[NHL] Season (or lack of) Update

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Nov. 17, 2004. 04:46 PM

Agents praise NHLPA after meeting

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO ? Player agents emerged from a five-hour meeting with the NHL Players? Association today and praised the NHLPA for opening up to them.

More than 60 agents, including such heavy hitters as Don Baizley, Don Meehan, J.P. Barry, Pat Morris, Michael Gillis, Brian Lawton and Rick Curran made their way into a conference room at an airport hotel shortly before 10 a.m. EST. The meeting broke up around 3 p.m.

They were joined by NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow, senior director Ted Saskin, associate counsel Ian Pulver and outside counsel John McCambridge.

?They did a really good job of putting substance to things we were wondering about. And now we know about them,? said Barry.

Said Meehan: ?I really thought it was beneficial so all of us could get a better understanding of the process at hand and have an opportunity at conveying thoughts and issues. All in all, I would say it was a very productive meeting.?

Added Baizley: ?This was not a fractious meeting, there wasn?t a single fractious moment in there.?

Not present was hockey legend turned agent Bobby Orr, who earlier this month challenged the union and the league to get back to the bargaining table. Orr?s agency was represented at today?s meeting by Curran.

The union hasn?t held bargaining talks with the NHL since Sept. 9 in Toronto. The lockout entered its ninth week today.

Gillis said the agents were not second-guessing the NHLPA?s game plan because it?s the league that won?t compromise:

?We all have an opportunity to make suggestions, but the bottom line is that there has to be give and take in any one of these processes,? he said. ?The players have agreed to give back, roll back (salaries), do certain things to try and address the NHL?s articulated position. If that?s not good enough there are mechanisms around that you can use to further that discussion.

?If you just say `No, you?re just not speaking our language,? what are you supposed to do about it? There?s really not anything further you can say to further the process.?

The NHLPA?s executive committee, made up of players, was also at the meeting: president Trevor Linden and vice-presidents Bob Boughner, Vincent Damphousse, Daniel Alfredsson, Bill Guerin, Trent Klatt and Arturs Irbe.

The NHLPA met with more than 70 players Nov. 2 in Toronto and plans a bigger meeting with over 200 players in the first two weeks of December, also in Toronto.

[calidude]

It has to be determined by the particular sport. Part of the problem with the NBA right now (and especially the past few years) is that they are SEVERELY over-spending on players. This past off-season was different in the fact that those players who wanted top-dollar did not get it. They mentioned this during one of the Warrior games last week that NBA franchises are not going to take risks with anybody anymore. If you pay some guy $60mil over 5 years, and he is hurt or plays like crap for even one of those years, you've lost money. But, merchandise, ticket sales, etc. are all handled differently by each sport as well.

NHL simply doesn't make enough revenue to compete with the Big 3 therefore, they can't pay their players what they want (there has to be a mutual agreement, though, as to what is proper salary). In my opinion, this is one of the most disorganized lockouts/strike that I've heard of in professional sports.

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Yes I would definitely agree on that. And maybe baseball as well (we all know a team or two who have excessive salaries I am sure... :devil: ) But to get back on topic, I have known for a while that NHL was the smallest by far out of the big four, therefore naturally they can't pay their players as much as the NFL, NBA, and MLB teams can. However, since you said in your post above about the mutual agreement as to what is proper salary; this means that things could likely change from year to year (if I am correct that is). :unsure: Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. :)

[Fred Derf Veteran]

`The beer drinker acknowledges that the hockey season is the best time for drinking beer.'

Rob Assimakopoulos, Molson Canadian marketing VP

Nov. 25, 2004. 01:00 AM

`We're sick of it already'

While fans may miss hockey, advertisers are feeling the NHL lockout even more

So it's no surprise ad campaigns plead for the game's return, by Chris Zelkovich

CHRIS ZELKOVICH

Boy George doesn't normally conjure up images of hockey and beer, but one of Canada's major breweries is hoping the cross-dressing singer can do the job.

Molson recently launched a new ad campaign called "Hockey, Please Come Back."

It features downcast hockey fans lamenting the NHL lockout by singing the Boy George and Culture Club 1982 hit, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me."

It's the second ad campaign with a lockout theme. A Nike ad showed ice melting on a deserted rink accompanied by the message, "bring it back."

"It's a representation of how the fan feels," said Molson Canadian marketing vice-president Rob Assimakopoulos.

"Our beer drinker was telling us it's time to speak out about this. We're sick of it already."

The melting ice ad, spokesperson Derek Kent said, was in line with previous Nike commercials promoting the end of baseball and basketball labour strife.

"We understand how Canadians feel and we want to see the game brought back," he says.

And while both ads are aimed at striking a chord with unhappy hockey fans, the fact is advertisers are missing hockey as much as the fans are ? maybe more.

Beer and sporting goods manufacturers have always relied on the NHL to reach their target audience, mainly because nothing else in Canada delivers the huge numbers of young males.

"We look at hockey as something special," said ad buyer Sunni Boot, president of Optimedia Canada in Toronto. "NHL hockey engages male viewers of all ages in a very special way."

Boot said some ad dollars traditionally aimed at NHL fans have been going to other sports broadcasts.

"The CFL and the Grey Cup were great, but leaving the CFL season, our concern is where the dollars are going."

While some of that money went to the CFL, NFL and NBA, some of it is heading off sports broadcasts and into areas such as in-store promotions and other media.

For now though, Molson is sticking mainly with sports to reach its traditional young male audience. The lockout ad will run during sports news broadcasts, various games and in non-sports programs that have a high percentage of young male viewers.

That means you probably won't see it during Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

As part of the campaign, Molson has opened a toll-free line (1-866-MISS-HKY) for disgruntled fans. It offers survival advice such as stuffing a bag with dirty laundry and then sniffing it a week later to conjure up hockey memories.

Assimakopoulos said the ad was ticketed to run near the end of the CFL season.

"This is the time of year when people really start missing hockey," he said. "We had a great run with the CFL and the Grey Cup, but once that goes by the wayside everybody's looking to hockey.

"Our research showed us that beer drinkers felt their good times were being compromised. The beer drinker acknowledges that the hockey season is the best time for drinking beer."

He said it was "way too early" to determine whether the lockout had affected beer sales and too early to make a decision on doing variations on the lockout theme.

Boot believes the ad will strike a chord with fans.

"They'll be effective, not to end the lockout, but what it's saying is, `We hurt for you.

"`We know you're a fan and we're a fan.'"

Additional articles by Chris Zelkovich

[KZWings]

Update: And now a total of 276+ NHL players are in Europe playing hockey.

As of yesterday, November 24th:

69 days of lock-out.

597 total games canceled.

[L3thal Veteran]

:|

[anthony]

This RedWing fan is deeply saddend by the lack of NHL hockey  :(

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This Bruins fan is deeply saddend by the lack of a good Bruins team :yes:

[KZWings]

I believe i just heard this morning that if nothing is resolved by December 15th, Gary Bettman will be canceling the season. No words can describe this complete and utter nonsense. :angry: :/

[Kurt]

Or no more NHL for good.

R.I.P. NHL :unsure:

[rajputwarrior]

This Bruins fan is deeply saddend by the lack of a good Bruins team  :yes:

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i dont blame u, man they suck

<--------

[shmengie]

here in los angeles, fox sports is replaying some classic kings' games from days gone by. better'n nuthin'...

my bro lives in vegas and has season tickets to the wranglers. never thought i'd be jealous of living in vegas. guess i could drive my a$$ out to long beach for an ice dogs game...

this whole thing make me wanna pop a salary cap in some mofo's a$$!! oh yeah, i went there...

:)

[Ayepecks]

The owners need to give it UP.... seriously. I sided with them before, but now they're just whining.

They will accept nothing but a salary cap, according to Betman himself. He said no to a luxury tax -- something the players said they'd allow. Ugh. Stupid, stupid, stupid.... lose all your fans, Betty -- see if they come back.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I'm currently watching the St. John's Maple Leafs vs Birmingham. I guess that shows how desparate for hockey I am.

[bayrider]

This Bruins fan is deeply saddend by the lack of a good Bruins team  :yes:

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tell me about it... its good for us though :)

[robertobaggio2k]

damn nhl i hope they put hockey back on...its a boring winter without watching hockey and seeing those leafs wtih the cup :D

GO LEAFS GO!!

[Hills420]

The owners need to give it UP.... seriously. I sided with them before, but now they're just whining.

They will accept nothing but a salary cap, according to Betman himself. He said no to a luxury tax -- something the players said they'd allow. Ugh. Stupid, stupid, stupid.... lose all your fans, Betty -- see if they come back.

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I feel the same way.

I miss the Thrashers games with Kovalchuk doing the arm pump, on one knee, in front the opposing teams bench :)

[calidude]

I hope they get this resolved soon, and maybe with a bit of compensation too...

[CatnipOligarchy]

I feel the same way.

I miss the Thrashers games with Kovalchuk doing the arm pump, on one knee, in front the opposing teams bench :)

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we were really a rising team, if not for that midseason collapse last season, it would have been a great year.. its a shame that a year that had so much hope for this team wont even happen

[emo]

man that sucks....im a huge NJ Devils fan...

[<-_->djqball<-_->]

If your missing hockey, I feel for all of us--but on the lighter side the local OHL hockey season in London ON, is amazing--

A MUST READ :woot: http://www.londonknights.com/press/display_news.asp?news=243

here's there homepage as well---

http://www.londonknights.com/

[Steven]

ESPN.com news services

NEW YORK -- The NHL accepted an invitation from the players' association on Thursday to return to the negotiating table in an effort to end the lockout that began nearly three months ago.

In a letter sent to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday, players' association executive director Bob Goodenow proposed that the sides meet next week in Toronto and said the union is working on a new proposal.

The session will be held next Thursday and Friday at the players' association offices.

No official talks have occurred since Sept. 9, when the union made its last offer. The lockout reached its 78th day Thursday.

"We look forward to meeting with the NHL Players Association next week," said Bill Daly, the league's chief legal officer. "We are hopeful that the NHLPA's offer will be a meaningful effort to address the league's economic problems. When we receive the proposal, we will evaluate it closely and respond appropriately."

The last offer by the NHLPA was a luxury tax-based deal that was rejected by the league, and the lockout began one week later. As of Thursday, 334 regular-season games, plus the 2005 All-Star game, have been wiped out.

The offer to resume talks came just hours before Bettman updated the league's general managers during a dinner meeting in New York.

The players' association said its new proposal should provide the basis for a new collective bargaining agreement. It does not include a salary cap, a source told ESPN's Darren Pang.

"Almost three months have passed since the players made their last proposal and we have yet to receive a counteroffer from the league," Goodenow said in a statement. "We have been working hard at other creative solutions and believe our new proposal will provide a basis to end the owners' lockout and resume NHL hockey."

Bettman has said that a luxury tax won't work for the 30 NHL teams, which he claims are losing money at a pace that makes it impossible for the league to survive under the current system. He is seeking "cost certainty" for the clubs, which the union says is tantamount to a salary cap -- a solution it refuses to accept.

The league has been operating under the same collective bargaining agreement since 1995, when the last lockout -- that lasted 103 days -- ended and a truncated 48-game schedule was held. That deal was extended twice.

Bettman said that teams have lost more than $1.8 billion combined over 10 years, and that management will not agree to a labor deal without a defined relationship between revenue and salaries. Owners claim teams lost $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season.

An economic study commissioned by the NHL found that players get 76 percent of league revenues, far more than the percentage for the other major team sports. The players' association has challenged many of the league's financial findings.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1936991

[Ayepecks]

we were really a rising team, if not for that midseason collapse last season, it would have been a great year.. its a shame that a year that had so much hope for this team wont even happen

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Thrashers were one of my favorite teams to watch the past few years... if you want an example of how smart drafting helps small-market teams, they're it.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I heard this earlier to today. A reason to hope. I still blame the owners. They have all the tools required to control salaries and they still offer Martin Lapointe $5 million a season or whatever. Boston has taken a few steps to control salaries though as they walked away from two salary arbitration awards (I think that also makes it two more times than any other team).

[CatnipOligarchy]

theres hope yet.. god i hope they get this worked out

[allfive6]

I blame both side owners and players there both greedy but I back the owners on this one if there is not a cap many teams in Canada will be gone with in 5 years. Plus the player talk about there union and how there total behind it and how they don?t want t lose there union jobs but have no problem going over to Europe and taken other players jobs over there.

[Callaway]

Rather than start a new topic, players have proposed an immediate 24 percent rollback on salaries.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/

The NHL players' association offered an immediate 24 percent rollback of salaries Thursday, the centerpiece of a proposal to the league that it hopes will result in an end to the season-long lockout. The sides agreed to meet again on Tuesday.