The 2005 NHL Season is OFFICIALLY CANCELLED

[sputnik]

Looks like the NHLPA would rather have the league die before hockey is played again. Replacement players anyone?

http://tsn.ca/nhl/

[69cougar]

Yep you beat me to it......
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes

What a bunch of sorry sore losers the NHLPA are I would give my left nut and play for $150,000/a year and think I had the luckiest job in the world.

[Xtrema]

Now the NHL, already low on the popularity scale in the United States, becomes the first major pro sports league in North America to lose an entire season to a labor dispute.

nobody give a shit.

[Ben]

fuck em. Greedy whiney bastards.

having had close family working in the NHL since the 70's I've watched this progress and progress until what we have here. Pretty disappointing really. All the games I've been to over the years you could tell that each year a little peice of it was falling away, it's not like it was in the 80's thats for sure.

THere was a letter to the editor in the sun a couple days ago that said canada should drop the states all together. Canada only NHL.

Would get pretty boring playing the same team like 3 times in a 2 week period, haha, but it would be good hockey.

[Kirbs17]

What a shitty Press conferance by Bettman. That man has 0 PR skills. He was getting upset at people for asking him questions. My ass he was truly sorry. grrrr

[Ajay]

Originally posted by Kirbs17
What a shitty Press conferance by Bettman. That man has 0 PR skills. He was getting upset at people for asking him questions. My ass he was truly sorry. grrrr

I'm sure he's pretty frustrated and being barraged by the same questions over and over probably is getting on his nerves.

Sad day for hockey that's for sure. The players are going to demand Goodenow's head on a silver platter. Shitty deal too cause Bettman said their last offer is completely off the table and they're going to go back to an idea of linkage.

Players lost the best opportunity they had to end it....I'll be surprised if there's hockey in 2005/2006 at all.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Ben
THere was a letter to the editor in the sun a couple days ago that said canada should drop the states all together. Canada only NHL.

Would get pretty boring playing the same team like 3 times in a 2 week period, haha, but it would be good hockey.

Actually, its not that crazy of an idea. If you think that you could get 12-14 teams together with a $20M salary cap you could have a really popular league.

A $20M salary cap will keep the game affordable for smaller markets (Winnipeg, Halifax, Hamilton, Regina, Victoria etc) and will keep the salaries for the players higher than any other league in the world. And without big involvment from Canada, a US league would have a tough time getting off the ground.

The NHL folding is the best thing that could happen to hockey right now.

[heavyD]

Has anyone noticed that in the last ten years that the higher paid the player the worse the effort alot of them (not all mind you) seem to put forward? Watching live you can see alot of these so-called superstars going through the motions.

We spent seven months hearing "we will never accept a salary cap" over and over then two days before deadline they accept one. If they would have accepted the cap months ago this could have got worked out. Now the players are going to go a complete year without income and still come back to work under a cap at a worse deal than the last offer by the league. Me thinks Bob G. will be looking for work next year.

I'm okay with losing the year if it means in the future, teams like Calgary and Edmonton are going to have a chance to keep their stars when they become free agents rather than trading them before the trade deadline to a team like the Leafs or Rangers for draft picks and prospects.

Reality check time for overpaid athletes.

[DonJuan]

Both sides are to blame, instead of having talks every other week like recently, they should have been doing this since BEFORE September not in the final days of a shitty 28 game season. Goodenow is a fuck nut and Bettman, well I just plain don't like him. Both of em are tied for the MVP award for the NHL 04/05 season, MVP meaning: "M"ost "V"ucking usless "P"ieces of shit. Now Mr King, gimme back my season ticket money, I got an engine to pay for!

[sputnik]

Originally posted by DonJuan
Both sides are to blame, instead of having talks every other week like recently, they should have been doing this since BEFORE September not in the final days of a shitty 28 game season. Goodenow is a fuck nut and Bettman, well I just plain don't like him. Both of em are tied for the MVP award for the NHL 04/05 season, MVP meaning: "M"ost "V"ucking usless "P"ieces of shit. Now Mr King, gimme back my season ticket money, I got an engine to pay for!

What was the point of this post? Would you care to elaborate how both sides are to blame?

[CRXguy]

bunch of assholes. now i got nothing to watch on tv.

[Kirbs17]

Nice pic. Im sure Bettman was mad, and I know Im overreacting, but he should have stayed in basketball. he ruined our sport. I want his and goodenows resignations.

[Shampoo Suicide]

I really don't care about hockey anymore. Atleast now sportscentre can stop wasting 1/3 of its show everyday discussing if the season is going to be back.

[Shaolin]

I don't understand how they had a problem with a 42 million dollar cap.. i mean.. you guys are going to get paid if the season starts.. now there's nothing. Spoiled a little bit too long and think the owners will budge? hmm..

Great job, now they don't get paid at all..

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Kirbs17
Nice pic. Im sure Bettman was mad, and I know Im overreacting, but he should have stayed in basketball. he ruined our sport. I want his and goodenows resignations.

I disagree. Goodenow is the one who has ruined the sport with the help of some owners/gm's with no restraint. If you look through the years that salaries have escalated, it is all under Bob's regeme. I believe the sport started to decline in the early 90's when salaries went on the upward trend from manageable to out of control. This all happened under Goodenow's leadership of the players association and he essentially did an excellent job for his employers (the players). Problem being what is good for the players means higher ticket prices for the fans and large descrepancies between large market teams and small market teams which changed the competative balance of the league. While a few teams over the years like the Flames, Wilde, Senators, even Oilers made some nice playoff runs with lower salaries, the teams that always seemed to be in the playoffs on a consistent basis are Leafs, Devils, Flyers, Blues, Redwings, Avalanche, etc because they could afford to keep and sign superstars.

Gary hasn't done the greatest job but he has stuck his neck out for the small market teams and being a Flames fan myself I appreciate that.

The day Bob Goodenow resigns/get fired will be the most important day in the history of the NHL not today's cancellation.

[Shaolin]

Anyone hear the Schneider phone call? wow... no finger pointing going on there.

[Z_Fan]

Originally posted by heavyD
The day Bob Goodenow resigns/get fired will be the most important day in the history of the NHL not today's cancellation.

Gary may not be overly liked, but he is a shrewd business person and knows what is necessary to keep the league alive. Sticking to his guns shows a great deal of integrity and his personal respect to the sport of hockey and its future well-being. He knows what is required to keep it viable, and isn't going to allow it to be overly compromised. So, great news! When hockey actually starts up again, and it will - at least it might have a hope of continued successful operation.

Besides, who really cares anyhow? We've already missed the vast majority of the season...

They will play next year...one way or another...they will play.

[blinkme_210]

Originally posted by sputnik


Actually, its not that crazy of an idea. If you think that you could get 12-14 teams together with a $20M salary cap you could have a really popular league.

SIGN ME UP!!! I'll gladly play for less than $300,000/year.

[hyperwhite]

42.5 million wasn't a good deal for the players, but it was the only deal available. did they seriously think that they could get a better deal by rejecting this one and letting the league go to impase?!?!?! now the NHL can makeup whatever kind of CBA they want. they worst part is that the retard millionare players decided that they spoke for the whole league and put the pressure on goodenow the reject this offer

[scooby_dooby]

i don't think both sides are to blame, except the fact that gary bettman's attitude and language in his letters wre very counter productive.

It's all the NHLPA's fault, their enitre stance of "No Cap" was ridiculous, what if the cap was 200million dollars? Well obviously it would be acceptable, so the whole statement of "No Cap" was just STUPID, in addition to that all other pro sports have caps.

If they had just dropped that ridiculous postion talks would have started YEARS ago!

As far as linkage goes, the union claims they don't trust the numbers but the refuses to go and look at the numbers! It seems obvious they know damn well the league is losing money and they don't want to confirm it by examining the books themselves.

Furthermore, the NFL which makes like 3 times the revunue of the NHL has a cap around 80million, and a football team has more players than a hockey team. Who do these guys think they are that a 42million dollar cap and an average salary of 1.3million dollars is "not a good deal for the players", of course it's a good deal pull your head out of your ass, it's MORE than you deserve.

The owners take ALL the risk, and in business when you take the risk you SHOULD get the reward, not lose money every year.