-=-The Official Gaian Hockey Thread-=-

[Linkin21]

kertis66

i am so not into the whole hockey thing anyway i do not like it

Than why post?

[Le Corbeau]

Has the NHL finally resolved its financial difficulties?

LC

[Linkin21]

All they have to do is sign the paper 3nodding

[Procurements]

Le Corbeau

Has the NHL finally resolved its financial difficulties?

LC

Those are resolved. Right now it's on to other things, like how the draft will be done, rules changes, things like that.

[Jasperoni]

Linkin Park316

All they have to do is sign the paper 3nodding

Deal may be reached by the end of today. 3nodding

As for girls playing hockey, I'm fine with it. The thing I hate is the ones who say they want to play with the guys just cause they want to make a point. Another thing I hate is the second they want to be in a guys league they get in. But if I wanted to go to a girls league then it wouldn't be fair.

Wickenheiser can handle it. She is an amazing player. But the other girls who came into men's leagues to prove a point were blown apart. I remember this one girl who tried to make top goalie in Tri-Cities. First night out, 5 shots, 3 goals. Never heard her name again. If they can handle it, then come on out, but if your coming out with the guys just to say you can play with the guys.. Then thats just bad.

[Jasperoni]

ERRORCode2002

Le Corbeau

Has the NHL finally resolved its financial difficulties?

LC

Those are resolved. Right now it's on to other things, like how the draft will be done, rules changes, things like that.

Those don't effect the league returning. Those are seperate issues that will be addressed throughout the summer and most likely the season. The league just needs them to sign that contract and we have our NHL back. 3nodding The draft will most likely be done right after the agreement and I bet it's gonna be a lottery system, Bettman is pretty bent on that and he usually wins considering he is the head honcho of the league. As for rule changes, those will occur throughout the season like the other ones have.

[MooseFanMB]

I must admit that if there's one rule change that I wouldn't mind seeing, it's dropping the Center Ice line as part of the two-line pass rule, or even scrapping that rule all together. I mean, without that rule, I feel that it will allow for more open-ice play instead of all those constant offside calls that seemed to me to be far too frequent. At least that's how I feel about it.

[Jasperoni]

MooseFanMB

I must admit that if there's one rule change that I wouldn't mind seeing, it's dropping the Center Ice line as part of the two-line pass rule, or even scrapping that rule all together. I mean, without that rule, I feel that it will allow for more open-ice play instead of all those constant offside calls that seemed to me to be far too frequent. At least that's how I feel about it.

Without the red line you can no longer play the trap. I really hope they realise that before they ruin the game with a ton of other rules.

[Jasperoni]

Well the contract was supposed to have been signed last night but good old Goodenow had to throw a wrench in the machine again.. Now they are fighting over the fine print of the damn thing. Goodenow needs to learn he does not stand a chance of winning this in the end so he should just sign the damn paper and we can all get back to watching the NHL again.

[Linkin21]

Goodenow is an a**.him and bettman can kiss thier jobs good bye,hopefully

[Jasperoni]

Linkin Park316

Goodenow is an a**.him and bettman can kiss thier jobs good bye,hopefully

They brought out a new schedule. 7-10 days minimum until something gets resolved. They want to review with every owner in the league and discuss the new CBA with them. Out of 30 some odd teams, I bet one will hate the idea and start a whole new problem that will take another month. stare

[MooseFanMB]

A DEAL HAS BEEN REACHED!!!

YAY! biggrin

Or at least, a tentative deal has been reached. I just heard it on the radio about an hour ago. I sooo hope that this deal will be ratified and the NHL can get back to playing hockey for the upcoming season.

[Linkin21]

The longest labour battle in the history of professional sports in North America is finally over.

The NHL and the NHL Players' Association said Wednesday a tentative deal had been reached after the two sides met for more than 24 hours straight in New York, the culmination of 10 consecutive days of talks.

The process is not quite over. The players' rank and file and the owners have to ratify the agreement. That is expected some time next week.

Both sides are expected to approve the deal, paving the way for the NHL to reopen for business.

The NHL and NHLPA said details of the agreement will not be released pending ratification.

The game will return looking drastically different both on and off the ice. A vastly different and complicated collective bargaining agreement, highlighted by a hard salary cap, has given owners their long-desired "cost certainty."

Teams will come back looking vastly different as well. Mass player movement is expected with a high number of free agents on the market as well as several high-paid players expected to get bought out so teams can fit under the cap.

On the ice, major rules changes are being examined which will hopefully open up the game and create more excitement, likely including the reduction in the size of goalie equipment, allowing the two-line pass, and the penalty shootout to decide tie games during the regular season.

And there's much work ahead to lure back bitter fans and an apathetic corporate community.

A source also said Wednesday that the belated 2005 NHL entry draft will be held in Ottawa on Saturday, July 30, although a much smaller event with only the very top prospects invited, including Sidney Crosby, the consensus No. 1 pick.

In the end, the players caved in on an issue they swore they never would: the salary cap.

They also lost out on the entry-level system with rookies scaled back to $850,000 US a season in maximum salary as well as swallowing a 24 per cent rollback on all existing contracts.

It's clear this isn't a deal NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow was in favour of but he went along with it, respecting the wishes of president Trevor Linden and the rest of the players' executive committee.

It's been a long and tumultuous road towards a resolution. From the first labour meeting in January 2003 to the last on Wednesday, both sides met 82 times over two and a half years before finally agreeing on a new deal.

The lockout wiped out the entire 2004-05 season, including all 1,230 regular-season games, denying hockey fans a Stanley Cup champion for the first time since a flu epidemic cancelled the 1919 final. The NHL became the first major professional league in North America to loose a season from beginning to end because of labour strife.

Once commissioner Gary Bettman announced the season cancelled Feb. 16, both sides returned to the negotiating table March 11 in the first of 44 meetings aimed at making sure the 2005-06 season wouldn't be delayed.

The two sides met every single week starting in early May and didn't let up until the end, cramming in long days in the final six weeks in an effort to finally get it done.

A number of player agents are angry with Goodenow, feeling betrayed by his strategy from the get-go.

But while the owners appear to have scored a one-sided victory, it remains to be seen at what cost. The damage to the industry from not having any hockey played for a year may have both sides singing the blues

Yahoo! story 3nodding

[AKILLA]

Finally.. is what I can say.

[Nadiv]

Im glad hockey is back, the Fall and Winter are boring without it.