I gotta deal with Mr.1228 and a 14 year old kid (both hockey fanatics...especially the kid).
Too bad they could not come to a happy medium!

It's a shame that both sides couldn't have learned how to play nicely together in the first place. Hurrah, everyone loses in the end. Let's hope they get this fixed NOW so we can see a viable NHL in the fall. At this point I'm not going to hold my breath, although I'll have my rear in a seat at Nationwide when and if we get hockey ever back again.

Oh well, guess we'll be seeing a nice fat hockey refund check at our house in the near future.

Let's hope they can solve everything by August so we'll have a full season. I still don't understand why they refuse contraction. Wouldn't shutting teams down save even more money?

Greedy buggers, the lot of them.

Time to enjoy grassroots hockey, eventhough I am going to miss the excitement of Vancouver during playoff season.

I shall reserve most of my extreme distast for the head weasel Bettman... I'm sorry yes the players were out to protect there asses and so was Bettman - but the NHLPA at least made offers or moved on positions... I didn't see that from Bettman or the owners.

So now marginal markets are threatened, and fan base support in these areas is severely weakened... I'm betting on 3 teams folding or moving.

Finally in the words of Tie Domi: "We were willing to take a 24% pay cut, were Bettman or the owners? I think that will tell you who is more dedicated to the game, and who is more dedicated to his bottom line"


On a side note anyone see the cover of the Toronto Star on the 16th? That'd be the barber's I patronize in my little neck of the woods:D

Oh boo hoo for the players. A 24% pay cut...that will really affect their lifestyle. As for the owners their not innocent either and I agree that they should have done more, but the players need to stop acting like they're victims. The real victims here are the business that rely on the NHL for their livelihood. The sports bars owners and staff, retailers and maufacturers. They are the only ones who have and will truely suffer.

I heard on the radio this morning that both Don Cherry and Wayne Gretzky are saying that this might last until next January. Both sides are unlikely to talk again until at least September :(......

Sure a 24% roll-back wouldn't hurt the big namers - but the last offer made was a 24% role back across the board... which meant that even the minor players would feel the pinch... through-out the whole medation process it seemed that the NHLPA was always being the ones making the concesions, while the owners stayed firm in their resolve to use the collapse of the last Bettman CBA as a means to break the player's union.

As for who the real victims are - I'd have to go with the players that may have played not get a chance to play because of this - either because of financial reasons, or because of the loss of the draft. What about the other staff involved in the lock-out that supported the NHLPA... like say the refs... guys who never made that much who now get nothing... again just like the players. The owners are still making money from things site usage and merchandising - whereas 95% of the players get zilch this year... nothing.

Look my issue with Bettman is that since his arrival the NHL has had one lock-out and now one lost season - something that has never happened before. But what really galls me is the little weasel tried to use the 11th hour negotations to introduce major rule changes to the NHL as well...

This is one issue that you and I will never completely agree on. I cannot in good conscience feel sorry for people who are making hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year to put a puck in the back of a net. These are some of the most privilaged people in the world and it irriates me to know end that many of them feel it is their God given right to make big money to play a sport. They only get the big money because people have decided that they can. Not because they actually deserve it. So in turn, it is really the fans that are paying these high salaries and I think it's time that we put a stop to it (but that's just my humble opinion). Hockey is the greatest sport on earth in my opininion, so great that people actually pay to play it! Some of the best hockey that you will see is played at the grassroots level, not in the NHL. Why? Because the grassroots players are playing for the love of the game.

Now I agree that Bettman is a problem. The owners are a problem. I do not believe that they are innocent parties at all. While I do feel sorry for some of the younger players that never got their chance at the big leagues, they are not the victims either.

Like I said before, the real victims here are those in the bar and restaurant industry. Retailers and manufactures. Public transportaion and taxis are losing money because of this.

I cannot and will not ever feel sorry for a professional athlete when it comes to money.

looks like both parties are realizing that zero income this season is worse than swallowing some pride.... talks seem to be resuming, according to the local news

Looks like the season will happen after all.

http://thn.com/en/headlines/detail.asp?id=27358

If this is true, do you think Bettman is going to resign? This would be very embarassing for him.

I hope so, but I doubt it.

Last update said that the talks didn't go well, and the season is "still cancelled". :(

I wish they would either cancel it or not cancel it, but just stop talking about what they are going to do........