Saturday, January 12, 2013

I THINK-NOW I KNOW HOCKEYS ON.GO LEAFS GO

1ST @ 2ND LOCKOUT PAGE NEWS
http://nhlhockeystats.blogspot.ca/2012/09/save-nhl-petition.html
http://nhlhockeystats.blogspot.ca/2012/12/is-seasons-end-near-or-will-we-have.html

2012-13 HOCKEY ON-BETTMAN/FEHR ANNOUNCE AT 4AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na7FHgvkYyw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJsquftXRSY

Game on! NHL lockout ends with tentative deal between league, NHLPA

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012, file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly speak to reporters in New York. Bettman has told the players union that a deal must be in place by Jan. 11 in order for a 48-game season to be played beginning eight days later.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
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FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012, file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly speak to reporters in New York. Bettman has told the players union that a deal must be in place by Jan. 11 in order for a 48-game season to be played beginning eight days later.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
NEW YORK, N.Y. - After six long months of negotiations, it took one extremely long night to get the NHL out of the boardroom and back on the ice.A tentative deal to end the 113-day NHL lockout was reached Sunday morning at the end of a marathon 16-hour negotiating session."We have reached an agreement on the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement, the details of which need to be put to paper," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told a news conference. "We've got to dot a lot of i's and cross a lot of t's. There's still a lot of work to be done but the basic framework of the deal has been agreed upon."Before the new CBA officially comes into effect, it must be ratified by a majority of both the league's 30 owners and the union's membership of approximately 740 players."Hopefully within a very few days the fans can get back to watching people who are skating, not the two of us," said Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association.Neither side has announced any details of the deal—which came together with the help of U.S. federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh—but according to a source, it's a 10-year agreement with an opt-out option after eight years.It also includes defined benefit pensions for the players as well as a $64.3-million salary cap in 2013-14.Other highlights, according to a source, include a seven-year contract term limit for free agents and eight years for players re-signing with the same team. The deal also includes a 35 per cent yearly variance in salary and no more than 50 per cent difference between any two seasons."Everyone is obviously relieved that it's over and done with, for all intents and purposes, and we're able to kind of move on to what we kind of enjoy doing a lot more than this," said Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan, who was involved in the negotiations.It's not clear when the season will start or exactly how many games will be played, though Winnipeg Jets defenceman Ron Hainsey—also a key figure in the negotiations—said he expects it to be 48 or 50 games.The league was on the verge of cancelling a second season due to a work stoppage. Bettman had set a deadline of Jan. 11 to get a deal done to save the season."It was a battle," said Hainsey. "Gary said a month ago it was a tough negotiation and that's what it was. The players obviously would rather not have been here but our focus now is to give the fans whatever it is—48 games, 50 games—the most exciting season we can."Hainsey said the pension ended up being a key component of the agreement."I don't think there's any doubt that the pension is the centrepiece of this deal for the players," said Hainsey.The lockout ended up costing the league 510 regular-season games—plus the all-star game in Columbus—but the most important number probably won't be revealed for at least 18 months. The NHL was coming off seven years of record revenues when the last CBA expired, hitting a high-water mark of US$3.3-billion last season, and it remains to be seen how quickly fans and sponsors will return when the puck is dropped again.After all, many hoped the league's lockout cycle would be broken when the entire 2004-05 season was cancelled to get a salary cap. But it turned out the shared history of the parties, which also includes a strike in 1992 and a lockout in 1994-95, was too much to overcome."It was concessionary bargaining right from the beginning," said Doan. "As the players, you kind of understand that and you accepted that. As much as you didn't want to, we understand that the nature of professional sports has kind of changed with the last couple CBAs starting with football and basketball and obviously hockey."We knew we were in that position and I think as a union we got the best deal we could possibly get."The NHLPA membership hired Fehr out of retirement about 21 months before the CBA expired with the express purpose of getting the players a fair shake in these negotiations. And the union's executive director made it clear that his players were still stinging after being locked out for an entire season just eight years earlier."Obviously, what happened in the last round of negotiations is the starting point for this round of bargaining," Fehr told The Canadian Press just before formal talks began with the league at the end of June. "The players made what can only be characterized as enormous concessions. And so you want to make sure that the players understand what happened the last time and that they take that as the beginnings of where things go from here."Negotiations got off to a rocky start.The first offer tabled by the NHL on July 13 was intended to be a wishlist for the sides to start from, but instead seemed to anger and galvanize the union membership. In addition to proposing that the players' share in revenue drop from 57 per cent to 43 per cent, the league suggested a range of changes to contract rules, including term limits of five years and an extended entry-level system.It would be another month before the NHLPA delivered a counter-offer.By then, it was already clear the sides were heading for another lockout once the CBA expired and when the moment of truth arrived on Sept. 15, they were nowhere near the bargaining table. Soon most of the news about the league was dominated by cancellation announcements—first a portion of the pre-season, then all of the exhibition schedule and eventually the first two weeks of the regular season.The league eventually responded with a surprise beefed-up proposal on Oct. 16 that offered an enticing carrot to players: The chance to save an 82-game season. It included a 50-50 split of revenues and required the deal to be signed off on within nine days."If we didn't do it now, if we didn't put an offer on the table that we thought was fair and could get us playing hockey ... then it probably wasn't going to happen for a while," said Bettman. "It's done in the spirit of getting a full season in."Fehr and the players didn't blink. They returned 48 hours later with three proposals and an impressive roster of attendees, including Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews, and saw all three shot down by Bettman in a matter of minutes.More cancellation announcements followed, including the Jan. 1 Winter Classic outdoor game between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium. The losses were mounting. Bettman told reporters that each day came at a cost of almost $20 million per day for the league.The first true surge of optimism arrived during the first week of December, when Crosby and four new owners, including Pittsburgh's Ron Burkle, joined the process and brought a more conciliatory tone. The first day of talks stretched past midnight and ended with NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr calling it the "best day" of talks.That was immediately followed by another lengthy session the following afternoon where proposals were exchanged and tempers were heated.On the third day, it went off the rails. Donald Fehr presented a new proposal, told reporters the sides were so close they were virtually on top of each other and then quickly returned to announce the league was pulling its latest offer from the table. Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly followed with an emotional 30-minute press conference, where the commissioner was asked about the possibility of losing a second season on his watch."Am I unhappy about the prospect? You bet I am," said Bettman. "It's absolutely something that torments me. But by the same token I have a long-term responsibility to this game and to the fans of the game to make sure we have a healthy product. Too many people are forgetting where we were 10 years ago. And the fact is we didn't have a healthy game, and we had too many franchises that couldn't continue."We did what we had to do in 2004 to make it right, and we're focused with our owners on what we need to make this game healthy for our fans."The frustration was shared by everyone involved. Crosby returned to a practice rink in suburban Pittsburgh, where he spent the majority of his time staying sharp during the lockout, and told reporters he wouldn't re-enter negotiations."This stuff is getting ridiculous, (losing) all these games," said Crosby. "I'm here to play hockey, I'm not here to negotiate. I support the players. I witnessed how hard guys worked and how bad they want this to work."But to see this happen, it's terrible. It makes everyone look bad."
The window to make a deal finally opened Dec. 27 in the form of a 288-page proposal emailed from Bettman to Fehr. In it, the league softened demands on contract lengths and salary variance, and reintroduced $300 million in deferred payments to help ease the transition to a system where revenues are split 50-50.That sparked a resumption of negotiations on New Year's Eve—just steps from Times Square, where thousands of revellers gathered—and kicked off the push to the finish. A series of proposals were exchanged as the sides moved closer together and when talks were in danger of getting off track, Beckenbaugh stepped in to ensure they didn't.He spent almost 13 hours shuttling between independent meetings with the two sides on Friday and got them back together at the bargaining table on Saturday afternoon. That's where the deal was signed to save a shortened NHL season.

Bill Daly tells CP 48-game NHL season seems "more and more" likely

Calgary Flames' Cory Sarich, top, crashes into the Edmonton Oilers' Taylor Hall during first period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton on Friday, March 16, 2012. The NHL is most likely to play a 48-game season after its new collective bargaining agreement is ratified.Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press on Monday morning that it's looking \
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Calgary Flames' Cory Sarich, top, crashes into the Edmonton Oilers' Taylor Hall during first period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton on Friday, March 16, 2012. The NHL is most likely to play a 48-game season after its new collective bargaining agreement is ratified.Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press on Monday morning that it's looking \"more and more\" like that is the maximum number of games that can be fit in.THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Ulan
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The timeline for the start of a shortened NHL season remained up in the air one day after the league and NHL Players' Association shook hands on a tentative deal to end the lockout.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press on Monday morning that hope for a 50-game schedule had already faded as the sides continued to finalize the memorandum of understanding their constituents will each vote on later in the week.As a result, the league is expected to return with a 48-game season starting Jan. 19, assuming there are no major hiccups before then."It depends on ratification timeline for PA, but it's looking more and more like 48 games is going to be the only option," Daly said in an email.
The NHL's Board of Governors is scheduled to gather in New York on Wednesday afternoon to hold a ratification vote. A schedule had yet to be formally laid out for the players to cast ballots, but it's believed the NHLPA wants to give them time to review the document—meaning they likely won't be able to wrap up a vote before Saturday.Both sides need to get majority support to adopt the tentative deal they reached early Sunday morning following a marathon 16-hour negotiating session. Even after announcing the tentative agreement around 6 a.m., they went right back to work on the language of the new pension plan, which ended up being the final major hurdle for them to cross in negotiations.A 50-game schedule held appeal for both sides, but the league figured it needed to start to start the season in the middle of next week to make it work. That simply won't happen.The NHL played a 48-game schedule following the 1994-95 lockout and that allowed for a balanced intraconference schedule for what was then a 26-team league.It's going to be a little more complicated this time around. The NHL is planning to have teams play three games against the 10 opponents within the same conference but outside their division. They will then have an unbalanced schedule against division rivals, with five games against two teams and four against the two others, according to a source.On Sunday, the league has circulated a memo to teams telling them to be ready to play by Jan. 19. That is the date the shortened season is most likely to start.The shortened schedule will force a number of changes to the NHL calendar. The league has proposed an April 5 trade deadline and July 5 opening to free agency, but the sides have yet to agree on that.The scheduled June 28-29 entry draft at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., might also need to be pushed back.Even though the ink had yet to run dry on the new CBA, teams started trying to make amends for the sport's fourth work stoppage in 20 years. The Pittsburgh Penguins issued a statement from owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle in which they offered an apology to fans."There is nothing we can say to explain or excuse what has happened over the past four months," it read.

Leafs fire Burke and appoint Nonis GM just days before season expected to start

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke attends the year end press briefing in Toronto on Tuesday, April 10, 2011. The Leafs are making a stunning move just days before the regular season is expected to start.A source tells The Canadian Press that Burke is out as general manager of the NHL team.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
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Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke attends the year end press briefing in Toronto on Tuesday, April 10, 2011. The Leafs are making a stunning move just days before the regular season is expected to start.A source tells The Canadian Press that Burke is out as general manager of the NHL team.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped a bomb on the hockey world Wednesday, firing general manager Brian Burke and replacing him with his protege Dave Nonis.The surprising news comes just days before the lockout-shortened season is about to begin.The league and its players agreed to a tentative agreement over the weekend to end the lockout. The league's board of governors is holding a ratification vote Wednesday in New York.Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment president Tom Anselmi made the announcement at a hastily called news conference in Toronto. He said Burke will remain with the Leafs as a senior adviser.The decision came after MLSE's new ownership group conducted an exhaustive review of all the company's properties and concluded it was time for a change in the Leafs front office."We've decided to make a leadership change and move in a different direction for the general manager role," said Anselmi.
MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, who is in New York to attend the NHL meetings said it was "a decision of the board."When asked if he had a role in the decision too he said "Well I'm on the board."Anselmi said there was not "one incident or any one thing" that led to Burke's dismissal."This was a decision that the board and myself collectively made," Anselmi said. "It's the product of a conversation that has been going on for some time."The sale of MLSE to BCE and Rogers Communications was finalized in August. Anselmi said the operational review began sometime after that.Nonis and Burke have a long history after working together in Vancouver before coming to the Leafs."I've worked for Brian for most of my adult life and he's always been a great friend and mentor," Nonis said.Burke held the Leafs job for just over four years. The team missed the playoffs in every season under his watch and is coming off a disappointing 13th-place finish in the Eastern Conference in 2011-12.They made a head coaching change late last season, hiring Randy Carlyle to replace Ron Wilson.Before being named GM and team president in November 2008, Burke spent three-plus seasons managing the Anaheim Ducks and guided them to a Stanley Cup win in 2007.He also previously served in the NHL front office as senior vice-president and director of hockey operations and as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks and Hartford Whalers. The 57-year-old Providence, R.I., native was also GM of the 2010 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team.He arrived in Toronto as a somewhat divisive figure. Some fans hailed him as the saviour of the franchise, while others worried he wouldn't be capable of rebuilding a team that hasn't appeared in a playoff game since 2004.Burke wasn't afraid to make some big moves during his time with the Maple Leafs.He landed Dion Phaneuf in a seven-player deal with Calgary in 2010 and the defenceman was named team captain. But Burke's most hotly debated trade was a 2009 deal with Boston, when he acquired sniper Phil Kessel for two first-round draft picks and a second-round selection.The Bruins used the picks to select star forward Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton and Jared Knight.
Nonis won't have much time to prepare.The league and union reached a tentative agreement to end the 113-day lockout last weekend. Pending ratification from both sides, the NHL is targeting a 48-game season that would begin Jan. 19."We're going to have a very short window in order to make some decisions about this hockey team," said Nonis. "We're going to focus on that right now."

ITS 4:10PM WED JAN 9,13.THE 30-0 RATIFICATION OF NHL OWNERS IS COMPLETE. THE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION WILL RATIFY THE CBA BY SAT JAN 12,13.AND IF THIS HAPPENS.SAT THE SCHEDUALE WILL COME OUT AND SUNDAY JAN 13,13 THE TRAINING CAMPS WOULD BEGIN AND THE FIRST NHL OF 2012-13 WOULD BEGIN SAT JAN 19,13.

NHL's Board of Governors ratifies new CBA

Wednesday, 01.09.2013 / 4:26 PM / News



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1NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League's Board of Governors today ratified the terms of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Hockey League Players' Association.



Details of the new Agreement will be made available following completion of the formal ratification process by the members of the NHLPA.

NHL players vote to ratify labour deal will last from Thursday night until Saturday morning

Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in New York. NHL owners ratified the tentative labor deal on Wednesday. All that now remains is player approval to finally start the hockey season. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in New York. NHL owners ratified the tentative labor deal on Wednesday. All that now remains is player approval to finally start the hockey season. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK, N.Y. - NHL players will have 36 hours from Thursday night until Saturday morning to vote on the new labour deal that would end the four-month lockout.The players' association announced that electronic voting will begin Thursday at 8 p.m. EST and will last until Saturday at 8 a.m. The union said it will announce the result after voting is finished.If a majority of the more than 700 players choose to accept the deal that NHL owners unanimously ratified on Wednesday, training camps will open Sunday, and a 48-game regular season will begin Jan. 19.A tentative agreement was reached early Sunday, the 113th day of the lockout, after a 16-hour negotiating session in New York.The new deal is for 10 years, but either side can opt out after eight. The previous collective bargaining agreement was in effect for seven seasons.The lockout began on Sept. 16, and forced the cancellation of 510 games, beginning with opening day on Oct. 11. The outdoor Winter Classic and the All-Star game were also wiped out this season.The NHL says it will release a new schedule once the ratification process is completed.A memorandum of understanding that has been in the drafting process by the two sides this week must be signed before training camps open.The players' association wanted as much of the document as possible to be completed before voting began.Leading up to Thursday's start time for voting, the union has been busy calling players and agents to educate them about the changes and additions to the tentative agreement.Assuming the deal is approved by the players, as expected, there will be only six days between the opening of camps and the start of the season. No preseason games will be played.

PA voting window ends; sides await results

Saturday, 01.12.2013 / 12:46 PM / News

NHL.com



The National Hockey League Players' Association has finished voting on ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the National Hockey League, but has yet to announce the results."Per agreement with the NHL, we will announce results of player vote later today," the Union said through its Twitter account. "Discussions to finalize the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] continue this morning."
Both sides have to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the mechanics of the provisions of the ratified CBA to kick in and for the 2012-13 season to begin.If the MOU is signed by both sides Saturday, teams could open training camps Sunday, with the regular season reportedly to begin Jan. 19.The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Wednesday to ratify the new 10-year CBA.

NHL players vote in favour of ratifying new collective bargaining agreement

TORONTO - It's the news hockey fans have been waiting to hear.NHL players have voted in favour of ratifying the collective bargaining agreement that was reached last weekend.A union statement made it clear that a written memorandum of understanding consistent with what the players voted on must be completed before the CBA becomes final.The NHLPA and the NHL continue their work to finalize the memorandum.
When completed, it will clear the way for training camps to open Sunday and a 48-game regular season to begin next Saturday.The 36-hour electronic voting process for the 700-plus players ended this morning.
A tentative agreement was reached last Sunday on the 113th day of the lockout.The two sides finally got a deal completed after a 16-hour negotiating session in New York and assistance from federal mediator Scot L. Beckenbaugh.NHL team owners ratified the deal Wednesday.The new deal is for 10 years, but either side can opt out after eight.The previous collective bargaining agreement was in effect for seven seasons.The lockout began in mid-September and forced the cancellation of 510 games, including the Winter Classic and all-star game.The NHL has said it will release a new schedule once the ratification process is completed.
No pre-season games will be played.Many NHL players have taken part in informal skates at practice rinks over the last week to prepare for the shortened camp and season.

THE 2012-13 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE SEASON WILL OFFICIALLY BEGIN TOMORROW WITH TRAINING CAMPS OPENING AROUND THE NHL.ON  SAT JAN 19,13 ,THE LEAGUE STARTS THE REGULAR SCHEDUALE.GO LEAFS GO.I WANT USE TO GO FAR INTO THE PLAYOFFS WITH LUONGO AND REIMER AS OUR LEAF GOALIES.I HOPE WE GET LUONGO.THE TRADE HAS NOT BEEN DONE YET AS OF JAN 12,13.

Reports: Gomez, Redden placed on waivers

Wednesday, 01.16.2013 / 12:26 PM / News

NHL.com




Scott Gomez of the Montreal Canadiens and Wade Redden of the New York Rangers were placed on waivers in order to facilitate buying out their contracts, according to multiple reports.The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association on Tuesday agreed on a change in compliance buyout rules, allowing teams to buy out player contracts prior to Saturday.In the new Collective Bargaining Agreement agreed to recently by the NHL and the NHLPA, clubs were permitted two "compliance" buyouts to take place during the 2013 and/or 2014 offseasons in order to ease the transition to a lower salary cap.
The new agreement allows teams to use one of those compliance buyouts prior to the start of this season. However, the player's full salary for the 2012-13 season still would count against the team's cap.Players that are bought out will become unrestricted free agents, eligible to sign with any team.Gomez is owed $10 million over the next two seasons and carries a salary-cap hit of nearly $7.5 million. Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin had said the plan was to keep Gomez out of the lineup this season in order to avoid injury and allow the Habs to buy out the final season of Gomez’s deal over the summer.Redden also has $10 million and two seasons remaining on a six-year, $39 million contract he signed with the Rangers before the 2008-09 season. The 35-year-old Redden has spent the past two seasons playing for the Connecticut Whale of the AHL.Should Gomez and Redden clear waivers, they will become available to sign with any club as early as Thursday at noon.

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