NHL to Lock Out Players if There is No Deal By September 15
Bettman told that fact to the NHL Players' Association across the bargaining table Thursday, although he apparently has been telling that to the NHLPA for months.
NHLPA Director Donald Fehr is expected to make the Union's counter proposal on Tuesday when both sides will convene in Toronto.
- These were the words every NHL fan were dreading to hear: another possible lockout. The owners and Bettman are insistent on getting what they want and are willing to do what's necessary to get it done. Absolutely unreal to me that this could be Bettman's third lockout since taking over as commissioner. It's now crunch time to make sure not a game of hockey is missed in 2012-13.
Keep calm and carry on, folks. Still plenty of time for this to get worked out. If it gets to be the end of August and there's still no agreement, THEN we can panic. (And panic I will, because, no hockey? For a YEAR? Unacceptable. The off-season is long enough, thank you very much.)
@erichan i get your meaning but it's a power struggle between them and them and we're the ones in the end who are getting shafted. i DON'T want to miss ANY of it, from traverse city on. i have a pretty good life, busier than heck 95% of the time BUT don't screw with my NYR hockey !!!! i also understand what "TheWrage" is saying about the winter classic but let's not lose a damn thing, there was plenty of time to work on this already !! this is just 2 power hungry factions trying to prove who's the boss. when too much money is involved it just makes people greedier, ala parise & suter etal.
I have a hard time seeing an entire season lost with the Winter Classic and NBC TV $$ hanging in the balance. Could there be games lost? Yeah. But an entire season and you can say goodbye to the NHL.
sort of like the way this is catching on. if the idiot bettman and his pansy a** owners catch on that "THE FANS" ( the people who really pay the bills) are REALLY UNHAPPY then MAYBE they'll take another look at things and try to put an effort into doing what is right "FOR THE FANS" THE REAL IMPORTANT PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS DISPUTE !!! maybe if all of us can find a way to put pressure on the situation they'll take notice !! didn't we work to try and get girardi to the all star game ? let's go rangers ! NO, I MEAN LETS GO FANS !!!!!
This might capture the spirit of the thing better then a Dickie Dunn article ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRdIXmfm6PA
Bettman has no business presenting the Stanley Cup. He should keep his shaky paws off of it for life. This is a disgrace. Just when hockey is in a state of resurgence he and the owners are ready to backtrack 8+ years.
I like hockey more than I like the NHL. Please don't send the pros overseas again.
To put this another way, if the owners lock out, what stops the players from creating a parallel league? You'd only have trouble in a handful of places (MSG being one) where the teams own the arena. Even in those cases other locations could be found. The "Bizarro Rangers" could certainly play out of The Izod Center for the time being. Let the players find investors to put up cash out of their own pockets to market the team, supply the team, train the team, and give the players the bulk of the income.
Rather then everyone running off rag-tag to Europe, why not simply find new owners to operate new teams. The new owners honor the contracts of the old owners, accept the NHL rule book and we have the same game. Call NBC, and see if they want to cut the same TV deal with you, that they cut with the NHL. If they don't, see if ESPN's offer is on the table. It will basically be the equivilant of those old, unlicensed video games, where it was just the city name and player number.
The NHL has drawn their line in the sand, and that's their prerogative as private business owners. They don't hold exclusive rights to the game of hockey. The players know this is coming, and they can plan accordingly. They shouldn't be telling us in September how it's not THEIR fault if this goes through.
@BuckarooClub Buck, this was exactlywhat was on my mind when I heard the news of a lockout. The only thing that would stop something like this from happening would be a lawsuit against the Players for not fulfilling their contracts which could simply be avoided by creating a Union and practicing under fair-standard labor laws. I see no possible way this cannot be done otherwise. Several owners of other lucrative franchises would probably love the chance to steal one of these teams for pennies on the dollar. For instance, in our case as Ranger fans, im sure we would see the men from the Bronx first in line to pull the strings on a new Rangers franchise
@joeystanksss @BuckarooClub Actually knowing Don Fehr's MO then first thing he has to do is disband the NHLPA then file (A) complaints with the National Labor boards in both Canada and the USA.(B) File lawsuits in US and Canadian courts saying the NHL is violating the anti-trust laws in both countries.(C) do what every good union leader does and find himself some politicians running for re-election to hold hearings about the business practices of the NHL.Show me what other sports league has companies that provide TV rights, manage arenas and manage concessions while owning NHL franchises.If the MLB could not beat Don Fehr at the bargaining table or in the courts then Gary Bettman just might have picked the wrong guy to play chicken with.
@TheProspectpark @joeystanksss Without speaking for Joey, I think what we were getting at is that the players should simply leave, as a group, and run their own show. Let the league keep the names and keep the trophies, and the players will keep making money. Finding politicians and arguing in courts wastes time. At the risk of over simplifying the players all work at the same factory, and now how to make the product the public wants, but they think their bosses are stingy jerks, and they can run the company better. So, they all leave and start their own company.
As far as what aspects of the team the owners control (owning arenas, TV rights, concessions) I think you're barking up the wrong tree there. For starters, off the top of my head, the Yankees control all of those things on their own. Other teams are headed in that direction as well, and you can't blame them, why pay someone else to handle a part of your business when you can do it yourself, and save money and gain control over the quality of the product at the same time. That's a pretty normal step to take in any successful business. I think outside of places like MSG and Yankee Stadium arena ownership might not be as popular an option, as owners realize that it's actually better business to have them built and maintained with tax dollars, then sign sweetheart leases by threatening to leave town.
As far as Fehr's MLB experience, versus what he's up against here, I think it's a little bit of apples to oranges. Baseball teams are the ultimate cash cow. Baseball is the sport every other sport wants to be, with huge interest home and abroad. It's cheap and safe for kids to play, easily adapted to television, and gives a great stage for individual stars to shine on any team. The pie really was huge, and the potential for profit was and is there. The owners were willing to give him what he wanted, because they knew they couldn't make better money elsewhere. I don't think it's the same with any other sport.
If the league is profitable, it makes no sense to short change the players. I think the biggest concern is revenue sharing between teams. I also believe the salary cap is growing too fast creating inequity in the league. Why would owners want to miss out on the profits from a season? Bettman is a tool of the owners and that is the only reason he is still around.
sorry, but if they have another work stoppage, i think i'm done with the NHL. it's bad enough i can't afford to go to a game, now the owners want MORE than the $3.3 BILLION dollars they made last year? Nope, sorry, I'm out.
I don't understand how the 2 sides wait this long to get the ball rolling. Could just be my ignorance, but doesn't this seem like something that should have begun being looked at / worked on a long time ago considering it takes about a month for one counter offer.
The NBA managed to get their season in last year, though the playoffs were a bit later.
How's the ice gonna hold up @ MSG come July?
who caes about the contracts etc. we all know that most players make more than they should but basically that's the owners fault for giving it to them. for crying out loud it's a game. to estrange the hockey fans again that would be absolutly f****ng ridiculous. it not only affects the fans ( who PAY their salaries and make the owners their profits) but takes many jobs away from people who support these teams such as TV crews, concession and maintence workers and many others jobs that support the teams concerning hockey. what then is going to happen is that the owners and league will try to make up for any lost revenues after the fact, which will make it that much harder for a normal fan to watch a game whether it be in person or on tv. so this really after going through this once, is idioticly f*****g stupid. #1 GET rid of bettman and his idiosy of running the league and #2 put more of a focus on the fans who deserve better than this bull***t. if this doesn't get resovled SOON, than we as hockey fans should just leave the game and NOT support them either. if we as fans threaten the league and the players, what do have to come back to ? I SAY GO ON STRIKE NOW !!!
players do not make more than they should. they actually make less than they should when you consider the revenue they generate for he owners. and player's salaries have nothing to do with tix prices. owners will always charge what the make will bear. have u ever seen prices go down??
AnnoyingJoe, the players are over paid but only because the idiot owners give it to them ! so if the league and the owners concentrate more on us as fans it's more of a win win situation for all. a lot of money will be lost by a lot of support people, like concession, maintenence, tv / radio crew people etc., so who do you think the owners and the league are thinking about ? NOT US, "THE FANS" the people who let them make the living and earnings that they do. they don't care about us, so i say let it be known that from here on, we don't give a damn about them and maybe they might just crawl out of they're a**wholes to see the light of day and see how really good they have it. before long we normal people won't be able to watch a hockey game in person or on tv becaue of the fact they have to raise their prices to make up for lost revenue !!! !!! fire bettrman!!!
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if the g*d damn f****ng league wants to lock we the fans "OUT" then we should just go on "STRIKE" and not support them or their f****ng owners after they settle this bulls**t !!! if enough of us let THEM know we're not happy with this, they just might take notice ! "'FIRE BETTMAN"
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Eff the lockout. With the KHL and Eurpoean league options for players, I would almost like to see a player WALKOUT that would strengthen the union's position with the league. Hearing comments like players are "spoiled and overpaid" is infuriating. Sure players make huge $, but that $ is totally commensurate with the revenue they generate for the owners. Bettman is such a slug and a whore to the owners. twitchy bastard.
What happens with contracts if there's a lockout? A year doesn't burn off them does it?
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG Honestly don't think it gets to that as you would need a full season lockout for it to matter. I'd be shocked if season doesn't start somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That said, at this point I'd be even more shocked if it started before that which completely sucks.
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG Don't remember how that worked last time. I wish i was a certified Capologist.
@TheWrage That would suck for a guy like Kreider. I don't see why it would they aren't getting the money so why lose the year?
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG You're probably right. I don't see how a year would get burnt off.
