The Associated Press reported on Thursday afternoon that federal mediators are still involved in the NHL labour talks and the league’s deputy commissioner Bill Daly told AP in an email that the league has had “some back and forth with the mediator.”
“Too early to say whether we will be meeting,” Daly wrote on the 89th day of the league’s lockout. “Ultimately up to the mediator.”
You can read more by clicking here.
Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman wrote Wednesday night: “If all a mediator is going to do is ask the players, ‘Would you accept the owners’ most recent offer if it was put back on the table?’ then it’s a useless process.”
You can read Friedman’s column by clicking here.
Meanwhile, former Habs great and Hall of Famer Bob Gainey celebrated his 59th birthday on Thursday. Gainey stepped down as a special adviser to the Canadiens on March 29, 2012, the same day GM Pierre Gauthier was fired. Gainey is now a senior adviser of hockey operations for the Dallas Stars.
Find out where Red Fisher ranked Gainey in his Top 10 Canadiens list by clicking here.
(Photo by Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
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Forget about having a hockey season this year, the sport will never be the same once it comes back.
The word “optimism” and any variations to the word should be scrapped from all dictionaries.
“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “
Heads up Amigos! Dogs vs Wolves on TVASH at 8:00pm
Just a heads up – Bulldogs game on TVA at 8 bells…
Thanks Ron, would have missed it. Didn’t check the tv line up today.
Sorry jols, you beat me to it.
No worries. I’m just excited we got some Bulldog’s action tonight. And in 2 weeks the WJC starts. I’m super pumped for that, like every year. Screw the NHL and the NHLPA. Bring on the kids going for Gold.
Hey, did I hear Pedaneau right? The Dogs called up Olivier Fortier today to replace Paloosh and. The Airline lost his Bags so he is not going to play tonight?
I can’t understand a thing. I’m an anglais Hab Fan through and through. Lol. That would suck though. LL started the game with a little fire lite under him…
Here is Canada’s WJC 2013 team. Ian’s (Subban) and Front’s (Harrington) home towns are represented. Any other HIO members have their hometown boys on the roster?
http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/feature/?id=81742
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Huberdeau plays for my hometown SeaDogs. So watched him alot.
JC Lipon, who’s been playing in the ‘Loops. My dad has seasons, and says he’s terrific. For an undrafted kid, this is huge.
Can the players and the league please stop torturing us and give us some hockey for Jan/Feb…..Its all i want for Xmas…..
The Price is RIGHT!
Tom Wilson released from WJC camp…some poster was raving about him recently.
Now Dumba is released.
Someone also was saying Drouin was too young and would not make it as there were too many good more mature forwards. Good to see the coaches thought different.
Effort only beats talent when talent doesn’t work…no fear of that there.
Ron, I think you are talking about me.
I said Drouin was too young to be one of Team Canada’s biggest offensive forces.
I did not say he was too young to make it. I said he was too young to light up the tournament.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
I knew someone had made the remark, not sure who. He may surprise us all as too how he performs. If he has good line mates his point totals may be greater than people think. If he’s good enough talent wise the age should not hinder him from lighting it up anymore or less than someone else IMO. His talent level is high and he has been playing against players older and bigger players this year. He should beable to take whatever comes his way.
Shocked that Dumba got cut. Some had him as top Dman in last years draft.
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Three Bruns! Yuk!!
I think I mentioned Wilson. I wasn’t so much raving about him but just wishing the Habs had a prospect like him. 6’4, loves to fight, crushes opponents with big hits and is skilled enough to be invited to Team Canada. The Habs have nothing like him and way too many 5’8 to 5’11s in their prospect pool. That’s all.
Not a criticism but a heads up.
I know HabFab. Just wish we had him in our system.
BTW, Thanks a lot for always posting great links. You are one of the reasons I visit this site daily. Great work.
Why thank you, and I started reading here mainly because of an original poster called nightmare_49. Who I try to honor by doing this, a fraction of what he used to do. He is sadly no longer with us.
Whhhhhattttttttt?
I didn’t know.
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Go Habs Go!
AHL article on Lefebvre;
http://theahl.com/lefebvre-provides-steady-hand-for-young-bulldogs–p180814
Article on Fortier being recalled to the Bulldogs;
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4522761
alright boys and girls, I’ve looked over about 1000000000000 2013 mock drafts and a lot of them have the Canadiens as picking a Finnish defenseman Rasmus Ristolainin in the first round.
What do u guys know about him?? all the scouting reports I’ve read are EXTREMELY generic………
I don’t know how they can do a Mock Draft when they have absolutely no idea where the Habs finish, must have too much time on their hands.
Sometimes it is best to report an event within its limited context and let it stand as that. The auction of the forum seat signed by 6 ‘current habs players’ is one such time.
The best that they could have done for this story was simply state “A seat from the forum would be auctioned to raise money for charity. Six current HABS players have been asked and have agreed to sign the seat.” Good enough!
But to then add the “history of the forum” and then add a story about the Rocket was just too much for me. How do the six players who signed this chair have any connection to the history of the forum or the greatness of the rocket. They were lucky they were allowed to sign the damn chair. And I include everyone of them including Carey Price.
Look at the bleddy names. Gorges, Armstrong, Moen, etc. Freakin F!
I couldnt help but recollect the stooopid, very very stooopid comment from someone on the HABS team under Carbonneau saying (and I paraphrase) that former players were hanging around to bask in the success that team was having.
Leave our heroes and storied past alone. They do not need signatures from ‘current’ habs. In fact the juxtaposition of this lot with the glorious icons (forum, Rocket, etc) of the past serves only to mislead young fans into misunderstanding altogether how truly great and exceptional those icons (teams,stars, buildings) were.
Maybe it’s uncharitable of me but I am more depressed than impressed by the pairing of the present with the past in this instance.
In the 1950′s and 1960′s NHL hockey was filled with talented players who went all out every night or else. The minors could be your new home.
Players underpaid but still about 4 times the average worker. They were motivated to play their best, they had summer jobs, traveled by train and play a 70 game schedule and two rounds of playoffs. Everything rapped up by April.
Fans could afford the game and took it for granted
Players tried to unionize but were stopped.
The owners and the fans were the big winners, the players, played for money and for the most part didn’t feel deprived, but lucky.
Now move ahead 60 some odd years and you have the exact opposite.
The players are making millions, multi-millions, hundreds of thousands of dollars.
You have too long of a season, with too many teams, and players that are too rich and secure to really give a damn, for the most part.
Huge contracts, huge money, and the need for more and more of course.
Average fans are priced out of the games even if you can afford insane prices for everything (you have to be insane to pay that kind of dough for a nights, years entertainment.)
So who is ahead some fifty years later. The players!
Which system was better, the 50′s or now. For me it was the 50′s and 60′s….the fans were the winner. Never thought about contracts etc. Simpler times.
wjc
Yeah because in this day and age, it would be logical for a NHL player to make 500K per season, while baseball players make 25 million per season.
Any other ridiculous opinions to share?
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Go Habs Go!
Yes actually he has a million of them
“Et le but!”
I shoulda known to ask that question, but I so rarely reply to him…
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Go Habs Go!
Bill J, not replying to me means you have nothing to come back with.
Probably takes you ten minutes to write a sentence.
I don’t care if you respond, you have nothing to say.
wjc
Bill J. do you make this up as you go along.
You are scary.
wjc
lol! From you, that’s a vote of sanity.
Thanks.
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Go Habs Go!
Bill J, you are one sentence wonder.
wjc
All baseball players make 25,000,000.00 per season, are you nuts.
Do you have an idea (probably not, not expecting an answer) the revenue’s baseball brings in?
wjc
Yeah, damn Lindsay and Harvey for creating a players union!!
Keep posting your revisonist drivel. It provides a little comedy.
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Ka is a wheel.
Fans Theme: “You’re Breaking my heart, You’re tearin’ it apart” – Harry Nilsson
You’re breaking my heart
Zep, right over your head…..right over your head. How old are you 12 years old. I wasn’t damning the players of that era, or making a value judgement. I was simply comparing era’s. I find the modern era lacking.
You need to go and talk to some players of that era and find out what they think of this present group of rinky dink greedy players.
They are not to look up to, but scorned.
wjc
I’d love to meet a 12 year old Led Zeppelin fan.
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Go Habs Go!
I know a 12 year old Beatles fan, silly boy.
wjc
Harvey and Lindsay did not create a players union, it fizzled. Alan Eagleson created the players union in the late 60′s.
wjc
You do know HI/O is not Wikipidia right? Just because you wrote it here, doesn’t make it the truth.
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Go Habs Go!
Scott Burnside on a compromise deal put together by an unnamed NHL governor:
http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/20739/rest-easy-weve-got-your-new-cba-right-here
And Fehr would say ” Got them on the ropes now boys! They are starting to give in. Hold out and they will give more, mark my words.”
Sorry, wish I wasn’t so cynical but… would love to be proven wrong!!!!
OHL BELLEVILLE BULLS!
George Burnett is the coach, and this year he has his team 1st in their conference and 2nd in the league.
All with the worst power play in the league, and the worst goals for stat in the league.
But they have the best goals against stat in the league.!!
Can I say that he has a similar hockey philosophy as one Mr. Jacques Martin, at least this year.
Anyway we have a game Sat, night against the Mississauga Steel-heads.
The General Mgr. and head coach of Mississauga is James Boyd who live with us for 3 years while he was playing here for the Belleville Bulls. One of the finest young men that I had the pleasure of billeting.
And the results are in;
DarrenDreger – Doesn’t sound like PA is willing to work with the NHL’s 3 main issues. League responded by saying it won’t budge. No progress. As you were.
Update: Players have executive board conference call this evening to update things
Its the unstoppable force vs immovable object egowise.
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“Access Forbidden” gettin’ ya down?
Hold down Shift while clicking refresh.
Bettman has said publicly that a 48 game season is acceptable as a minimum, legit season.
check the calender, calculate when a 48 game schedule has to start, subtract 10 days for training camp, and PRESTO!, that’s when the agreement will be reached.
I think that’s somewhere around mid January for shts sake!
Last time it was a January 20th start.
“for shts sake”??
before the lockout it was “for pete’s sake”. I’m losing it a bit.
I hear you!
Whatever series of events that would lead to a 20 or even 24 team NHL is exactly what I want to happen! The threat of contraction seems too good to be true, but I’m going to cross my fingers, pray to Santa, and hope for the best.
Don’t think its going to happen but if your a good boy Santa might forget about leaving you some of that Minto coal in your stocking this year.
I can see it happening when the players decertify their union and it goes back to pre-union days. Players stay with the team that drafts them forever, no free agents, poor performance or major injury and you’re gone. About 6 teams worth of players will go to Europe to play forever…didn’t realize I missed the old days so much
Don’t get me wrong Frank, I would love to see a 24 team league. Not as much watered down talent. Loved the league as a young fellow and actually worshiped the Hab players. Couldn’t wait for the Star Weekly each week to see if a Hab was the center pic during hockey season. Great memories.
Ron, actually was being passive aggressive with Sean who believes the decertification will benefit the players. Was giving the opposite results to those expected by the PA supporters. Sorry I dragged you in buddy.
Drag me along like a dirty rag Frank I love it haha. I still would like to see a smaller size league. Could go with the pay for play as well.
Frank, given the precedents set in the cases surrounding Baseball’s “reserve clause” it is highly, highly doubtful the players would lose the right to free agency.
There are many things they could lose as a result of decertification… that isn’t one of them.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
Ben, you are a spoil sport! No one knows how decertification will turn out, least of all me. Just having some fun using reverse logic.
Yay! Calvillo is coming back for another season.
http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=411568
I don’t follow football, but just from the little I’ve heard of him, I’m glad he’ll be back in MTL, he seems like a nice guy and a great QB too.
He is both of those things. Getting a little long in the tooth but the man can still play.
Thanks for the info Blondie!
He is a great quarter back. But he needs the very best front 4 that Trustman can put on the line to protect him from contact.
He still has his head and arm but the legs and body is shot at 40! something like mine at 70.
Anthony!!!!!
Why? Time for ALS to move on.
All Bettman is trying to to is Break the Union like last time in 04 where the League got Bob Goodenow to quit. Breaking Unions seem to be the thing in the USA these days, sure they are powerful now to some extent but get rid of them and in a few years wages and benefits well drop right of the table. Look at some States now construction jobs are getting almost minimum wage with no benefits after people were allowed to leave Unions. BEWARE!!!
You aren’t the first person to mention this, I am not sure breaking the union is the goal. That would mean no union afterwards, and without a union the league is screwed.
I think the owners want what is advertised, 50/50 split, 5 year term contracts, 10 year term CBA.
I think it is that simple.
Whether its fair is another thing, but those demands don’t strike me as a broken down union.
It seems to me that that deal is quite fair and would be accepted by players if given a chance to vote. I don’t know this for sure of course, but I won’t let facts get in the way of a good post.
When asked directly on Sportsnet last Thursday by Damien Cox, PK tried not to say that he would acccept that deal, but managed to “skate” around the question.
The PA won’t accept the deal for the simple reason that it was proposed by the NHL, and to agree would be a sign of weakness. A week from now, this is the deal that gets ratified, I my completely unsubstantiated opinion. IMCUO
“man, I love winnin’; you know, it’s like better than losin’?”-
Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh
It seems to me that the only thing the players can really object to is the 5-year contract limit. I think their argument that it would squeeze out the “middle class” of players has some merit. If the top guys get five years, the next level would be struggling to get three. It makes for less job security. But I don’t see why the two sides can’t simply split the difference – make contracts six years at most or even seven.
Sports teams are not supposed to have “job security”. Middle class players, what a bunch of bull shoot.
Job security for hockey players, what about guaranteed jobs for life.
Ever heard of “you are as good as your last game.” Ever heard of best players available make the team.
Split the difference, everything is “split the difference”, how about take or leave it.
wjc
Josh Hamilton to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 5 years 125 million.
And from the you thought Scott Gomez’s contract was bad department…. Vernon Wells is now a backup OF on the Angels and is owed 42 million over the next two years.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
It could be worse Ben. The Mets are still paying Bobby Bonilla.
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You can do a lot with 37,500 X 81 games, playoffs, TV, and hot dogs in the sun.
And Fehr say’s this is the ideal Sport in labor relations…some body always gets the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEaRCAcfOEQ
I presume Red’s Top Ten Habs list deliberately only includes skaters.
Because there’s a couple or three goalies missing from his list.
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Apparently the two sides are unable to decide whether they can bear to be in the same room!
!
أول
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
لحم خنزير مقدد
I put that in google images and got Tupac…
I got bacon, eggs and ham and some other non kosher stuff.
I got evicted. http://www.gizmag.com/go/1808/ed.
No, you may not blow up HIO.
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“Access Forbidden” gettin’ ya down?
Hold down Shift while clicking refresh.
Can I bacon it though?
Sorry, can you repeat that??????
He said first.
“Bettman شیطان بزرگ است”
Ticket prices are NOT set by the salary they pay the players.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
lol, frankly your reply was far more ahole’ish.
I wonder why it offended you that much?
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Go Habs Go!
I thought it was a perfectly reasonable response from BillJ given the basic facts and the history of Trolly McOwnersShill’s posts.
I can understand how people don’t want to contribute to Scott Gomez’s arguably undeserved income. I don’t see how this translates into “Gee I would like to put more money in Jeremy Jacobs’ pocket.” Because rest assured that not one cent of player concessions (and this whole lockout purely about how big those concessions will be) will go to reduced ticket prices.
But in order to address the original post, while I agree that getting paid millions of dollars a year is a pretty sweet gig, the fact that fansare willing to shell out $3.3 billion dollars a year to see the best 700 or so hockey players in the world do their thing pretty much sets that market price. So all of the Ayn Randian asshats who pretend to believe in meritocracy can just suck on that.
In a practical sense beyond the marketplace dynamics there is an element of fair compensation that makes the average compensation make a little more sense. An average NHL player has essentially spent 20 years to become among the best 1000 or so in his profession worldwide. He bypasses an education and a career to do this. And then before the age of 30, it is over.By that point he probably has a wife and kids and going back to school might not be a great option. Soif he ends up with a paid off house and a couple million dollars in the bank I don’t think that is unfair nor I feel slighted in comparison to my “average” income.
“Et le but!”
First paragraph….name calling…clever
Jeremy Jacobs…I get it you hate him. But what I don’t get is your undying love for Molson.
Now I will say something that will fly over your head, but what the heck.
Supply and demand….that is how tickets and pay per view are sold.
When there is high demand…more demand then supply, then prices will go up, up, up, up, until demand diminishes. This is basic marketing 101. Nothing to do with revenues. In a poorer market where supply is more then demand….prices go down.
What I would like to see and would find quite entertaining would be the players win and win big (if that were possible). The players make bigger and bigger pay days and the owners decide that owning hockey in this modern era not worth the return. Start selling off, with nobody else nuts enough to put up with spoiled players.
Then the fans would see what the league would be like if the tail wagged the dog. As fans you should want a strong NHL with strong ownership, not a bunch of rich irresponsible players screwing everything they see.
wjc