one thing to keep in mind is that even though the nhl is getting paid by nbc regardless of a lock-out or season this year, the nhl DOES NOT want to lose one of it most popular, expensive and crossover appeal events like the winter classic…

if you ask me…the owners are willing to wait it out as far as mid november…i hope it’s sooner…but the only trump card the nhlpa has (besides being more unified than ever before) – the nhl not wanting to lose the winter classic game….and getting a deal done in time for that to take place…

also, convincing that the larger markets should help out the smaller markets simply because it’s not only the right thing to do, but makes long-term earning potential even greater…if these markets can grow, that only helps everyone else,,,

however, i completely agree with yr thoughts on the whol contraction debate…

in my hockey narnia…:
- the season would be no longer than 70-74 games…
- there would be 26, maybe 28 teams, spread evenly (14/14) per conference…
- i would ditch the divisions and keep the super conference idea alive and maybe augment a few things with it…
- i would relocate a suffering team either in harford, las vegas, seattle, oklahoma city or somewhere else in canada -maybe hamilton…
- i would make some hard choices regarding franchises like the islanders, panthers, coyotes and even the devils…
- i would put detroit in the eastern conference immediately…
- i would put a cap on contract term – no more than five years + a sixth as either a player or team option….
- i would rewrite the rules regarding rfa’s and entry-level term and salary cap…
- i would change the waiver/trade system and make it similar to baseball’s faux “deadline”…
- i would push back free agency owards the middle or end of july…it makes more sense to me….and even though this might hurt the players somewhat, i think strategically as far as image and promotions go, it’s the right thing to do….
- i would definitely let nhl players play in the olympics…
- i would establish a better relationship with the khl and start to renegotiate more feasible transfer fees that are based upon actual khl team revenue rather than an auction process…and to make sure the bidding is capped to preempt any type of overspending…
- i would make no-touch off sides the rule…
- i would demand the nhl create a committee, overseen by a third-party with no conflict of interest (perhaps an arbiter or a mutual, agreeable agency) to make the investment in improving all hockey equipment and addressing a new type of helmet – the messier project comes to mind, but i’m unsure if they’re ready to go…
- i would keep the redline invisible regarding two-line passes…
- i would strongly consider tighter regulation on goalie equipment size…
- i would keep shanny and his video explanations – he and it will get better – i think it’s a revolutionary idea…
- if the owners want a hard cap, then if they find rules/loopholes and do nefarious, inflated practices, like overpaying for players via free agency and/or with offer sheets or extending term to usurp cap limits, then they are the ones that MUST make concessions during the next cba…the idea is that if we give hem what they want now and they fail…much like wall street,,,there would be overwhelming proof that the league can’t police themselves, continuously making the same mistakes, augmenting the agreed said upon freedom of the league solely in charge of the growth and well-being of the sport,,,

there’s more…but that’s enough for now….:)

if i have any to left over to spend, it will probably go to getting out of debt – something that could only help me…so, in that regard, thanks, gary…(!)

bettman is no different than goodell…no different than stern…i cannot believe i’m saying this, but selig is the least egotistical of the major four sports czars – and that’s what they’ve really become: they are each the best lawyer in their respective organizations…

in this case, fehr also has the unmistakeable reputation of standing tall on principles and enduring long labor battles solely based on who’s right and who’s wrong…so, yr right – a lot of it has to do with the power allotted to these captains of industry by their respective bosses…and that includes the players staying unified as clones of fehr’s beliefs, determination and endurance – let’s just call this the “fehr factor”…

and that’s where this discussion can take a million different routes…:

- arguments in labor disputes solely based upon principles, individual earning potential and employment benefits/rights are tough to justify in this economy…meaning, even though fehr might be on the side of the angels, he’s stubbornly pretending not to notice the significant nationwide downward earning potential of the common worker..- the middle and proletarian classes…it could be said that fehr is just as egotistical as any of them…however, is it right to judge wealthy athletes to the rest of us…?

- yr option 2 above…

- the nhl is determined to follow suit of the nba’s hardline stances that they took in their own negotiations last year…we are already hearing…”the offer has an expiration date”…”it will only get less…” being echoed from bettman that the angel of stern (thank you, kornheiser), his sensei, professed during the nba’s prolonged period of strife….the nba and the nfl have laid the blueprint for bettman…all he has to do is follow the instructions – and so far, he has….both from his peers and his bosses…

- the players will always get stuck with the bill – just like the rest of us do when shit hits the fan…so, regardless of economic classes, the hierarchy and trickle-down theories remain intact from industry to industry…we don’t have a cesar chavez, or andrei sakharov or even someone with the spirits of the kennedy boys (the good stuff) to step up out of the fray and rise above and offer an equitable way out…even if the nhlpa did, would the owners even recognize it or even care….?

the world has changed and the way we look at economics has changed since the great layoff of ’08…both sides share the same arrogance and defiance…one is just more subtle than the other (nhlpa)….

there have been greater issues in life than this crap we now have to deal with as fans of a simple sport – that, at best, is the fourth most popular sport in NA…(?)…

so what looks to be as an inevitable hockey lock-out today, might bring new routes for us to discover and traverse tomorrow…

cue topol….(!)

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