New season, new thread.

While everyone is waiting for Parise and Suter to make a decision, Jaromir Jagr just signed a 1 year/$4.5 million deal with the Dallas Stars.

Seriously? Already? Can't we take a month or two off?

Nope.

Parise and suter to the wild for 13 years (each) at 98 mil. The west got more interesting.

Parise due to get $12 million per season this year and the next?


*not worth it*

It sucks, because there was so little available on the free-agent market (in terms of top talent), that you HAVE to overpay. Hopefully, I will feel better when Minnesota feels the sting of mortgaging their future on two guys over the coming years (and they still won't be a Cup contender), but Detroit still has a big defensive hole to fill, and not much out there to try and fill it with...and that means that everyone who is left will also be able to demand a higher salary than they are worth.

On the defensive end, where we need the most help...there's not much available, and it's mediocre talent to boot. Offensively, there's Nash, Bobby Ryan and Alexander Semin. Getting Nash will require giving up something like two top players, seven prospects and 10 #1 draft picks (or at least, that's what Columbus' GM seems to think), Ryan is highly unlikely to be traded to Detroit by one of their arch-rivals, and Semin is a liability, despite having great offensive skill.

People have been saying the Wings are gonna slip for years, and it may finally be coming true. Fuck.

I think there is going to be the most trades this summer than we have seen in a long time because the free agent pool is both deleted and overpriced. And I'm all for that. So here's to hoping that everything gets made more interesting by some GM willing to gamble.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/player-really-stake-nhlpa-collective-bargaining-nhl-141923225--nhl.html

Interesting read regarding the labor negotiations.

I certainly don't have a dog in this fight. I Like all sports labor disputes; millionaires fighting billionaires and I don't have the patience to root for either.


I just want a season.

I hope the players have enough sense not to do this shit again...last time set the sport back several years, and it still hasn't reached previous levels of interest/ratings before the previous strike. MESSAGE TO HOCKEY PLAYERS: "You aren't football, basketball or baseball."

agreed.
well, also for Stan Bowman to sign someone that matters.
Sheldon Brookbank?
pfft.

Hey! He nabbed Pierre Gauthier from the clutches of nobody.


Also Love the Headline "Nash has six teams and none of them are Canadian" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=400350

Pfft.

The Rockford Ice Hogs (Hawks AHL affiliate) have announced the re-signing of Wade Brookbank.
We have them BOTH!

TAKE THAT MINNESOTA.... WHO ARE THE BIG WINNERS NOW?????

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=400580

Christ alive there's not going to be a season.

ive been saying that since christmas.
I hope I'm wrong, but I think the season (if even played) will not start until December.
However, I really don't think there is going to be a season at all.
Donald Fehr is involved, and that means trouble for the fans.

I can't imagine that they would be so stupid again. Last time they did it, they came back to making less money than when they stopped. It will kill the game, and as a result...their salaries. But I guess you never know...

I do realize that the owners 1st proposal is SUPPOSED to be ridiculous, but even this proposal seems out of control. especially after the money that has been doled out so far for free agency this summer.

I suppose it'll end up with a closer to 50-50 split on revenue, a year of service added on before UFA, and a max contract length of 5 years.
at least those are my guesses.

I recall reading somewhere recently that the season starting late might make the league more profitable for the season. I didnt really understand all of it, but it revolved around the lower drawing teams not losing money for all those early season games...or something.

However, I have no doubts that Bettman will kill the sport, one way or another. He's already presided over 2 lockouts.

I mean after the NFL and NBA took paycuts, I HAVE to believe that NHLPA saw this coming, but to have THAT strong of a cutback ON TOP of wanting to redefine the parameters of hockey related revenue. A smaller piece of a smaller pie.

Seriously, it's like seeing a $100 item that you're sure you can get down to $50, so you start with $2.

I don't see how anyone could be optimistic after this proposal. The players lost last time, I doubt they'll want to lose again.

I think Bettmen gets a lot of crap, most of it is well deserved (Colin Campbell, his want to pull from the Olympics, etc.) but if we lose a single game I don't see how we can honestly look at that man and say that he's doing his job well, if at all.

It looks like Shea Weber is going to either be a Flyer or a Predator for a very long time.

I hope the CBA negotiations are filled with laughter from the NHLPA side.

These huge contracts of recent are likely direct results of the CBA battle.
I think the one thing the owners will get is the 5 year max contract, so sign 'em while you can.

The biggest thing about this CBA, and the owners demands is that it's the small market teams trying to defend themselves from the large market teams. Nashville could lose their top D pairing to 28 yrs & $200million in contracts, which might effectively sink the Preds franchise. Not a great prospect when Phoenix & NJ are already very much in trouble financially.

Ive said repeatedly that I don't think there will be hockey this year. These discussions will be very contentious, especially with a couple of GMs going absolutely bonkers with contracts while the league is (allegedly) losing money. The NHL has repeatedly shot itself in the foot with poor business decisions under Bettman's watch (most notably over-expansion) and there needs to be a solid plan in place that benefits both parties if this league is to survive. I don't see that happening easily, or quickly.

I, myself, am hoping he's a Flyers when it's all said and done. The way the Flyers set up the contract was that it was it was front loaded. The 1st four years of the deal he gets a $1 million salary plus a $13 million bonus. In years 5 & 6 of the deal he gets a $4 million salary and a $8 million bonus. The rest of the years are all salary. I think it's going to be tough for the Predators to match. The total value of the franchise itself is somewhere in the low to mid $100 million range. For a small market team this contract has a chance to kill the franchise. The value of the contract is almost as much as the franchise, and most teams have regretted signing contracts like this one, ie, Dipietro, Richards, Carter, Luongo. On the Flyers side, they needed a replacement for Pronger and a right-handed defenseman. Weber gives them both. I love the move, but they better be able to resign Giroux when it's his turn in two years.

On a side note, the Flyers also offered a contract to Shane Doan.

It's even sneakier than that. The pay date for the bonus is July 1st, if Nashville matches, they cannot trade Weber for 1 year from the signing date. So they'll have to pay him his $14 million this year, then his bonus next year on 7/1 before being able to trade him. It would cost Nashville $27million to keep Weber for one year.
The only logical way they match the offer is if they plan on keeping him long term.
I wouldnt be surprised if they don't match, recieve the 4 picks, then in a separate deal trade them back to philly for players. I wouldn't think that it would be legal for them to do so, but evidently it has happened in the past.

Nashville matched the offer for Shea Weber. I am a very sad individual now.

Also, say hello to Ranger Rick!

Apparently if Howson had the brains of a fucking slug, he would've recieved a much bigger return from Sather and the Rangers than Dubi, Anisimov, Erixon and a 1st rounder (which will be a low one) Have heard that Sather was willing to put JT Miller on the table. Howson is a fucking idiot, and Sather looks the genius that he ain't.

Also, the Rangers have about 13 mil in cap space left. I wonder if they were still on the hook for Redden where would the be cap wise.

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH! I'M NOT LISTENING!!! I'M NOT LISTENING!!!!!!


:(