General Hockey Talk - Injuries, signings, factoids + other news from around the league

rooneypoo wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

For very selfish reasons (i.e., an unmanageable workload between the start of September and the end of November), I'm OK with a late start this year.

will you still be at Carleton?

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

When's the Winter Classic? Work backwards 2-3 weeks so they can advertise the hell out of it on NBC and that is your deadline for when the season starts. The smaller market teams will end up losing less money; the large market teams can afford this. While they would never admit to it, the owners don't mind shortening the season every 5-7 years to keep the salaries down. Neither do the stars, who can afford to take a pay cut to play shinny in Europe for a few months. The ones who lose are the minimum-wage players, the agents, the fringe players (who get pushed out of Euro league teams and the AHL) and, of course, the fans.

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

When's the Winter Classic? Work backwards 2-3 weeks so they can advertise the hell out of it on NBC and that is your deadline for when the season starts. The smaller market teams will end up losing less money; the large market teams can afford this. While they would never admit to it, the owners don't mind shortening the season every 5-7 years to keep the salaries down. Neither do the stars, who can afford to take a pay cut to play shinny in Europe for a few months. The ones who lose are the minimum-wage players, the agents, the fringe players (who get pushed out of Euro league teams and the AHL) and, of course, the fans.

Source?

wprager wrote:Brennan blames it on Bettman:
If Alfredsson retires it's all commissioner's fault

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/07/21/blame-it-on-bettman

I would really blame it on 6 or 7 NHL owners/GM's for the ridiculous contracts they sign.. especially when 2 of them sit with the ownership bargaining committee who are complaining about the long term and high-salaried contracts. What a bunch of hypocrites.
Now I don't like Bettman... but when you have GM's like Holmgren, Sather, Lamarello and now Leopold -- Buffalo for their stupid contracts last year to Leino et al... they drive up the price that the rest of the teams can't match... They have created this.. by finding the loopholes.. that if closed, should stop this madness... The owners have to be protected from themselves.

spader wrote:

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

When's the Winter Classic? Work backwards 2-3 weeks so they can advertise the hell out of it on NBC and that is your deadline for when the season starts. The smaller market teams will end up losing less money; the large market teams can afford this. While they would never admit to it, the owners don't mind shortening the season every 5-7 years to keep the salaries down. Neither do the stars, who can afford to take a pay cut to play shinny in Europe for a few months. The ones who lose are the minimum-wage players, the agents, the fringe players (who get pushed out of Euro league teams and the AHL) and, of course, the fans.

Source?

Math.

wprager wrote:

spader wrote:

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

When's the Winter Classic? Work backwards 2-3 weeks so they can advertise the hell out of it on NBC and that is your deadline for when the season starts. The smaller market teams will end up losing less money; the large market teams can afford this. While they would never admit to it, the owners don't mind shortening the season every 5-7 years to keep the salaries down. Neither do the stars, who can afford to take a pay cut to play shinny in Europe for a few months. The ones who lose are the minimum-wage players, the agents, the fringe players (who get pushed out of Euro league teams and the AHL) and, of course, the fans.

Source?

Math.

Ah, I figured. So, the owners that make money every season, do they mind shortening the season (and losing profits)? The fact that stars can afford to take a pay cut...this means that they don't mind taking a pay cut? I'd like to see the mathematical formula you used to make these claims.

rooneypoo wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

For very selfish reasons (i.e., an unmanageable workload between the start of September and the end of November), I'm OK with a late start this year.

I'd be good with a regular 62-game season every year to be honest.

Most owners are making very little or actually losing. The losing ones will lose less in a shortened season. It's like the "anomaly" in The Matrix. There is a level of survival they are prepared to accept.

There's a glitch in the Matrix.

shabbs wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

For very selfish reasons (i.e., an unmanageable workload between the start of September and the end of November), I'm OK with a late start this year.

I'd be good with a regular 62-game season every year to be honest.

I can't watch 82 games anyway, no time. And 62 games would represent a 24.4% cutback. The owners can be generous and only ask for a 24% rollback again

Seriously, the season starts a couple of weeks before the World Series and ends right when the NBA playoff races are going down to the wire. 20 games will give you 6-7 weeks -- start in late October to avoid the World Series, then stop 1-2 weeks earlier to reduce the overlap with the NBA season. Change the rules so that the players actually get paid for playoff games -- maybe the euros will play with a little more compete level

Big Ev wrote:

rooneypoo wrote:

shabbs wrote:I fully expect a shortened season now. A November start seems pretty likely. And if that's the case, I say it bodes well for Alfie playing.

For very selfish reasons (i.e., an unmanageable workload between the start of September and the end of November), I'm OK with a late start this year.

will you still be at Carleton?

Yes, in a slightly different and expanded capacity. If the 9-5 job and 1 course isn't enough, I'll also have to deal with a conference, proofing my book, and the job apps season (itself a part-time job all on its own).

Hockey might as well start in December as far as I'm concerned, because I'm not sure how I will be able to make time for it before then. Right now, I'm not even sure how I'm going to be able to slot time for regular sleep in there.

"Lubomir Visnovsky has filed a grievance through the NHLPA to void his trade to #Isles, claiming his no-trade clause is still valid."

Ruh roh

Riprock wrote:"Lubomir Visnovsky has filed a grievance through the NHLPA to void his trade to #Isles, claiming his no-trade clause is still valid."

Ruh roh

Not good. If the trade isn't voided, how can he show up in the dressing room after this?

Kris Versteeg re-ups in FLA for 4-years.

spader wrote:

Riprock wrote:"Lubomir Visnovsky has filed a grievance through the NHLPA to void his trade to #Isles, claiming his no-trade clause is still valid."

Ruh roh

Not good. If the trade isn't voided, how can he show up in the dressing room after this?

A guy that clearly doesn't want to be there - just like another Russian who was forced to go there (Nabakov). Maybe they can flip him to Ottawa?

Riprock wrote:Kris Versteeg re-ups in FLA for 4-years.

$4.4 x 4-years, according to Dreger via Twitter.

Riprock wrote:

spader wrote:

Riprock wrote:"Lubomir Visnovsky has filed a grievance through the NHLPA to void his trade to #Isles, claiming his no-trade clause is still valid."

Ruh roh

Not good. If the trade isn't voided, how can he show up in the dressing room after this?

A guy that clearly doesn't want to be there - just like another Russian who was forced to go there (Nabakov). Maybe they can flip him to Ottawa?

Lubo is Slovak!

D'oh! Sounds Russian... very Ruski-ish.

So was his NTC with Anaheim or Edmonton? Cause if it was with EDM, then it would be like the Heatley scenario in which it was voided after he waived it to go to Anaheim (or SJ in DH's case).