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?

Do not be an NHL fan if you don't like roller coasters, yo-yos, being manic depressive or just yanked around in general.  Talks are going well. Up!  Talks have halted again.  Down.   Progress and proposals.  Up!  Rejections and "still far apart."  Down.  

Better take your dramamine if you are going to follow this one any further.    Helps with the motion sickness AND the nausea that is certain to accompany this nonsense.

It seemed like things were going so well.  After a suggestion by Gary Bettman that players and owners meet directly without Bettman or Donald Fehr involved, progress was being made, finally, in coming to terms with a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA.

The owners and players who met on Tuesday and Wednesday appeared to make positive progress.  Then the NHLPA put a new proposal on the table.  Cue the sound of screeching brakes and everything coming to a crashing halt.

It is amazing how fast it can go from "we're close" to "it looks like this is not going to be resolved in the immediate future."

The owners felt they got a "lukewarm" response from the players after offering to increase the "make-whole" payment to players by $100 million.   The NHL also wants a 10-year agreement, with a mutual option after eight years, and a five year cap on player contracts.

"Term limits on player contracts is the hill we will die on," said deputy NHL commissioner, Bill Daly. 

Daniel Winnik, who was signed by the Ducks as a free agent this past summer, was one of the players in on the second day of talks. 

"They asked us to address their three main issues," said Winnik, who has been part of the NHLPA's negotiating committee from the beginning. "And that's what we thought we were doing today. We didn't know (that) by us not completely agreeing to what they want ... that's it."

If you believe what Bettman and Daly are saying, then that's it.

Bettman told media that most elements of the owners' offer were now off the table.

The NHLPA had countered Thursday with an eight-year agreement and contracts to last no longer than eight years. But the NHL had wanted a deal struck Wednesday night.  Right now, it is the NHL way or the highway.

"It looks like this is not going to be resolved in the immediate future," Fehr said.

No kidding, Donald.  Tell us something we do not already know. 

Next up - more game cancellations and it will only be a matter of time before the whole season is put aside.  Daly, Bettman and the NHL are choosing to die on a hill without realizing what the actual body count or consequences are going to be.

In the NHL season that hasn't been, getting news that there might be a glimmer of hope in the lockout is a good thing.  Then again, hopes have been dashed before.

Mediators had been brought in.  They concluded it was an impossible task.  Perhaps not their words exactly, but when professional mediators cannot help two sides find a middle ground, it speaks volumes. 

So after that failed, there was a suggestion for the owners and players to meet face to face.  What a radical concept!

Yesterday the owners were represented by Ron Burkle (Pittsburgh Penguins), Mrak Chipman (Winnipeg Jets), Murray Edwards (Calgary Flames), Jeremy Jacobs (Boston Bruins), Larry Tanenbaum (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Jeff vINIK (Tampa Bay Lightning).

There was a long list of players that the owners met with.  In alphabetical order - Craig Adams, David Backes, Michael Cammalleri, Sidney Crosby, B.J. Crombeen, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Ron Hainsey, Shawn Horcoff, Jamal Mayers, Manny Malhotra, Andy McDonald, Ryan Miller, George Parros, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, Jonathan Toews and Kevin Westgarth.

Both sides met for nearly 8 1/2 hours and according to many sources, Burkle was very helpful in bringing both sides closer together. 

"I think everybody wants to get a deal done, so I think that's encouraging," said NHL Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly.  "We look forward to making more progress."

More progress comes on Wednesday before and after the Board of Governor's meeting.

Steve Fehr, attorney for the NHLPA, commented that Tuesday "may have been the best day we've had so far.  I don't want to paid too rosy of a picture, however.  A lot of work remains to be done."

That they are working on it is progress itself.  At this point, with games canceled through next week, any progress is a good sign.

Dear NHL fans, in order to give you less to be thankful for, Gary Bettman has axed more of your favorites.  Games are now cancelled through December 14 and the annual All Star Game that was to be held in Columbus was kiboshed as well.

It is getting a little tiresome at this point.

Bobby Ryan, who swore he was not going to take someone else's job overseas, realized the lockout was going to be a wee bit longer than he planned.  He's now heading to Sweden to play with Mora IK of the Allsvenskan league.

Teemu Selanne just might say screw it to hockey if the lockout continues. 

The Ottawa Sun is right. 

"Stop already.

Enough of all the bull.

This lockout is never going to end.

Can we not just jump to that conclusion and move on with life?

I mean, it would be fantastic to have the game back, of course, but it’s not going to happen, not anytime soon.

So just stop playing with our emotions Gary, Donald, Bill, Steve and every other guilty Tom, Dick and Harry.

Go away.

All us regular folk — us hundred-aires and thousand-aires — have now even grown tired of laughing at you.

Right now is about pleading with the current cast of clowns to move on and leave us alone.

Their greed, and the nerve they have to keep holding fans hostage as they fight with each other over the billions the fans give them ... it’s well beyond frustrating and sickening.

Come out Monday morning and do the right thing, Gary Bettman.

Cancel one more chunk of the season. A big one. The rest of the schedule.

Then go away."

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/23/lockouts-not-ending-anytime-soon-so-send-in-replacement-players. You can read the rest of the article there. 

It would be lovely to have something new and different to report.  Until then, this lockout is lather, rinse, repeat.  Time to wash the NHL out of our hair....

 

It is the middle of November.  Thanksgiving is next week.  Stores have been looking at Christmas since about September. 

Hockey fans?  Nothing to look forward to.  Still.

All the November games were canceled.  The Winter Classic?  Canceled.  Further talks and negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA?  Canceled. 

The only thing these guys seem capable of doing is saying "no."  They are getting really, really good at it.

The cancellation of the Winter Classic, which is far better than watching the Rose Parade on New Year's Day, prompted both sides to get talking again.  Things were going relatively well.  Talking was certainly a good start.  There were discussions about revenue sharing and the "make whole" provision of player contracts but when it comes to other player contractual items, like free agency, nothing has changed. 

The NHL and the NHLPA continue to shoot themselves in their feet.  And other body parts, as well.  Now both sides feel that they need to take a two week break from negotiations.   Really?  Nothing like a sense of non-urgency to get things done.

Apparently it does not matter that hockey fans are the ones getting royally screwed in this whole matter.  And the folks who work for the hockey arenas and organizations who are not getting paid. 

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN had a great article addressing the permanent damage that will be done from this lockout.  http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/20265/the-damage-this-time-will-be-permanent.  Perhaps someone can forward this article to both Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr?  Or just plain put it on their desks and force them to read it. 

"Know this: It’s too late to declare anybody a winner no matter how this plays out. The buzzer has sounded. Both sides will be declared losers. The long-term damage incurred by this league and industry can’t be undone at this point. There are corporate partners who might never want to reinvest in a sport that doesn’t play every time a CBA is up. There are fans who promise that they were fooled once, but it won’t happen twice. And there are markets that won’t rebound easily, not for a while, even with a shortened season."

LeBrun is dead on, but do either the NHL or NHLPA care?

In the 2004-2005 season, everything wasn't canceled until February, so theoretically, there is still time to come up with something.  On the other hand, based on what has gone on so far, don't hold your breath.  Just wait for the inevitable "we had no choice but to cancel the season because (fill in your lame excuse here)."

Happy holidays to you, too, NHL.

This is starting to get old. 

NHL makes offer that the NHLPA is not supposed to refuse.  NHLPA refuses.  Counteroffers by NHLPA also refused.  No talking.  No negotiating.  Self-imposed deadline passes.  Cancel games.

Like the shampoo instructions, rinse and repeat.  Eventually all the games for the 2012-2013 season will be washed away clean.

The NHL had a deadline of October 24 for their most recent offer to the players.  In their minds, that was the drop dead date for an agreement to be in place that would ensure they could still finagle a full season.  After talks between both sides rapidly disintegrated and disappeared altogether, there was no surprise that the deadline came and went. 

So the NHL did what it had to do.  Cancel all the November games. 

"The NHL deeply regrets having to take this action," was the sentiment expressed by Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.   "By presenting a proposal to the NHLPA that contemplated a fair division of revenues and was responsive to Player concerns regarding the value of their contracts, we had hoped to be able to forge a long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement that would have preserved an 82-game Regular Season for our fans. Unfortunately, that did not occur."

"We acknowledge and accept that there is joint responsibility in collective bargaining and, though we are profoundly disappointed that a new agreement has not been attained to this point, we remain committed to achieving an agreement that is fair for the Players and the Clubs -- one that will be good for the game and our fans."

Next up will be canceling the Winter Classic on January 1.  Sounds like a long way off, but major steps have to be taken and commitments made by the middle of November.  No agreement, no commitment.  No commitment, no game.

And if you think either side is close to coming to an agreement, you just have to look at NHLPA Executive Director, Donald Fehr's statement.

 

"The league officially informed us today that they have withdrawn their latest proposal and have cancelled another slate of regular season games. This is deeply disappointing for all hockey fans and everyone who makes their living from hockey, including the players. But it comes as no surprise.

Last week the owners gave us what amounts to a "take-it-or-leave-it" proposal. We responded with the framework for three proposals on the players' share, each of which moved significantly, towards their stated desire for a 50-50 split of HRR, with the only condition being that they honour contracts they have already signed. Honouring contracts signed between owners and players is a reasonable request. Unfortunately, after considering them for only 10 minutes they rejected all of our proposals.

Since then, we have repeatedly advised the owners that the players are prepared to sit down and negotiate on any day, with no pre-conditions. The owners refused. They apparently are only interested in meeting if we first agree to everything in their last offer, except for perhaps a few minor tweaks and discussion of their "make whole" provision.

The message from the owners seems to be: if you don't give us exactly what we want, there is no point in talking. They have shown they are very good at delivering deadlines and demands, but we need a willing partner to negotiate. We hope they return to the table in order to get the players back on the ice soon."

A few days ago, it was announced that the New York Islanders would be leaving Nassau Coliseum when their lease is up in 2015.  They will be moving to Brooklyn for the 2015-2016 season. 

Maybe by then both the NHL and the NHLPA will have their heads out of their nether regions and will actually have a CBA in place by then.  Until then, don't be shocked when there are more cancellations and further expressions of dismay by both stubborn sides in this battle. 

Well it looked promising. 

But almost as soon as they began again, CBA talks between the NHL and NHLPA ended just as abruptly.  

New talks, new offers, new disagreements, same old same old.

On Tuesday Gary Bettman announced its latest proposal to the NHLPA.  The proposal offered a 50/50 split of league revenues while honoring existing contracts.  Free agency would be moved to age 28 or eight years of service from age 27 or seven years of service.  Player contracts would be a maximum of five years.  The new CBA would be good for six years with an option for a seventh year. 

The hook was that it would have to be agreed upon within ten days so that a week-long training camp could begin on October 26 and a full season could be played beginning November 2.  The original schedule would kick in on November 2 and lost games to be made up in April. 

One has to wonder, does that mean the Los Angeles Kings would have to wait until April to raise their Stanley Cup banner, or would they just rejigger their plans?  At this point, they can wait until next October, which seems far more likely.

“We believe that this was a fair offer for a long-term deal,” said Bettman.

Certainly it was a new starting point for discussion, and any discussion is better than none. 

The NHLPA took a couple of days to analyze the offer and come up with not one, not two, but three counteroffers.

Cue the pointing finger.

"The Players' Association came back and basically made three alternate proposals on the players' share, all variations, to some degree, of the one proposal that they made over the summer and really haven't deviated from since," Bettman commented after new talks halted after just one hour.   "And none of the three variations of players' share that they gave us even began to approach 50-50 (revenue split) either at all or for some long period of time and it's clear that we're not speaking the same language in terms of what they came back to us with."

One step forward.  Two steps back.

"This is the best offer that we have to make," said Bettman, taking a hard line on his latest proposal.  "The fact is, we're nowhere close to what we proposed."

Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHLPA, said the latest proposal was still unfair to the players.  Finger point in the other direction.

"The players offered to make real concessions in terms of reducing their share of hockey related revenues, with some small degree of protection," said Fehr. "The players don't see any reason to take less in terms of dollars."

Part of that bone of contention was the "make whole" caluse in which the NHL proposed to eventually pay players the full value of signed contracts even though they must take a bit initial escrow bite.  The repayments would come out of the players' share in future years.

"It is players paying players, not owners paying players," said Fehr.  "The players' share is reuced to 50% from 57% immediately this season.  This is a reduction in the share of 12.3%.  That would mean that players' salaries would be cut by about $231 million."

And so it continues.  He said.  She said.  No one agrees.  And it continues to boil down to greed. 

If you think both sides will agree by next week so that the season can begin on November 2, I want to have whatever it is that you are smoking.  It certainly sounds a lot happier than the reality that we are really facing.