banked multi-millions today. Not a bad life, eh Bobby?

Derian Hatcher - Philadelphia Flyers; Four-years, $14.5 million. He's a big guy, but agility isn't his strong point. And with the new rules, he may quickly become an overpaid boat anchor.

Mike Rathje - Philadelphia Flyers; Five-years, $17.5 million. Overall, I like him better than Hatcher. But five years? We'll see.

Marek Malik - New York Rangers. I wasn't going to say anything about this, as it would probably have flown under the radar for most fans. However, the reported salary is $2.5 million/season. If that turns out to be true, then it reaffirms my suspicions that the stupidity of Glen Sather knows no bounds.

To Pay or not Toupe

2005-08-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Is any curent NHL player actually worth the maximum salary allowed? In my opinion, not a chance. Through my eyes, there's only one player that should even come close, and that's Jarome Iginla. With all of the recent signings, and the buzz about elite players such as Niedermayer and Naslund demanding near the maximum salary, I fail to see how they are actually worth it.

Is any one player worth 20% of an entire team's payroll? In the new economic landscape, I'd be very hardpressed to say yes, and I'm sure many GM's around the league are feeling the same.

The word out West is that Markus Naslund is a goner from Canuckville, given that he is likely seeking the max. So, if he ends up signing somewhere for over $6-7 million/season, then I gladly bid him adieu. The general impression given by the media reports is that Scott Niedermayer is also seeking somewhere in the maximum price range as well. Given that the major motivation for elite players now may shift significantly over to the side of winning (as opposed to monetary gain), shouldn't outrageous salary demands be a thing of the past?

Players who want to win, such as Naslund, may have to realize that if they want the maximum salary, they may not end up on a winning team. If 20% of the payroll is dedicated to one player alone, then how likely is it that a Cup winning roster can be built with the remaining cash? It's possible for sure, but the odds go down. (The flipside is the New York Rangers, who have clearly proven that a team of high paid superstars does not equate to Cup victory).

In the new NHL, $7.78 million may very well be much better spent on two $3.8 million, or three $2.65 million players rather than on one player making the max.

In my opinion, the Canucks will be much better off if they can sign two good players for roughly the same price tag that Naslund is seeking. Naslund is a great player, but it looks as though quality forwards are available for much less. And that thought process may be what many GM's are thinking.

Modano to head East?

2005-08-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

RDS, the French equivalent of TSN, has rumoured (for those who read French) that Mike Modano may be headed to the Boston Bruins - a deal which may be announced tomorrow. I usually don't like to spread rumours, and I'm certainly what you would call a skeptic when it comes to substance-less rumours (Eklund anyone?), but with all of the Joe Thornton babble making the rounds, I had to bite. So take it for what it's worth, and if it happens, think of me fondly ;)

Foote heads to Ohio

2005-08-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Look out now, the Columbus Blue Jackets have added some solid veteran leadership and solidified their back end with the apparent acquisition of hard nosed blueliner Adam Foote. Terms of the deal have not become clear, and Blue Jacket GM Doug MacLean has just indicated on the Fan590 radio out of Toronto, that the deal is not finalized yet.

However, if the deal goes through, as I'm sure it will, I would surmise that given the recent dollar figures that Sergei Zubov inked for, the numbers are fairly similar. I'll wait until the financial details become public before I draw any conclusions. On the face of it though, a great acquisition for Columbus, who's roster is becoming impressively talent laden. Here's to hoping that it will show up in the standings this season.

**Update** - TSN is now reporting that the deal is finalized and is for $13.5 million over three years ($4.5 million/season). The dollar amount is almost right on par with his previous contract - so much for the 24% rollback. So, what class does this put Niedermayer in? If Foote and Zubov are managing these types of bucks, does this not raise the bar substantially for the truly elite or has the gap between the players been narrowed? My gut tells me that we won't have to wait for long to find out.

Roberts, Nieuwendyk to Panthers?

2005-08-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Early reports from The Score say that veterans Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk have left the Maple Leafs and signed two year deals in Florida. I can't say that I'm surprised that they didn't resign in Toronto, but I'm a little surprised at where they are reportedly headed.

Also today, the Edmonton Oilers dealt Brad Isbister to the Bruins for a 4th round draft pick in 2006.

Probably plenty of more action to come in the next several days.

**Update** Sportsnet has confirmed the news. $2.25 million/season for each one.

Free Agent Fever

2005-07-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Noon Eastern standard time. That's when the NHL declares the free agent hunt officially open. The buyout period surprised my somewhat - there was much less movement than I had expected. Regardless, there will be an unpresidented number of high-quality unrestricted players on the market, and who knows where they may end up and for how much.

The list of marquee players on the market is staggering:

Peter Forsberg
Markus Naslund
Mike Modano
Alexei Kovalev
Pavol Demitra
Ziggy Palffy
Bobby Holik
Alexei Zhamnov
Paul Kariya
Teemu Selanne
Scott Niedermayer

Adam Foote
Sergei Gonchar
Brian Leetch
Sergei Zubov
Derian Hatcher
Brian Rafalski
Mathieu Schneider
Mike Rathje
Roman Hamrlik
Adrian Aucoin

It's hard to say where many of these players will end up. It is likely that several will remain with the same team, however salary cap restraints will have a major impact on where and how many players are signed. Even though the league maximum salary this year will be roughly $7.8 million, I find it very hard to believe that many players, if any at all, are signed to this type of lucritive contract.

For instance, there has been recent speculation that Peter Forsberg will end up back in Colorado. On its face, it seems entirely reasonable. However, it all depends on the type of dollar figure he is after. If he wants close to the max salary, it likely won't happen unless it's a the expense of Hejduk, Tanguay, etc.

Making things that much more complicated for in the long term, is the fact that the salary cap may even drop next year.

''No question, and that makes it even that much more complicated,'' said Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe. ''That's what guys are envisioning. You have to consider that. I think it's safe to say that no one is expecting the cap number to go up next year unless everyone has underestimated their revenue projections.''

I also don't expect a mad flurry of early activity - teams will want to know what the value range will actually be set at before the mad dash to the finish commences.

Whatever the salary range for star players ends up being, I'm glad to know that finally it will be a true 30 team buying market. In other words, it won't be the same 6 or 7 teams that horde the elite players. With the new fiscal sanity, teams like the Edmonton Oilers will now have an almost identical (on a monetary scale, anyways) chance at signing free agents as the New York Rangers. And to me, that is exactly what this league needed. The competative balance was so far out of whack that it probably couldn't have gotten any worse.

From a Vancouver standpoint, what can we expect? Well, I'm in the dark here, much like everyone else. It's likely that Todd Bertuzzi will be suspended for an addition period of time, and as far as where Markus Naslund will end up - from what I'm hearing, it probably won't be Vancouver (Sorry Canuck fans, the dream of keeping Naslund and adding Forsberg are remote). The chances of landing Scott Niedermayer are also remote, unless they decide to trade/dump Ed Jovanvoski.

But on the bright side, I do hear that Paul Kariya is seriously considering a move to his hometown. (For more great insight, check out Spector's Hockey - a very well done site with several tidbits of info)

In any event, the free agent hunting season will be a blast to watch, and the new CBA may usher in an era where it becomes a regular occurrence. With the reduction in UFA age restrictions, the list of potential UFA's will probably be fairly exciting every off season. Consider next year's potential UFA's:

Joe Thornton
Vincent Lecavalier
Jose Theodore
Ed Jovanovski
Wade Redden
Zdeno Chara
Sergei Samsonov

Jarome Iginla
Marty Turco
Ryan Smyth
Patrick Elias
Evgeni Nabokov
Chris Pronger
Patrick Marleau

Whatever happens, the smell of hockey is in the air, and I'm getting pumped.

One down....

2005-07-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that Bob Goodenow stepped down today as the executive director of the NHLPA. And while I shed no tears for him, I don't really think that his demise was his fault. From the very start, he warned the players that in order to get what they wanted, it would likely be a two year battle - and that meant no juicy paychecks. It's not his fault that the players missed the good life too much.

The only mistake that I can say that he made during the labour dispute was the 24% rollback. It was an ingenious idea at the time and in the context of the NHLPA's December 2004 offer. But his mistake lie in the fact that he did not make it abundantly clear that the 24% rollback on salaries was a one time, take it or leave it offer.

Other than that, Goodenow played his game the way he said he was going to. It was the players who blinked.

But now that he's gone, please tell me that there is hope of removing Gary Bettman.

05/06 NHL Schedule: My Take

2005-07-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

The NHL released it's 05/06 schedule today, and in the words of Guido the garbage man: "It really stinks."

This is how the NHL pays back the seventeen fans it has left? With all of the NHL's jabbering about fixing the game and making it more fan friendly, which one would reasonably think should include marketing the snot out of it, the best the NHL think-tanks can come up with is this flaming dung-muffin.

There is now a major emphasis on inter-conference play, more specifically inter-divisional play. Don't get me wrong, this has it's potential upsides, such as building strong rivalries and limiting travel time and expenses. But how much is too much? Especially when it means sacrificing exposure to most of the other conference's teams.

For example, the Vancouver Canucks will play the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche eight times each. I like the idea of building strong rivalries, but be realistis here, I don't think that you need to play 8 games against one team to do it. In total, that means that 32 games are spent on 4 divisional teams. That's 40% of the schedule burned.

Some may say that the added divisional emphasis is long overdue. But, keep in mind that it comes with a price tag. A steep one. There will be no visits to Canuck-ville (or many Western teams) from the likes of Mario Lemieux, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and the defeding Cup Champs, Dan Heatley & Ilya Kovalchuk, Martin Brodeur, Alexander Ovechkin, and more importantly, the NHL's new poster child, Sidney Crosby.

As a fan of hockey in general, I'm a little ticked off. As a fan of the Canucks, I'm downright choked.

Added to the idea of rivalry building, there seems to be a new "series" concept to the new schedule. There will be several instances where two teams will play back-to-back games - or a mini-series, for lack of a better term. In the case of the Canucks:

Canucks Rivalry Dates:
October 12 & 14 - Back-to-back road series vs. Minnesota
October 27 & 29 - Back-to-back road series vs. Colorado
November 5 & 7 - Back-to-back road series vs. Calgary
November 27 & 30 - Road and home series vs. Colorado
December 23 & 25 - Back-to-back home series vs. Calgary
March 21, 23, 25 - Three-game series vs. Edmonton beginning at home, followed by two road games
March 11 & 13 - Home and road series vs. Dallas
March 29 & 31 - Back-to-back home series vs. Minnesota
April 12 & 13 - Back-to-back home and road games vs. San Jose

I'm not completely opposed to this concept, but at present it doesn't really blow me away either. I'll have to see how it plays out before I decide what to think. I'm not so sure that a string of games should be played with the same two teams - that's more suited to the playoffs. But, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

So those are my thoughts. To see an Ottawa persepective - Hockey Country offers some insight.

Pronger Qualified & Other Random Musings

2005-07-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

For some reason, the folks at TSN were partially surprised that Chris Pronger was qualified by the Blues today. Honestly, what else where they going to do? Let him walk with zero compensation? That would be hard to stomach and I think that buying out Weight would be a more attractive option than saying goodbye to one of the league's premier defenceman.

The problem is that if Pronger does accept it - and why wouldn't he, given the fact that the qualifying offer was pretty much at the max salary for this season - then what do the Blues do? As I said above, buying out Weight may be the lesser of two evils (time's running out there). After all, it may be extremely difficult to trade players with $5 million+ salaries. It also means that Demitra is gonzo, not that that wasn't a foregone conclusion already.

I like the new economic landscape so far. It makes GM's actually put some thought into building a competitive roster instead of simply tossing out money as if they were condoms at a sex convention.

Take for example, as Bob McKenzie so deftly points out, the Philadelphia Flyers. They have cut ample salary and locked-up two higly-touted young prospects; and they have done so while being forced to be fiscally responsible. Not that giving the axe to LeClair's outrageous salary was a tough decision.

And I'm sure that teams like the Flyers, Rangers and Maple Leafs et al would still love to loosen the purse strings and do it the old fashioned way, but not this time fellas.

Time will be the true test for the new NHL landscape, but five days in, and well before the loopholes have surfaced, I like it.

Jagr may head to Russia

2005-07-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

When he was with the Penguins, Jaromir Jagr was one of my favorite players. The talent that he possessed (it may still be there - somewhere under a rock) was equalled by none - save for Super Mario. But since his departure from the Pens, he's slowly transformed himself from an ultra-talented megastar to a whining, bumbling wanker.

Take today for example. Apparently the new NHL CBA is much too restrictive and limits his earning potential far too much. Jagr is slated to earn somewhere in the neighbourhood of $7.8 million (the cap max for the upcoming season), but I guess he sees that as unacceptable.

In my opinion, this guy is exactly what's wrong with pro sports today. If being limited to a measley $7.8 million requires multiple sessions with a depression specialist, then I say good riddance to ya sir.

Canucks fate lies in balance

2005-07-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

In the last few days, the hot topic out West has been the Vancouver Canucks - more specifically, the fate of Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. If Naslund decides not to return to Vancouver, does that spell the slow evolution of the team back into the depths of mediocrity (not that they may not be there at the present time)?

It's hard to say outright, but in the words of Yoda: A serious blow it would be.

If Naslund takes his skills elsewhere, what does Bertuzzi take from that? Who knows how effectively Bertuzzi will return given the optimum circumstances, but take away his long time linemate and best friend, he may find that a change is high up on his priority list - even though he is under contract.

Yes, the short-term fate of the Canucks will become much clearer within the next few weeks, and depending on where Naslund goes, it could be a murky fate indeed. Despite a fairly strong offensive showing recently (perhaps a one-line show), the Canucks are rather shallow at the forward position. And should Naslund leave, he would create a huge gap up front, and an even larger gap in the dressing room. A suitable replacement will not be easy to come by, even in the new era NHL.

And it's not like Vancouver has a plethora of talent waiting in the wings - their top prospects from recent seasons includes the likes of Jason King, Brandon Reid, Fedor Fedorov and Ryan Kessler - players who may or may not turn out to be solid, but will almost assuredly never be overly significant.

And unless the Sedin twins somehow manage to break-out from under the black cloud of averagedom, things could be very mediocre indeed.

I say that not because I'm a pessimist, but because I lack the confidence in the abilities of first time GM Dave Nonis to build the team. Every time I hear him speak, I shudder with contempt. I don't dislike Nonis, quite the opposite, he's very personable (from what I've heard), and well spoken. But what bothers me, in my humble opinion, is that he doesn't seem to have the gumption or wherewithal to bring the team to a new level.

"I didn't make any secret about the fact we were going to try to sign Markus and we will," Nonis said at a news conference. "We're going to make a concerted effort to put a team out there that is competitive."

Well, that's great, but it doesn't get me all warm and fuzzy inside. I've heard enough lip service over the last several months from idiot GM's and asshat players that unless the next round of lip service comes from a knockout redhead, I'm not interested. Naslund should be priority number one for Nonis - unless he has a sure-thing replacement lined up, which I doubt.

I'm sure that several teams face a similar fate - after all, if everyone had the answers, life in the NHL would be easy. I don't envy Dave Nonis, he's being thrown right into the fire and he could quickly end up in a situation where he's digging his team out of the dirt. Not a great way to start one's tenure as a GM. But, let's hope that he can manage to pull it off, and the Canucks can move forwards instead of back.

Welcome back, NHL

2005-07-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

The NHL ushered in a new era yesterday, with the owners voting 30-0 to ratify the new CBA. And with the delightful and outrageously long overdue news comes the return of, well....me. My four month hiatus from anything even remotely connected to the NHL has been pushed aside now that I have something substantial to talk about.

So, the new CBA is a done deal, however, it will be some time yet before anyone knows for certain if the impact will be all positive.

My take on the new deal, with my limited knowledge of it, is that it's a definite step in the right direction from an owner point of view. But does this new reign on player salaries have any loopholes? I'm sure some may pop up, but even if they don't, if the NHL revenues climb high enough, the salary cap could theoretically be stretched quite high. We could one day again see the days of $60+ million payrolls. So time will be the only telling tale of how well this deal will function.

My main question now is what about the fans? The players and owners have apparently kissed and made up, no doubt they're busy high-fiving each other or bending each other over their respective sofas as we speak. But what do the fans get out of this?

So far, it would seem, very little. I don't anticipate a significant drop in ticket prices - if any at all, and even though I never expected a drop off in prices - what a slap in the face it is if there are no monetary concessions thrown our way.

Aside from that, the new look NHL is toying with the idea of more inter-divisional/inter-conference games. From where I sit, the idea of watching the Minnesota Wild play the Vancouver Canucks 8 times this coming year makes me want to puke. Worse than that, does this mean that teams out west will only see Sidney Crosby once in the next two to three seasons? Good grief I hope not.

But anyways, it's just nice to have the NHL gearing up for action again, and I look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas about hockey once again. The buyout and free agency period should be a complete gong show, and I've got my popcorn handy.

NHL for sale?

2005-03-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

Apparently, an investment firm and a sports advisory company have made an effort to purchase every team in the NHL. The dollar figure reported - $3.5 billion. I don't even know what to say about this; there's way too many what if's and I can't even begin to disect the implications of such a purchase.

Would there be GST included in that?

It's the agents turn

2005-03-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

Player agent Ritch Winter has some words of wisdom for the NHL owners:

"We're not going to lay down and kill the game just because a bunch of basketball people want their way," he said. "Why are we taking directions from a bunch of basketball executives who only know how to lose millions of dollars, minimize talent and (screw up) TV deals?"

What's with the "we" crap? The only people that I can stand less than Goodenow and Bettman are the greaseball player agents. Take a look at what you just said there Rich baby. You're telling us that the NHL owners have no clue as to how they should manage their own business? Give me a break and get over yourself.

If it happened that the agents were somehow employed by the owners instead of the players, you can rest assured that they would be singing the exact opposite tune. The only reason that they have gotten their panties in a knot is because they stand to lose enormous sums of money. It's not that they have the best interests of hockey in mind.

Can anyone, including the agents themselves, seriously tell me that they have the best interests of the game in mind? Of course they don't. Yet they have the nerve to express disdain towards a bunch of "basketball people" because they know nothing of hockey and don't know what's best for the game as a whole.

Excuse me whilst I go and retch.

NHL unleashes not so veiled threat

2005-03-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

The NHL wrapped up it's board of governors meeting on tuesday and some of the comments about Plan B were a poor attempt at subtelty. Here's Cal Nichols, Edmonton Oiler's chariman:

"I think that we can move forward and plan to play a season however it happens this coming year. I think that in itself is what our fans want to see, so we'll just see how it works out in the summer.

I think everybody still has a preference to work with the union and try to negotiate something and hopefully that's where it takes us."

Sure, the preference is always for the top of the line product. But what do you do when the Sony flat screen's are locked out of the electronics store? You put a crapload of Sanyo's on display and hope to God that no one notices the difference in picture quality and the public buys it as a worthy alternative.

Gary Bettman adds his two cents - which is probably worth much less than that:

We discussed a variety of options and I don't want to focus on any one because it would seriously be misconstrued and be potentially inflammatory. The fact is there are lots of options.

Hopefully it's an alternative proposition that we never have to focus on because our commitment remains making a fair partnership deal with the players.

We're going to invite the union back to the table soon and I assume that they will discharge their legal obligation to bargain in good faith.

The more the damage, the less money we're going to have to ultimately pay in players' salaries. So I think it's in everybody's interest to move forward as expeditiously as possible."

Pretty much the status quo from 'ol Betts. The one positive thing is that talks could resume quite quickly. But even still, will the talks end up in a deal? I'm not so sure.

Both sides emerged from their meetings apparently as solid as they have ever been. Case in point, some of the owner's sound bites after the adjournment:

Eugene Melnyk, Ottawa Senators owner:

"You had 30 ownerships that are in absolute unanimity as to where we're going to go from here. Everyone voted on the resupport of Gary and it was unanimous. I think there's a plan in place to try to move forward and I think we're going to have hockey next season."

Los Angeles Kings president and governor Tim Lieweke:

"He speaks on our behalf and anyone that thinks he's in trouble is wrong. Anyone that thinks there is division within the owners is wrong. We are very united. We have one voice, it's Gary."

New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury:

"It was down the line solid."

And Flyers owners Ed Snider responded with this tidbit when asked if he would consider joining the negotiating party.:

"I am very happy with my life as it is. I don't need aggravation from Bob Goodenow. I might jump over the table and choke him to death. That would not be good. That's why they keep me out of negotiations. I am a throwback to the old hockey days."

There was an equal amount of rah rah's coming from the NHLPA side as well. So, as united as both sides seem to be, how does this thing ever get done?

I have no clue. I wish I did, because whew, I'd be one seriously popular guy. The owners comments from today gave me the impression that replacement players are moving up quickly on the to do list, and that tells me that the NHLPA's options will continue to get smaller and smaller. That is, assuming that the replacement players' train leaves the station without a hitch.

In any event, I'm going to Vegas. Tips and suggestions about what I can do while I'm down there are welcome.

Meetings and musings

2005-02-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

Both the NHL and NHLPA will meet with their respective groups tomorrow (tonight in the case of the players) and it may be a little more clear as to where the league overall goes from here. But even if and end plan is fortefied by both sides, I ask, will there be NHL hockey next year in one form or another?

Maybe, but many think that it may not include the NHLPA.

That said, what I still don't understand, and probably what a large number of players don't understand, is what is the NHLPA's end game? Why was a deal not done and why did they have to lose an entire year's salary, and probably more than that. Plan A was obviously to out-wait the owners - a plan that has blown up in their face.

Individually, they all must have some form of an option, such as playing in Europe. But even in the European leagues, there's no way that the players overall can come anywhere near the salaries that were obtained in the NHL. In my eyes, a player superleague is not tangible.

The way it's looking now, the UHL could be composed entirely of NHL players by this time next year.

So, I'm sure that behind the NHLPA doors, there will be many questions to answer and Bob Goodenow may be on the hot seat for question period. Especially given all of the hoopla that surrounded the last weekend of negotiations when many were almost 100% sure that a deal was done. We all know how that turned out, and many, myself included, are blaming the NHLPA for putting on a spectacular show.

Was the NHLPA misleading in their participation of those meetings? Well, Mario Lemieux believes that a proposal was supposed to be tabled yet nothing of that nature ocurred.

"The only way that Wayne and I would have gotten involved is because we believed there was a new proposal coming from the Players' Association," Lemieux said. "We were told by some of the players we were talking to that there would be a new proposal on the table at the $45 [million] level."

Lemieux also believes that getting deal done quickly is key.

"The players really have to understand that the ability to maximize revenues next year is dependent on reaching an agreement as soon as possible."

"Hopefully, they understand that, so we can go out and have our marketing plan and season-tickets (drive) and sell our sponsorships. Have the (June entry) draft, and all the things that need to be in place to maximize revenue."

"The longer we wait, the more challenging it's going to be for us to generate enough revenues. At the end of the day, you can only afford to pay the players so much. The longer we wait, the smaller the pie's going to be and the less there's going to be for the players."

However, is there some sense of desperation on the owner's side from all of this? After all, they are likely taking huge losses from not playing - regardless of what they will tell you publically - and the longer the NHL is out, the worse off they are going to be as well.

TV revenue is already at a laughable level compared to other sports, ratings stink, and the league as a whole has lost a huge amount of credibility. With that in mind, I think a swift resolution is also in the best interests of the owners and they may be a little more anxious to get a deal done than many are letting on.

Regardless of what happens, I'm not optimistic about seeing the NHL in full swing come October. In fact, come October, these goofballs could be further apart than they have ever been.

UHL hockey player gets a lifetime ban

2005-02-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

The UHL, you know, the league that should the NHL lockout go on long enough, will consist entirely of NHL players trying to stay in shape, has given Chad Wagner of the Danbury Trashers a lifetime ban from the league.

Apparently he grabbed the opposing team's coach off the bench after he broke free from the on-ice officials on his way to the dressing room.

Burke in no mood to simmer down

2005-02-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

For those who know anything about Brian Burke, you know that his passion is undeniable and it spills over into his interviews. Last night on CKNW's Sportstalk with Dan Russell, Burke was again on the livid side as he was in his weekend confrontations with Glen Healy on TSN.

For the record, my opinion of Dan Russell is that he is fully capable of conducting a fair interview, however his obvious distaste for Gary Bettman and the NHL owner's group has become extremely prevalent over the last couple of months. He does not seem to hold much objectivity on the NHL labour dispute and constantly harps on the NHL and Bettman for almost everything that they do, yet at the same time, he rarely critiques the equally befuddled NHLPA and their cantankerous actions.

Having said that, we all know which side of the fence Burke sits on. Needless to say, the interview was rather confrontational.

During the interview, Brian gave his account of what actually happened last week.

"I received calls from a prominent player, followed by some other discussions with other prominent players who were saying that there is a deal to be made and could you get the other side to the table...

I can tell you that the script was written [for a deal].

He [Gary Bettman] gets calls from people like me, saying that we may be able to save the season if you just reach out, and he did, and it backfired.

On this particular transaction, you can lay 100% of the blame on the NHLPA for renegging on this deal. It wasn't Gary Bettman..."

Burke's account of what happened in the meeting room on Saturday between the NHLPA and the NHL sheds an unflattering light on the PA. To sum it up, Burke explains that several prominent players were in contact with people on the NHL side asking them to contact the union because a deal is there to be made.

So, Gary Bettman does reach out to the players and invites them to the table under the impression that there is a negotiable deal to be made and the NHLPA is willing to make major concessions. However, when they get face to face, the NHLPA basically sandbags the league by refusing to talk about a salary cap number and tries to force the league to accept the NHLPA's views on qualifying offers, arbitration and indexing of the salary cap number (which amounts to upwards linkage), before even entertaining the notion of a salary cap level.

In summation, Burke says that Bettman was reaching out to the NHLPA, risking the embarassment of 'un-cancelling' the season, because he is under the impression that the union wants to do a deal immediately. Instead, what actually happens is the NHLPA had no intentions of making a deal and had actually taken a leap backwards in negotiations, leaving the league with egg on their face and looking as though they are to blame.

So, do we believe Burke on the events that happened? Well, personally, I do. Burke is a stand-up and classy guy - he may be abrasive and short-tempered, but he's not a liar.

What I find completely ludicrous about the events of last weekend is the fact that the NHLPA complains that there is no upwards movement in the NHL's cap level over the duration of the deal. Well, DUH!?!?!? That's called linkage you nutbags. You fought that tooth and nail for the last six months yet now you whine because there's no upward pressure on a salary cap level as revenues rise. Morons.

Anyways, dig in, because I have many more rants to go before my star burns out. You can listen to the entire interview on CKNW's audiovault.

Mighty Ducks sold

2005-02-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

The Mighty Ducks will have new ownership assuming the NHL approves the deal. Disney has reportedly sold the team to billionaire Henry Samueli for an undisclosed amount.

Disney paid $50 million US for the Ducks to join the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1992. Samueli's initial offer reportedly was in the $50 million to $60 million range.

Now, can we please change the damn name?

We've gone a full day without NHL news

2005-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations are in order to the media masses who have finally avoided one full day of NHL coverage. Sure, it makes the blogging content a little thin, and my blogging stock may fall at a faster pace than a jackrabbit on a date.

But in my case, the rest and relaxation for the fingers is worth it.

So what do we hockey bloggers do now? Well, we could all broaden our horizons, expand our content, and quit our jobs, like this guy, to take up blogging full time.

The range of topics on Jason Kottke's blog are quite broad, as he hosts stories ranging from galaxies composed entirely of dark matter (aka Jessica Simpson), to phallic cookery. That's right. Cooking of the phallus, better known in culinary circles as Weinerschnitzel Flambe.

As for me, I'm too busy with life in general to become a professional blogger. I'm more committed to working on my new creation - yet another television series, but this time with a Canadian element - CSI: Red Deer. We all know that three CSI series' just won't do, and hey, Canadians will dig it, eh.

There once was a man from Nantucket....

Or how about making the Matrix trilogy into a quartet? I think they owe it to the fans to take a mulligan on The Matrix: Revolutions (what a brutal end to such a brilliant concept) and come out with the fourth installment - The Matrix: Reimbursement.

If that fails, I can always go back to writing the great novel of the 21st century. The premise behind that is basically two men walk into a bar....after that I get stumped, but I'm sure there are options up the wazoo.

If you're ever bored, try to figure out what people ship styrofoam in....

Now that hockey has been officially cancelled twice (only once ceremoniously), maybe I can grow my readership by blogging about the most dedicated athletes of the winter - curlers. Man, if these guys (and gals) aren't sveldt, I don't know who is. And talk about edge of your seat action. I don't know about anyone else, but there's nothing I find more exciting than a pair of curlers sweeping the ice like they're scrubbing an inpenetrable stain on the kitchen floor.

Anyways, instead of counting the number of days in the NHL lockout, I'm going to count the number of days until the start of the next NHL season. Today is day 1. Sigh.

Melnyk offers to open up the Senator's books

2005-02-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Eugene Melnyk has offered to open up the financial records of his team, the Ottawa Senators, to the NHLPA.

"If I was allowed [by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman], I would be happy to open my books to every single Ottawa Senator, and bring along your best friend who might be an accountant," Melnyk said. "It would probably take them less than an hour to see where Ottawa stands."

And, finally, Ted Saskin has accepted.

"I want to see the books for the team and for the [Corel Centre], because he owns them both, and I know where he put some of those revenues," Saskin said. "If he wants to open them both, we would be happy to have that discussion."

Great on it's face. What they should do, is have both parties present but agree on an independant agency to actually conduct the procedure (whatever that may entail). That way, neither side can put their spin on what comes out of it.

The Great One clarifies role

2005-02-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

Wayne Gretzky has cleared up what his role in the latest joke of an attempt at collective bargaining actually was - and who in fact invited him.

In an interview with the New York Post, Gretzky had plenty to say:

"Mario and I believed our role was going to be to do what we could to help the players get to the number that was going to get a deal done," Gretzky told the Post. "Gary never told me or led me to believe [the NHL] was coming to the meeting with a new proposal, or had committed to raising the hard cap number from the previous $42.5 million. Gary never told me the league was prepared to go to $45M.

"I wasn't there to negotiate, and neither was Mario. That wasn't our role. You have to remember, this wasn't the NHL's meeting. If Gary had wanted to call another meeting, he would have done it Wednesday morning before he announced cancellation of the season."

"So when the meeting began, I took Trevor (Linden) and Vincent (Damphousse) aside and asked how they thought we could bridge the gap between $42.5M and [the PA's last proposal of] $49M to make it work," Gretzky said. "They told me they weren't prepared to talk about a hard cap number until the other issues like arbitration, qualifiers and entry level were done."

"That's when I told them that I didn't have a role in that at all, that I wasn't there for that. And that's kind of the way it went. There never was real discussion about the cap number."

What a joke this has become. The NHL has accused the NHLPA of setting them up, and Goodenow has flat out denied that - and denied calling the meeting in the first place. The spin masters are out in full force and every tick of the clock means another fan has had enough.

If the NHL ever had any thoughts about claiming the #4 spot amongst major sports in North America, they can kiss that notion sayonara. What a complete farce both the NHL and NHLPA have become.

For those who actually believed that hockey will start in October, we may have to think again.

Bettman: "We were set up!"

2005-02-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

Allrighty then. For those of us who thought that hockey blogs may suffer a slow demise, we will have to think again. With fodder such as this, we could go on forever.

Just when it was thought that lockout stories were on the verge of simmering down, Gary Bettman has accused the NHLPA of plotting against the NHL.

"I think this was a set up," Bettman told Mike Francesa. "I think this was done intentionally to try and cause the type of reaction we saw all weekend. I think they were trying to position us into an offer they knew I couldn't accept - either because they wanted me to make a mistake that I couldn't get through my board (of directors), or so we would ultimately agree to something we couldn't afford."

"What happened with our fans, in raising the level of expectation... I was sick to my stomach. It was more trying than what I had to do on Wednesday...And after Saturday, when everybody realized that they had been had, then they had a field day in the media, killing us on Sunday."

Right on Gary. You go girl...I mean dude. You can accuse the NHLPA of bargaining in less than good faith because the NHL itself would NEVER stoop to that level would you, Gary?

Nooooooooooooooooo. Last Wednesday's "official" cancellation was not a negotiating ploy in the least.

The one thing that I will say about last Saturday's "meetings", is that the NHLPA are such hypocrites. Linkage was taken off the table by the NHL last week, yet the players complained openly that the cap level proposed by the NHL would not rise as revenues did. They did not like the fact that the $42.5 million cap would remain at that threshold for the entire length of the agreement.

Well, I ask, what if revenues go down and continue to decline? What then? Should the cap level slowly lower itself along with sinking revenues? Of course not in the players' minds! The players have already expressed their distaste with downward linkage. However, upwards is obviously not only ok with them, it is expected. So really, linkage is fine as long as it goes their way. Good grief, you can't have it both ways. Stuff that crap back in your shorts NHLPA.

No NHL employees in World Championships?

2005-02-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

TSN is reporting that a source has indicated that the NHL will not allow NHL employees to participate in the upcoming World Championships in Austria:

A source has told TSN the NHL will not allow anyone in the league or employees to take part in the Worlds.

While this is said not to include NHL players, this means that Wayne Gretzky will no longer be able to head up the Canadian entry into the tournament.

This is ridiculous. Why on Earth not? I will refrain from further comment until this is verified or an explanation is given because it really makes little sense to me at the moment.

Naslund sounds off on lawsuit

2005-02-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

I think we now all know where Markus Naslund stands on the issue of Steve Moore's lawsuit against Todd Bertuzzi and the Canucks.

"He's suing everyone so he can make money," Naslund told the Vancouver Sun from Sweden. "I've got no respect for him at all.

Even talking to his teammates, it seems evident he doesn't have a lot of support in hockey."

"This is just a guy who's trying to hit a home run (financially)," Naslund said to the Sun.

"Someone who wasn't good enough to play...I'm not saying what (Bertuzzi did) was right. But if it was me, I'd be doing everything I could to get back and play and show everyone the character I have, instead of trying to sue everyone."

Naslund is usually much more subdued in his comments but this time it appears that there's no holding back.

It's over....again

2005-02-19T14:28:00.000-08:00

Bill Daly emerged from the latest meeting in New York and had nothing positive to report.

"Our discussions revealed that we remain as far apart as we believed we were last week," Daly told TSN. "The rumours that the parties were close or had in fact reached a deal were greatly exaggerated. There is still a long way to go."

I'm taking the rest of the weekend off. Call me when the media stops the runaway train of rumors and speculation.

Deal done?

2005-02-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

The Hockey News is reporting that a deal in principle has been agreed upon by the NHL and PA which would include a $45 million salary cap. It should be noted that the NHLPA denies this report.

Details to follow.

Election night is here...again

2005-02-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

Last monday night felt curiously like election night with the day-long lockout analysis by the usual sports networks such as TSN, Sportsnet and The Score. There were numerous rumblings of progressive talks that night, and almost everyone suggested that a last minute deal was imminent. It was widely speculated that the exchange of proposals would continue on all night.

Well, we all now that didn't happen on Monday. But the rumors bounding about the distaste and disention amongst the NHLPA have culminated into more than simple and dismissive rumor. Several sources are reporting of a meeting in New York tomorrow. Some have even gone further and speculated that a deal may be done as quickly as tonight.

So maybe, there will be some juicy fodder for the blogging masses to sink their teeth into tonight or tomorrow.

What I find interesting is that Both Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have accepted invitations to these meetings. I ask my fellow NHL die-hards, what purpose does that really serve?

Both of these guys will be in unequivocally awkward positions - especially Lemieux. And what would they really bring to the table anyways? Both are obviouslyon the NHL side of the ledger now, and more than likely do not share the NHLPA's rationale of the labour solution.

Is it perhaps because they would be able to relate to the players on a much more productive and understanding level than anyone from the owner's side could manage? Are they there to provide the dire and disputed financial numbers to the players in a manner that will stimulate better reception from the NHLPA?

Maybe they are there to talk some fiscal sense into the agitated players because they will inspire a much higher level of trust from the union's perspective.

But other than that, I fail to grasp what the purpose of their presence will be? Maybe it will just be one long retrospective session on the glory days of hockey. Maybe they are there to simply sign autographs.

All I know is that during this revival of negotiating, the Klingon interpreter best be left on the Bird of Prey.

Grain of salt in hand....

2005-02-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Sportsnet, masters of 'breaking' rumors as fact, are now reporting that all of the rumors over the past two days may have some bite to them.

It's rather ironic that it took the cancellation of the season to jumpstart serious negotiations to actually save it.

Say it isn't so

2005-02-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

There are rumblings that some NHLPA members are up in arms and ready to make another proposal to the NHL. My God, this cannot be true...can it?

Does a cancelled season not really mean that the season is cancelled?

Perhaps a group of players realize that they don't really have an end game plan and believe that taking the latest NHL offer would guarante that they lose less money than they will if the don't take it. There may be disention in the NHLPA, and Mike Modano has this to say:

There were a lot of people who really couldn't understand how we could go so long not talking about a cap and then just change over to a cap like that," he told the News. "And a lot of people didn't like it."

When asked if Goodenow had the support of the union, Modano replied, "I don't know, I don't know. I'm not sure."

Furthermore, Steve Yzerman doesn't think it's too late:

"I don't know if it's necessarily tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday night or Saturday. I know the season has been cancelled, but it's not too late to uncancel it," Yzerman told The Hockey News

Uncancel the season?!? How on Earth can a league that has lost so much credibility do such a thing? If you uncancel the season, what was the point of cancelling it in the first place?!?

Because, it may be the case that it was the ultimate in negotiating tactics by the NHL.

Either way, the NHL has already lost a huge amount of credibility and to un-cancel a season would only add to the problem, wouldn't it?

Whatever happens, my head is spinning. Just when you thought it was over, it really isn't. No one is letting this die. Stay tuned for more, I'm sure there will be plenty.

Steve Moore Files Civil Suit

2005-02-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

The Denver Post and The Team1040 radio in Vancouver are now reporting that former Avalanche player Steve Moore has filed a civil suit in Colorado today. Named as defendants in the suit are Todd Bertuzzi, Brian Burke, Brad May, Marc Crawford and the Vancouver Canucks.

Interesting that this was filed in Colorado. More to follow.

Emotion takes over

2005-02-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

Everyone's had a day to ponder, and reaction to the cancellation of the season brings mixed feelings. Some are downright outraged and want both Bettman and Goodenow's head on a platter, others don't seem to care as much as they thought they would.

Me? I'm managing to get by. There's still WHL hockey in town, plenty of NBA coverage, and simply put, I'm used to the lack of NHL games. Quite frankly, I have better things to do than pay to watch a bunch of spoiled brat millionaires frolic around on an ice-surface owned by spoiled brat billionaires.

One thing I'm grateful for is the end is finally here. No more analysis by ex-hockey players and GM's, no more crying from the union heads, and no more empty apologies from the NHL.

I'm glad it's over because we won't have to listen to players call the NHL commissioner a moron, when they themselves could use some more grey matter upstairs.

I'm glad it's over because we don't have to read about how this is all the NHLPA's fault, or the NHL's fault, or Donald Duck for somehow getting a team named after him.

I'm glad it's done because we won't have to hear about how un-trustworthy the owners are, and how they are experts at doctoring the books. We won't have to hear about the greedy players and their mission to claim as much money as they can.

I'm glad it's all over because now we don't have to watch a group of wealthy men bitch and moan with another group of wealthy men over one thing - money.

But most of all, I'm glad it's over because each side is getting exactly what they deserve - absolutely $0 from us, the fans. And for all I care, they can both stay out for ten more years and earn an equal amount of nothing. Screw em all, because they screwed us.

R.I.P. National Hockey League

2005-02-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

I bid good-bye to the NHL, at least for the year, and good riddance. The end has come and gone, and I feel a mixture of frustration and relief.

It’s so clear that this game has problems, and the players have to see that, don't they? When the NHLPA decided to submit to a salary cap, I would have thought that move signified their willingness to accept that the system needed revamping. As well, it also meant that the fight was no longer about principle, but that's not how it was spun by the players.

In the end, it all came down to money. Nothing more and nothing less.

If the fight was no longer about the concept of a salary cap, then by very definition, the fight cannot be said to come down to principle, regardless of how many players will still tell you that that's what it is about. This comes down to how much money they feel they are entitled to.

Bob Goodenow can spin the situation fifteen ways from Sunday, but I’m not buying it anymore. The decision to not accept the last offer from the NHL is slightly puzzling because, A) the alternative may be much worse than not accepting it, and B) where do the players go from here?

They have given up an entire year of salary, possibly much more, and several of the players are steaming mad because of it. But now how do they get a better deal than this latest one? Good God, how do they do it?

Bob Goodenow said today that negotiations will now start fresh from square one. If he truly believes that, he's on glue. The NHL is not going to wash the slate clean and start over. Their position will only be that much more hardline as time moves on.

The revenues will only shrink from here, and the NHL offers will not get any better. Ever.

The players have been approaching negotiations from the standpoint of working off of the old CBA. The NHL has realized that the old CBA is history, gone, caput, and have taken the position that an entirely new landscape must be negotiated. So even though they were both talking salary cap, maybe it wasn’t the same language after all.

After this has all transpired, where do they go from here? Well for one thing, good luck to the players in getting a better deal than they would have gotten today. The future looks grim and the fight will be uglier than it has already been.

Stay tuned. I have many rants left.

The end is here

2005-02-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

Gary Bettman and the owners have done what no other pro sports league has - cancelled an entire season. After 154 days of A lockout, it's finally over.

Bettman says that now that the season is over, the NHL has to go back to insisting on linkage out of necessity. He made it abundantly clear that their last offer is off the table.

"The best deal that was on the table is now gone....We're done losing money as a league, and we are willing to pay the players what we can afford, not a penny less and not a penny more....What's happening today and over the last six months, is about the long-term well being of the game.

Before we play again there will need to be a draft, but we haven't focused on that issue yet.

When you're out of time you need to be clear that you are not open to negotiation, this was to be made crystal cear that we had no more to give. Please stop fabricating this personality conflict between me and Bob, it doesnt exist, this isnt about Bob and its not about me."

I serve at the will of the board of governors, this is an industry that needed restructuring and thats what we're doing. If they decide that I'm no longer doing their will then thats an issue they will have to take up with me.

[impasse]I'm not here to issue any veiled threats, that's not what we've been about. Our goal is about making a deal.

We were too far apart and we werent as close as people think.

My biggest regret was that we could never get the union to look at the books."

I've paraphrased in a few instances, but the message is clear. The NHL has bent as far as they could afford to and they tried to get the NHLPA to see their point of view. What still remains unclear is what happens now? Bettman did not have a specific answer for that, although he indicated that there will be a season next year.

The news conference is still going on, and before I officially comment on what I make of it, I'll have to take a while and reflect on what was said.

Note: The NHLPA will be speaking at a 1pm news conference.

The end is near

2005-02-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

About a half an hour to go. The clock is ticking and all signs are pointing towards the cancellation of the NHL season. There was a minor flurry of action last night, but not enough movement for the two sides to come to an agreement.

Both sides have stated that they can move no further from their current positions and have now gone to their respective time-out chairs to sulk.

My question is, now that they have come so far, wasted the last six months bantering like children, finally agreed to speak the same language, why are they willing to turn out the lights now that the only difference seems to be the cap number - not the philosophy?

Throughout this entire process, it's been clear that the NHLPA and NHL interpret the situation from polarized viewpoints. The NHLPA seems to be negotiating off of the last CBA. Meanwhile, the NHL is negotiating like there is no CBA, and an entire economic system must be created from nothing.

As a result, here we sit, the hockey loving public, laden with anticipation, waiting for the end to be officially declared.

I'll take salary cap for $45 million, Alex

2005-02-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

TSN has just reported, as of 7:00pm Pacific Time, that the NHLPA has just responded with a counter-proposal that includes a $49 million salary cap.

Whew.

Could be a long night? If these hammerheads can't agree on a number now that the players have capitulated on a cap......

League counters

2005-02-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

According to sources on the TEAM1040 radio, the NHL has coutered the NHLPA proposal with a $42.5 million salary cap that is non-negotiable. It is reported to be the final offer from the league.

If that's the case, I fear the worst, and I shake my angry fist at the league for failing to flex a little more. The union made a huge concession yesterday, and for the league to counter with another proposal that won't have near the level of capitulation that the NHLPA's proposal did, probably spells the definitive end.

I don't get it. If the rumored numbers in the latest NHL proposal are true, they have failed to move enough and a deal will not take place, in my opinion. And for the NHL to call this offer their final proposal - that's just laughable.

The right deal is there to be made, Bettman and the league has won - the NHLPA has crumbled and accepted a salary cap. Don't start rubbing salt in the wounds by standing firm at $42.5 million cap and calling it a final offer - split the difference and work on the luxury tax thresholds.

Good grief - take a look at the players proposal:

- $52 million cap
- 24% rollback on salaries
- luxury tax with various thresholds between $40 - $52 million

There's plenty of room for compromise. This is a huge step in the right direction. I find it almost insulting that the NHL raises it's cap level from $40 to $42.5 million and calls it a final offer. If it's your final offer, give the players some kind of a bone for crying out loud. Compromise at a $46 million cap with a luxury tax from $40 - $46 million. Don't force the union to reject this 'final' offer by tossing them a salary cap that is $10 million less than what they have offered.

Good God, this has reached far beyond the threshold of stupidity. Stop the bloody roller-coaster already. If the league cannot survive under a $46 million salary cap with a luxury tax thrown in, then nothing will suffice. Sign a deal - it's there for the taking.

You've already hit a homerun Bettman, don't try to turn it into a Grand Slam.

NHL must bridge gap

2005-02-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, the NHL must bridge the remaining gap and get a deal together. The NHLPA has basically cracked on the cap issue, and now the onus is on the league to get the deal done. The NHLPA proposal is reported to be:

A cap of $52 million but with provisions for teams to spend as much as 10 per cent more than that on three occasions in a six-year period, with a luxury tax incorporated. The luxury tax rates would be 25 per cent on $40-44 million; 50 per cent on $44-48 million; 75 per cent on $48-52 million and 150 per cent on $52-$57.2 million. And the 24% rollback is incorporated in the latest union proposal.

Now, I'm not saying that the owners should jump all over this as it stands, but for everyone's sake, negotiate off of it and do something that will work. This proposal is very workable from the NHL perspective, and it shows that the players have finally agreed to work under a salary cap.

My hope is that the NHL will stop trying to hit a grand slam. They've already won - the players have offered up a salary cap, with a luxury tax in there to boot. Now go and negotiate the numbers and get it done, Mr. Bettman.

If no deal comes from the NHLPA's letest effort, I will fault the NHL, because there is a very workable deal in there.

Finally speaking same language?

2005-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

It would seem that both sides made concessions yesterday. The NHL apparently dropped the linkage issue, and the NHLPA proposed a salary cap. So it appears that no more Klingon translators are required. However, a deal was still not reached and the Wednesday deadline is looming.

"It is indeed unfortunate that with the major steps taken by both sides today we were unable to build enough momentum to reach an agreement", says Ted Saskin.

Even still, now that the sides have come this far, and the only stumbling block would seem to be thresholds and cap levels, these sides have to get it done. They cannot break down now.

Both sides say that there are no meetings planned for today, but you can bet that there are going to be some talks going on somewhere. Stay tuned, the last hurrah is here.

Naslund frustrated, broken record still playing

2005-02-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

Yet another NHL player has come out and slammed Gary Bettman. This time, it was Markus Naslund, the soft-spoken Swede who captains the Vancouver Canucks. For those who know Naslund, they know that he doesn't have a mean bone in his body, and his comments about Bettman, while derogatory in nature, are about as cordial as insults can get.

"I do not like to slam anyone, but obviously Gary (Bettman) has not done a good job during this period. It's sad to see, because this sport has the ability to be exciting if you can promote it the right way."

Don't disagree there. However,

"I really thought something would come about after the first proposal, but the league is set on a hard cap, and it is unfortunate of them to think time will help the cause ... we're not budging."

Well Markus, the NHL does know that more time will not help the cause. They are more than well aware of that fact. Do you seriously think that the NHL is just sitting there, twiddling their thumbs at the foot of the coffee table waiting for their rotary phone to start ringing? They know exactly what they're doing.

It seems as though Bettman's entire plan has been to get to this point. Anyone remember his interview with Ron McLean of Hockey Night in Canada last year? The question was put forth to Bettman as to why negotiations were not yet underway (keep in mind that this was midway through last season). Bettman basically inferred that things are going exactly as planned and there's no need to worry.

Well, his plans now seem completely clear. This has been the NHL's plan all along.

Naslund goes on to say:

"It is a shame a big operation like the NHL cannot trust each other [regarding no revenue sharing], and they think a partnership should start with a cap, which is not acceptable."

It may not be acceptable to the players, and it may not be fair, but it's what the owners want and it may be what ultimately ends up as the NHL system. Here's Tom Hicks, owner of the Dallas Stars:

"The players have turned down the best offer they're ever going to get. I can say that with certainty," Hicks told the Dallas Morning News, adding that the NHLPA wasn't "serious about entertaining the system we need to go forward."

And the NHLPA sees the eventual cracks in NHL solidarity?

Brendan Shanahan spoke up yesterday as well and speculated that the league could be out for three seasons. But I find it ridiculous that players like Shanahan are willing to give up possibly the next 3 years in order to get a better deal. In Shanahan's case, is it worth it to give up $24 million dollars just to get a "better" deal??

Gimme a break.

And I'm sick of the NHLPA placing all of the blame at the feet of Gary Bettman. He is not the reason for this dispute - he is doing what the owners tell him to do. This is not his personal crusade, he's working under the league mandate and he's doing his job.

Bob Goodenow has done just as little in this fight, and lies every bit as culpable as Bettman has been painted to be. The NHLPA has constantly harped that their constant rejections of the league proposals is not sinking in with the NHL and they fail to move off their stance. Well, I could also say that the NHL has rejected the December 9th proposal by the union, but the NHLPA fails to move forward as well.

I see no difference between the league's insistence on a cap and the NHLPA's refusal of one and it's abundantly clear that there will not be a deal mutually agreed upon by Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman.

Both sides are being idiotic and I'm now at the point where I hope that this blows up in all of their faces.

Blow up the damn league, I'm ready. Just hit the nuke button right now. Turn the blender onto Frappe and toss in a banana, some yogurt and the NHL.

More meetings...for me to poop on

2005-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

Silly title? It merely reflects the substance that I feel coming from the latest report that the two sides are meeting for one last time in order to save the season - which really is beyond saving, but that seems to matter not to league brass.

Any bets on what is being said behind closed doors? Good grief, what on Earth do they have to talk about?

**Vulcan mediator leaves the room, Klingon interpretor can't keep up to league officials, Yoda surrenders**

5 Minutes for making up penalties

2005-02-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

Friday's WHL game between the Kamloops Blazers and the Red Deer Rebels suffered from bad-ref-itis. For those who follow the WHL, this comes as no surprise.

In the last minute of the second period, Blazer forward Reid Jorgensen, who has been on fire lately, colided, rather inadvertently, with a Red Deer player and promptly received a 5 minute major for interference, and a game misconduct.

Come again?

Needless to say, 5 minutes for interference does not even exist in the WHL rule book (the official game stats now list the infraction as an elbowing major). The answer to the puzzle lies within the fact that the referee, Francois Fortin, is from Quebec, where they do in fact have a major penalty for interference in the QMJHL, quizzically enough.

Sunday night, The Blazers were in Medicin Hat to take on the Tigers. By game's end, the Tigers ended up 6-17 on the powerplay, a run that included five, 5 on 3 opportunities. For those keeping score, Kamloops ended up 1-10 on the PP. It should be noted that of the Tigers 39 shots, only 4 came at even strength.

I don't mean to gripe at officials because my home team lost. The WHL has long been the home for officiating that can only be categorized as complete crap. Does any game need 27 total powerplays?

So if you ever get the urge to berate NHL officials, take a trip to the nearest WHL town and feast your eyes on the ridiculousness that is WHL officiating.

Just to clarify

2005-02-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

I've received a few emails within the last several days that basically, and rather curiously, ask me which side I align myself with in the NHL labour war. The quick answer is, I don't align truly with either side.

I agree with certain assertions made by both sides. Regardless of who's to blame for letting it get to this point, I can understand the owners' complaints that the economics are out of control. On the flip side, how can the players trust any financial numbers that the league tosses their way?

One thing that I believe is abundantly clear is that salaries and spending must be controlled in some way. Now, the owners will tell you that that is the entire solution to the problem, and a salary cap is the magic cure-all for the ailing NHL. But really, that's only half of the solution, and a cap may not be the best way to go anyways.

A salary cap will only get you part-way there. In order to truly level the playing field, the major revenue generators must provide support to the little guys. That means revenue sharing. If the owners are truly serious about providing a healthy league, then this concept is key and it has somehow received much less attention that I initially believed that it would.

As I have said before, you cannot look at each team as an individual business entity. You must consider that the actual business is the NHL itself. To illustrate, here’s Tampa Bay Lightning president Ron Campbell:

"Every league is a business. It should be a business model, and it should be a partnership of sharing the fruits of the business among owners and employees. A business has all these divisions. It would be nice if they all are going to make money. It would be nice if they did and shifts (in team strength) were made on competitive reasons."

So, I do believe in the owners' cause to control spending and I don't view linkage as a dirty word. After all, the players have guaranteed contracts, so what's so fundamentally wrong with the employers wanting to hedge their bets? Keep in mind, that the problem is that the revenues cannot be mutually agreed upon, and who really trusts the owners? Not me.

At the same time, I don't agree that the NHL needs a system that is as restraining as they have prosposed up to this point in order to get their house in order. And even though I don't look upon linkage with disdain, it isn't necessary for the overall well being of the league.

However, the owners do seem to require a system that is somewhat idiot proof, because quite frankly, many of them are idiots.

On the other side, I believe that the December 9th proposal by the NHLPA has a great deal of untapped potential. It wasn't the mother of proposals, but it provided a basis for a framework that could be a viable option. The rollback was a huge step in the right direction, and the details regarding the luxury tax thresholds and arbitration/qualifying offer concepts were ripe for negotiation. If those tax numbers could be massaged to more reasonable levels, then I believe both sides could be happy. (To contrast that, as ridiculous as the NHL "triggers" were in their latest proposal, I think that there is also a workable deal in there somewhere if reasonable triggers can be utilized).

The players feel that the owners have to help themselves; they shouldn't be forced to shoulder the entire blame. And I agree 100% with that argument. However, I also hear rumblings that this is the owners' fault and it's up to them to fix the problems. This I don't agree with completely, and neither does PJ at Sharkspage, as he expresses quite well:

There have been a half dozen articles over the weekend all repeating the meme that this lockout is the owners fault for writing the checks. That is wrong on so many levels that I can barely even muster a response. Both sides are equally to blame for this fiasco. The big market owners for blowing the curve for the rest of the league, to the NHLPA score system for maximizing salary for mid-to-low level players also blowing the curve, to the NHL's marketing wasteland, to player holdouts that last well into the season.

Well put, PJ.

So, after I have ranted on for a while, I probably haven't really clarified anything. Both sides make good points, both sides need to see the light. There's room to give on from each standpoint - and lots of it, but each is too stubborn to perhaps treat this as a partnership (and don't let the NHL fool you into believing that what they propose is actually a partenrship).

What would I like to see the NHL transform into?

Well, something that utilizes these concepts:

- A luxury tax that will actually effectively tax offending teams; whether that's through the pocketbook or in the form of draft picks, make it a tough decision for a team to cross that threshold, but allow them to do it nonetheless.

- Distribute the wealth to the lower end teams; it can come from luxury tax payments, general league revenues, lotto winnings, pop cans and yard sales - I don't care, just do it.

- Fair compensation for players; pay the players, pay them fairly, but do not pay Holik and Guerin the equivalent of the GDP of Cuba.

- Fair arbitration rights and qualifying offers; allow both the team and the player to initiate the arbitration process. And absolutely eliminate the concept that a player automatically receives a raise through qualifying offers and reverse osmosis.

- Give something back to the fans; I went to a few NHL games last year, but I had to sell my truck and borrow from Vinny the loan shark in order to do it. Lower the damn ticket prices and allow the average fan to enjoy the game they love. (this concept will never happen, I realize, but I can dream, no?)

I have no love for the owners who pledge that this fight for a cap is in the best interests of the fans, be no reduction in ticket prices, because there is no doubt in my mind that should cost certainty be impplemented, ticket prices will not be reduced, or capped, nor will there be anything in it for the fans other than, hey, boring-ass hockey is back on.

On the other side, the players have had a great run, holdouts and contract disputes are the norm, 4th line players can retire at 28, half-ass play reigns, and the union line "we want our fair share of the pie, and we want it guaranteed" is the most overplayed tune on the airwaves.

So I guess to answer the orignal question, I am on the side of settling this thing with some sense of reason. I'm on the side of all the fans who have been royally screwed out of the NHL for no good reason. I'm on the side of rational thought...oh wait, that doesn't have a side in this dispute. I'm sick of it all. I want it to end, destroy the league if you have to. Pull all the players into the WHA. I'd go for that.

Could a trigger deal actually work?

2005-02-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Chris Stevenson offers a good perspective on the NHL's latest attempt to salvage the season. Everyone knows that the triggers in the offer were beyond stupid, but that doesn't mean that they aren't negotiable. Chris offers up some good points that maybe a deal with reasonable triggers could actually work.

To contrast Chris, Randy Sportak shows us the flip side of the trigger coin.

On the surface, it appears the PA rejected its own proposal.

To some degree, it's true. However, delving deeper -- and it's painful to say this -- Goodenow has every reason to dismiss the offer.

Anyone sick of this teeter-totter ride yet?

Maybe it's a good thing Survivor starts next week.

Talks end, bleakness continues

2005-02-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

Perpetual optimist Bill Daly came out and said that he has little hope left for a last minute compromise. From TSN

"It's disappointing," Daly said. "We are absolutely disappointed with where we are (today)...I hoped at the end of the day that reason would prevail, that we would find some common ground... but that hasn't happened."

Daly said the the four trigger points that were part of a new proposal put forth by the NHL on Wednesday were not even discussed on Thursday. In addition, Daly said no new ground was covered, either.

The league says no new talks are scheduled and none are expected. Yesterday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said they must be well on their way to writing up a new CBA on the weekend or the season would be cancelled, and Daly said the league remains committed to the deadline.

"Nothing today transpired to change that timetable," he said. "We made every effort to get something done eith the players association ... We don't have anything left at this point."

Well, what did you expect Bill? Your latest proposal was a weak attempt to compromise. The triggers were an utter joke. Why not come back to the NHLPA and offer a $3 luxury tax on every dollar spent over a $42 million threshold. Now that's compromise, unlike dressing up your salary cap proposal in the NHLPA's clothing and making a disingenuous attempt to pass it off as a compromise.

Geez.

And while I'm on it, if you're so adamant about a cap Mr. Bettman, how about instituting a ticket price cap? Or how about a cap on verbal garbage spewing? At the very least, limit the amount of excrement that is allowed to pass through the mouths of NHL representatives and stop trying to convince everyone that you are desperately attempting to reach an agreement.

NHL, you owe the fans big time, and they will remember it.

The New Proposal

2005-02-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

From TSN, the details have been laid out:

Under the league's offer, the new collective bargaining agreement would begin with the union's Dec. 9 proposal - which featured a luxury tax - then evolve into the league proposal of Feb. 2 - based on a salary cap - if it was deemed that the union's model no longer worked.

Four so-called triggers would decide when the model would switch:

- If the league pays out more than 55 per cent of its revenues in salaries.

- If any three teams have a of payroll more than $42 million US

- If average payroll of the three highest-spending teams is more than 33 per cent higher than the average of the three lowest spending teams.

- If average team compensation exceeds $36.5 million US.

So, in essence, is the NHLPA rejecting its own proposal? Are they stipulating that their December 9th proposal is inherently flawed and still remains inflationary in nature and has no hope of working?

Well, not exactly. What the problem likely is is the trigger points, which are essentially the limits set in each and every NHL proposal to date. Bettman has made a brilliant move here. What he's done is made an offer that, on the face of it anyways, has "accepted" the players' proposal and attempted to hide their salary cap in it anyways. The problem is, the cap is not well hidden and it's no wonder the players rejected this.

On the other hand, maybe the triggers are negotiable. The triggers represent the NHL's proposed limits for the salary cap concept, and maybe the NHLPA should look at those numbers and try and reach a compromise by adjusting those values. After all, if their Dec. 9th deal does in fact work well enough as they argue it will, then reasonable triggers shouldn't become a factor. Guarantee it like Jeremy Roenick said the NHLPA would.

Of course that would mean that each side would then have to agree upon what league revenues are. What a mess that would be.

The NHLPA should at least look at this concept, and maybe they can work from it and reach trigger points that make sense to both sides. I don't happen to agree 100% with the owner's cost certainty concepts, nor do I disagree entirely with the players' stance. What I do believe, is that there is a compromise in there somewhere, and if they do not find it now, they never will.

Bettman talks.....

2005-02-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

I engage this press conference with haughty contempt. I'm listening to Bettman talk, expecting nothing new to be said, yet at the same time, hoping that he somehow manages to spring from a large cake with a tutu on announcing that a deal has been reached.

From my point of view, the hilites from the press conference:

- A new deal was proposed that may have shown some signs of compromise. TSN and other sources have reported that the latest offer was based upon the NHLPA's December 9th proposal, which would switch to the Owner's latest proposal should the players' solution not work. Apparently there were four triggers included for the switch to take place. However, it was immediately rejected by the NHLPA.

- Bettman indicated that one owner may have thought that this latest offer was giving up too much.

More talks are in the works, perhaps as early as tonight. The one thing that Bettman did not do, was set an absolute cancellation date for the season. I will update as more details filter in. More is certain to come.

Secret Meeting

2005-02-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

According to the Team1040 radio in Vancouver, the NHL and NHLPA met today and the union rejected yet another proposal from the league. Details were minimal on their most recent sportscast, but talks are confirmed to be on-going.

In other news, Yoda feels a disturbance in the force.

No hockey, no problem....

2005-02-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

So what if there's no NHL hockey. There's plenty to do. This guy, who I'm sure is an avid hockey fan, is apparently biding his time by waiting in line for 5 months for the latest installment of the Star Wars series.

Sticking in the movie mode, apparently Bruce Willis feels compelled to don his trademark tank top yet again for the fourth instalment of the Die Hard franchise. Yippie Ki-yay Mother-@*%@#!

Or, if your interests lie more in the real world, you could follow the strange story of this prize-winning track athlete, who apparently competed in track events as a woman. For those keeping score, he's a man.

Switching to the ESPN page, Dan Shanoff shares his views on the ten most disrespected entities in sports today.

But the grand-daddy of them all, the activity with the most fun and least amount of intelligence required is this. You can thank me later.

Fly on the Wall

2005-02-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be a silent witness to the NHL labour meetings? Little progress has been made so far, and many wonder why they cannot agree on a compromise. Well, the two sides will supposedly meet again this week ,and here's the Red Line take on what may happen.

Bettman: "So, Bob, you're looking well, have you lost some weight recently?"

Goodenow: "Why thanks, Gary. I may look a little slimmer, but I haven't really lost any weight. I'm actually testing a new product line called the 'Girth Guard'. It's great! You put this thing on like you're shrink wrapping a BLT. It holds all the flab in quite well."

Bettman: "Great! Product testing is a fabulous idea, I'm doing it myself. The product I'm testing is called 'ACME Ear and Geek Reducer'. It's supposed to get rid of the unsightly facial features that define geekdom. Keep in mind I'm in the first phase of testing."

Goodenow: "Well, first phase or not, Gary-O, you're lookin' like a confident babe magnet."

Bettman: "Wow thanks, Bob. Maybe after the meeting we can hit Studio 54. But for now, shouldn't we get down to some business here, Bob? I think that we may be running out of time to strike a deal here. Oh, wait, my watch says February 8, that's not too bad at all. Wanna get some lunch instead?"

Goodenow: "Well, I'd love to but I told my wife Trevor that we'd at least talk about a luxury tax. But not just any luxury tax, this one's different. It functions like a luxury tax and has virtually no punitive effect on restraining salaries, but on paper we will call it a luxury cap. What do you think?"

Bettman: "I'm intrigued here, Bob. Do we get fries with that?"

Goodenow: "I don't think the union would go for that."

Bettman: "Even still, I like where you are going with this concept. So let me see if I'm understanding you correctly. What I'm hearing from you is that you will unconditionally accept a hard cap at $21 million dollars, give us a 69% rollback in salaries, allow every team to take a player to arbitration at any time, have the player wives bake cookies and serve tea at all NHL functions, and ceremoniously perform a daily homage to the NHL and all its glory by reciting 'God bless the owners' at centre ice before practice. But instead of calling it a cap system, we will call it a luxuriously wonderful season saving deal sans cap. I like it."

Goodenow: "Erm, Gary, I didn't say that at all. You of all people should not have a hearing problem. What I said was we would accept a luxury 'cap' if it's totally, in no way, linked to anything other than the rate of construction of Starbucks outlets."

Bettman: "Bob, my ears are not big. I'm small ear challenged and I'm trying to provide you with a graceful exit to this nasty strike of yours. Insulting my physical features is uncalled for and now I'm taking guaranteed contracts off the table and we will make a league-wide switch back to Cooperalls."

Goodenow: "The only thing you could provide grace to would be the cover of the Operation Dumbo Drop DVD. And it's not a strike, Gary, the NHL locked us out you twit. If you take guaranteed contracts off the table we have absolutely nothing to talk about. Noting at all. I'm finished speaking.....By the way, did you catch that Super Bowl last Sunday?"

Bettman: "The NHL locked you out? I never got the memo. And comparing me to a the world's most popular and lovable elephant is not an insult in my books. Ask Arthur Levitt, he's been in my books."

Goodenow: "Gary, this is your last chance. Accept our latest deal now or all of our players are going ditch the NHL entirely and sign-up for the Eastern Pacific Old Timers and Railroaders Hockey League. And then what will you do without us hmmmm??"

Bettman: "Arkgalak Qapla' putaQ Ruskalacktoiakc!!!"

Goodenow: "Stop speaking Klingon you freak!"

The first punch is thrown with many more to follow. Curious sounds erupt from the board room, much like the sounds of the Tasmanian Devil on a rampage. During the fireworks, not one punch actually hits either man. But at the end of the meeting, the walls are in need of some patching and a fresh coat of paint.

After each man tires, they agree to keep the lines of communication open.

CTV-Rogers win broadcasting rights for Olympics

2005-02-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

Sportsnet is reporting that the CTV-Rogers consortium has won the bid for Canadian broadcast rights to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and the 2012 summer games.

The reported size of the winning bid? Speculation has it slated somewhere between $125 million and $150 million US. Contrast that with NBC, who has already paid out $2.201 billion US for the US tv rights for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic games.

CBC is already taking quite the smack with no NHL hockey and they have been the Canadian broadcaster at every Olympic games since 1996, a streak that is now over. Rough times ahead for the CBC?

Super Bowl produces a dynasty

2005-02-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the New England franchise, they've earned the right to be crowned as the first NFL dynasty of the 21st century - and the most dominant playoff team in nearly a decade.

The Patriots beat the Eagles by 3 points, to win their 3rd championship, which coincidentally, is the margin of victory in every one of their 3 Super Bowl triumphs. They join the Dallas Cowboys (1993-1996) as the only other team to win 3 Super Bowl titles in 4 years, and to that, I humbly tip my hat to them. Tom Brady, undeafeated quarterback of the Pats (playoffs), is also humble in victory:

"We've never really self-proclaimed ourselves anything," said Tom Brady, who is 9-0 in the playoffs. "If you guys say we're great, we'll accept the compliment."

It looked early on that this may be the Eagle's day, and the crowd of 78,125 was clearly more excited about the prospect of Philadelphia bringing home their first pro sports title in 22 years than they were about the chance to see history made. But in the end, New England was too strong, too confident, too experienced to be defeated on their date with destiny.

Donovan McNabb, 5-time pro-bowler, did not have a great game overall. He did complete 30-of-51 passes for a total of 357 yards with three touchdowns, but was inconsistent, threw two key interceptions at critical times, and had zero yards rushing.

"This game could've been a blowout," McNabb said. "You take away those interceptions and we could've been up two touchdowns early....I don't look at the three touchdowns [the Eagles scored]. I look at the three interceptions. Those will kill you."

While the Eagles were shaky at times, they did put up a valiant fight, and gave many, including myself, hope that they could pull it off.

But the Patriots were simply too steady, as they always are, and you had the feeling that once they took the lead, the game was theirs. Their defense smothered the Eagles running game, and the rest, as we say, is now history.

So, can the Pats reload and do it again next year? Time will tell, and they likely don't care at this point. They are too busy celebrating their victory. And rightfully so. They deserve to savour every piece of it.

Oh, and for those that were keeping track, Paul McCartney did not expose any part of himself during his half-time show.

Paging Dr. Kevorkian

2005-02-04T14:39:00.000-08:00

So, it has come to this. The NHL is finally about to pull the plug on the season, thus ending the comical process that has commenced in lieu of an authentic collective bargaining process. Little do they seem to realize that doing so may mean the slow, painful death of the NHL.

After all was said and nothing was done in last-ditch (hopefully last) meetings, Bob Goodenow had very brief comments for the media.

."We met the last couple of days, tried to cover some issues and maybe a few new issues to see if there was a possibility of some common ground and some traction, but that isn't the case," Goodenow told reporters in New York before leaving.

"The parties agreed to stay in touch but there's really no progress to report of any type. That's the reality."

That's been the reality for the past 5 months, and with no further talks planned, why did Gary Bettman not immediately march out of the board room to officially announce the cancellation of the season?

We've also been told that the lines of communication remain open. So what?!? No common ground has been found, and none is likely to be found through this absurd excuse for a "bargaining" process. Does anyone else believe that both frontmen - Bettman and Goodenow - should be axed forthwith and leaders that have the right amount of gumption and flexible enough egos should be brought in to do what should have been done months ago?

The NHL is committing suicide. There is no conceivable way that an entire season should have been casually thrown out the penthouse window. The casualties are many; the players lose salaries, and in some cases, careers; the owners lose revenue; the NHL as a league loses all respect and credibility; and the fans lose evrything.

That's assuming that the fans are still there.

At this point, why would any self respecting fan ever want to come back to this pathetic excuse for a league? Think about it - the on-ice game stinks, the financial status of the NHL is ridiculous, mismanagement and idiotic tactics by GM's and owners reign supreme, player salaries have skyrocketed, contract holdouts and messy contract negotiations are the norm, ticket prices remain out of reach for even the most committed fans, and worst of all, those fans that have supported the NHL have been completely ignored through this entire process.

So really...where's the fun?!?!? Hockey has become all business and it stinks. The fun has completely vanished, the honeymoon ended years ago.

Am I bitter? Of course I am. The NHL and PA have had more than ample time to come to some sort of agreement, yet they couldn't do it and the consequences appear to matter not to those directly involved.

So come on down Dr. Kevorkian. Kill the NHL and put us all out of our misery.

NHL meetings concluded

2005-02-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

And word is, they ended on bad terms. And although sources say that the lines of communication remain open - who cares really?

It seems that each side is either:

A) Not communicating and whining about the lack of communication, or
B) Communicating but not making one bit of progress, and whining about how unmoving the other side is being.

Hopefully the next time we hear from Bettman is when he officially cancels the season.

Roenick in favour of a vote

2005-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Jeremy Roenick, always flamboyant and talkative, opened up to ESPN on Thursday. Among the topics in the interview was the idea that some players may accept a salary cap - if there's something in it for the players.

"I really feel that maybe we can survive with a cap," he told ESPN. "Maybe we can survive with a cap - one that's not at a ridiculous level such as what's being offered. I really feel that maybe if there was a bone thrown to us, one that was acceptable, one that the players could gnaw on a little bit, it (a cap) might be feasible....But we haven't even got that. We haven't even got anything close to something acceptable. I think a lot of players might want to play for a cap, but not for the cap that they're offering. That bone hasn't been thrown."

That's a rather bold statement considering that the NHLPA and its leadership has continually scoffed at the notion. But in the end, Roenick also believes that a vote by the players should decide the next CBA.

"My personal opinion, I'm in favour of a vote," Roenick said. "I'm in favour of the players determining what they will do themselves. At some point, I do not want someone else making that decision for me. When I see where the game is going and I see the damage that's being done and what we could probably live with - I would like to have a vote, and I have expressed my opinions to the PA, and I've expressed my opinion to other people in the league."

"If that bone was thrown to us by the NHL, by the owners ... it should be up to the players and it should be taken to a vote. If that was the case, I think you might be seeing hockey by now."

Interesting. By the end of Friday, we should all know the fate of the NHL for this season - and possibly for the long term.

Labour impasse - reality or dream?

2005-02-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

The NHL and PA can't agree on anything. They can't even agree to disagree and end the season. The next few days will probably, hopefully, bring with it the end of the season. And thank God for that.

And if that happens, many speculate that the NHL is headed directly for a meeting with the Labour Relations Board. The end goal? Break the union and use replacement players. Some say that it won't be that easy - especially in Canada - as labour laws differ from province to province. But is that really the case?

Here's a good read from the CP. What I find most interesting is the comments of sources who are presumably in the know: replacement players in Canada may not even be an issue.

Quebec labour ministry spokeswoman Michele Poirot says NHL players aren't covered under the province's labour code. And the same goes in B.C., where the NHLPA isn't certified as a union, says provincial labour ministry spokesman Graham Currie.

Is it really that cut and dry? Well, probably not. The NHL would have to declare an impasse and argue their grievences in front of a Labour Board (or more than one), and who knows how that would work out. I don't profess to be a labour lawyer, but I know that the legal fight would be long and messy.

And if it goes that far, relations between owners and players would be at an all-time low. And that's not to mention the estranged relationship between the NHL and the fans. Would the fans ever come back? Could the NHL recover from these type of proceedings?

One thing may become clear after tomorrow: It's going to get much worse before it gets any better.

Update: Offer already rejected

2005-02-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

The NHLPA has already rejected a proposal by the NHL. Whew, that was fast, but not surprising in the least. Here's everyone's favorite union representative, Ted Saskin:

"The league today presented a written proposal with minor variations of concepts that were presented orally by the NHL last Thursday," NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said in a statement. "We told the league last week and again today that their multi-layered salary cap proposals were not the basis for an agreement.

"Given the status of negotiations, the NHLPA suggested that the parties meet again tomorrow with Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman joining the meeting."

Yippie Skippie!! Sigh.

UHL Players: "Hypocrisy is unbelieveable"

2005-02-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher and Kris Draper all signed with the Motor City Mechanics of the UHL (United Hockey League) yesterday. Needles to say, many of the league's players are rather upset.

Many of them were vocal about their thoughts, including the all-time minor league goal scorer and Flint Generals forward, Kevin Kerr:

"The hypocrisy of it is unbelievable," Kerr told the Detroit Free Press.

"They don't want a salary cap, but they'll come to a league that has a salary cap and take someone else's job....I make $700 a week, and I have a wife and two kids and a mortgage payment," Kerr told the paper. "Here I wish I could play in the NHL for a fraction of what they make, and here they're going to come play in our league for $500 a week. It's really bizarre."

"I don't think those guys have ever wondered about working a day in their life," he said. "They probably make more in a week than I do my whole season."

I hear ya Kevin. Anyone remember George Laraque and how vocal he was about saying that the players should not be going to Europe to take jobs? Well, I guess he didn't mean it as he's off to play there. Do the players retract everything they say?

NHL releases details of proposal

2005-02-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

The NHL made another pitch to the NHLPA, and tried to sweeten the pot somewhat. Some of the details that may entice the players include:

-The maintenance of guarantee player contracts.

-A profit-sharing plan to which the players would share in "league profitability over a negotiated level on a 50-50 basis."

-The implementation of a jointly monitored accounting and audit function, with multimillion-dollar fines, and forfeited draft choices - the penalty for failure to disclose required financial information.

-The establishment of a joint owner-player council to discuss various business and game-related issues.

-Plans for a shortened regular season this year with a full playoff, but splitting some revenues from the post-season to "ensure that the players receive the agreed-upon 53 per cent of league revenues."

-A revised entry level system which preserves each player's ability to negotiate performance bonuses and "which incorporates an additional league-wide bonus structure for outstanding performance on a league-wide basis." That's a step in the players' direction after taking away all bonuses in Dec. 14 offer.

-A revised salary arbitration system with expanded election rights for both players and clubs; the league had totally abolished the system in its Dec. 14 offer.

-A proposed reduction in the age for unrestricted free agency from 31 to 30, "with a possible further reduction to age 28 (tied to salary arbitration)."

-A 62 per cent increase in the league's minimum salary to $300,000 per year.

-The use of a payroll tax on clubs within the floating team payroll range "at the union's sole discretion."

The NHL has made some movement here, but probably not nearly enough for the NHLPA, especially given that what I don't see there - revenue sharing - is something the players will want a healthy amount of if they are to ever capitulate to a cap system.

So, is this the NHL's best offer? I don't think so, I think we will see that next week. So, stay tuned...yawn.

Roenick sounds off

2005-02-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

I know this is probably old news for most of you, but I found some of Jermey Roenick's comments quite interesting.

"My main message right now is the game is more important than egos. The players need to give back what I think has gotten out of hand, in terms of salaries," Roenick said. "Our game is great, our game is popular, but not popular enough to control $8, $9 or $10-million salaries going out.

"The owners maybe have to be open to the idea of revenue sharing. They want to have a partnership with the players. They need to have a partnership with themselves."

"(It's) not just the fact we're not playing, but the fact there's such tension between the two sides that a deal cannot be reached," Roenick said. "Especially after how far the players have come and what we've given up. We've given up the 24 percent. We've actually stuck our neck out to offer them cost certainty.

"We guaranteed it. If it did not do what we said it would do, and put a drag down on salaries after three years, we would go to their system and accept a salary cap," Roenick said. "Something that's equal for both sides."

"We believe, with the deal we offered them, salaries would decrease, would drag and would in turn, create that cost-certainty atmosphere for the owners to make more money. The salaries would not escalate as high. The average salary would probably drop a little bit, but still maintain a strong dollar for the second and third-line player and still your top players are still going to be able to make $5, $6 million, which is a lot of money these days."

I find myself nodding in agreement with several points that he makes.

1. He admits that salaries are out of control and the NHL cannot sustain the current level of player compensation. The fact that a small group of moronic owners are to blame for the problem in the first place matters not at this point.

2. The players have to give back and the owners must revenue share. This is a no brainer. More important than the salary rollback is the fact that the owners have to make more than a cosmetic attempt to help themselves here.

3. But what I find most interesting is "If it did not do what we said it would do, and put a drag down on salaries after three years, we would go to their system and accept a salary cap."

I was not certain that the players had agreed to change to a salary cap system if their own proposals didn't pan out. I heard some talk about the cap issues being opened for further discussion after a period of time, but it's not in the fine print of their Dec. 9 proposal (which actually asks for a six year term, by the way). And I never heard the words 'we will accept a salary cap if our system breaks down'.

So I find it rather interesting to hear Roenick say that.

But if it were true that should the NHLPA system not do it's job within three years, and if the NHLPA would be willing to put it in writing that they would switch to a cap system, then I see no reason as to why there should not have been a season this year. Especially since the NHLPA's offer included a 24% salary rollback and was likely negotiable in key areas such as luxury tax thresholds and penalties, arbitration and qualifying offers. There could be a workable deal in there, at least for the next three years. So if what Roenick says is actually true, then why not give it a shot and if it doesn't work, hold the NHLPA to it's word - put in a salary cap.

Fair piece of the pie?

2005-02-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

I've heard the arguments time and time again - the players want their piece of the revenue pie. I honestly have no problem with that. They deserve a fair chunk of the revenues.

What rubs me the wrong way is when a guy like Dan Russell, host of a nightly sports talk show in Vancouver, constantly harps on the owners for not wanting to give up a large enough portion of the league revenues to the players. Now hold on a minute here, I'm not saying that the owners are flat out right, but they have currently offered 54% of the beloved pie to the players; That's a bigger piece than the owners get and is a number that is surely negotiable.

So why does it seem to some that 54% to the players is not fair? Keep in mind that the owners are the employers and harbour all of the risk. The players take no risk whatsoever, their contracts are guaranteed. I have no problem with the owners wanting to guarantee costs in a similar fashion.

However, there's more to the story than simply selecting an appropriate number with which to split the pie. Much of the problem lies in the fact that the NHLPA has no trust in the owners to declare every bit of revenue. As well, the legaue has yet to help themselves out by proposing meaningfull revenue sharing and excercising some semblance of fiscal responsibility. And to those factors, I whole-heartedly agree. Independant sources must be employed to verify league revenue sources and revenue sharing is paramount.

So, will the NHL agree to help themselves? It has been rumoured that a last ditch proposal in the works, one that may have signs of compromise on certain issues. Bob McKenzie has some ideas as to what may be included in the new league offer, and there are some concepts that may catch the NHLPA's eye:

Revenue sharing: The NHL did not outline a specific revenue sharing plan, but said it would commit whatever dollars are necessary to ensure that small-market teams are able to spend the required dollars to meet the $32 million floor of the payroll range. The expectation is that any NHL revenue sharing plan would be based on a redistribution of playoff monies, not regular season revenue to any great extent.

Profit sharing: This is a new concept. The league apparently proposed that the NHL and NHLPA appoint a joint auditor to determine mutually agreeable league revenues and profits and that the owners and players would share all profits equally (50-50) in excess of $115 million. The NHL also proposed a heavy fine (using dollars and draft picks) system for teams found guilty of under-reporting revenues and profits.

Term: A six-year deal, not including the balance of this season (if there is to be one), with a provision that would allow the NHLPA to unilaterally terminate the CBA after four full seasons.

Maybe those concepts are enticing enough to allow for some movement on the NHLPA side. Again, I have no problem with the NHL asking to control salaries and link them to revenues. But in order to do that, they have to be fair, help themselves out and divy up the revenue. If the concepts reported above are accurate, maybe they all have something to talk about after all.

NHL says it will notify when season over

2005-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hockey Central was reporting yesterday that the NHL will notify the players and public when the time comes that a meaningfull season cannot be played. But what constitutes "meaningfull" in the eyes of the league braintrust? I'm sure they would love nothing more than to play a 5-10 game regular season and collectively lick their chops all they way through the playoffs.

Let's get real guys - it's way overdue. It's February 1st. Baseball gets things on the move in just a little over a month. Just call it a season already. I find it frustrating and laughable that some have convinced themselves that there's still some hope left. Yet for some reason, certain sports media outlets, and even Bill Daly himself will not let this die.

"I'm expecting that at some point we'll hear back from them with respect to some of the concepts that we discussed on Thursday night...They raised issues on Thursday which indicated that they continued to have problems with the approach that we were presenting," Daly said. "It certainly gave me no cause of optimism. And the fact that we've gone another four days without hearing from them also doesn't give me cause for optimism."

Oh brother. Talk about dense. On the one hand Daly says that the season isn't dead and progress was made during last week's discussions, yet at the same time he also says that there's little hope for optimism. My head is spinning.

Ted Saskin, in direct rebuttal to Daly's comments, says this:

"Bill knows that the concepts they discussed with us on Thursday would not form the basis for an agreement, so he should not be surprised that he hasn't heard from us," NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said in a statement. "We were very clear on Thursday that we would not be negotiating over his proposed concepts."

Well no kidding. I thought that was clear last week. Or last month? Or how about from the start of this whole fiasco? So why doesn't Bill Daly and Co. get it?

Regardless, there's no way that the players will agree to come back, pick up two or three paychecks, and then play for free through the playoffs. In order for the players to come back in a shortened season, they will want to be compensated for the post-season run. Call me crazy, but I don't see the owners accepting that scenario.

And while I'm thinking about it, what about the Sidney Crosby factor? How can the NHL expect the winner of the Crosby sweeptstakes to be crowned via a truncated schedule? All credibility is effectively tossed out the window in a season that is shortened by as many games as this one would have to be. Tainted. Maybe I'm wrong, and I know I'm speculating here, but should that scenario take place, it would feel dirty to me.

So, there's two reasons not to have a season at this point in the year. Regain some credibility, then come back when the length of the season won't force an asterix to be placed next to the season stats in the record books.

Owens closer to playing

2005-01-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

Terrell Owens is that much closer to playing in the NFL's main event next Sunday. He practised with the team, and while he only participated in a minimal amount of drills, reports say that he looked pretty good.

"We limited what he did and he did it well and he did it with the team," said Eagles coach Andy Reid. "He moved around pretty well. We'll see how he continues, see how he feels tomorrow and the rest of the week."

The question that remains is, even with a healthy Owens, can the Phillies beat the powerhouse Patriots? Freddy Mitchell - you know, the other Eagles receiver - thinks so.

"We got there without T.O.," Mitchell said. "He's going to be a great addition if he comes, but we're going to stick with our guns. When he comes back, he'll be a huge help for us because he's one of the best receivers in the game. Until then, let's talk about Greg Lewis, Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell, the receivers who are here and won the NFC championship."

Mitchell was critical of the Patriots secondary last week, basically inferring that they were a no-name bunch, and his comments didn't go un-noticed by the New England crew.

My question is, why would you bother to sling insults at the opposing team - especially when they are the defending Super Bowl champions, who by the way, utterly dismantled the Colts and Steelers en route to the big dance? Just keep quiet and prove that you can beat them on the field. The last thing you want to give the Patriots is another headline to sport on the locker room wall.

At the very least, hopefully we see a highly competitive game and the Eagles can keep up to the favoured Pats. With or without Ownes, the Eagles have a chance to bring the first major championship to Philly since the 76'ers won an NBA title in 1983.

Daly smoking the good stuff

2005-01-31T10:06:00.000-08:00

Bill Daly is either high on the best crack the lockout warchest can provide, or he needs an immediate MRI.

"I'm not sure there is any difference of opinion," Daly told the Globe and Mail. "I like to remain hopeful, but if the concepts we discussed with the NHLPA on Thursday night are not something that forms a basis for serious negotiations, I have to admit that I don't have much optimism that there will be hockey this year...I don't want to put odds on the likelihood this can get resolved. We'll just keep working on it and hope we can come to an agreement."

My God, Bill. No difference of opinion? You couldn't get more polarized opinions on the subject of a salary cap if you tried. And if you cannot work out the cap issue, then what's there left to really talk about?

If the salary cap concept can ever be worked out, everything else would most likely fall into place. But if the NHL seriously continues to believe "I'm not sure there is any difference of opinion", then I can understand the players' notion that there remains nothing else to talk about.

Department of redundancy department....

2005-01-29T13:56:00.000-08:00

Te·di·ous adj.
Pronunciation of "tedious" (td-s)

1. Tiresome by reason of length, slowness, or dullness; boring.
2. Obsolete. Moving or progressing very slowly.

Driven by my unbridled anticpation of Gary Bettman's comments on the recent "negotiations", I felt obligated to post this as soon as humanly possible:

"They (NHLPA representatives) went back to Toronto," said Bettman, "But we left it open (for more talks)...If this is going to be an ideological question over the cap, then it is not going to be," he told msgnetwork.com. It's his (NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow) call...We won't compromise on the cap."

Wait a second, that sounds vaguely familiar. Oh that's right, it's on the NHL's 'Greatest Hits and Expressions of Love' album, which is now available in most living rooms. The lyrics quoted above are from the wildly overplayed tune, "The Stance of Doom (screw you non-conformers)". Oddly enough, the same song appears - with the same title - on the recent NHLPA's release of the "Best of Bob and His Idiotic Friends" album.

Proceeds from each organization's albums are reportedly headed directly into the "Owner's for saving us from ourselves" and the "Poor players need to eat too" funds. So please, don't hold back. Donate generously.

Owners Standing Firm

2005-01-28T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's clear now, more than ever, that NHL solidarity is not going to waiver under any circumstances. In fact, one could argue that the stance of the owners has grown significantly stronger during the 'negotiation process' - a term that I use loosely.

The proposals from the NHL have always had a salary cap and linkage between salaries and revenues. And the latest proposal, which has obviously been scoffed at by the players, as my cousin and exhaulted sports columnist James explains, is no different. However, not only does the latest proposal contain salary restrictions, it contains three levels of them. That's right, three different thresholds with which the braintrust of the owners suggests will secure the future of every single existing NHL team.

Arbitration has been capped, i.e. a limit has been placed on the amount of an arbitration award, proposed revenue sharing continues to be at laughable levels, and published reports point to sources that say there is an individual team salary cap of $42 million, with a payroll basement of $32 million. On top of that, the players' contend that there is also an overall league cap of 54 per cent of revenues. This is also reportedly in addition to an initial salary rollback.

In my humble opinion, the fact that the league has shown so little room for movement, and in some cases, their offers have regressed from a player's perspective, it appears clear that the league mandate is to dismantle the NHLPA as it currently exists and construct a league based entirely on the NHL's vision. It was highly speculated previously that this was the case, however, I was reluctant to buy into the concept that the NHL had no intentions of seriously negotiating. But the last two weeks of meetings and bantering have shown me that the NHL will have an entirely new landscape when - or even if - it returns, and in no way are they prepared to give up any ground to the players.

As Ken Dryden puts it this way:

"Restraint will never come from individuals restraining themselves. The only way in which restraint happens is when the structure dictates it. I think that's at least part of the solution."

The key part of that statement is that it must be at least part of the solution. The playing field must be made more suitable for the teams that continue to lack the resources to compete.

It is widely mused that even in October, you can officially eliminate 15 teams from Stanly Cup contention. And in reality, that's not that far off base. If a league has members who cannot compete because of an uneven playing field, then why bother having them in the league at all? For this very reason, the boys at the top must be restrained and the bottom feeders must be helped in order to make the league stronger as a whole.

That's where revenue sharing comes in. It's vital, and I find it deplorable that the NHL has continually preached the viability of all 30 franchises yet somehow has the audacity to leave meaningfull revenue sharing off the table. The owners have shifted all of the weight onto the shoulders of the players and that is completely haywire.

The player stance is equally unmoving. They may have to face reality a bit here and accept the fact that the economic landscape must be cleaned up and that involves some form of effective salary restraints. They have had a highly lucrative run over the last ten years and it's crystal clear that the run is now over. However, I do understand some of their concerns. For example, I don't believe the owners any more than the NHLPA does on what the actual revenues are. How can they be trusted? The players also must continue to hammer away the concept of revenue sharing. I'm almost shocked that this card hasn't been played with a much higher profile by Bob Goodenow.

However you want to look at this and from whichever side of the pendulum you align yourself with, one fact cannot be argued: The NHL is in serious trouble if this lockout continues any longer. In fact, there may never be an NHL as we know it again. The damage may be that substantial. And what boggles my mind even more than the idiocy with which each side has conducted themselves, is the fact that the fans and the overall welfare of the game itself seems to be pushed off into the background of each party's pea-brains.

I have a message for both the NHL and the NHLPA: Wake up. In six more months there will be nothing left to fight about because the only ones who will care about the NHL at that point will be you.

NHL to proposal deal

2005-01-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

Sportsnet is reporting that the NHL is about to pitch a deal to the players, no later than tomorrow. The web site provided little detail, and given their track record with "insider information", I won't hold my breath.

So, because we have no idea about how far the NHL will bend - if they do - what will be inlcuded in the latest offer? Well, here's the Red Line take on what the new proposal may include:

- A hybrid salary cap; The cap will remain soft until adequately stimulated. At that point, the cap becomes hard until the applied stimulation forces it to reach a pre-determined threshold, more commonly known as 'the point of no return', where it will once again become soft, and thus out of commission for at least half an hour.

- The players must offer an official apology, preferably via a Hallmark card signed by each and every player, that accurately conveys the sorrow that each player feels for continually taking financial advantage of the innocent owners over the last ten years. After all, the owners didn't really know that they were dishing out all that money, did they?

- Absolutely no revenue sharing; Because why on Earth would they do that?

- Future CBA meetings must continue to be held in 'secret' locations and must never be in the same place for more than 6 hours at one time. The NHLPA and NHL representatives must carry black briefcases and can only speak in Klingon. Word of the secret meetings must not be leaked to the media any earlier than 36 hours prior to said meeting taking place and any owner or player caught stating his opinions publically will now be flogged.

- The players must roll back their salaries 96%. The owners offer this because they know full well that the hybrid salay cap mentioned above will only remain hard for a very short period of time, and as such, inflation rates in the NHL will rise to never before seen heights.

Of course I jest, but my point is that the NHLPA will turn their nose up at the new offer just as much as they would at the above Red Line proposal. So really, why bother? Just cancel the season already.

Comments? Opinons?

Damien Cox

2005-01-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

Damien Cox has a good read on a subject that we all know well. The season is obviously toast, but if they do manage to play 28 games starting in February, how tainted would the season really be? Well, Cox puts it this way:

Even if it were to begin in a week or two, it has already been irreparably disfigured, reduced to an embarrassing, shrunken head of an athletic competition....Anything that starts this late is essentially worthless, even more shorn of significant meaning than the forgettable and already forgotten World Cup of Hockey. The TV networks will hype a shortened season and pretend it is not the sham it is, but hey, the CBC is running out of movies.

Cox goes on to say that both Bettman and Goodenow should be axed and I can't say that I disagree with him.

The second clause is that a new CBA would be accompanied by resignation letters from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and union chief Bob Goodenow. As joint custodians of this league and this sport, these two men have failed dramatically. For more than a decade, they've had the chance to work together for the betterment of the game. Now, it's somebody else's turn. Losing these two leaders would be a helpful part of the rebuilding process that will be so very necessary at the conclusion of this already disastrous labour fight.

By any reasonable evaluation, neither is any closer to induction into the Hall of Fame than they were when they started. Neither can be accurately described as "builder.

Cox is a decent writer, even if it is for the Toronto Star, and he has some good points to make. But now it's time for me to put on my Hazmat suit as I click the link to Al Strachan.....

Is no news good news?

2005-01-26T15:01:00.001-08:00

The representatives of the NHL and NHLPA are still in meetings in Toronto. As of 3:00pm Pacific Time, not one word has been squeaked out about the progress of said meeting. I know the lockout has been beaten to death, but one more little post with only a hint of anticipation won't hurt anyone, right?

Hopefully the silence is a positive sign and these hammerheads are finally starting to figure out that no one wins in a lenghty dispute such as this. It's been one hairy fit after another, posturing galore and general analysis overkill on the subject. So hopefully, after the meeting is over, the season is either cancelled or gets the green light. Either way, let us speak no more about it until next year.

**UPDATE**

The meeting has apparently concluded and each side had no comments for the media other than they have agreed to meet again this week. It may be notable that New Jersey Devils' owner Lou Lamorello was at the meeting at the request of the NHLPA.

Owens may try to play

2005-01-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Terrell Owens may try to play in the Super Bowl, against his doctor's wishes.

Philadelphia Eagles head trainer Rick Burkholder has this to say:

"We understand Dr. Myerson's point of view. It's just that our risk-reward is different than his risk-reward," Burkholder said. "He has great risk in clearing Terrell to play and no reward. We think there's some risk and we think there's great reward, so right now we're going to progress with his rehab."

I'd love to see Ownes suit up, but many questions have surfaced in my mind. For one thing, if the doctor does not clear him to play, what are the legal implications in regards to insurance for the Eagles? What I mean is, if he does in fact play and manages to completely wreck his ankle in the process to the point where his career lies in doubt, do the Eagles receive compensation for this or are they on their own? I don't know the answer to this question - or if it even applies - so if anyone has some insight, please let me know.

Also, how effective will he really be upon returning at less than 100% and will this have negative implications on the team should he be unable to perform? For example, if he does play and the Eagles attack has him as the central focus, he may lack the ability to make key plays which could hurt the team, no?

I know that the coaching staff will likely be prepared for any such scenario, but these questions still nag quietly in the back of my mind. Anyways, here's to a good, hard fought game. Go Eagles!

Finally, something progressive..

2005-01-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

OK, I promise that this isn't about the NHL lockout. It is, however, about the improvement of the game. You may have noticed that in the past, say 6-7 years, the game of hockey has regressed into something resembling soccer on ice with just a twist of chess thrown in for added marketability (tee hee). And after stagnating (or diminishing) attendance levels and regressive TV contracts, the NHL and those directly involved in the sport may have finally noticed that hey, the game kinda sucks.

Coming on the heels of the Brendan Shanahan summits on the game, the NHL and several coaches are going to meet to examine some possible rule changes that may benefit the on-ice product. It's rather alarming that the on-ice issues have been allowed to fall by the wayside and it took a player, namely Shanahan, to shine some light on the issues. It's about bloody time that the league took a long and meaningfull look into ways to improve the product and then, God forbid, maybe try to implement them!

Delgado lands in Florida

2005-01-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

I must admit that I'm a little bit surprised. I would have laid some money down on the Mets snagging him, but apparently, Carlos Delgado, the much sought after 1st baseman, is headed to Florida to grace the Marlin's cap and bask in the sun. The deal is reportedly worth $52 million over 4 years. Meh, pocket change.

The griping continues

2005-01-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Randy Sportak has a nice perspective on the NHL landscape in his latest column.

Let's recap. Both sides get together for what's supposed to be a private meeting in an unknown locale, yet announce it so all the media can find it.

Hopes are high because they seem civil to each other.

However, the "negotiations" take an ugly turn because neither side will capitulate and the players immediately stomp out, bluster a bunch of the same-old, same-old about it's for sure a lost season.

A couple of days later, after what is supposedly a cooling off period, it all happens again -- like shampooing your hair: Lather, rinse, repeat.

That's spot on. Get a deal done, or don't get it done. Either way, shut up and bother us when it's all over. Hopefully, for the sake of the NHL, people won't be too busy getting on with their lives when that finally happens.

And here's another amusing read by Robert Tychkowski. Of course the article is mostly tongue in cheek, but the message is clear - fans are getting dumped on and both sides in the dispute are, well, basically morons. Oh wait, that's my message.

Super Bowl set

2005-01-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

The highlight of the day for me yesterday was watching the Eagles finally make it to the Super Bowl. But, can the stiffling Philly defense stop the raging New England Pats? It's a hard task, no doubt, and hopefully the big game results in much less of a snoozefest than previous championship games have proven to be.

The Patriots are already 6 point favorites, and my head is telling me that they will walk off the field in Jacksonville as Super Bowl champs for the third time in four years. But the rest of me will be cheering for the Eagles to upset the mighty team from New England, much like the Pats did to the Rams when they claimed their first title.

As much as I'd like to see McNabb & Co. take it to the Patriots, I don't think that has any chance of being the outcome. New England is just too strong as they have shown by systematically dismantling both the Colts and the Steelers with ease. The six point spread given by Las Vegas oddsmakers may be generous to the Eagles.

So, as much as it pains me to say so, for what it's worth, and for those who care, my official prediction is the New England Patriots to run roughshod over Philadelphia.

NHL wants to talk

2005-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

So says Bill Daly. The league has apparently requested a meeting with the NHLPA for sometime this week.

"What we'd like to do is take back what was discussed last week, including some of the things we heard from the union," Daly told the Globe and Mail. "(We want to) incorporate them into our thinking and come up with ideas that might lead to more productive discussions this week."

The hockey media breathes a collective sigh of relief, the hockey fans are too busy watching football and basketball, and oh yea, not giving a crap.

Lewis to come back..oh wait, no he's not

2005-01-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

Lennox Lewis, arguably one of the most accomplished heavyweight champions of all time, first implied on Sunday that he was about to return to the ring against current WBC champ Vitali Klitschko. However, later in the day, TSN has reported that this is not the case.

"I want to reiterate what I said when I retired in February 2004 that I was fortunate to leave the sport on my own terms and that I will be one of the few heavyweight champions in history to retire on top and stay retired," Lewis said.

I'm a Lennox Lewis fan, but whether he admits it or not, he probably did not deserve to be the victor in his last heavyweight bought, even though he may have been starting to rebound from a rather poor performance - by his standards - in the early going. I believe that if Lewis does return to the ring, it will be to vindicate himself from any doubt caused by his last bout as opposed to "listening to a lot of rubbish from Klitschko."

Hopefully, if he returns, he will take this fight seriously, as it seemd to me that he had a history of taking certain opponents lightly.

It's Burke time

2005-01-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

Brian Burke made his regular weekly appearance on Sportstalk Friday night. What did he have to say? Well, nothing that we haven't heard before. You know you've hit the absolute bottom when you catch yourself yawing while in the midst of listening to a speaker who radiates prescence.

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Burke - I still don't understand why he isn't the Canuck's GM - and even though I may not always agree with what he says, I'm always engrossed in the conversation. That changed a bit last night. No, it had nothing to do with Burke, it had everything to do with the fact that the NHL lockout banter is beyond ridiculous now. I'm starting to completely tune out all of the regourgitated psycho babble. I know I've said this before, but now a point has been reached and things may never be the same again.

Anyways, as all of us know, the NHL season is caput, but Burke still clings to hope that a 30 game season can be squeezed between February and April.

“Assuming you have agreement, it’s all drafting (documents). If our lawyers can’t draft a document in 4 days, we need new lawyers.”

That may be true, but the fact remains that the sides are so far apart that even if you had the law firm of Speedy Gonzales and Company filling in the blanks, a season won't be happening.

So who does Burke blame for the lenghty work stoppage? Well, both sides. But he's much less restrained when expressing views on the NHLPA stance.

“The players offered a wage reduction, they didn’t offer any system changes and they know it...They’ve offered an interesting wage rollback but the luxury tax will not deter spending in anyway. It was never designed to make a deal in my opinion...I can say truthfully that the NHLPA has been equally as stubborn as the NHL. They both have to move, they’ve taken global positions, and they will both have to move to get a deal done...The union has taken the position that is unattainable, for employees to say that they are entitled to more (percentage of revenues) than what is reasonable in this business, is unforgivable, and this is why we’re stuck”

On the other hand, Burke believes the owners must have some movement as well.

"I do believe, and I’ve said this only today publicly, that what the owners are seeking is more than needed to fix the business...The owner’s have asked the players to fix this problem and have not shown any interest in trying to fix it themselves.”

So, ho-hum, nothing new. No Hockey for at least this season, and probably much longer than that. When both sides have such a polarized view of the future economic state of the NHL, an agreement cannot be made without intervention - or the courts.

Season done....

2005-01-21T16:49:00.001-08:00

Despite the best efforts of Trevor Linden, the season is toast. Most of us have known this since December when the NHLPA and the NHL outright rejected each other's proposals. And again today, more banter is being offered as proof.

Jimmy Devellano, the Red Wings senior vice-president, has this to say:

"The season's done," he told the Detroit Free Press. "There's no chance that the right deal can remotely be done in the next little while. There's too much work to be done. There's too many i's to dot and t's to cross. You are not going to get this collective bargaining agreement done in two days, three days, one week or two weeks. It's over."

No kidding. For those very reasons, almost everyone, with the exception of Gary Bettman and his cronies have accepted this as the truth. Well, Bettman has yet to admit it publically, anyways.

Regardless of the meetings of thie past week, even if the philisophical differences could be compromised and the wide valleys of opinion could be bridged, there's simply no time left. So really, at this point, it matters not that the philiosophical demons and differences of opinion are in no danger of becoming miraculously excorsized.

With that in mind, Trevor Linden had more to say today.

"Their pursuit of a team-by-team hard cap, NFL-style model, is crystal-clear," Linden said.

Linden believes the players want to find a solution and are willing to examine new ways of getting there. But to his mind the league road map is fixed, always leading to a salary cap.

"If we can't sit in a room and have a mutual discussion and work around each other's problems to get to an agreement, then what are we looking at?" he asked. "I think players really get their back up when they understand what's going on here."

Again, nothing new here fellas. The league mandate has been crystal clear since September, even earlier to some, so why would it change now? The players can get their back up all they want because in the end, it won't mean squat.

The owners, at least the majority of them, are intent on one thing - taking back control of the league. In their eyes, this is their baby, and the extremely prosperous run the players have had has to be reigned in, much like an out of control thoroughbread. So, when the league proposes a new deal, which many sources have suggested will happen early next week, expect the same unerlying concepts of cost certainty to dominate.

Neither side is willing to move on the key issue of this dispute. Call it whatever you want, cost certainty, linkage, salary cap - the bottom line is that the owners want this and the players are outraged by it. So where do they go from here? Well, it looks like this runaway train is headed straight into a court-room. How else can a resolution come from the mess that has each side dug in like an Alabama tick? There will be no compromise at the present time, so why would the respective stances suddenly change within the next 6 months, one year, two years, or ever?

Maybe in the future, if the process does follow the Yellow Brick Road to an impasse, and hence, a court-room, maybe the proceedings will be featured on a pay-per-view basis. Basketball, here I come.

Meeting adjourned

2005-01-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

Both sides in the NHL labour dispute met for several hours again today, and when it was all said and done, there wasn't really much new to report.

"We've had two good days of communication," Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president and chief legal officer, told reporters. "But we still have very strong philosophical differences."

Daly said the two sides would talk again but did not say when. A source said the meetings would not resume Friday because of the death of the mother of Ted Saskin, senior director of the NHL Players' Association.

Asked what the two sides would talk about, given their polar position on a salary cap, Daly replied: "We just continue to work very hard at trying to satisfy both parties."

The two day-session, initiated by NHLPA president Trevor Linden, was described by Daly as "the best dynamic to date in this process."

"I give Trevor Linden a lot of credit for bringing us together again," Daly added.

Well, I think that if there were any genuine hope for a season, a deal, or at least a framework for a deal, would have had to have been in place by this weekend. In order to hammer out a CBA, host training camps, define a schedule, and tie up any lose ends, more than a few days are likely required. Given the late-January date of these meetings, there's too little time left unless something is agreed upon immediately.

I find it remarkably hilarious that the most progress that we have seen comes despite - or because of - the absense of Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman. Even though there may be philisophical deiffernces remaining, at least some bona fide conversations are in place. That, more than anything, is reason for hope.