Tag: National Hockey League

Hockey Talk: Kovalchuk, Neidermayer and their Legacy on the Devils and Maple Leafs.


You have probably heard by now that New Jersey Devils superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk retired from the NHL 3 years into a 17-year, $102 million dollar contract, having received $23 million in salary – leaving $77 million on the table.  He went back home, to Russia, and is expected to sign with the KHL right away.

Turns out he loved playing in Russia so much during that ridiculous NHL lockout that he felt homesick upon his return.  Well done, NHL/PA.

What you may not know and is impressive if you toss it into a conversation with someone, is that the Devils paid quite a price for Kovalchuk.  First, they traded Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a 2nd-round pick and a 1st-round to the then Atlanta Thrashers for him at the 2010 trade deadline (The Devils did receive a 2nd-round pick and Anssi Salmela from the Thrashers at that time).

When Kovalchuk’s contract expired at the end of the 2009-2010 season, the Devils re-signed him to a 17-year $102 million contract which the league rejected because it was back-loaded and circumvented the NHL’s salary cap.  Then the NHL amended its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to disallow other organizations from utilizing this loophole.   The NHL punished the Devils who were forced to forfeit $3 million, a 3rd-round draft pick and a 1st-round draft pick.

So let’s do the math:  The Devils invested: Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a 2nd-round pick, two 1st-round picks, a 3rd-round pick, a $3 million fine, $23 million in salary and got in a large fight with Gary Bettman and the NHL over this.

It’s safe to say that this list was not worth it, considering that Kovalchuk retired with 12 years and $77 million remaining on his contract.

The Devils will now have a lot of salary cap space but if they knew this, would they have let forward David Clarkson become an unrestricted free agent?  Clarkson was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs a few days ago at the start of the free agent signing season.  So now the Devils have to find 2 premier players instead of just one.

The Maple Leafs, on the other hand, must have felt a little nervous when signing Clarkson from the Devils given the fact that Scott Neidermayer was elected to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame this week.

How do the 2 relate, you might be asking?

Well, the Leafs known for terrible trades and horrible drafting have made some pretty sketchy decisions, since 1967’s expansion, such as; sending Lanny McDonald to Colorado or Owen Nolan from San Jose, or trading goalie Tuukka Rask and keeping Justin Pogge, while getting Andrew Raycroft in return, or trading 2 high draft picks Vesa Toskala in 2007, but the one that hurts the most, in my opinion is this one.

On October 16th, 1989 the Toronto Maple Leafs traded their 1st round draft pick in the 1991 NHL entry draft to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Tom Kurvers.  That pick turned out to be Scott Neidermayer.

The Maple Leafs were a terrible team and with the recent addition of Europeans were easy to play against in the rough, tough Norris division.  The coach, John Brophy, known for being tough himself insisted the team get tougher and that began with the laughable trade of speedy centre Russ Courtnal to the Montreal Canadiens for goon John Kordic (whom I met on the Toronto subway on the way to Wrestlemania 6 at the SkyDome.  Kordic since died from an overdose)

Known for being a coaching carousel, the Leafs fired Broph after a 10 game winless streak and replaced him with Leaf legend and former captain George Armstrong – which didn’t matter with a terrible team as the Leafs finished last in the Norris division.

Over the summer, GM Stellick was fired, and Armstrong was not asked to return.  Instead, the Leafs promoted their chief scout Floyd Smith to be the GM and they hired former New Jersey coach Doug Carpenter to run the team.

With Borje Salming and Chris Kotsopoulos leaving TO to sign with the Detroit Red Wings, and defenseman Rick Lanz deciding to play in Switzerland instead of Toronto, the team needed to add blueliners so they began with Rob Ramage, Al Iafrate, and they pushed along some young but unproven defensemen in Luke Richardson and Todd Gill.  The Leafs also added Brad (no helmet, can’t skate) Marsh and tough guy Brian Curran – whom I remember as always having a broken jaw from fighting.  Coach Carpenter knew the Devils well, and pointed to Tom Kurvers, who had already moved from the Canadiens to the Sabres and on to the Devils where as an offensive defenseman, managed 34 points during the 1987-88 season and 15 points in the playoffs.  The following year, Kurvers lead the Devils in points from the defense with 16 goals and 50 assists.

So after losing 4 of their first 5 games in the 1989-90 season the Leafs and Devils agreed on a trade with the Leafs getting Kurvers and the Devils getting the Leafs 1st round draft pick in the 1991 entry draft.

Kurvers finished second to Iafrate in defensive scoring that year with 15 goals and 37 assists, helping the Leafs make the playoffs and finish 3rd in the Norris Division, however, the Leafs lost to the St. Louis Blues in 5 games – if you are around my age you will remember the Sergio Momesso slapshot from just past centre ice that goalie Alan Bester let in.  That deflated the team and they were done in the series.

Toronto returned for the 1990-91 season with virtually the same roster, except Bester, who was demoted to Newmarket and was replaced by rookie Peter Ing. Unfortunately, the success of the previous season did not repeat itself. The Leafs again fell flat early in the season, going winless in the first seven games. After a win over Chicago, they lost another three games in a row and Carpenter was fired and replaced by former Vancouver and Winnipeg coach Tom Watt.

Watt was unable to pull Toronto out of their crash dive and by early November, the club was 2-15-1 and well on their way to finishing dead last in the league, which would have allowed them to draft the top prospect that year which was Oshawa General centre Eric Lindros.  But with that debacle looming, panic set in and GM Smith traded over half the Leaf roster to avoid finishing dead last.  Some of those trades included;

November 9, 1990 – Leafs trade John McIntyre to Los Angeles for Mike Krushelnyski

November 9, 1990 – Leafs trade Steve Bancroft (former 1st rounder) to Boston for Rob Cimetta

November 10, 1990 – Leafs trade Ed Olczyk and Mark Osborne to Winnipeg for Dave Ellett and Paul Fenton

November 17, 1990 – Leafs trade Scott Pearson (former 1st rounder) and their 1991 and 1992 second round picks to Quebec for Michel Petit, Lucien Deblois and Aaron Broten

December 17, 1990 – Leafs trade Lou Franceschetti and Brian Curran To Buffalo for Mike Foligno

In the end, the Leafs finished 11 points behind Quebec, with a 23-46-11 record, meaning Quebec drafted first (no draft lottery yet), while the expansion San Jose Sharks received the 2nd overall pick.  The New JerseyDevils drafted 3rd with the Leafs pick from the Kurvers trade.

So what about Kurvers?  Well he too was shipped out of Toronto, to the Vancouver Canucks for center Brian Bradley.   Kurvers was traded at the end of that season to the New York Islanders, where he averaged over 40 points a season in his final three NHL seasons before he retired.

Niedermayer became the only player to win a Memorial Cup, World Junior Championship, IIHF World Championship, Olympic gold medal, Stanley Cup and the World Cup.  He won the Norris Trophy for the best defenseman in the league in 2004, as well as helping the Devils win 3 Stanley Cups(1995, 2000 & 2003) and the Anaheim Ducks win one in 2007.  He also won 2 Olympic Gold Medals for Canada in 2002 and 2010.

So while I wish Kovalchuk success in Russia, and Neidermayer congratulations for being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, I also feel a little frustrated knowing he could have been a Leaf.

Of course my Maple Leaf cynicism also has me doubting that the team would have developed him in the manner the Devils did, or that he would have had a player with the skill set of Scott Stevens to help him along.

Or maybe, the Leafs don’t panic and pick up Kurvers and instead draft Eric Lindros 1st overall…

Sigh.  Say what you will New Jersey, but being a Toronto sports fan sucks!

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Bell and Rogers agree on something: Leafs Colour Analyst Jim Ralph Fired!


Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is always cause for concern when a marriage of unlikely partners takes place and when Bell and Rogers took the plunge to jointly purchase Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), speculation was rampant about how these two rivals were going to be able to work together to build winning sports franchises.

Well, if the news Wednesday was any indication, then either they have no issues working together or they have just picked the low-hanging fruit to test their ability to get things done, when it was announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs radio colour analyst, Jim Ralph, was relieved of his duties after 16-years with the Leafs.

Ralph actually tweeted his release @Jim_Ralph when he joked that his dismissal was “jointly done by my new step parents (Bell and Rogers, owners of MLSE). Take pride being first guy fired by TSN and The Fan on same day.”

Ralph also tweeted that, “For the record, my firing was due to changes in my department. Nothing personal. I was just the only one in the department.”

Ouch.

Ralph, known for his quick wit and unique sense of humour was a former NHL draft-pick of the Chicago Black Hawks, however after a serious knee injury and if I can recall correctly, many stories about his coaches wanting him to stop the puck more, he moved to broadcasting and worked 16 years and 1,196 straight games.

At first it was hard getting just to his joking on the radio, but as the Leafs got worse and worse, his humour actually made the broadcasts fun and I recall many a game where I would break into laughter listening to Ralph and long-time Leafs play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen  work their magic together.  It seemed the longer Bowen worked with Ralph, the funnier he got too.

It what I would describe as a typical Ralph way, he commented; “I don’t harbour an ounce of bitterness,” he said in a later tweet. “I’m not the first to go through it. Others have had it worse.”

So with this announcement I hope that “Ralphy” gets back on his feet quickly but only in a role that would suit him best.  He needs to be able to use his extensive hockey-knowledge and his sense of humour to do what he likes doing best… Talk.

How does this make you feel as a Leafs fan or a listener of Leafs broadcasts?

Was this done because of the impending move from AM640 to Fan590 and Team1050 for Leafs broadcasts?

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Strange and Puzzling News Events From the Week.


There is a reason the word "Dope" is in "Doping"...
President George W. Bush and Armstrong mountain biking at the president’s Prairie Chapel Ranch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was going through my draft folder this evening while everyone slept when I came across a fact I needed to verify, and in doing so, I came across an article that was just so bizarre that it might be true. I researched the facts from the article and came across nothing to verify that it was true or that it was untrue, but that gave me the idea for this week’s Thursday Thirteen. I’ve got 13 stranger than strange news items which puzzle, or puzzled, this Urban Daddy.

Let’s jump right in, if you please;

13. Tonight disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is admitting to doping pretty much his entire career, to Oprah in a 2-part special. Lance was so ahead of the anti-doping agency that it took them years to catch up to his cheating. So what is the perfect way to treat a liar and a cheat? By ignoring him, by not watching him on Oprah and not talking about him. He wants the public confession so people can begin to forgive him and he can tour the world talking about how bad it is to dope. He’s a fraud and we need to move on.

12. Former Toronto Maple Leaf’s GM Brian Burke was fired because he is the father of Sportsnet anchor Hazel Mae’s baby. WTF?!? Both are married and I could not find anything to confirm or deny this one…

11. A very public gang-rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in India drew so much attention around the world but apparently no so much in India where there were reports of another similar incident. Absolutely disgusting and unthinkable that people in this day and age could have that much disrespect for women, the Indian government is reportedly trying to fast-track the case. This had better be a guilty verdict!

10. What the hell is going on in Syria, and how can the world stand by – heck, where are the flotilla-loving peacenicks who wanted to crash the Israeli security checkpoints aimed at keeping weapons out of the hands of those who want to destroy Israel.   They were so focussed on creating peace there, or what about the Queers against Israeli Apartheid who almost cost the entire Gay Pride parade to lose funding because they disagreed with the politics of the only democratic state in the middle east where it is not a death sentence to be gay.  Where are these now?  How come they don’t want to step in and stop this killing in Syria?  Oh, and it’s not an anti-Jewish thing, right?  Didn’t think so…

9. The NY Rangers of the NHL officially buy out the contract of defenseman Wade Redden and the Montreal Canadiens officially do the same to Scott Gomez because both teams thought they needed to add these players for the most money possible as free agents and over paid for 2 guys not worthy of that kind of money. Overpaying also meant comparable players in the league were handed pay raises throwing off the pay scale league-wide and pretty much causing the recent lock-out. Dumb.

9. Still no one cares about the NHL… Sad. Oh, wait, the NHL put a full-page ad in papers across the US and Canada apologizing for the lockout, Well, then I guess everything is okay. NOT. What are they thinking!!!

8. Went to Yorkdale mall today with my wife and walked out of numerous stores in absolute frustration at the lack of service! The staff would rather huddle by the cash and complain than actually help customers make purchases of products which would keep the stores open and the staff employed. Unbelievable…

7. Someone used the search term; “Can I stick a tampon up my ass?” to come to my blog and I don’t know how or why but I Googled the same phrase and did not see the link to my blog on any of the first 10 pages, but I did find plenty of forums and discussion boards dedicated to, umm, that. WOW.

6. Some college football player named Manti Tao either made up a girlfriend who “died” or he was subject to a hoax about this imaginary girlfriend who “died”. Either way, it’s really messed up, and I think it’s going to play out the same way as #13. Ahem… Liar.

5. Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his arch-rival, left-leaning Adam Vaughan had lunch together on Thursday and I’m still looking into the rumour that Ford paid for the lunch, but Vaughan took that cash, gave it away, then complained bitterly about how cheap Ford was…

4. Many seem surprised that in light of the horrific shootings at the elementary school in Newton, Connecticut there has been a significant shift in the view of Americans towards stricter gun laws. What surprises me is how anyone could be surprised. Guns kill. Guns in the hand of unstable people have a great chance of killing innocent people. Stop mentioning these killers, period. See #13. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore.

3. It’s winter here in Canada and while it’s been mild the past few years, we have had some pretty chilly days. Today was chilly but that didn’t stop a couple from leaving the mall this afternoon with their 2-year-old son (who was not wearing a hat or mittens) and complaining loudly that, “this fucking weather is unbelievable. It’s so fucking cold. I cannot believe how fucking cold it is…” Yup. It’s winter, dumb-ass and if you’re cold, maybe your shivering child might need some to get in the car instead of you chatting in the parking lot and swearing up a storm in front of him, while he sits near the car’s exhaust turning into an ice cube.   Hello… child services!?!

2. #IdleNoMore has me absolutely confused, along the same lines as the #Occupy movement did last year. Apparently the current Conservative government in Canada has a bunch of proposed change to some bills, such as Bill-45 which either impact the sovereignty of Native Canadians or impact the natural resources in the country. Either way, it would be great to get the message out, have discussions and reach consensus without the muddled nonsense such as blocking highways and roads that comes with “peaceful” protests. Once someone’s own agenda infringes on the rights of others (as I’m sure Native Canadian’s feel) then it’s gone too far. As Canadian’s we’re smart enough to side with those who are wronged so give us the information and let us make our own decisions. Please.

1. Karma. At my ball-hockey game this week, we had the pleasure of playing a team which plays a very dirty game and they try to intimidate and hurt their opposition so they can win the game. It’s the third time this season we’ve played them and we were 2-0 against them. They jumped to a quick 3-1 lead in the game and started to goon it up, including running a couple of our players into the boards, two-handing our goalie across the pads during the play then challenging him to a fight and two-handing me across the knee, then spearing me in the goods later in the play. To say the game was chippy would be an understatement and a lot of their attention was turned to me after I voiced my displeasure with their play through a couple well placed whacks here and there and a lot of body contact on each play. So it was only fitting that I scored the game winning goal that game – my first goal in, geez, well over 4 years – with 1:47 left in the game.

I’m still not sure how – as a defenceman – I wound up in their zone one-on-one with their defenseman but after a quick spin move, I curled off that guy, used him as a screen and fired a wrist shot just inside the post and in between the goalies glove and right pad – just where my 8-year-old son Linus told me to put it.

Karma.

It’s a bitch, indeed.

The other team was so incensed that I scored the goal they got in an argument with their goalie and either he stormed off the floor to the dressing room or they turfed him out of the game.

Sweet.

NHLPA and OSSTF: Taking Public Relations Down a Slippery Slope


Distributing copies of the Canadian Charter of...
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So the NHL and the NHLPA have come to an agreement that the 2012-2013 NHL season has to be saved and they have agreed to end the lockout.  Excuse me if I do not jump for joy.  This, the third work stoppage in the past, what, 10 years has done even more damage to my love for the game and more specifically for the love of the NHL.  I may (will) be back, I don’t know when, but it won’t be the same.

A couple of days prior to the ending of the NHL lockout, another labour disruption seemingly came close to an end when the Ontario Liberal government used the powers of Bill 115 to put in place a contact, for the next year-and-a-half, for the public school teachers whose union was the only union that did not reach an agreement with the government.  Somehow the union seemed blindsided by the government who told them very publically that they had until December 31st to negotiate a contact otherwise one would be imposed on them.

Hardly labour peace in both cases, eh?

Both both these labour disruptions have a common thread that is worth looking at.  In both cases, it was the unions which steered the ship for it’s members and it both situations there were members who felt that a deal should be reached but were strong-armed into line by the union they pay dues to.

Is this something new?  Of course not.  When I spent almost 11 years as a unionized member of the Canadian government I witnessed much of the same from the union representatives, the same representatives who side with you against big, bad, evil management who want to have maximum productivity at the most cost-effective price.  Apparently this could be seen as management taking advantage of it’s workforce.

Heaven forbid if you get on the bad side of the union, however… That you can never live down.  A former colleague of mine had recently divorced and with a young child, needed to be paid during one of the many labour disruptions we lived through, so he crossed the picket line and went to do his job.

As a result, he was bullied the rest of his time at the office.  The union made it known to everyone that he had done this, and yes, they called him names.  They called him “scab”.  They also threatened to sue him for the wages he earned while working and they kicked him out of the union but made him still pay his $500/year wages.

Think that is weird?

In the Ontario teachers dispute, the union, not the government, nor the teachers halted extracurricular activities, that ban came from the top brass at Ontario Secondary school Teachers Federation, even though the union currently runs ads saying the government is in the way of the extracurricular activities.

So it should come to no one’s surprise then, that an Ottawa-area teacher did just this and continued to lead extracurricular activities in class.  She stated that she was phoned and threatened by a union official with a fine.  The OSSTF also posts the information of those who violate its orders in its publicly accessible newsletter which is amount to a public shaming.  With the union putting such severe restrictions on its members, it is no surprise that very few teachers attempt to hold activities for students.

With many teacher-friends and being married to a teacher, I have come to understand a couple of things;

1) Teachers work very hard outside of the classroom marking and preparing lessons and no teacher should ever have to justify their hours they work, their well-earned vacation or how hard it is to be the educator standing in front of the students day in and day out, keeping their attention, getting the message across and helping these students learn.

2) Teachers should be marked essential services along with emergency services operations and public transit, in Toronto its the TTC.

Public school teachers work for the government.  The government pays their salaries presumably from tax dollars they collect from every citizen – except this government who are paying it through a massive line of credit.

In my life I have also learned that bullying is wrong and the more we stand up to bullying the better we will all be, but how can you stand up to your union – let them know how your really feel – when they force you to not take work home at night needed to prepare for your next day by checking your bags as you leave and threatening to fine you if something is found.

The unions have all the power and to justify their agenda they have put Ontario’s students in the middle of this labour mess.  And for what?  Because they disagree with the language in Bill 115 (Oddly called “Putting Student’s First”) which takes away the unions right to strike.  Somehow they call this bill “undemocratic” and a “violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms“.  They feel this way because they are used to a “negotiation” pattern with the government through which they ask for the most, threaten a work stoppage and then meet somewhere in the middle.  It’s not their fault, it’s the way unions work – getting the most for their members at the least amount of stress and output.

Surely those in unions can look at those of us in the private sector who do not get to negotiate annual raises with our employer, who can be terminated with or without cause and who work for organizations who are profit oriented and understand our frustration with their bullying of the teachers, of the government and the absolute dicking around with our children.  They know that we read the papers too and that in a prolonged recession, like the one we have been in since 2008 there is job loss, wage restrictions and bonuses or raises… lol… almost non-existent.  We understand when times are tough people need to tighten their belts and cut costs, which is why a guaranteed 2.5% annual raise makes many of us shake our heads and side with the employer.

As with every labour negotiation, especially in recessionary times, it’s best to take away the focus on the wage increase and have that attention turned elsewhere.

To even suggest that a “Day of Protest” was needed, the first week back to school for many children was a public relations disaster for the union and it made many parents who had already been subject to rotating strikes livid with the unions tactics.  Then, upon finding out that no matter what they called their forced day off, it was illegal, they cancelled it, without apology for the parents who again had to scramble to find alternate arrangements for their children, at a cost to the families.

The union’s short-sighted attempts to win public favour and shame the government is back-firing on them and like the NHLPA who claimed these labour negotiations were NOT about money but about the next generation of players who might never get a chance to negotiate their own collective agreement, the public saw right through that when the NHL players took off overseas to take jobs from players over there.

It is about the money.

It is about the power.

Getting there by whatever means necessary is no longer the way to go.  Frustrated parents are going to do what many of us already have and send their children to private schools which is going to lead to a reduction in the number of students enrolled in public schools and ultimately require a reduction in the public workforce.  Surely that cannot be the ultimate goal of the higher-ups at the OSSTF?  Or parents who would blindly trust their teachers are now going to second guess what the teacher is doing or saying because if they REALLY cared about the students, then why would they be withholding extracurricular activities from the students – especially those in lower – middle class neighbourhoods where there is no where near as much disposable income to take the children to daycamps or the Science Centre on the strike days.

So next time you look at these two labour situations and proudly proclaim that you are with the teachers / players, have a look at the organization you work at and see what they do when there is not enough money to cover expenses.  Do they ask people to cut back or do they spend themselves into bankruptcy?  Would you do that at home with your finances?

I didn’t think so.

While I disagree with the way the Ontario government handled this situation and many other situations during Dalton’s time as Premier I found a couple things very disturbing.  First, that he stepped down while this issue was festering and secondly that they used Bill 115 and then stated they were going to repeal it at the end of the month.  That does not sound like a government who were clean to it’s employees or to the public.

Should the Liberal government force it’s employees to tow the party line and take a page from the book of former US President Ronald Regan with his much publicized “negotiation” with the air traffic controllers when he fired them all, hired new ones, and then hired back select employees who would agree to accept the job outside of a union?  Probably not.  I don’t think we’re there yet.

What I would have liked to have seen is a listing of wages, costs, revenues and expenses in order to justify the actions taken to force doctors to take a pay cut and teachers into this situation, but I would also like to see the union fight this in court where they promised they would be fighting it and to stop putting the teachers, the students and the parents in the middle of their issue with their employer.

At the end of the day these games offend hard-working citizens.  When unions force teachers to cease extracurricular activities, provide the least amount of information on report cards, and not fully prepare for their classes – do the least possible work – it makes parents question the teachers loyalty.  Seeing these teachers on the picket lines dancing and hamming it up for unnecessary and embarrassing for their profession, in the same way calling an employee a scab for needing to put food on the table and paying for rent is unnecessary.

If the unions think the public are quickly going to forget this or blindly side with them they why are they running ads telling the public that the government is withholding activities or why are teachers permitted to “educate” students on this labour disruption only from a left-wing view?  Why can’t they explain both sides and let the children decide who they feel is in the right?

There are over 23,000 likes on the Facebook page called “Just Drop It” where frustrated hockey fans pledge to boycott the NHL in protest of the NHL’s treatment of them.  People are not forgetting so quickly any more…

These two unions made choices for themselves which negatively impacted everyone but them.

They want your support.

They want you to believe they are doing this for their members and that they have full support of their members.

They do have considerable support of their members but through what means have they got it and how do they keep it?

I think it’s time to take the bullying out of the schools once and for all.  It’s the only way we are going to see true labour peace.

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My Solution for the NHL Labour Woes. Bring in the NHLFA.


Stanley Cup, on display at the Hockey Hall of ...
The Stanley Cup, on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame, won’t be presented this year unless the fans step up!

The National Hockey League lockout enters day 37 today and with $90 million in salary missed by the players and 10 regular season games already cancelled, both sides appear nowhere near willing to come to an agreement. 

On the one side, there is NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman – well into his third lockout of the players (there were zero lockouts prior to him becoming Commissioner) and on the other side, the NHL Players Association (read: union) have ex-Major League Baseball union head Donald Fehr in their corner making sure the players do not get owned like they did last time around.

The players mean business.

The owners are not backing down.

While the owners save money and the players head out to play for other teams, the fans, businesses relying on NHL hockey and employees working for teams, arenas and these businesses are the ones who are suffering.

So given the absolute frustration and lack of interest I have in NHL hockey right now – and yes it declines significantly after every lockout, Gary, I think it’s time for all of us who love watching hockey to join the NHL Fan Association and collectively approach the league and the PA and let them know our position going forward.

This position should be something like this;

  • As of today the NHL no longer exists in our eyes.  We ask that the league shut down its operations and award the most prestigious and most difficult to win trophy to either the top amateur Canadian team or hold a tournament like play off between the top amateur teams and the American Hockey League champion.
  • The NHL has to admit that it is trying to break the union, or just come clean and announce that it will resume play next year with non-unionized players only.  Unions exist to ensure that employees are not taken advantage of, that they are not overworked or put in situations which could jeopardize their health.  Unions were not meant to allow multi-millionaires to ask for more money from multi-billionaires.  If players wish to cross the line and play, they get paid.  Likewise, if a “superstar” like Ovechkin threatens to stay in Russia and play in the KHL then, see ya!  No player is above the league.
  • The fans must also make it clear to the players that we do not buy the garbage they are trying to feed us.  The players and union have stated on the record that they are taking the stand they have against the owners because of their “brothers” coming up through the ranks.  If the players are really doing this for their brothers then certainly they can afford to sit out for as long as it takes to come to the agreement they want without suffering any financial difficulties, right?  Going overseas and taking jobs from players who went overseas because they couldn’t make the NHL, or because they live there is not nice and it’s another reason that all the other leagues hate the NHL.  First the NHL stole all the top young overseas players without compensation, then they go over and steal their jobs.  Shame.
  • The NHLFA http://www.nhlfa.com/ also has to alert the NHL to the fact that teams in the southern US do not work.  If the NHL is to survive and thrive then it has to beef up its Canadian content and that means 2 or 3 more teams in Ontario, one more in Quebec, one in Saskatchewan and one in Atlantic Canada.  There should probably be one in Seattle as well.  Enough screwing around in Phoenix and lying to the fans like what happened with Atlanta.  And Las Vegas should never have a NHL team!
  • The new NHL is going to need serious rules to crack down on what I call owner-stupidity.  Owners who agree and sign off on long-term contracts which end long after the players have stopped playing are killing the trade market.  It’s so difficult to trade an under achieving player who has 10-years and $60-million left on a contract.  The stupid team who signs this deal and the greedy player and agent who pushed for this deal need to be fined and the put on warning.  Otherwise the minor leagues are going to full of these buried contracts like Wade Redden.   Do we all not laugh and shake our heads when the name “Rick DiPietro” comes up…
  • Fighting is not an option in our new NHL.  We’re tired of enforcers, goons and agitators who stake around trying to hurt other players and make the game dangerous.  Hitting, however, we love.  So any attempt to injure an opponent will result in immediate suspension and the perpetrator will not be allowed back on the ice until the player he hurt is back playing and he will not be allowed to play against that team for the rest of the season.  Done. 
  • The trap and trap-like hockey is not welcome in the new NHL.  Since we cannot trust teams to not play it, we’re moving to 3 lines of forwards to go with the three lines of defense and we’ll see how the teams play defense when they are tired.
  • In addition, the major news and sports stations will no longer be leading the newscasts with lockout talk.  Instead they will focus on AHL and CHL hockey news and highlights.  Focus on the good in hockey, not on the greed and stupidity.

How long do you think it will take the NHL and NHLPA to get back to the bargaining table when they realize all their fans are no longer interested in their product.  Put up or shut up guys…

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