The last time "the first day of hockey season" was uttered on a January day, the year was 1995.  Eighteen years and a couple lockouts later, it is being uttered again.  Hockey, even in an abbreviated form, is still sweet.  

Thirteen games will be played today, with only four teams having to wait for their official start to the seasonette. 

The Los Angeles Kings, who were the last team standing in June, get to finally raise their long awaited Stanley Cup championship banner.  I suppose it is fitting that a team who had to wait 35 years to even win the Cup had to wait longer to raise the banner as well.    The Chicago Blackhawks get the privilege of watching the brouhaha before getting down the business at hand.

The Anaheim Ducks start on the road in Vancouver against the Canucks.  It seems hard to believe that this is the Ducks 20th season. 

Anaheim has a young roster, relying on a lot of young kids to fill holes left by veterans.   The average age, however, is skewed by the presence of perpetually young Teemu Selanne, who at 42 years, 6 months and 16 days is the oldest active player in the NHL. 

Goaltending remains the same for the Ducks, with Jonas Hiller taking the bulk of duty in net.  His back up is new.  While intended to be Viktor Fasth, Frederik Andersen may start the bench warming instead.  Fasth has been recovering from injury and was sent to the Ducks AHL affiliate in Norfolk to get some game time in.  

The blue line saw the loss of Lubomir Visnovsky (currently missing in action for the New York Islanders, where he was traded last June) and Sheldon Brookbank meandered off to Chicago as a free agent.  In their place are big boy veterans, Sheldon Souray and Bryan Allen.    Cam Fowler, Francois Beauchemin, Luca Sbisa and Toni Lydman are back and in the case of Beauchemin and Lydman, finally fully healed from ongoing injuries they had dealt been dealing with in prior seasons.  Jordan Hendry is the seventh d-man who beat out Nate Guenin, who spent time in and out of the line up last season.   Sami Vatanen starts the year on injured reserve.

The Ducks have the biggest infusion of youngsters up front.  They did not re-sign veteran Jason Blake.  Tough guys, George Parros and Jean-Francois Jacques are now elsewhere.  Niklas Hagman and Rod Pelley have also vanished.

Anaheim brought in Daniel Winnik and Brad Staubitz as free agents, but are relying on prospects to fill in other blanks.

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry remain joined at the hip on the top line.   21 year old Kyle Palmieri will join them there.   Youth settles into the second line as well with Nick Bonino joining Bobby Ryan and the Finnish Flash.    Saku Koivu and Andrew Cogliano move down to the third line, and both are capable centers, although Cogliano has been moved to the wing this season.    Winnik will join them there. 

Staubitz replaces Parros on the fourth line and will be joined by Matt Beleskey and fill in the blank for the third guy in.    Third guy in could be Peter Holland, looking to make a permanent notch in the line up.  It could be Devante Smith-Pelly, who stayed with the team last year as a 19 year old and has proven he is not afraid to finish a check, but he can also put the puck in the net.    Rickard Rakell had a good mini-camp and has impressed well enough to stay with the club.   Anaheim might take a 10 game look at him and then send him back to juniors.  Or they might like what they see enough to keep him.  At 19, he isn't old enough for Norfolk, so it is an either/or proposition.

How will this all turn out?  We won't have long to find out with only 48 games on tap for each team.  For the Ducks, the puck drops at 7pm.  

The puck drops.  Words I swore I would not be writing this year at all.  For once, I am glad to be proven wrong. 

 

 

Matt Beleskey
Nick Bonino
Andrew Cogliano
Ryan Getzlaf
Peter Holland
Saku Koivu
Kyle Palmieri
Corey Perry
Rickard Rakell
Bobby Ryan
Teemu Selanne
Devante Smith-Pelly
Daniel Winnik
Brad Staubitz

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In an abbreviated training camp, there is no time to dawdle and wait and see.  The Ducks have been making minor tweaks here and there, but the first cuts came on Wednesday.

After sending goaltender Viktor Fasth to Norfolk for conditioning and game action, the Ducks have brought up Fredrik Andersen.   Andersen may very well be the guy on the bench to back up Jonas Hiller when the season begins on Saturday in Vancouver.

It was initially thought that Jeff Deslauriers would be the initial back up, but he has also received a plane ticket to Norfolk.  While Fasth is likely to return soon, Deslauriers may be in the AHL a wee bit longer.  

Standout prospect, John Gibson, was assigned to Kitchener.  Gibson is too young for the AHL this year, and by sending him back to his junior team, the Ducks will not be able to make use of Gibson until next season at the earliest.    Gibson continues to improve and develop and will be a nice addition in net for Anaheim in the future.

Enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (perhaps we should just abbreviate his many names to P-L L-L) was invited to training camp on a professional tryout.  The Ducks apparently liked what they saw and signed him to a two-way contract. 

Also signed to two-way contracts were defenseman Ryan Parent and wingers Troy Bodie and Jay Rosehill.

After the Ducks one and only scrimmage in training camp on Wednesday, further cuts were made to the team in the attempt to pare things down to 23 players by Friday.

The Ducks decided to send forwards Emerson Etem and Patrick Maroon to Norfolk.   Joining them was defenseman Nate Guenin. 

Left on the bubble for defense are veteran Jordan Hendry and now Sami Vatanen.  Vatanen has finally recovered sufficiently from a foot injury to come to what is left of training camp. 

Forwards will be tougher to pare down.  Kyle Palmieri seems to be doing well on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.   Devante Smith-Pelly made the team last year as a 19 year old.  He will likely stay again.   That leaves Peter Holland and Rickard Rakell fighting for a spot.  Rakell is only 19 and will have to be returned to his junior team if he does not make the final cut.  He is not old enough to play in Norfolk, so it is all or nothing with him. 

Only one more cut is needed, but the question that remains is will there be a seventh defenseman or will there be an extra winger?  We won't have long to wait to find out that answer.

 

It appears Kyle Palmieri and Devante Smith-Pelly could fill the open wing spots but Rickard Rakell, their first-round selection in 2011, has impressed and remains in camp.

 

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The Ducks continue with their abbreviated training camp and already are making some interesting moves.

Goaltender Viktor Fasth was sent to Norfolk of the AHL, not because he has been cut, but in order for him to get some game experience in.  Fasth has not played a game since last November when he injured his hip in Sweden.  He has been dealing with hip and groin issues since.

Without any pre-season games to "warm up," the Ducks figured a couple of games in Norfolk would be helpful.  The 30 year old Swede is expected to be back up for Jonas Hiller.  Depending on how Fasth performs in Norfolk will determine whether or not he will be ready to join the Ducks in Vancouver to back up Hiller when the season begins on Saturday.   If not, Jeff Deslauriers will be available.

Meanwhile, in camp the Ducks continue to work with their new look lines.  Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry now have small, speedy winger Kyle Palmieri on their line.   Nick Bonino, who received a lower number (an almost sure sign of his staying in Anaheim on a more permanent basis), has been put on the second line alongside Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan.   

The Ducks have moved Saku Koivu down to the third line, with Andrew Cogliano and newcomer Daniel Winnik.  The fourth line is comprised of Matt Beleskey, Brad Staubitz and potentially Emerson Etem.  With Etem, the question is do you send him to Norfolk for the experience and playing time or keep him in Anaheim with limited minutes?  The dilemma of every up and coming rookie.

Training camp continues through this week, with practices being open at Anaheim Ice.  Over 2500 fans came out on Sunday at the Honda Center, and the first couple of days at Anaheim Ice were also well attended, despite being on a working weekday. 

Missing in action:  Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen.  Both players could not attend camp due to injuries.   Lindholm suffered a concussion prior to World Juniors and Vatanen is recovering from a foot injury. 

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Too much time has been wasted already.  No sense wasting any more.  Now that a new CBA is in place, approved by both owners and players alike, a condensed NHL schedule has been released and the Ducks are back on the ice. 

Training camp began in earnest for all 30 teams, who begin official NHL play next Saturday, January 19.  

Coach Bruce Boudreau will get to have his first training camp in Anaheim with the team he joined mid-season.  Not quite as much preparation as he hoped for, but it will be good, nonetheless.

"The big unfortunate thing about that with me is you'd like to see everybody in the organization and talk to everybody," Boudreau told the OC Register earlier this week.  "So the organization knows who you are. That's the great reason in going down to Norfolk for training camp and the two other visits I've gone down. So you get to know the organization well. But the guys that are going to be here, I know them all pretty confidently."

Good thing, because there won't be time for pre-season games.  Players on the cusp have no time to grow and develop in camp with hopes of earning a job.  They need to come ready to play, ready to work, ready to impress, because cuts will be made quickly.

Only 29 players are coming to camp, so most of the "easy" cuts have already been made.

There are four goaltenders coming and only two will remain.  Jonas Hiller is pretty much a shoe-in.  But who will be his back up?  30 year old Swede, Viktor Fasth?  Will they stay with Jeff Deslauriers, who backed up last season?  John Gibson is also in the mix, just off a stellar performance in the World Junior Championships where he helped Team USA earn gold.  Gibson will certainly push the others and if the Ducks organization can keep him, he will be a bright future in net for Anaheim.

There are eight defensemen fighting for six spots.  Francois Beauchemin is healthy again, as is Toni Lydman.  Beauchemin had surgery in April to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.  Lydman also underwent the knife in April to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.  Lydman also has finally recovered from a shoulder injury that has hampered him considerably.   Cam Fowler continues to grow and develop into a steady defenseman and Fowler will benefit from more of Scott Niedermayer's presence with the team as an assistant coach.  Luca Sbisa also returns.  Nate Guenin was in and out of the line up last season and he will want a permanent spot.

Sheldon Souray is the new face in the group, having signed as a free agent in July.  Souray brings size and experience that will help to replace the vanished Lubomir Visnovsky.  Visnovsky was traded to the New York Islanders during last year's entry draft and it is still questionable if he will ever play a game for that team.  Currently in the KHL, he appears to want to stay in Russia rather than be stuck on Long Island. 

The other new faces on the blue line are Bryan Allen and Jordan Hendry, both free agent signings last summer.  Allen has over 600 NHL games under his belt, while Hendry is still trying to get out of the minor leagues.

Comparatively speaking, there will be more cuts to be made at the forward position, with 17 players showing up at camp.    Of those 17, there are plenty of youngsters competing for spots on the roster.

Returning veterans include Teemu Selanne, who at 42 is likely in his last season of hockey.  Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan continue to produce reliably.  Saku Koivu and Andrew Cogliano also provide experience and depth to center..  

New veterans joining the Ducks include Daniel Winnik and Brad Staubitz.  Both were signed as free agents last summer.

Of the youngsters, Matt Beleskey is likely to stick around, and Nick Bonino seems here to stay, having been assigned a lower number for training camp.  Devante Smith-Pelly made the team last year and did well until he broke his foot.  Kyle Palmieri could finally make the jump after having played 18 games with the Ducks last season.

On the cusp players include Peter Holland, who made more than one appearance with Anaheim last season.  Emerson Etem was drafted the same year as Smith-Pelly, only earlier in the draft, and he will be competing hard for a spot.   Patrick Maroon spent more time in Syracuse than in Anaheim, but he would like to change that.   Ricard Rakell gained international experience playing for Sweden in the World Junior tournament, but has he developed enough to earn a roster spot?   Finally there is Pierre-Luc Letourneau-LeBlond, who is in camp on a professional tryout.

Camp opened up at the Honda Center but will continue the remainder of the week at Anaheim Ice (also affectionately known as Anaheim Iceberg).   Coach Boudreau expects to have at least one scrimmage later this week

The Ducks then fly off to Vancouver to begin their season in Canada against the Canucks.   To say the schedule is a bit wacky would be an understatement, but all the teams are experiencing that.  Trying to schedule 48 games in 99 days is a daunting task and lends to unusual circumstances you would not find in a longer season.

The Ducks will play Phoenix and Dallas three games in a row each (somewhat like a mini playoff series).  The Red Wings will be around for two games in a row in Anaheim at the end of March.  They  also play Edmonton, back to back, up in Edmonton.  

The final game of the abbreviated season will be at home on Saturday, April 27.  You can bet that will be a hot ticket if Selanne does decide to retire (and actually announce it in advance.)

Regardless of the quirks, regardless of the time line, it just is nice to have hockey back again. 
 

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He's back!  Not quite on the bench, but behind the bench is where we will be finding Scott Niedermayer in Anaheim. 

The Ducks, who have been using Niedermayer for scouting and working with their AHL affiliate since he retired in 2010, have officially added the former captain to their coaching staff.

Niedermayer will join Bob Woods and Brad Lauer as assistant coaches to Bruce Boudreau, although his primary function will be practices and at home games.  The 39 year old former Norris winning defenseman is not too keen on grueling travel.

“Obviously the last couple of years, I’ve worked with players down in Syracuse and at Norfolk at the start of this year,” said Niedermayer on a conference call. ”I realized that I do enjoy it, more than maybe I had thought when I was a player. I probably couldn’t predict this when I was a player.  I’m excited about the chance to try and help.”

Never known to be a verbose man of many words, Niedermayer alway led by example and when he spoke, players listened.   Just being around him had a calming effect and you know that the players will not tune him out.  His is one voice they really will hear. 

“His knowledge of the game is paramount," said Boudreau.  "Players of his ilk, they see things that you don’t see. And that kind of input is always invaluable.

GM Bob Murray, who lately seems to be as silent in the media as Niedermayer was as a player, was very enthusiastic about this latest development.

“As a player, Scott was one of the great leaders and winners of all time, making him a tremendous addition to our coaching staff,” commented Murray. “His knowledge of the game and relationship with the players will be a great benefit for us. And he’s even a better person than a hockey player.”

Niedermayer had led an informal practice at Anaheim Ice earlier in the week after a tentative CBA had been reached and agreed upon.  Training camp is expected to start on Sunday, January 13.

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The NHL is one step closer to playing now that the Board of Governors has ratified and approved the new collective bargaining agreement.   Next up is the players and the NHLPA.  They are expected to ratify the agreement on Saturday.

What does that mean for the rest of us?  Training camp should begin on Sunday, January 13, with games beginning on Saturday, January 19. 

The Ducks get to open against the Vancouver Canucks and start their hockey season in Canada.  They would have been "away" at this point regardless, because the Honda Center is being used for another event. 

Apparently the Ducks were offered the glorious chance to play against the Los Angeles Kings for the first game.  They passed.  Do you really want to see your local rival raise their Stanley Cup banner?  Nope.   The Chicago Blackhawks will get that privilege.

As things have developed, it appears that the "regular" season will go through the end of April, with the playoffs beginning in May.  The last date for the Stanley Cup to be played will be June 25. 

Hopefully there will not be any more lockout nonsense for at least the next eight years (the first opportunity for either the NHL or NHLPA to opt out of the new CBA).   Going a decade would be nice, though.

Players won by getting seven year maximum deals (eight for a team re-signing their own free agent).   They also got the pension plan they were looking for.   Owners were happy with contracts that had less wacky variance from year to year on long term contracts. 

Both sides compromised on the salary cap, meeting in the middle at $64.3 million next season.  and both will split revenues 50/50. 

After the BOG approved the new CBA, commissioner Gary Bettman actually apologized to the fans.

"To the players who were very clear that they wanted to be on the ice and not negotiating labor contracts, to our partners who support the league ... and most importantly to our fans who love and have missed NHL hockey, I'm sorry," said Bettman.   "I know an explanation or an apology will not erase the hard feelings that have built up over the last few months, but I owe you an apology nonetheless."

Yes Gary, you did.  So do all the other owners.  Two teams have apologized to their fans - the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes.   Only 28 more to go.    Many of the players, who have Twitter accounts, have tweeted their apologies already.

How soon will fans forget?  Not very.  But eventually they will soften for the sport they love and adore.

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Call me shocked.  Call me amazed.  Call me hideously jaded.

After an all-nighter of negotiating, it appears that a tentative collective bargaining agreement has been made between the NHL and NHLPA.   Both Gary Bettmand and Donald Fehr stood in front of cameras and reporters, looking more than a little bleary eyed, to make their announcement.

Mind you, Congress was able to come to an agreement about a "fiscal cliff" sooner than these guys were able to put a new CBA together. 

What might have been unnoticed in the joy of having actual hockey played is the fact that there is still much work to be done.  It is a framework, not a final document. 

However, progress is progress.  The jaded part comes from my belief that they could have come to this conclusion months ago and avoided all this ugliness and unpleasantness.

Personally, I am refusing to spend a single penny on hockey games, concession or parking for the same amount of time the NHL was locked out and not playing.   Will it affect either side or matter to them?  No.  Will it matter to me?  Absolutely.   

For the record, that is a minimum of 113 days.

The key person in all this is mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who should get hazard pay and a special award and commendation for persevering with two very bitter parties intent on never agreeing with one another.  That Beckenbaugh was able to facilitate common ground is miraculous and a tribute to his abilities as a mediator.

What is left to be known is when will training camps starts, how many games will be played and when will they begin and how will the Ducks handle Teemu Selanne's final game when it is all over?  (Assuming he decides that this is it.)

I am still trying to get that bitter taste out of my mouth, made even more distasteful because I am not the casual fan.   I have invested heart, soul, time and money  (and even more time when I spent 3 1/2 years in the pressbox and at every practice.)   The latest return on my "investment" has left me, a diehard, less than impressed. 

What has it done to the less devoted hockey afficionado?

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Don't believe everything you hear when it comes to the NHL, especially when it comes to hills they will die on.  Or maybe not....

Bill Daly swore up and down that five year contracts for players were it.  Period.  Not going to yield or change his mind. 

Usually it is a woman's perogative to change her mind.  Daly is allowed to change his, too, apparently.

The NHL, in what seems to be a last ditch attempt to have any semblance of a hockey season, has made a new offer to the NHLPA.  Some of those set in stone non-negotiables had a little wiggle room after all.

“In light of media reports this morning, I can confirm that we delivered to the union a new, comprehensive proposal for a successor CBA late yesterday afternoon,” said Daly yesterday.  “We are hopeful that once the union’s staff and negotiating committee have had an opportunity to thoroughly review and consider our new proposal, they will share it with the players. We want to be back on the ice as soon as possible.”

Naturally details were not provided, but details have a way of oozing out regardless.

Based on reports from those who have some knowledge of the proposal, the league offered to increase the limit on player contracts from five years to six  and seven years if you are re-signing your own player. 

A player's salary can vary now from 5% to a maximum of 10% per year, in the hopes of eliminating some of the incredibly whacked long term contracts previously thrown at players that were a devious way of avoiding salary cap issues.

The "make whole" offer of $300 is still part of the latest offer, to help transition hockey revenue sharing to 50/50. 

The proposal still is looking at a 10 year agreement, with opt out clauses for both sides at the eight year mark.  Which means we don't have to go through this stupidity nearly as often, but if Gary Bettman is still in office in ten years, chances are good we will still do it once more for good measure.

The cap would be $70 million this season (or what might be left of it) before shifting down to $60 million next year.

Unrestricted free agency would remain at 27 years old or seven years of NHL service. Current rules for entry-level contracts and salary arbitration also stay in place.

Teams would get one “compliance buyout” of a player’s contract with the amount not charged against its cap figure but against the players’ share of revenue.

Re-entry waivers would be eliminated.

The league also offered to increase revenue sharing from approximately $150 million to $200 million with creation of an industry growth fund to improve the revenue potential of the NHL and its lowest-grossing clubs.   This is a vast improvement over the amount of revenue they are currently sharing - zero.

According to the LA Times, one player agent, Allan Walsh, stated that "If it is take it or leave it, it won't go anywhere.  If it is an invitation to bargain, we may have something."

Do not expect to hear anything solid in the next few days as the NHLPA contemplates the proposal and both sides need to actually talk to each other (for longer than five minutes at a time.

One thing is certain, if both sides cannot come to an agreement, this is it.  The idea would be to start training camps by January 12 and the season (abbreviated) to start by January 19.  They were able to squeeze in 48 games in the 1994-1995 lockout shortened season.  No reason they could not do that again. 

Oh yeah - unless they just can't agree on terms of the new collective bargaining agreement.  If they do not, the next cancellation is the remainder of the season.

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The NHL continues to whittle away at the season, bit by painful bit.  The latest cancellations take away games through January 14. 

Do they really think that there is going to be a season?

Even though the NHLPA has voted overwhelmingly to disband and dissolve the union, if you think that any hockey is going to be played this year, you have had way too much eggnog.

The latest move by the players has been to authorize their executive board to file a disclaimer of interest.  Once the union is dissolved, the players can file a class action lawsuit against the NHL to declare the lockout illegal.  They have until January 2 to file the disclaimer. 

Mediations has not worked.  Plain old negotiating has not worked.  Meeting directly with players and owners has not worked.  Do you really think this is going to do it?  Do you think anyone but the players and owners care at this point?

For all the bitching and moaning about how much each side gets to share, the honest truth is that right now they get to split up $0.  Zero.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada. 

And after they figure it all out, the chances are exceptionally good that they will not be sharing any of my hard earned dollars either.   And a merry Christmas to you, too!

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Why can't we all just get along?

In the case of the NHL, why can't you all find some middle ground and get a new collective bargaining agreement?

Seeing as the most recent (and most promising) talks broke down, the NHL found it in their hearts to cancel two more weeks of games.  Like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld, Gary Bettman keeps telling us, "No hockey for you!"

His audience is shrinking, not that he cares.

And the mediators are back.  Both the NHL and NHLPA are set to meet today with the same mediators who met with them last month.  They determined that there was no way they could find middle ground, which should tell you how far apart things are.  If professional mediators cannot get two sides to compromise and agree, I am not sure anyone can.   I certainly give them extra credit points for trying a second time. 

Will the results change?  Doubtful.

We will continue to see bits and pieces of the NHL season hacked away, one part at a time, until there is nothing left to do but stab it in the heart.   Then the proverbial question can be asked - if an NHL season is canceled, will anyone notice or care?