Derrico

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I hear you, that is terrible if they go public. But I've never before heard them say 'we think we're on complete agreement with dollars.'

Wow, all had looked lost. But after hearing what the PA just said, how is a deal not done? I undestand the devil is in the details but they seem awfully close right now based on the latest update. What am I missing here??

Very bold prediction Chez. You're usually well informed with every post you make so let's hope you're right on this. I agree that I don't think they're as far off from a deal being reached as perceived in the media. But who knows, I've also said that most of the week and things are still not sounding good.

By the way, if anyone wants to see his most recent four goal performance and a bit of a (homer) writeup on the kid then it can be found below. http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/GARTH/SuperGrig/6/47465.

We know the kid can put up points. He was rated very highly in central scouting's (and other reputable scouting service) rankings. There was talk he was a top 2 or 3 pick up until last years playoffs where he was labelled as lazy and not willing to do what it takes to win. Then the mono storey came out. To me, it's great he's putting up these numbers and there's a real chance he could finish the season in Buffalo (if there is one) but I'll have to wait and see if he can perform when push comes to shove to truely get excited. If he can perform come crunch time though this guy could be a huge steal in the draft and end up being the cornerstone front line center of this franchise for years to come.

Rumor has it the players want every dime of their salary for this season rather than a pro-rated salary based on number of games this season ends up being (if we have one). That really pisses me off. True they were locked out but both of these boneheads are in this together. The only satisfaction I have right now is knowing my hard earned dollars are not going to a single one of them and they're both losing money. Players better not get a full seasons pay.

I know that nobody trusts Eklund. But for what it's worth he says not to panic and things are going fine in negotiations. http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eklund/Things-are-fine-Dont-Panic--Another-Late-Night-Ahead/1/47423

Not Sure how to post a tweet so I copied and pasted. Doesn't sound good based off this. TSNBobMcKenzie: Doesn't sound like things going well with NHL-NHLPA but doing play by play/making sense of offers we know so little about = mug's game.

Looks like Kassian is back to his old tricks. Suspended 1 game for throwing a temper tandrum in the penalty box. http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/08/ahl-suspends-zack-kassian-for-one-game/

:w00t: Very well played good sir.

Well it looks like it's lasted longer than 10 minutes this time....

Watched a bit of the Russia vs QMJHL game and Grigorenko looks dangerous almost everytime he touches the puck. I watched him a bit in September and he looks like a more confident player imo. Roy has done an excellent job with the kid. Grigorenko scored the first goal of the game and has added an assist. Several other nice passes leading to chances.

I donno. If we get 50+ games in then I think it's legit. Remember, the playoffs don't change and imo this is the most grueling sport in terms of having a playoff run. Takes two months to win it.

Very well laid out Taro, thanks.

Average Houshold Income in the USA 2008 - $54,349 2009 - $52,660 2010 - $51,625 2011 - $50,502 * Source - http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/us/ Average NHL Salary Cap 2008 - $56,700,000 2009 - $56,800,000 2010 - $59,400,000 2011 - $64,300,000 Don't look at the numbers, just look at the trend. The average US household income decreased every single year between 2008 and 2011. Additionally, the salary cap rate increased every year from 2008 to 2011. I'm not feeling bad for the players. In fact, it surprises me with all this projected growth of 5% per year. We're in tough economic times. Thank the good lord that wer're better off than in places like Greece right now. It's unfortunate that alot (well speaking for myself atleast) people use sport as a good 3 or 4 hours to get away from the stresses of the world and we won't get it. Unbelievable the league has been making record gains since the previous lockout and they're going to fight to the point of a work stopage in regards to who is taking our hard earned money. I forgot to mention that I'm on board with Drane's idea and it'd be nice if it went public. I'm from southern ontario so I'm not sure if it's feasible to make it to the event but I'll toss a few dollars to a good cause. Keep me informed if something is organized.

I don't know all of the details in regards to how the cap worked prior to expiration or how the proposed cap works. However, the way that I understand this (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) is that owners basically never honored their contracts even in the last agreement. Players are signed to contracts based on a projected cap and HRR. However, on many occasions the cap would be over estimated and that's when players would have to pay back the owners in escrow. They basically pay something like 7% of their yearly salary into escrow and if all the contracts add up to say 60% of HRR than the players actually pay back 3% of HRR collectively via the escrow payment (players would then recieve 4% of their 7% escrow payment back to them). By saying they're going 50/50 and have to 'honoring all contracts' (aka no escrow which they've always had) then in year one the breakdown will be about 60% of HRR (a far cry from 50/50). Not saying they should or shouldn't 'honor' contracts, but with this whole escrow business, it's not so cut and dry.

Is this the calm before the storm?? The NHL and NHLPA are scheduled to meet in T.O. today at 1pm. I think that obviously with any negotiation there will be posturing so I'm not sure if the NHLPA really does believe the NHL has made an unacceptable offer or they're trying to put on a media front so that they can tweak the agreement in their favour but still use it as a basis for negotiations. If the players come back with basically what they submitted a month ago then say goodbye to NHL hockey for awhile. Also, what's up with the stream of players (including Sulzer) signing with European teams over the previous two days? Is this a sign that the players still don't feel they are close to an agreement and want to get on with a season or is it the players feel a deal may be struck soon and since there will be no preseason games before the season starts Nov 2, they want some playing time?

Hey guys, haven't posted in a couple of months. This is amazing news of a new deal on the table. By not rolling back salaries (or atleast paying them back) this puts the negotiations on the fast track imo. Bettmen also said they needed 8 or 9 days to finish negotitating/finalizing everything. I like having another deadline in place rather than the 'ya maybe we'll meet next week' atitude.

Smart idea. I considered doing that as well but backed out at the last moment because it's a 2.5 hr drive to Buf and if somehow the season is saved I don't really want to be truckin it up there on a weeknight.

I also got my mini pak today and agree with everyone that it's way better being able to choose where you want to sit. Last year you could just choose certain price points and the majority of the time I was near the back and once was even in the last row. Much more freedom selecting your seating. Having said all that, poof! There goes another $1,408 on this team!

Damn! I thought last night how I should record this but completely forgot this morning. Not sure what kind of roster Canada is sending but I'm assuming it will be a mini tryout for guys looking to make the Canada World Junior Team. This may be a good pre-NHL camp test to see how Grigs stacks up to some good competition.

What happens in baseball when a team feels the pitcher intentially hits a batter? The next inning an opposing star is smoked with a baseball. It happens all the time.

I'd make this trade. 25 year old consistent 30 goal scorers don't grow on trees. This deal seems fair on both ends. Do we have any sources regarding the offer or if there are still discussions? We NEED more scoring.

I was pretty ticked they didn't have a season ending presser so atleast they're starting to make it up by having a pile now. If the rumors are true that the Sabres really offered the $100 mil + for Parise and Suter and were the ones with the big Doan offer, I'm atleast optimistic that something else will get done this summer.