Alright. First, I am a huge hockey fan and I follow the current NHL news closely. Second, with the considerable amount of Canadians who post here, I suppose this might be a welcome thread...

League, Union representatives to meet Wednesday


Representatives of the National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association will meet Wednesday to discuss collective bargaining matters.

Board of Governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss (Calgary Flames), Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly and attorney Robert Batterman will represent the NHL. President Trevor Linden (Vancouver Canucks), Senior Director of Business Affairs and Licensing Ted Saskin and attorney John McCambridge will represent the NHLPA.

"Consistent with our position that we are prepared to meet at any time and any place to discuss Collective Bargaining issues, we have agreed to meet with the Union Wednesday," Daly said. "We remain hopeful that progress can be made towards a resolution." - (Taken from nhlcbanews.com)

The lockout has been going on without an apparent end in sight, and now I hear that they may even cancel the draft, ruining several up-and-coming prospects chances of a career in the NHL...

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! They can't cancel the draft!! I hope something good comes of this new meeting.

The NHL needs to FIX ITSELF before I implode! Our local WHL team needs a place to go when they all grow up! :(

Boohoo. I must say I have zero sympathy for the players - they're paid far more than they deserve for doing something that is, really, of no use to humanity. At all. If you can prove to me that a hockey player does as much good as a Doctor, a Teacher, a Police Officer, etc., then they might deserve to earn $100 000 a year. Not millions of dollars.

And because they don't want to take a pay cut, they go to Europe take positions away from good European players!

Ridiculous. I wouldn't be at all saddened if the NHL collapsed.

(That rant goes for all major sports leauges, btw)

I agree, But I would also like to see the NHL stay alive. I do love hockey...

But what the league is suggesting doesn't at all sound that bad. A salery cap has worked for other pro sports, and I'm sure it will work for hockey.

If the players can get over themselves. Bertuzzi not being charged sickens me... if he wasn't famous, they would have thrown his ass in jail for life for a stunt like that.

I agree with Demosthenes X, but in a less...um, aggressive fashion. As a hockey player myself, I say both sides need to shut the hell up and fucking play the game. I mean, if they let ME play in an NHL rink, in front of all those people, I'd freaking play for pennies. All they have to give me is a place to sleep and money for gas and food and gear, and I'm happy. I mean, any other hockey player has got to agree with me.

The game is about passing, shooting, scoring, the roar of the crowd, the saves, the skating, the cold air on your face, the fights, the red light...But not the numbers on your paycheck. Thats just...bullshit that they fight over money. Money isn't happiness. You don't need fast cars and shit. Hell, I drive a 95' Ford F-250 back and forth to the rink almost every day. I don't need a Ferarri to get there. Hell, I can't even carry my gear in one of those!

And a nice house? Me and My family live in a 3 bedroom split level on the nice side of town for 1200 a month. We're all happy here.

Women? I have the woman of my dreams.

So yeah, those things may be Just Me, but the way I see it, if I can make it as a 17 year old hockey player that pays his own fees, fuel, gear, ect, those bastards can make it with one or two million a year.

And the owners?

They make 50 million a year in one arena, then the NHL's dues off the players, Canadian and American taxes, thats still a shitload more money I'll ever see in my pathetic lifetime, wishing I was a pro.

The point is, both sides are being selfish, arrogant children. They need to grow the fuck up and just agree to disagree, and PLAY HOCKEY! ITS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER IN ALASKA! WE'RE FUCKIN DYING OF BOREDEM UP HERE!!! WE NEED NHL!

Demosthenes X

If the players can get over themselves. Bertuzzi not being charged sickens me... if he wasn't famous, they would have thrown his ass in jail for life for a stunt like that.

I used to live in Colorado and I am an avid Avalanche fan. I was watching that game live when he did that.

He should have got more than a year probation.

I hate hockey almost as much as I hate the insinuation that all Canadians like hockey.

Yes. Because that insinuation means the end of the world.

First of all you might as well kiss this NHL season goodbye. The way they're going you might have to wave bye-bye to the league itself. The players will not agree to a salary cap.. bottom line. This doesn't mean that as soon as the owners back off on the salary cap issue the league will go back to normal and all will be well.

The NHL itself is in a sorry state. The league's ratings are horrible at this point. Last season they had the Stanley Cup Finals on ESPN 8 AKA "The Ocho", not that anybody cares because if they did the NHL wouldn't be in the position that it is right now.

To say that what NHL players do is of no use to humanity is a little ridiculous though. If nothing else they're entertainers and you're telling me that no entertainers should be paid according to the revenue which they generate? If you're saying that NHL players are of no use to humanity then I'd be curious to know what you do consider "of use" to humanity. Only that which is necessary to survive? If that's the case there are plenty of other things that are "of no use" to humanity, and far more important than a hockey player making a few mil.

All of that being said I love hockey and I'd hate for it to continue in the downward spiral it's currently in. But if the players don't realize that a salary cap isn't just something to keep the owners' pockets lined, I don't think there's much hope for the NHL.