Get Yourself Ready for the Lockout

With a NHL lockout all but certain to happen tonight at 11:59 p.m., Pierre LeBrun at ESPN.com takes a look at the rules of a NHL work stoppage...

• Players are barred from using any NHL team's private facilities. So for most players that means having to get together and buy ice time elsewhere to continue their workouts.
  
  
• Players will not be paid their 2012-13 salaries during the lockout. The first of 14 paychecks was expected in mid-October. On the flip side, players will get escrow checks from the NHL in mid- to late October, which counts for 8 percent of their 2011-12 salaries (they paid 8.5 escrow last season, but are getting 8 percent of it back). That's a nice chunk of change for the players to get at the start of a lockout.

• There is a small group of players, however, who will continue to receive their full NHL salaries: the injured ones. Any player injured in a hockey-related fashion is entitled to his full salary until he fully recovers and is deemed fit to play by team doctors. So, for example, guys like Chris Pronger or Mattias Ohlund will continue to get paid. The caveat here is a requirement for these players to seek out team doctors and follow their counsel.

• Players are free to play in other leagues once they're locked out. The key for those players is to get insurance for their NHL contracts in case of injury while playing overseas.

And which NHL players will be allowed to play in the AHL?...

Only locked out NHL players who can sign AHL deals after Sat. are those who finished last year in AHL or were on AHL team's clear day list.

— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) September 14, 2012

For more rules click here.

...man, it pisses me off that I have to write a post like this.

In other lockout news, The Quebec Labour Board ruled Friday that a lockout by the National Hockey League would be legal in the province.

The National Hockey League Players' Association petitioned the QLB to deem any potential lockout by the NHL illegal.

...like I really anticipated that would save hockey this season.

So, is the NHL and NHLPA getting together today for a marathon bargaining session to halt this impending lockout?...

Bill Daly and Steve Fehr will talk this am. That discussion will determine the path for the day. It's early, but, neither side expects much.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 15, 2012

...tells you all you need to know about whether anyone cares about the fans.

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