NHL Returns

[MacNut]

TORONTO -- The NHL lockout that canceled last season came to an end Friday when the owners of the league's 30 teams unanimously approved a labor deal that clears the way for play to resume in the fall.

"Today our board of governors gave it's unanimous approval to a collective bargaining agreement that signals a new era for our league," commissioner Gary Bettman said at a news conference. "An era of economic stability for our franchises, an era of heightened competitive balance for our players, an era of unparalleled excitement and entertainment for our fans."

It also begins the era of the salary cap -- the very thing the union vowed not to accept when the lockout began. But a majority of players supported the six-year agreement in balloting Thursday, with 464 of 532 (87 percent) voting in favor.

Under the new deal, players are guaranteed to receive 54 percent of league-wide revenues - projected to be between $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion next season. A portion of every player's salary will be held in escrow if it is determined that revenues are smaller, resulting in players receiving more than 54 percent.

Approval by the league's board governors Friday brings labor peace at last to the league, which has already lost one season, and turns the focus back to the ice.

[JesseJames]

I see that the reaction to this is, "crickets chirping".
Glad to see hockey back. It's about time.

Dude where abouts in Connecticut are you?

[ham_man]

never much cared for hockey (I am from Texas), but I guess this is welcome news to those fans who have been waiting some time for its return...

[Eevee]

It took the whole season to reach an agreement. I hope this doesn't happen to the NBA.

Which part of CT are you both from?

[yellow]

G O B R U I N S !

[MacNut]

Dude where abouts in Connecticut are you?Manchester, near Hartford.

[~Shard~]

How many other Billion Dollar companies in the world can close their doors for 300+ days and still be in business at the end of the day?

[JesseJames]

Well I'll be.
I grew up in Manchester.
Sorry to say I don't miss it though. :D ;)

ham_man, looking to visit Texas again very soon. Especially Austin. Sixth Street rocks!

[MacNut]

The new kid goes to Pittsburgh. :p

[MacNut]

Well I'll be.
I grew up in Manchester.
Sorry to say I don't miss it though. :D ;) Not missing much, since the mall went up this town went down. :p

[yellow]

Go Whale! (says the Bruins fan who is currently 20 minutes from the Hurricanes arena. ) :)

[MacNut]

Go Whale! (says the Bruins fan who is currently 20 minutes from the Hurricanes arena. ) :)Thats not even funny, well it is a little since I didn't watch the Whalers play much.

[yellow]

I am always amused by the looks of confusion and solidarity when I cheer "Let's Go Whale!" at Hurricanes games.

[MacNut]

Somehow I don't think it takes much to confuse the fans down there. :D

[yellow]

Hehe.. it's not all hillbillies and rednecks (in the Triangle area). :)

[Moxiemike]

The new kid goes to Pittsburgh. :p

Indeed he does. I like the Lemieux-Recchi tandem providing leadership to a young crop of stars like Malone, Fleury, Malkin and Crosby, not to mention decent players like Morozov, Koltsov, Orpik, Rosival, et. al. That and who knows what the new free agent structure will bring us.

Craig Patrick really, and i mean REALLY knew what he was doing a few years back when he "broke down" the team, selling off Lang, Kovalev, Jagr, Straka, et. al.

Now with a great young nucleus and new salary cap structure, I say the Pens might be have a chance to drink from the cup with Mario in uniform one last time. Exciting time to be a Pens fan... and we have the best GM in the league, hands down.

[Santeh]

Well for a long time L.A. Kings fan, who has lived in Tampa for the last 8 years, I am very happy to have hockey back! I must say that I rather enjoyed watching the draft selection drawing today and even found myself getting excited/nervous during it! :) I am looking forward to not only the next 9 days of " house righting" for the general managers, but also for both the draft proper and the upcoming free agency.

As for hockey in the south I can at least say that it is alive and well in Tampa! The Lightning fans are great, and I have found them to be quite knowledgeable! In fact my neighbor and I have been routinely talking hockey and he and his wife display Lightning, and even just NHL, stickers on their cars. :D While the Kings have been and will remain my favorite team, I do enjoy Lightning games and routing for Tampa (except when playing the Kings, of course), and my wife and I had a blast during the last playoffs. In fact we had the good fortune of attending the first game of the Eastern Conference finals between the Lightning and the Flyers and it was incredible. I think my Thai wife was the loudest person in the stands! :eek: :D It was great and wonderful to see her have so much fun!

So glad the game is coming back!

Always...

[benwa02]

I cant wait til the NHL starts back up again.

I think I will watch it even more now that I havent been able to watch any NHL games in so long.

Hopefully ticket prices will go down to bring in some fans, Id like to go to some more games this season.

[Deefuzz]

I was happy to hear this.

I'll finally be able to a St. Louis Blues game again!

[CanadaRAM]

NHL is back? Yawn...

http://www.canadaram.com/images/orangutan_yawn.jpg

Who cares?

:D

[puckhead193]

G O B R U I N S !

I ordered my family pack the other day. :D

[killuminati]

I am so thankful that hockey will be back next season. I dono how I lived so long without it! And the canucks got 10th spot in the lottery :D , much better than I expected.

I'm happy that Crosby is going to the Penguins instead of Anaheim. I think it would suck for him to have to play with the ducks. Anyways, GO CAAANUCKS! :D

[FightTheFuture]

GO WINGS! happy that we have our wings back. AND happy we snagged coach babcock... my only saving grace since the pistons lost in the finals.

[Abstract]

GO LEAFS GO!

[dejo]

GO WINGS! happy that we have our wings back. AND happy we snagged coach babcock... my only saving grace since the pistons lost in the finals.

Can't resist.

RED WINGS SUCK! Go Avs Go!

[MrSugar]

Can't resist.

RED WINGS SUCK! Go Avs Go!

Got to second this.

Go Avs, wings suck.

[fistful]

GO LEAFS GO!

Shouldn't it be "LEAVES"? ah whatever...

LEAFS! WOOOO! :D

[Moxiemike]

Shouldn't it be "LEAVES"? ah whatever...

LEAFS! WOOOO! :D

and your location says "canada"

shouldn't you know better? ;)

[fistful]

and your location says "canada"

shouldn't you know better? ;)

you'd think so wouldn't you? :p

[thedude110]

The NHL isn't back until the Whalers are back in Hartford.

If only I could embed Brass Bonanza (http://www.brassbonanza.com/Sound/brassbonanza-2.mp3) in this post ...

[yellow]

The NHL isn't back until the Whalers are back in Hartford.

On that note.. http://www.wral.com/sports/4760766/detail.html

[killuminati]

GO LEAFS GO!

Leafs suck!

I can't stand that team. I like all of the Canadian teams except for the leafs.

[Peyote]

Go STARS!

So what's Darien Hatcher going to do now? He's basically a free agent, right? Maybe he'll go back to the Stars, heal up, and start kicking some more ass...he's a freakin brute on the ice and the Stars could use his talents again.

Please let the Stars keep Bill Guerin!! He's one of our best assets!

Although I think after that overtime goal in the last playoffs by Ott, he's now my favorite Stars player

I'm also hoping that Flopsberg...oops I mean Forsberg :p stays in Europe...I'm sick of the Avalanche, especially Flopsy

[Ringo]

Well since no one said it....

GO HABS GO!!!

5th choice in the draft :eek: OH YEA!!!


btw... LEAFS SUCK!!! Bruins too! :p

[Ringo]

Go STARS!
I'm also hoping that Flopsberg...oops I mean Forsberg :p stays in Europe...I'm sick of the Avalanche, especially Flopsy


Can you elaborate on that??? i dont see why he's a flop??? He's stats are pretty good... Maybe i missed something???

[wrc fan]

The best thing about the lockout was that it piqued my intest in football. I don't think I'll ever go back to being an NHL fan. Well, if the Bruins can manage to put together a Stanley Cup run I might start watching again, but until that it's the EPL for me.

[Peyote]

Can you elaborate on that??? i dont see why he's a flop??? He's stats are pretty good... Maybe i missed something???


Hi nickname isn't Floppa for nothing...at the slightest brush of an opponents jersey, he manages to launch himself and scream in pain as if he hit a land mine. He does this consistently

[Ringo]

Hi nickname isn't Floppa for nothing...at the slightest brush of an opponents jersey, he manages to launch himself and scream in pain as if he hit a land mine. He does this consistently


Well, thanks for the clarification. I live in Quebec so i dont see a lot the west game. That must explain why i didn'nt knew this aspect of him.

[Chip NoVaMac]

As much as I love the Cap's; I am feeling who gives a WTF? In the end they will end up earning on average more than teachers or "first responders". And the owners will be be able to get nearly free arenas from the cities. With us fans only ending up paying the price for ever-bodies greed.

[MrSugar]

I have to come to the defense of "flopsberg". Forsberg is amazing, and just because the avalanche have won 2 stanley cups with him at their side is no reason to get all blundered up. I don't know about you, but I have watched the avs for years, and I have seen forsberg take beating after beating, for you to call him a flop is ridiculous. He is one of the strongest, and most talented players you will see today.

It's to bad the avs might not be able to keep him with the new Salary cap... I bet if he ends up on your team you won't be calling him a flop much longer. Blah.

[Moxiemike]

Well, thanks for the clarification. I live in Quebec so i dont see a lot the west game. That must explain why i didn'nt knew this aspect of him.

Or do you not see a lot of "west games" because you still have sour grapes about those wonderfully powder blue nordiques?

hehe. ;)

For all the Avs fans, remember, your team used to be in Quebec, and the Quebecois built the nucleus of that team. colorado just had the financial clout to steal them away. Wonder if that would have happened under the new CBA?

I hate that a canadian team had to move to colorado. I really do.

Colorado's previous hockey contribution was the wonderfully inept Rockies, who now play in a swamp. But I digress...

Avs suck. Go Nordiques!

I may be a bit of a purist, but the idea of Winnepeg and Quebec (and until the Wild, Minnesota as well) losing out on hockey franchises to places like dallas, colorado and, puke, phoenix.... it's gross. And don't even get me started on the "Mighty Ducks"

Go Original Six minus the Rangers!!!
m

[Peyote]

I have to come to the defense of "flopsberg". Forsberg is amazing, and just because the avalanche have won 2 stanley cups with him at their side is no reason to get all blundered up. I don't know about you, but I have watched the avs for years, and I have seen forsberg take beating after beating, for you to call him a flop is ridiculous. He is one of the strongest, and most talented players you will see today.

It's to bad the avs might not be able to keep him with the new Salary cap... I bet if he ends up on your team you won't be calling him a flop much longer. Blah.


The Avs winning the cup twice has nothing to do with my disdain for Floppa.

He is strong, he is talented, he can take a beating, and he will flop on the ice to draw a penalty. I shudder when I think about someone as slimy as him playing for the Stars.

[yellow]

The only reason the Avalance won was so Ray Bourque could finally have his name on the Cup. Which is how it should be. All was right with the world after that.

[Moxiemike]

The only reason the Avalance won was so Ray Bourque could finally have his name on the Cup. Which is how it should be. All was right with the world after that.

Um. no. If all was right with the world, r.b. would have had his name on the cup for the BRUINS.

Almost as bad (but not quite) as Brian Leetch going to toronto. Or if Lemieux or yzerman were playing with, say, Florida and Anaheim, respectively.

[yellow]

Um. no. If all was right with the world, r.b. would have had his name on the cup for the BRUINS.

Well that's true enough. But I was still happy to see my favorite player get what he deserves, despite it being for the wrong team.

[Moxiemike]

Well that's true enough. But I was still happy to see my favorite player get what he deserves, despite it being for the wrong team.

i agree. but doesn't it make you wanna slap around bruins management? how do you waste a franchise player like RB for as long as they did? pathetic.

even the pens managed to win a cup within 5 years of lemieux.

so does anyone get into NHL 2k5 for PS2?

m

[fistful]

Um. no. If all was right with the world, r.b. would have had his name on the cup for the BRUINS.

Almost as bad (but not quite) as Brian Leetch going to toronto. Or if Lemieux or yzerman were playing with, say, Florida and Anaheim, respectively.

Nope, all was right with the world. After all it gave the other R.B. a chance to bring the cup home and for myself to have a private viewing of the cup as well as his autograph. :D

[Moxiemike]

Nope, all was right with the world. After all it gave the other R.B. a chance to bring the cup home and for myself to have a private viewing of the cup as well as his autograph. :D

AND he got to play on a fake team with no history. ;) Screw that whole franchise moving thing.

Gimme the original six, plus Pitts, Philly, NYI, Van, Ott, Buf, and LAK and we have a real league. ;)

None of this "we'll let quebec develop the franchise and steal 'em away"

May the Avs rot in ten years of post-cap rebuilding. :)

[yellow]

i agree. but doesn't it make you wanna slap around bruins management? how do you waste a franchise player like RB for as long as they did? pathetic.

I firmly lay the blame at Harry Sinden's feet. He wanted a particular style of hockey to be played (Old Time Hockey, like Eddie Shore!). This is fine with me.. but year after year of making crappy trades to try and get washed out "name" players? Ugh. I was happy when he stepped down. Too bad his replacement was his mini.

[Moxiemike]

I firmly lay the blame at Harry Sinden's feet. He wanted a particular style of hockey to be played (Old Time Hockey, like Eddie Shore!). This is fine with me.. but year after year of making crappy trades to try and get washed out "name" players? Ugh. I was happy when he stepped down. Too bad his replacement was his mini.

which is why, in pittsburgh, the die-hard hockey nuts love Mr. Patrick and his four leaf clover. ;)

A GM who has a clue. Gotta love it.

[yellow]

Despite my thoughts that the NHL has expanded too far and diluted the talent pool too much, I'm really glad that they will be back in business and that I'm close enough to go see games.

And no more ties. Shootouts! Nice!

[Moxiemike]

Despite my thoughts that the NHL has expanded too far and diluted the talent pool too much, I'm really glad that they will be back in business and that I'm close enough to go see games.

And no more ties. Shootouts! Nice!

the new rules do look ingenious.

other than that, hopefully, we won't have to be punished by watching florida hook and grab with anaheim, and dallas snore their way to another 2-1 victory despite being outshot 9-7 against the thrashers. let's hope the new rules favor teams who know how to play hockey, i.e., the pens, oilers, leafs, senators, habs, et. al.

[yellow]

Yeah the trap and clutch and grab are evil things. It makes for boring hockey. But that's what had to happen when the talent pool is so diluted.

Personally, I want to the habs loose every game they ever play ever again. But I'm a Bruins fan, so that's to be expected.

[Peyote]

the new rules do look ingenious.

other than that, hopefully, we won't have to be punished by watching florida hook and grab with anaheim, and dallas snore their way to another 2-1 victory despite being outshot 9-7 against the thrashers. let's hope the new rules favor teams who know how to play hockey, i.e., the pens, oilers, leafs, senators, habs, et. al.


Hey man...Dallas has some talent, undeniably. That's why they make the playoffs ever year. That's also why Dallas had 3 players in the starting linup wof the 2004 All-Star game. They need some work, don't get me wrong, but if you look at their 2004 season and the progress they made toward the end, winning something like 14 straight home games, I don't think they deserve the "snore" moniker

[wrc fan]

Colorado's previous hockey contribution was the wonderfully inept Rockies, who now play in a swamp. But I digress...

Well, the Devils have been successful since leaving Colorado. Seems sorta the same as the Avalanche beeing successful since leaving Quebec. But I guess the difference is that they weren't immediately successful.

[yellow]

Ah.. the Rockies. Damn trapsters. I will "go out on a limb" and place much of their success (besides the trap) of the last 8ish years directly on the shoulders of Martin Brodeur. That kid (well, he's no kid anymore) is freaking awesome.. and has been for a long time.

[wrc fan]

Ah.. the Rockies. Damn trapsters. I will "go out on a limb" and place much of their success (besides the trap) of the last 8ish years directly on the shoulders of Martin Brodeur. That kid (well, he's no kid anymore) is freaking awesome.. and has been for a long time.

Brodeur has been really good, but I think alot of that also has to do with the strong defence that the Devils have (like Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski). If you look at the number of shots on goal he gets per game versus for instance what Miikka Kiprusoff gets on the Flames, you'll understand why strong defense is so critical to good goaltending. (Not trying to detract from what Brodeur has done, just giving some credit to the strong defense in front of him).

[jdechko]

Yay! I'm so glad that we get to see hockey again this year. It will be nice when ESPN/2 has something else to show besides the world series of poker. Go Wings!

[yellow]

Brodeur has been really good, but I think alot of that also has to do with the strong defence that the Devils have (like Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski)..

I can't. It's psychologically impossible for me.

[Moxiemike]

so the question begs to be asked again: does anyone play nhl 2k5 for ps2?

we should get a league going...

[~Shard~]

so the question begs to be asked again: does anyone play nhl 2k5 for ps2?

we should get a league going...

I hope that game has a "trade" feature, with the hundreds of free agents out there now! Otherwise what's the point, all the rosters will be different! No to mention all the rule changes... :eek:

[Moxiemike]

I hope that game has a "trade" feature, with the hundreds of free agents out there now! Otherwise what's the point, all the rosters will be different! No to mention all the rule changes... :eek:

i was thinking fantasy draft. and it's MUCH more high scoring than the real pre-2005 CBA NHL. ;)

[rickvanr]

so the question begs to be asked again: does anyone play nhl 2k5 for ps2?

we should get a league going...

i got it about a month ago, and had a younger visitor this week and we played it alot... 2-3 games a day.. its a lot harder to play then nhl 2002.

[Inspector Lee]

I think they really should contract the league and realign. Detroit and Toronto play what, twice a year? They used to play 8 times and there would be those testy home-and-home Friday/Saturday battles where stuff would spill over and you'd turn on CBC and hear Bob Cole/Harry Neale saying "Kerry Fraser is gonna have his hands full tonight boy..."

And then there is the instigator rule... There has been far too much stickwork in recent years. The players are no longer able to police themselves and it has lead to some nastiness (see Bertuzzi). Granted, I was never a fan of the senseless scrums where nobody throws, the ice gets littered with sticks and gloves and play stops for ten minutes but... Man, each team used to have an enforcer. They would throw down (maybe) and you could actually see momentum changes, it was a part of the game. None of the finesse players got hurt, nobody took liberties with anyone else, etc.

Oh, how I long for the days where a left winger could take one stride over the blueline and beat the goalie top shelf without some clown draped all over him.

[~Shard~]

i was thinking fantasy draft. and it's MUCH more high scoring than the real pre-2005 CBA NHL. ;)

Perfect! Good thinking... ;)

[rickvanr]

Brodeur has been really good, but I think alot of that also has to do with the strong defence that the Devils have (like Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski). If you look at the number of shots on goal he gets per game versus for instance what Miikka Kiprusoff gets on the Flames, you'll understand why strong defense is so critical to good goaltending. (Not trying to detract from what Brodeur has done, just giving some credit to the strong defense in front of him).

I agree that Brodeur has had a stellar defense infront of him with Stevens and Niedermayer. That being said he's the best goalie in the league right now. If you're building a team from goal you get Brodeur, you don't get Kirprusoff.

With the lockout, and the slew of free agents and teams looking to trade off high paid players I'm more excited for this season then any that I can remember with the exception of 93-94 when I was a Leafs fan.

If the B's do end up trading Thornton, here's hoping it some crazy multi-team deal that sees him goto the Leafs, the Leafs get rid of Sundin (then maybe I can be a fan again) and then the B's get someone decent (Jerome, Gagne, even Lindros) so I can still cheer for Boston. Optimistic, but hey.

[yellow]

Jeeze I hope they don't trade him.. AFAIAC, he's not panned out to be the superstar I had hoped for when he was drafted.

[rickvanr]

Jeeze I hope they don't trade him.. AFAIAC, he's not panned out to be the superstar I had hoped for when he was drafted.

I hope they don't either. He wasn't at first. He's almost there now though.

[MOFS]

GO WINGS! happy that we have our wings back. AND happy we snagged coach babcock... my only saving grace since the pistons lost in the finals.

I'm kinda a Red Wings fan meself - mainly cause they're the best team on NHL 2004! :eek: :D We don't get much Ice Hockey in the UK - I used to follow the Durham Wasps (classic team) before they got sold off to become the Newcastle Cobras. :mad: Still - hockey's still the best American sport by a country mile (ducks for cover...)