SabreSpace

'"It's unfortunate," he said. "I just think that it's too bad that things couldn't have gotten worked on a lot sooner. Because it seems like it comes down to the 11th hour all the time. And there's been 11 months that they could have been working on this."' … [Read more...] about Rob Ray says NHL lockout may leave permanent black mark

Amerks equal home victory streak at 15 (Rochester D&C) It's business as usual in AHL (Rochester D&C) Amerks Tie Home Record (RNews.com) Amerks defeat Leafs 3-2, tie franchise record (Amerks.com) Rochester 3, St. John's 2 (AP) … [Read more...] about Sunday’s Rochester Coverage

NHL Talks End With No Progress (WGR-AM) No progress made in NHL talks (AP) No progress after 6 1/2 hours of NHL talks with Gretzky, Lemieux and Linden (CP) Report: 2004-05 NHL season will not be saved (Sportsticker) … [Read more...] about Saturday’s Lockout Update

'The NHL's challenge now - vital not just to the league and its teams, athletes and fans but to the businesses that depend on game-night activity - is to get serious, and quickly.' … [Read more...] about Game off for NHL

'Days after becoming the first league to cancel an entire season, the NHL may become the first to uncancel one.' … [Read more...] about NHL and players to resume talks

Home ice is nice for Amerks (Rochester D&C) Locked-out players find room in AHL (Rochester D&C) Amerks blast Barons early (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Paille's Trick leads Amerks (RNews.com) Bigger Prize May Await Amerks (RNews.com) Amerks bounce Barons 7-3 (Amerks.com) Paille Records Hat Trick For Amerks (ClevelandBarons.net) Rochester 7, Cleveland 3 (AP) … [Read more...] about Saturday’s Rochester Coverage

NHL Talks May Be Opened Again This Weekend (WGR-AM) NHL labor talks to resume Saturday in New York (AP) NHL, NHLPA to meet Saturday in New York in attempt to salvage season (CP) Possibility of NHL season still remains (Sportsticker) … [Read more...] about Friday’s Lockout Update

'"I thought about it all the way to the rink," McKee said of the season being wiped away. "It just gave me a sick feeling because I think we came a long, long way to find a deal that worked for everyone."' … [Read more...] about Things don't look better in morning for NHLers

'Ultimately, though, this is Bettman's failure. He presided over the league when it overexpanded and saw salaries soar beyond justifiable levels. It's true the NHL needs fixing. But the owners created the problem, and they miscalculated by trying to fix their salary woes in one fell swoop.' … [Read more...] about Bettman's bargaining is to blame

'With no deal even though the players finally accepted the concept of a salary cap, it’s quite likely they’ll never get a contract as good as the last proposal they turned down.' … [Read more...] about NHL steps back to step forward

Amerks crank up offense (Rochester D&C) Amerks slide by Barons (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Tonight (Cleveland Plain Dealer) Besting the Barons (RNews.com) Amerks beat Cleveland 5-3 (Amerks.com) AHL quick hits for Feb. 17th (Amerks.com) Bartovic And Pominville Double Up On Barons (ClevelandBarons.net) Barons' win streak snapped by Americans (ClevelandBarons.net) … [Read more...] about Friday’s Rochester Coverage

'Sources close to NHL/NHLPA negotiations say that Pittsburgh Penguins player/owner Mario Lemieux and Phoenix Coyotes owner Wayne Gretzky have re-entered the dispute to try to save the season.' … [Read more...] about NHL Season To Be "Un-Cancelled"?

'The cancellation of the season removes one year from any existing player contract. So a player with one year remaining will not have been paid this year and will likely end up a free agent (the exact status of that free agent will be determined by the next CBA).' … [Read more...] about Sabres' contract status for the future

'While the Amerks do get to play, the figurative carrot of the NHL no longer dangles before them. They have battled for two-thirds of the season to produce the AHL's best record (36-10-3-5 for 80 points in 54 games), yet no one will be rewarded with a recall. "A lot of guys have played high-quality hockey and deserve to get moved up to the Sabres," said … [Read more...] about Players feel the frustration as season crashes down

'The $6.5 million disparity might look bridgeable, but multiply that by 30 teams and the six-year length of the CBA and it adds up to $1.17 billion.' … [Read more...] about Out of season