NHL - Season 2004/05

[da-geezer]

Well - here we are at the start of the NHL season this year!

OMFG amazing go caps yeah yaeh yeah!!!!!111111111oneoneoneeleven

Except it isn't. Due to the lockout, we've not got any games going on.

Now, I understand one side of the table has to cave in at some point, any idea who it will be? Perhaps more vaguely - will there be a season this year? Or will the season be locked out for the start of next season too?

Bear in mind that any NHL players are ineligible to play for their respective countries in the Olympics if a collective bargaining agreement isn't reached by January.

I really really really hope the NHLPA caves in. You can't pay tens of millions of dollars to a player. It's going to make the highest earners more elite, and it'll sorely damage any prospects chances of making it big. I'm not one for corporate greed, but I understand the need for clubs to make money. Hey, that's business. On the flipside, I'm pretty sure the NHL will snap first. The PA have nothing to lose - more than two hundred of them have come to Europe already.

As a Washington Capitals fan, I do think the Caps have come out on top in this situation. Their salary dump towards the mid season means that their outgoings have reduced significantly - I'm guessing the Rangers execs will be crying big style for however long this lockout lasts.

I'd like to hear yer thoughts on this. Hit me! :D

All you UK people, listen up!
There was a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed a couple of years back that set out the conditions for an player to be an 'employee' at the club. The CBA expired on the 15th September, and no new CBA has been reached.
The lockout has come about because the owners of the National Hockey League (NHL) clubs have decided that they're paying the players too much, and they're making losses. They want to introduce a salary cap. Perhaps unsurprisingly the Players Association (NHLPA) have rejected this, and won't accept anything of the sort. Hence, a new CBA cannot be implemented, and there's a lockout.
Official CBA news (http://www.nhlcbanews.com/)

Sorry about the long post - hope it's all clear!

[TaterSalad]

This lockout really sucks. I hope it ends soon, I can't wait to see the Lightning defend their title. Why can't the NHLPA let the players decide whether to lock out the season? I'm sure there'd be hockey if that was the case.

[qbkidd]

There won't be a NHL season this year. NHL players are playing everywhere around the world.

[da-geezer]

NHL players are playing everywhere around the world.
Indeed, a smart move. Nice for the contract-tied draft picks such as Ovechkin too - there were some legal wranglings over whether his Moscow team would let him start the NHL season with the Capitals. Well, this lockout has sorted that - Ovechkin pleases Moscow, hasn't pissed the Caps off, and comes out with a nice paycheque. Very smart.

The NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman also ruled that teams that want to play on with a reduced roster would not be able to. Do you think that's a good idea? Or would you prefer to see anything as long as it means a season? On a related note - the WHA is well on it's way to being ressurected (again). That'll be interesting.

<offtopic>
As an afterthought: if the Olymbic deadline for a CBA to be reached passes, and some countries can't even make up a team - it'd at least solve that problem whereby they somehow squashed an entire tournament into twelve days :D
</offtopic>

[qbkidd]

I just heard that there might not be a season next year either.

[Maple Moose]

im saddened by the lock out, players should get a salary cap, washington capitals suck, calgary rules! teams without big name players to bring the money in will suffer anyway even if there is a salary cap or not, because they want to win and if a team doesnt got heart of good players they dont win. Unlike great ol' calgary :)

[qbkidd]

Calgary lost to my hometown team the TB Lightning.

[da-geezer]

I've just been reading Bill Daly's responses (http://www.nhlcbanews.com/news/good_faith112304.html) to the PA's accusations. As much as I can see that half of it is propaganda bullshit, he's hit the nail on the head. If the League is losing US$10m a year, then I can't see how a solution without a salary cap is feasible. Either the teams will go bust around 2010 after salaries have hit insane levels, or teams will perform Capitals-style "salary dumps" every couple of years. It's not good for the players, it's not good for the owners, and it's not good for the fans.

The "Replacement Player Scenario" as Bill Daly put it, is an interesting one. I read it in a way that players who won't budge from the PA's stance will be dumped in favour of players who will. I do hope this won't happen - else we'll have a rag-tag version of the AHL. No disrespect to the AHL - there's some damn good hockey being played in that league, but it's not usually "top flight" hockey that the NHL generally produces. On the flipside, we may get part of a season... but then the fans might as well watch AHL games anyway.

Calgary lost to my hometown team the TB Lightning.
haha, owned :D

[streety]

AVALANCHE!
I used to watch the NHL all the time a few years ago. I have since lost touch with what has been going on. Just looked on the Colorado site and I am glad to see my favourite player is still there... Peter Forsberg.

Can't believe the news about the CBA. It's shocking! Hope they get it sorted out and let the season commence.

[da-geezer]

I am glad to see my favourite player is still there... Peter Forsberg.
Ah yes, he's one of the best guys in the NHL at this moment in time. Pure class player... for now. Speculation has been mounting for the past couple of seasons that he's looking at retiring. This article issued by the IIHF (http://www.iihf.com/news/iihfpr5801.htm) gives a frank view on how Forsberg's career hasn't been easy, and why he's got every reason to look at retiring. A real pity really, he's a magical player to watch on the rink. The NHL is getting rougher and rougher - the Todd Bertuzzi incident gives more than enough evidence of this - so even if he doesn't retire, I don't think he'll stay in the NHL for long. European leagues (such as the Swedish Elitserian) place a lot more emphasis on passing and finesse rather than the intense play that the NHL appears to be promoting.

Back to the Avalanche, they're an odd team. On paper, they've got one of the best rosters in the NHL. On the rink, they just don't seem to gel - or at least not often. When they play well, they're unbeatable; but when they're on a bad day, they leave a lot to be desired. It's such a pity that the 2003/04 re-pairing of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne didn't pay off - both are such great players to watch.

It's shocking! Hope they get it sorted out and let the season commence.
You're dead right, man - take a look here (http://www.nhlcbanews.com/) every so often if you want to be kept up to date. Unfortunatley, i'm this close to putting £10 down on there not being an 04/05 season... :(

[Nth Turtle]

Still no progress. *Sigh*

San Jose Sharks fan here.

A gutted one at that, we've lost Ricci & Damphousse in the Off-season.

*Goes off to cry quietly in the corner*

[qbkidd]

Let this thread die.

[mmmbacon]

i'm not a big hockey fan, but it is sad to see that the lockout is in place, no offense, but i really don't enjoy the regular season, the playoffs are usually all i watch, but as i said, i'm not a big hockey fan

[da-geezer]

Let this thread die.
Sorry son, didn't realise there was another recent 'n' decent hockey thread about :rolleyes:

...we've lost Ricci & Damphousse in the Off-season.
true true, a lot of players used clauses in their contracts (some just terminated them) so that they could actually play hockey in another part of the world. It's all a bit of a mish-mash though; the NHL is a fair bit different to European hockey for example - I'm not saying I can pinpoint differences, but you only need watch one game after another to notice.

i'm not a big hockey fan, but it is sad to see that the lockout is in place, no offense, but i really don't enjoy the regular season, the playoffs are usually all i watch, but as i said, i'm not a big hockey fan

I guess that's fair enough. I mean, I'm not a huge football fan, but I love the Champions League. There's nowt better than watching the best teams in the world playing the best they can.

As for the hockey though, you've got a fair point. The opening games are fairly novel, see how teams have gelled with/without new/old key players during the offseason. Between then and the last twenty games or so, it's a grind period - though you do get the odd exciting game. I feel the home stretch of the regular season is just as - if not more - engrossing than the playoffs - especially among the playoff qualification cutoff point. You'd never have thought that competition for an eigth spot would be so harsh :D

A few comments on the progress on the CBA, at least the two sides are talking now. We hear about proposals, counter-proposals, new proposals etc etc, and chances are it's not going to come to anything; but hey they're negotiating. I'm just holding out for an 05/06 season now... :nana: