Hockey this year?

[Durango53]

The bid to jump-start NHL labor negotiations appears to have been a success.

Union president Trevor Linden and NHL board of directors chairman Harley Hotchkiss spoke for five hours Wednesday at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, and the sides are planning another meeting in an effort to save the season.
It was just the third time the league and its players have had face-to-face talks in the four months since the lockout was imposed Sept. 15.

More than half of the regular season - 662 of 1,230 games through Wednesday - has been wiped out so far, plus the All-Star game.

If Wednesday's meeting does represent a key step forward in the negotiations, it might be worth noting who was not present: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and union chief Bob Goodenow.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3336946

[awefullspellare]

I'm hoping it's back by next year. I can live without it this year. Omaha is getting Calgary's AHL team so that will be nice.

[Chisox73]

IMO,the season's lost.forget about hockey this year.Even if they settled today,there needs to be about a 3 week window to get the season started,then try to squeeze in about 40-50 games tops,and even that,the playoffs could very well run into late-June like it ws the last time the NHL had a work stoppage.

[renuszm]

IMO,the season's lost.forget about hockey this year.Even if they settled today,there needs to be about a 3 week window to get the season started,then try to squeeze in about 40-50 games tops,and even that,the playoffs could very well run into late-June like it ws the last time the NHL had a work stoppage.
For Me, I'm just worried about the history of the Stanley Cup, the only year that it wasnt awarded since it began was 1919, thats how I'll always remember it, I dont want to accept 2004-05 as a lost season, so even though its unlikely I hope something will happen.

[Timberwolf]

What is the NHL waiting for? It's time to cancel the season. There is no pointing having this pony show where the players association and the league office are talking. It's clear that the players should not bother having any dialogue unless they agree to salary cap. Owners are very demanding about this salary cap and give them credit, they have not backed down and they should not. If the league goes out of business, oh well. The owners should stop with the nonsense and just end the season. It's too late to salavage the season and I am not going to give a darn for a shortened season.

On Tuesday night, I was telling this waitress about my interest of sports and how I rank em. I ranked hockey as dead last. I have lost interest in that sport for a year. Sure the Wild playoff run couple of years ago was awesome, but really it's not interesting. I used to get into hockey in high school with the Devils, but nowadays, it's just boring. It's not appealing anymore. Who wants to waste time watching a boring 1-1 tie? I got to see a lot of Wild ties last year. In my opinion, that was the boiling point for me.Teams playing not to lose as players skate in circles. Who in the right mind wants to watch that?

This sport has lot of fixing to do and the financial problems is the tip of the iceberg. The league needs to make it more appealing and it has to attract the mainstream fans.

Gary Bettman needs to cancel the season and when the players and the owners really want to talk, then they should. They should not need the media or the fans to beg them to talk. They gotta to take the intiative.

If the season is shutdown this year, oh well. If the league goes out of business, oh well. This sport has lost me for good.

[BPBlueSox]

No way there's going to be a season now or anytime soon. Players aren't gonna take a cap, and the owners aren't going to back off. How do you get over that hurdle?

I was up in Keystone, Colorado yesterday on a frozen lake playing with a buddy of mine. It really makes you forget what you're missing out on when you just go back to the simple puck on the pond...

[imgreat95]

dude... if it is 70 degrees there, do you really think that you should be skating on a pond?

[BPBlueSox]

It was 50 up in Keystone...and it's at 9500 feet. So trust me, it was frozen from the winter.

[imgreat95]

oh ok... i know you colorado people can be a bit.. um... how do i say this nicely... out there... but i figured you were even smart enough to not go on a pond with skates if there was no ice there.

[BPBlueSox]

No, no, there was thick ice there. Although it was quite nice...shorts and t-shirt weather! :)

[BPBlueSox]

http://keystone.snow.com/info/iceskating.asp

[imgreat95]

dont you feel sort of odd ice skating in shorts?

[BPBlueSox]

No!

[renuszm]

apparently Linden was pissed at how this last meeting went, so I expect the season to be officially cancelled sometime in the next week.

[treasurecoast1]

For Me, I'm just worried about the history of the Stanley Cup, the only year that it wasnt awarded since it began was 1919, thats how I'll always remember it, I dont want to accept 2004-05 as a lost season, so even though its unlikely I hope something will happen.

The Stanley Cup is NOT an NHL Award. It could be, theoretically, awarded to the best AHL team if there is no NHL.

[robmik]

The Stanley Cup is NOT an NHL Award. It could be, theoretically, awarded to the best AHL team if there is no NHL.

There has been some commentary on this.
The Stanley Cup , originally open to amateur or pro teams, had been awarded to the "champions of professional hockey" from 1918-1926 involved the NHL winner vs. the PCHA/WCHA-WHL winners.

-When the last remaining western pro league, [the WHL], dropped out of the desire to compete for the Cup, after the 1925-26 season, the Cup became just an NHL trophy. Lord Stanley appointed trustees with "absolute authority" over the criteria for awarding the Cup.

-In 1947, those trustees turned over complete control to the NHL, with the provision that the NHL maintain its' standing as the "premier professional league in the world." This was taken by the NHL to mean they control the Cup in perpetuity, but it's hard to see how they really maintain the trustees' stipulation when they aren't even playing.

-The NHL would block any attempt to award the Cup elsewhere in court, and take such case to the highest level...there would be no award to any other league, the process could take years, and the NHL would still control the Cup.

-It is a nice thought, though...but I doubt that, for instance..."Russia vs. Hershey" would be taken seriously as a Cup final. :tongue:

[renuszm]

The Stanley Cup is NOT an NHL Award. It could be, theoretically, awarded to the best AHL team if there is no NHL.
The Hall of Fame has said it will not be awarded if there is no NHL season.

[Blue56]

The NHL has been Canceled.
Like thats a surprise.

[Blue56]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=113658&hubName=nhl

2/3/2005

The big guns are back at the bargaining table today, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow meet face-to-face for the first time since Dec. 9.

Sources indicate the meeting began around 1:30pm et at an undisclosed location in New York.

Adding to the suspense is an ESPN report that an unidentified team owner has said the league will announce a cancellation of the season either Thursday or Friday. The owner reportedly indicated the announcement could come following Thursday's negotiating session.
Joining the two leaders was Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president and chief legal officer, and league outside counsel Bob Batterman, as well as NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin and the union's outside counsel John McCambridge.

Though there is always hope that an agreement is within reach, few are optimistic. On Wednesday night, TSN Hockey Analyst Bob McKenzie said Thursday's session will likely be little more than two generals having "one final stare-down before they unleash the mushroom cloud."

But hope is not dead yet, especially with Bettman and Goodenow returning to the table after sitting out another bargaining session on Wednesday. That meeting featured a new proposal from the league, which was dismissed by the union.

"We think it's helpful to the process to have the head of the Players Association and the head of the NHL in the room at this point in time," union senior director Ted Saskin said. "We've gone as far as we can go in our small group setting and we think it's important to have Bob and Gary join us at this point."

According to The Hockey News, Goodenow will conjure up the union's rollback proposal, which was presented to the league on December 9.

"I feel very strongly that we've done our share," he said in an audio message posted on the NHLPA's internal website. "Frankly, we're still waiting for our partner to step up."

With the lockout in its 141st day, the possibility of salvaging a portion of the 2004-05 season are extremely dim. The 1994-95 lockout was settled on January 11, 1995, and a 48-game season began later that month.

"I think that there is an understanding in the room and in the dialogue across the table that we are really at the end with respect to playing the rest of the season," NHL executive vice president Bill Daly said. "But the broader objective is to do a deal within whatever timetable it takes to do a deal."

No major North American sports league ever has lost an entire season due to a labor dispute. A Stanley Cup champion has been crowned every year since 1893 with the exception of 1919, when the Finals were canceled after five games due to a flu epidemic.

[KingDave]

Its a damned shame. I'm not a big fan of hockey but if I were, I would be one mad fan. The NHL is the least popular of all pro sports, and they're only losing support.

[Royce]

I thought Detriot was "Hockey-Town"
And I could careless, the Rangers wouldn't be anywhere but in last place. Good year to get the rookies some experience.