Beautiful Life

NHL lockout cancels all Sept. preseason games

Written By Emdua on Rabu, 19 September 2012 | 14.38

Due tio the lockout, NHL nets will remain in storage until October.

Danny Moloshok/Icon SMI

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL canceled its entire September preseason game schedule, the first on-ice casualty of the four-day lockout of the players' association.

The league is wiping out all games through Sept. 30, a move it deems "necessary because of the absence of a collective bargaining agreement."

The regular season is scheduled to begin on Oct. 11.

Also, a person familiar with the plan says NHL employees at the league offices will switch to a four-day work week Oct. 1 because of the lockout.

The move will effectively cut salaries by 20 percent. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the NHL hadn't made the plan public.

The news was first reported by The Canadian Press.

The Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators have let staff go because of the lockout.

20 Sep, 2012

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KHL's Dynamo Moscow says it signed Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin, who played for Russia at the 2012 World Championships, has vowed to not return to the NHL if player salaries are cut.

Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

MOSCOW (AP) -- Alexander Ovechkin is returning to his former Russian team Dynamo Moscow during the NHL lockout.

The KHL team said in a statement Wednesday that it has signed the Washington Capitals star to a contract that lasts until the lockout ends. It said Ovechkin has undergone medical exams and has already participated in training. It did not disclose the financial terms of his contract.

Ovechkin joined the Capitals in 2005 and was the NHL's MVP in 2008 and 2009.

He is the latest Russian star to return home during the lockout. Evgeny Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins has signed a deal with his former team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He was joined by fellow Penguin Sergei Gonchar, and Nikolai Kulemin of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

20 Sep, 2012

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Collateral Damage

Florida Panthers mascot Stanley C. Panther was laid off due to the NHL lockout

Caught in the crossfire: the ongoing collective bargaining dispute between NHL and NHLPA is not only angering fans, it's starting to hurt everyone from players, officials and league and team staff to mascots. (Photo by Wilfredo Lee/AP)

Now in Day 4, the lockout of NHL players by the owners has produced news on a number of fronts. Here's a round-up of some noteworthy items:

– The two sides did speak briefly on Tuesday and will have more informal discussions on Wednesday to see if they can restart formal talks. There is a sense in some quarters (as expressed by TSN and ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, The Ottawa Sun's Chris Stevenson and TSN's Bob McKenzie over Montreal's TSN 690 radio) that we're at a crucial moment, and a small window exists during the next week or two for the parties to start making progress. If regular season games start getting canceled, we should get set for a long stalemate. "If nothing happens," McKenzie said Wednesday morning, "we're going back to the dynamic of 2004″ when there was virtually no discussion between the sides for three months after the league declared the lockout.

The NHL's Bill Daly, who made a few media appearances in Toronto earlier this week, said over Toronto's TSN radio 1250, "It's been a totally different negotiation than it was in 2004-05. I think it's safe to say that occasionally we got together during the summer of 2004, (but) there wasn't much bargaining or exploring issues. I think we've plowed a lot of ground this summer. As I said, we haven't made much progress on the critical issues, but certainly we have a better framework to move forward if we can ever start making progress."

But Daly, like everyone, is frustrated that the sides have not found much to agree on with respect to what the league calls the "core economics," that is, the percentage of Hockey Related Revenue devoted to player salaries, which the league's opening proposal would reduce by 24 percent to 43 percent from the current 57. That number was revised to 47 percent last week but, presumably, that is now off the table, as Gary Bettman said it would be if the players did not accept it by Saturday night.

"A lot of the noise around this lockout is how it is not like 2004, when there was a disagreement over the fundamental financial structure of the game," writes Stevenson. "If both sides are entrenched in their philosophies, or one refuses to budge, the potential for a repeat of 2004-05 is just as real. That's the thought starting to creep into a few people's minds as this impasse lingers."

Collateral Damage: The first casualties of the lockout emerged this week when Ottawa Senators laid off employees and cut the hours of some others on Monday and the Florida Panthers followed suit on Tuesday, and among the casualties was the guy who dresses as the team mascot. On Wednesday, employees at the NHL offices were told they'd also be reduced to four-day work weeks, and a get a 20 percent pay cut starting Oct. 1 with future layoffs possible.

While attention has focused on non-players whose livelihoods will be adversely affected by the lockout, not enough has gone to the on-ice officials who won't work and get paid by the league if there are no games.

Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal reports that most of the officials won't work minor pro games and they aren't being asked to do their jobs in Europe. "Veteran NHL referees can earn up to $340,000 a year and linesmen earn about two-thirds of that during a typical season," he writes. "But they don't get paid when there's a lockout, although they can take out $5,000 in interest-free loans against their wages every month.

"The officials' current contract specifies they start getting paid on Sept. 1, but that was only for just two weeks, with the lockout starting on Sept. 15. During the last lockout, the on-ice staff lost an entire season's salary — just like the players."

"If this lockout is protracted, the guys have to start thinking of other options to provide family income," retired NHL ref Kerry Fraser told Matheson. "Some of the guys struggled last time. Nobody thought it was going to be the entire season. And when it was cancelled, guys were saying, 'God, now what do I do?'"

Paying the cost: We mentioned in a Red Light post on Tuesday how significant the matter of player insurance is to NHLers who will play professionally in Europe during the lockout. But what about the insurance for the vast majority of NHLers, who won't be plying their trade on those big 200 x 100 sheets of ice?

Kevin Allen of USA Today reports that the NHL cancelled the coverage of all the players and their families, including medical and dental, and disability, life (including spouses), and accidental death and dismemberment. The NHLPA notified the players in a memo on Tuesday that they have made arrangements for the continuation of the coverage. However, the disability coverage does not cover the value of their NHL contracts. And any player who signs with a European club is not eligible for the PA's disability coverage which, as we noted in our post, has to be purchased by the club or the player himself.

Caravan on Skates: Those players not skating in Europe are looking for alternatives in North America. During the 2004-05 lockout, a group of NHLers tried forming the Original Stars Hockey League, which played four-on-four games with no body checking and it turned into a very short-lived rag-tag operation that only lasted two games (SI's Michael Farber described that disorganized organization here). Another four-on-four league was more successful, the McDonald's Caravan. Organized by defenseman Joel Bouchard, it featured three teams of Francophone players that toured Quebec and donated their proceeds to charity. (Here's the press release announcing the Caravan.) That group played to full arenas and had their weekend games televised.

There's talk that the Caravan might be revived in Quebec, according to Tim Panaccio of CNS Phily.com with teams from both Montreal and Quebec and perhaps others.

Crunching Numbers: Does the NHL have a "lockout addiction?" That's what Wayne Scanlan of The Ottawa Citizen wonders in his profile of one alienated fan. Scanlan did the math that reveals, "No professional sport shuts down more frequently than the NHL, now starting it's fourth work stoppage since 1992.

"In that time span, the NHL has missed 1,698 games due to labor issues, compared to 938 for Major League Baseball, 788 for the NBA and a big fat zero for the most popular league in North America, the NFL. The meter is about to run again, adding to hockey's 1,698 total as the NHL prepares to interrupt a schedule that is supposed to begin on Oct. 11. Considering that the two sides remain deeply entrenched, with players wanting the NHL to adopt revenue sharing while the league advocates clawing back player salaries, this could take a while to resolve."

20 Sep, 2012

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AEG, owner of Cup champion Kings, up for sale

The sale of AEG would throw uncertainty into Los Angeles' attempt to obtain an NFL franchise.

Reuters

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owner of the Staples Center arena and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, and the top contender to build a stadium and bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, is up for sale, its parent company said Tuesday.

The Denver-based Anschutz Co. said in a statement that it is "commencing a process" to sell the subsidiary known as AEG and had hired Blackstone Advisory Partners as an adviser.

It wasn't immediately clear how far along the company is in the sale process, or whether it has entertained any offers, but the price for AEG could be well into the billions.

The sale would mean a major ground shift in sports and entertainment in Los Angeles and around the world.

AEG's holdings also include pro soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, part-ownership of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, and major entertainment and real estate holdings in downtown Los Angeles. Outside of L.A., AEG owns Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo and New York's Barclay's Center, the new home of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. It also owns arenas in Sweden, China and Australia.

The sale would also throw uncertainty into LA's nearly two-decade attempt to bring the NFL back to the city. The City Council is considering the approval of plans for Farmers Field, a downtown stadium proposed by AEG.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he has long known of the possibility of a sale, and both Denver billionaire Phillip Anschutz and AEG President Tim Leiweke have assured him the city's NFL hopes will remain the same.

"I have worked with both Phil Anschutz and Tim Leiweke for years to bring a football team to Los Angeles. I speak to both of them on a regular basis and I have known about this potential sale for some time," the mayor said in a statement Tuesday night. "I have the commitment from both of them that this won't affect plans for an NFL team to return to Los Angeles in the near future and so will not affect my support for moving ahead with Farmers Field."

Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes the proposed stadium site, said she did not know about a pending sale but agreed that it wouldn't have adverse effects on courting an NFL team.

"The city has done a good job of protecting the taxpayer's interest in negotiating an agreement," Perry told The Associated Press, "so whoever steps into the shoes of Mr. Anschutz will have the same obligations."

Perry said the move "arguably is very positive" because she suspected it could lead to an enthusiastic new partner anxious to get in on the city's NFL prospects.

The potential sale was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

AEG transformed the Los Angeles landscape with the building of Staples Center and the later addition of the LA Live entertainment complex, helping to revitalize the city's long-neglected downtown and bring new energy and several championships to its sports teams.

Opening in 1999, the Staples Center is among the world's busiest arenas. It hosted six playoff games in four days for its main tenants - the NBA's Lakers and Clippers, and the NHL's Kings, who won their first Stanley Cup in June.

19 Sep, 2012

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NHLPA will restore players' insurance in lockout

Written By Emdua on Selasa, 18 September 2012 | 14.45

The NHLPA plans to pay for players insurance during lockout. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The NHL Players' Association alerted players Tuesday that the union will pay for the costs of restoring players ans family insurance coverage eliminated by the NHL this weekend as part of the lockout.

According to the NHLPA memo:

"NHL has instructed the insurers to cancel all insurance coverage, effective September 16, 2012. This includes Medical and Dental coverage for Players and their families, Disability insurance, Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance, and Spousal Life insurance."

The memo cited players who have not signed as a free agent in another league or have not retired will be eligible by meeting one more of this criteria:

70 or more NHL regular-season days on the active roster in the 2011-12 season
160 or more NHL regular season games played (including games dressed as backup for goalies)
Have an NHL standard players contract (SPC) for the 2012-13 season, are locked out by his NHL team and not playing in another professional league in the 2012-13 season.

The memo cautions NHL players playing in Europe during the lockout that the NHLPA disability coverage does not cover their NHL contract. Players also found themselves facing an IIHF transfer card snag today.

19 Sep, 2012

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Road Hazards

The insurance on Alex Ovechkin for this year's World Championships came to $400,000 and he played in only three games. The price for a KHL season will be much higher. (Photo by Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/GettyImages)

They're packing up and getting ready to go: Locked out NHL players have begun their inevitable migration to Europe in search of work.

Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar are headed to Magnitogorsk to play for Metallurg of the KHL. Jaromir Jagr heads home to Kladno in the Czech Republic to play for his hometown team, which he owns with his father, and it seems that Tomas Plekanec will go with him. Joe Thornton, who met his wife while playing for Davos in the Swiss league during the last lockout, will go back there and could be joined by Rick Nash, his linemate in Davos that season. Ilya Kovalchuk, Ruslan Fedotenko, Lubomir Visnovsky, Jiri Tlusty, Mark Streit, Yannick Weber, Jiri Hudler, Jussi Jokinen and goalies Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov are also part of the first wave of signings across the Atlantic. There are indications that Alex Ovechkin, Logan Couture, Niklas Backstrom and Anze Kopitar could be right behind while Pavel Datsyuk, who had reportedly been signed actually remains undecided. (You can follow the post-lockout transactions on SI.com here.)

These signings occasionally get murky, confirmed then unconfirmed. The player and the team must agree on the money, the player has to be formally transferred by the IIHF (Nail Yakopov is having that problem) and there is also the matter of insurance and we'll get into that below.

What's not murky is that while players wait for negotiators to reach an agreement, staying in shape is a priority. That's why some choose to play in Europe. They can rent ice in North America and scrimmage with each other all they want, or practice with established clubs in their areas on a daily basis, but nothing takes the place of real games. For some, especially those who have families in North America, it's not always an easy decision to pick up and go, so they may delay a Euro decision in hope that the sides reach an agreement sooner rather than later. But the longer this CBA stalemate goes on, the more those who remain here will consider going over.

The consequences of their departures spark some interesting comments. My old friend Howard Berger in Toronto posted an item on his blog that took the position that these European vacations undermine the union's efforts to keep the players united. He believes that their scattering overseas "decries unanimity. Hanging together as a group – physically and philosophically – through the tenuous early days of the lockout would present a more consolidated front and, perhaps, urge owners back to the table. In any form of waiting game, the 2012-13 season will dissolve before the players' eyes, fracturing – once again – their conviction."

Berger quoted someone he identified as an anonymous senior NHL executive as saying, "Let 'em go. The players think they are threatening the owners by signing contracts in Europe. In fact, what they're showing is they don't have a lot of stomach to remain together in this fight. And that's what we expected.

"Deep down, the players know that if it comes to a stand-off, they cannot outlast the owners," said the NHL executive. "Taking off to other leagues in Europe and the Nordic countries might make them feel better for awhile. But, it comes across to others as abandoning their position rather quickly."

That's a rather extreme and cynical view of things. Compare that exec's sentiment to that of Devils President and GM Lou Lamoriello, who told Mark Everson of The New York Post, "That's their choice. I don't question it. It happened before, and it happens with players during the regular season when they're [unsigned]."

How guys seeking work elsewhere would subvert the players' unity is unexplained. The fact is, that line of thinking is counter-intuitive. The owners are hoping the players fold because they're not going to be getting paychecks — that's the point of a lockout. But the players who find work in Europe will be getting paid and whatever economic pressures the lockout is intended to apply will be less relevant to those who are employed.

Similarly, how does an NHLer playing in Europe show a lack of conviction? Whatever that exec takes the optics of their sojourn to be, the players aren't being asked to stick around to walk picket lines or to boycott hockey everywhere. Allegedly fleeing to Europe doesn't constitute breaking ranks with the NHLPA leadership or asking Don Fehr to negotiate differently than he has so far. That's the sort of thing that would undermine player solidarity. Playing in Europe isn't remotely akin to that.

In any case, the NHLPA doesn't seem to consider locked out NHLers signing overseas damaging to their efforts in the slightest. The union has provided players with all sorts of information about signing in Europe, assisting them in finding work and with their insurance. From all reports, the PA did a competent job of communicating with its members in Europe and North America during the offseason and there's no reason to believe that effort won't continue now.

And I don't think the NHL is — or has to be — worried that these temporary arrangements that the players are making will strengthen other leagues to the point where its supremacy will be threatened — unless, that is, the next CBA contains a new salary structure so low that the KHL and other leagues become equally attractive alternatives for NHL players.

The real benefit to the European leagues is the influx of some stars and improved talent that improves quality of play and brings more fans to games.

"Mainly I think it's going to be a lot of additional marketing potential for the league and hockey itself as a game," KHL vice-president Ilya Kochevrin said recently (quoted by Chris Johnson of Canadian Press). "The stars bring additional attention … to a lot of people who probably don't consider hockey the sport of choice. I think as a marketing tool it's a great opportunity."

Some leagues don't want to have much to do with locked out NHLers. Sweden's Elitserien, for example, won't sign any unless they are prepared to commit for the entire season. According to Petteri Ala-Kivimäki writing in The Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's SM-Liiga teams are very concerned about the high insurance costs for NHL players and may not be able to afford to sign many of them — even though a number of NHLers have ownership stakes in various SM-Liiga clubs. Niklas Backstrom for example, owns a piece of HIFK Helsinki, but he's thinking of playing for the KHL's Dinamo Minsk.

This is where we get into that murky area we discussed earlier in which players are announced as being signed by Euro clubs but really are not. The securing of insurance can be so costly for these teams that the deals can't be finalized even if the team and player agree on his pay. Star players with very long-term contracts become costly to insure and insurance costs can vary based on the length and value of his NHL contract, the player's age, and his history of injuries. "To take just one example," Ala-Kivimäki writes, "the Finnish Ice Hockey Association paid out a five-figure sum in insurance premiums for the services of Mikko Koivu at the last IIHF World Championships in Helsinki and Stockholm. The Finns' Russian counterparts reportedly paid USD 400,000 to cover the insurance on Alexander Ovechkin for the same tournament." That's just for a short tournament, not for a deal that could, potentially, go all season.

Chris Johnson notes how difficult it will be to insure Sidney Crosby, considering his concussion history and his NHL deal which pays him nearly $112 million over the next 13 seasons. "European teams will pick up the tab for a player's insurance premium, which one agent estimated will range between $2,500 and $20,000 per month," Johnson writes.

And sometimes the players have to pay their own insurance. Depending on the situation, that can scuttle a player's European plans, too.

The KHL may not be as restrictive as the Elitserien or as financially strapped as the SM-Liiga, but it is still cost-conscious. Each club can sign up to three NHLers for a salary worth no more than 65 per cent of what they were to earn with their North American club this season. But there are some different rules beyond that for the 20 teams based in Russia and the six other KHL clubs. For the Russian teams, only one of three spots can be used on a non-Russian player and he must have played at least 150 NHL games over the past three seasons, suited up recently for his national team or won the Stanley Cup or a major individual award. The six KHL teams in Belarus, Kazakstan, Latvia, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic can sign players who don't meet any of those criteria.

There's some thought that the European league that may see the biggest influx of NHLers is Switzerland's NLA. But wherever this exodus takes NHLers, they're hoping they won't be there long and they can pack up and return to North America as soon as possible.

19 Sep, 2012

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Panthers next team to announce lockout layoffs

Both jobs and fan enthusiasm after the Panthers' first playoff appearance since 2000 are likely casualties of the lockout.

JC Salas/Icon SMI

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Panthers announced the layoffs of an unknown number of staff members Tuesday, only the third full day of the NHL's lockout.

The Panthers are believed to be the NHL's second team to publicly announce layoffs since the league's collective bargaining agreement with its players expired at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday and ushered in the league's fourth work stoppage in the last 20 years.

The Ottawa Senators have already had layoffs and full-time employees have been placed on a reduced work week.

"Due primarily to the NHL work stoppage, but also due to changes and efficiencies in our normal business operations, SSE and the Florida Panthers instituted a number of staff adjustments today including staff reductions," Panthers President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Yormark wrote in a statement distributed Tuesday afternoon.

SSE refers to Sunrise Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns and operates the Panthers.

As of Tuesday, the team listed 149 employees on its staff directory across all platforms, including hockey operations, business operations, arena operations and at the team's training facility.

Jobs were reduced in multiple departments.

"We thank all of those former staff members for their efforts," Yormark wrote, adding that the team's human resource department would try to help the former employees with placement into other jobs.

The team declined further comment.

The league could announce the cancellation of preseason games as early as this week, and it would appear that training camps are almost certainly not going to open on time.

Some teams, such as Minnesota and Pittsburgh, have said they are not planning lockout-related layoffs. And while no games have yet been cancelled, things like preseason rookie camps -- Florida was to be involved in one of those -- were taken off schedules long ago.

"There's smart enough people involved in this thing that I don't think it'll take too long," Panthers center Stephen Weiss said Friday, at the team's last informal preseason workout before the lockout opened. "We just have to make sure whatever deal they do agree on, it makes sense for both sides and it will be lasting."

And despite the layoff news, it's business as usual on some levels for the Panthers. The team was still selling season- and single-game ticket packages on Tuesday, including ones for the team's planned opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 13.

"As a most passionate Florida Panthers fan, I understand how difficult a time this is for all Cats fans and other hockey fans around the NHL," Panthers owner Cliff Viner wrote in a blog entry on Sunday. "While we remain optimistic that our Panthers will open the 2012-13 season as planned on Oct. 13, I also want to assure you that the work stoppage will not deter our organization from fulfilling its responsibilities to our fans and our community."

19 Sep, 2012

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Sabres' blueliner Ehrhoff set to play in Germany

Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff has played for Germany in three Winter Olympics and four World Cup tournaments.

Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff will be spending the NHL lockout playing in his native Germany.

Ehrhoff reached an agreement on Tuesday to play for his hometown team, the Krefeld Penguins, and was then introduced during a news conference. The deal was reached after the German Ice Hockey League team agreed to pay about $26,000 a month to insure the player in the event of injury.

"I really wanted to come to Krefeld because I was here during the summer and I felt at home," Ehrhoff said in German and translated into English. "The club is in my heart."

He spent part of the summer working out with Krefeld before returning to Buffalo in the event a looming labor dispute wouldn't disrupt the start of training camp, which was scheduled to open this week. Ehrhoff then traveled back to Germany after the NHL locked out its players on Sunday.

"It's the ideal situation for the team and me," Ehrhoff said. "The guys know me, I know the guys."

Ehrhoff was traded twice in the span of two days in June 2011 before he elected to forgo testing free agency by signing a $10-year, $40 million contract with the Sabres. Buffalo had acquired him in a trade with the Islanders, a day after New York landed Ehrhoff in a trade with Vancouver in hopes to sign the defenseman.

Ehrhoff was the Sabres' most dependable defenseman last season. He led Buffalo blueliners with 32 points (five goals) in 66 games, and led the entire team in averaging 23:03 ice-time per game.

The player's agent, Richard Curran, said his client elected to play in Germany as an opportunity to stay in shape. Ehrhoff isn't under contract with Krefeld, and will be eligible to return to play for the Sabres once the labor dispute is resolved.

The only condition to play in Germany was for the club to pay for Ehrhoff's insurance, Curran said.

"He's hoping to turn a negative into a positive," Curran said.

Ehrhoff is expected to make his debut with Krefeld on Friday, when the Penguins play Hamburg.

"We always hoped that he would come back to Krefeld someday," the team's chairman Wolfgang Schulz said. "We didn't think it would happen so quickly. He could have played in Russia, Sweden or Finland. It makes us proud that he chose us."

19 Sep, 2012

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19 Sep, 2012

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Isles' Streit, Habs' Weber heading for Switzerland

Islanders captain Mark Streit played 10 seasons in his native Switzerland before making his NHL debut in 2005.

Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI

GENEVA (AP) -- New York Islanders captain Mark Streit and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Yannick Weber are returning home to play in Switzerland during the NHL lockout.

Bern says it has signed Streit and Geneva-Servette says it recruited Weber.

Geneva-Servette coach Chris McSorley says the club expects to announce another signing on Wednesday.

San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton also expected in Switzerland this week after saying he would rejoin Davos.

Thornton played with the Alpine town team during the 2004-05 NHL lockout season, alongside New York Rangers winger Rick Nash. Nash is also being pursued by Davos.

The NHL formally locked out its players on Sunday after the collective bargaining agreement expired.

The 12-team Swiss top division began its season last week.

18 Sep, 2012

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Players off to Europe, KHL

Written By Emdua on Senin, 17 September 2012 | 23.17

Anaheim Ducks

Before he can wear his New York Rangers sweater, former Blue Jackets captain will play in Switzerland during the NHL lockout.

Jason Mowry/Icon SMI

AHL assignments (Norfolk): G Frederik Andersen, G Igor Bobkov, LW Josh Brittain, D Mat Clark, G Marco Cousineau, C Corey Elkins, RW Emerson Etem, C Peter Holland, RW Matt Kennedy, RW Ryan Lasch, LW Brandon McMillan, LW John Mitchell, RW Kyle Palmieri, RW Devante Smith-Pelly, D Sami Vatanen, C Chris Wagner.

Boston Bruins

AHL assignments (Providence): D Matt Bartkowski, D Ryan Button, Carter Camper, F Jordan Caron, D Colby Cohen, D Tommy Cross, F Craig Cunningham, F Justin Florek, G Michael Hutchinson, F Jared Knight, D Torey Krug, D Kevan Miller, G Adam Morrison, F Tyler Randell, F Max Sauve, F Ryan Spooner, G Niklas Svedberg, D Zach Trotman and D David Warsofsky, D Garnet Exelby, C Christian Hanson, F Jamie Tardif and F Trent Whitfield

OHL: D Dougie Hamilton (Niagara), G Malcolm Subban (Bellevil)

Buffalo Sabres

D Christian Ehrhoff (Krefeld -- Germany)

AHL assignments (Rochester): F -- Luke Adam, Riley Boychuk, Brian Flynn, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Cody Hodgson, Jacob Lagace, Jonathan Parker, Kevin Porter, Kevin Sundher, Shawn Szydlowski, Corey Tropp, Phil Varone; D -- Alex Biega, Nick Crawford, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Matt MacKenzie, Brayden McNabb, Mark Pysyk, Nick Tarnasky; G -- Connor Knapp, Nathan Lieuwen

Calgary Flames

AHL assignments (Abbotsford): F -- Akim Aliu, Sven Baertschi, Carter Bancks, Lance Bouma, Paul Byron, Bryan Cameron, David Eddy, Turner Elson, Michael Ferland, Roman Horak, Ryan Howse, Krys Kolanos, Greg Nemisz, Gaelan Patterson, Max Reinhart, Ben Street, Ben Walter; Mitch Wahl; D -- Chris Breen, T,J. Brodie, Brady Lamb, James Martin, Joe Piskula

Carolina Hurricanes

LW Jussi Jokinen (Oulu -- Finland), LW Jiri Tlusty (Kladno -- Czech Republic)

AHL assignments (Charlotte): F Nicolas Blanchard, F Zach Boychuk, F Zac Dalpe, F A.J. Jenks, F Riley Nash, F Victor Rask, F Jerome Samson, F Justin Shugg, F Jeff Skinner, F Jared Staal, F Brett Sutter, F Brody Sutter, F Chris Terry, F Tim Wallace, F Jeremy Welsh, D Brett Bellemore, D Justin Faulk, D Marc-Andre Gragnani, D Michal Jordan, D Tommi Kivisto, D Justin Krueger, D Austin Levi, D Rasmus Rissanen, D Bobby Sanguinetti, D Beau Schmitz, D Joe Sova, G John Muse and G Justin Peters

Chicago Blackhawks

AHL assignments (Rockford): F Kyle Beach, F Brandon Bollig, F Terry Broadhurst, F Rob Flick, F Byron Froese, F David Gilbert, F Jimmy Hayes, F Marcus Kruger, F Peter LeBlanc, F Jeremy Morin, F Philippe Paradis, F Brandon Pirri, F Brandon Saad, F Andrew Shaw, F Ben Smith, D Adam Clendening, D Klas Dahlbeck, D Shawn Lalonde, D Joe Lavin, D Nick Leddy, D Dylan Olsen, D Ryan Stanton, G Mac Carruth, G Carter Hutton, G Alec Richards, G Kent Simpson

Swedish Elite: F Joakim Nordstrom (AIK)

Colorado Avalanche

AHL assignments (Lake Erie):

Columbus Blue Jackets

AHL assignments (Springfield): F Cody Bass, F Nick Drazenovic, F Andrew Joudrey, F Ryan Russell, D Nick Holden, F Cam Atkinson, F Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, F Matt Calvert, F Michael Chaput, F Sean Collins, F Oliver Gabriel, F Jake Hansen, F Ryan Johansen, F Tomas Kubalik, F Dalton Smith, D Anton Blomqvist, D Tim Erixon, D Cody Goloubef, D Austin Madaisky, D John Moore, D Dalton Prout, D Theo Ruth, D David Savard, D Will Weber, G Allen York

WHL: D Ryan Murray (Everett)
OHL: C Boone Jenner (Oshawa)

Dallas Stars

RW Jaromir Jagr (Kladno --Czech Republic)

AHL assignments (Texas): D Jordie Benn, G Tyler Beskorowany, G Jack Campbell, RW Alex Chiasson, D Jace Coyle, D Brenden Dillon, C Cody Eakin, D Maxime Fortunus, RW Matt Fraser, LW Luke Gazdic, RW Scott Glennie, C Tristan King, D Hubert Labrie, C Travis Morin, Cristopher Nilstorp, D Patrik Nemeth, D Jamie Oleksiak, C Toby Petersen, LW Antoine Roussell, C Colton Sceviour, D Tyler Sloan, RW Austin Smith, RW Reilly Smith, C Mathieu Tousignant, C Tomas Vincour and LW Francis Wathier

OHL: C Radek Faksa (Kitchener)

Detroit Red Wings

C Pavel Datsyuk (AK Bars Kazan -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Grand Rapids): F Joakim Andersson, F Louis-Marc Aubry, F Damien Brunner, F Mitch Callahan, F Willie Coetzee, F Landon Ferraro, F Tomas Jurco, F Andrej Nestrasil, F Gustav Nyquist, F Francis Pare, F Trevor Parkes, F Brent Raedeke, F Riley Sheahan, F Tomas Tatar, D Adam Almqvist, D Gleason Fournier, D Brian Lashoff, D Max Nicastro, D Brendan Smith, G Thomas McCollum, G Petr Mrazek, G Jordan Pea

Edmonton Oilers

RW Nail Yakupov (Neftekhimik -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Oklahoma City): RW Cameron Abney, F Mark Arcobello, G Tyler Bunz, LW Dane Byers, F Philippe Cornet, G BYann Danis, D Brandon Davidson, RW Jordan Eberle, D Taylor Fedun, F Curtis Hamilton, F Teemu Hartikainen, F Tanner House, F Anton Lander, D Martin Marincin, F Ryan Martindale, C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F Magnus Paajarvi, LW Kristians Pelss, F Tyler Pitlick, D Alex Plante, F Toni Rajala, G Olivier Roy, D Justin Schultz, D Colten Teubert, F Antti Tyrvainen, F Chris VandeVelde

Florida Panthers

AHL assignments (San Antonio): D Michael Caruso, F Andre Deveaux, G Dov Grumet-Morris, F Jean Francois Jacques, F Greg Rallo, F Casey Wellman, F James Wright, D Nolan Yonkmam, D Jason DeSantis, G Brian Foster, F Jonathan Hazen, G Michael Houser, F Quinton Howden, G Jacob Markstrom, F Mattias Lindstrom, F Anthony Luciani, D Josh McFadden, F John McFarland, D Alex Petrovic, F Jon Rheault, D Colby Robak, F Eric Selleck, F Drew Shore, F Scott Timmins, F Garrett Wilson

Los Angeles Kings

AHL assignments (Manchester): D Andrew Bodnarchuk, F Stefan Legein, D Slava Voynov, F David Meckler, LW Andy Andreoff, G J.F. Berube, C Robbie Czarnik, D Nicolas Deslauriers, G Martin Jones, D David Kolomatis, RW Brandon Kozun, C Andrei Loktionov, C Jordan Nolan, RW Brian O'Neill, LW Tanner Pearson, LW Nikolay Prokhorkin, C Tyler Toffoli, RW Linden Vey, C Jordan Weal.

Minnesota Wild

AHL assignments (Houston): D Drew Bagnall, C Joel Broda, D Jonas Brodin, RW Brett Bulmer, D Josh Caron, D Brian Connelly, RW Charlie Coyle, D Tyler Cuma, RW Justin Fontaine, LW Kris Foucault, D Chay Genoway, C Mikael Granlund, G Matt Hackett, D Colton Jobke, D Steven Kampfer, G Darcy Kuemper, LW Johan Larsson, C David McIntyre, RW Carson McMillan, D Kyle Medvec, RW Jarod Palmer, C Zack Philips, C Chad Rau, D Marco Scandella and LW Jason Zucker

Montreal Canadiens

C Tomas Plekanec (Kladno -- Czech Republic), D Raphael Diaz (EV Zug -- Switzerland)

AHL assignments (Hamilton): F Alexander Avtsin, F Alain Berger, F Michael Blunden, F Michael Bournival, F Gabriel Dumont, F Brendan Gallagher, F Blake Geoffrion, F Patrick Holland, F Louis Leblanc, F Philippe Lefebvre, F Joonas Nattinen, F Steve Quailer, FIan Schultz; D Nathan Beaulieu, D Morgan Ellis, D Brendon Nash, D Greg Pateryn, D Joe Stejskal, D Jarred Tinordi, G Peter Delmas, G Robert Mayer.

Nashville Predators

AHL assignments (Milwaukee): F Daniel Bang, F Taylor Beck, F Gabriel Bourque, F Patrick Cehlin, F Kevin Henderson, F Jani Lajunen, F Michael Latta, F Jack MacLellan, F Juuso Puustinen, F Ben Ryan, F Josh Shalla, F Austin Watson, D Taylor Aronson, D Victor Bartley, D Anthony Bitetto, D Mattias Ekholm, D Ryan Ellis, D Joonas Jarvinen, D Charles-Olivier Roussel, D Scott Valentine, G Magnus Hellberg and G Jeremy Smith

New Jersey Devils

LW Ilya Kovalchuk (SKA St. Petersburg -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Albany): RW Matt Anderson, F Jean-Sebastien Berube, D Brandon Burlon, RW Bobby Butler, G Maxime Clermont, G Jeff Frazee, D Eric Gelinas, C Adam Henrique, F Mike Hoeffel, C Jacob Josefson, D Dan Kelly, G Keith Kinkaid, D Adam Larsson, D Jay Leach, F Harri Pesonen, F Tim Sestito, F Mike Sislo, F Mattias Tedenby, D Alexander Urbom, G Scott Wedgewood, LW Chad Wiseman, F David Wohlberg, D Harry Young, F Steve Zalewsk

QMJHL: C Stefan Matteau, D Reece Scarle (Blainville)

New York Islanders

AHL assignments (Bridgeport): D Marc Cantin, C Casey Cizikas, C Jason Clark, D Calvin de Haan, LW Brandon DeFazio, D Matt Donovan, LW Mike Halmo, D Travis Hamonic, LW Kirill Kabanov, Jon Landry, C Brock Nelson, D Aaron Ness, RW Nino Niederreiter, G Anders Nilsson, LW John Persson, G Kevin Poulin, RW Blair Riley, C Johan Sundstrom, LW David Ullstrom

New York Rangers

LW Rick Nash (Davos -- Switzerland)

AHL assignments (Connecticut): D Sean Collins, D Logan Pyett, D Mike Vernace, F Tommy Grant, F Micheal Haley, F Chad Kolarik, F Kris Newbury, F Brandon Segal

Ottawa Senators

D Sergei Gonchar (Metallurg -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Binghamton):

Philadelphia Flyers

LW Ruslan Fedotenko (HC Donbass -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Adirondack): Jason Akeson, Tyler Brown. Sean Couturier, Cullen Eddy, Matt Ford, Erik Gustafsson, Shane Harper, Cal Heeter, Ben Holmstrom, Tyler Hostetter, Niko Hovinen, Andrew Johnston, Blake Kesse,l Matthew Konan, Oliver Lauridsen, Matt Mangene, Brandon Manning, Tye McGinn, Marcel Noebels, Luke Pither, Zac Rinaldo, Brayden Schenn, Danny Syvret, Mike Testwuide, Eric Wellwood, Harry Zolnierczyk

Phoenix Coyotes

AHL assignments (Portland): F Scott Arnold, F Alexandre Bolduc, F Chris Brown, F Chris Conner, F Brett Hextall, F Rob Klinkhammer, F Phil Lane, F Jordan Martinook, F Andy Miele, F Joel Rechlicz, F Brendan Shinnimin, F Jordan Szwarz, F Ethan Werek, D Mathieu Brodeur, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D Maxim Goncharov, D Brandon Gormley, D Mark Louis, D David Rundblad, D Michael Stone, D Chris Summers, D Justin Weller, G Louis Domingue, G Chad Johnson, G Mike Lee, G Mark Visentin, F Evan Bloodoff, F Darian Dziurzynski

Pittsburgh Penguins

C Evgeni Malkin (Metallurg -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton): Beau Bennett, Brian Gibbons, Tom Kuhnhackl, Jayson Megna, Adam Payerl, Zach Sill, Paul Thompson, Dominik Uher, Keven Veilleux, Philippe Dupuis, Benn Ferriero, Riley Holzapfel, Warren Peters and Trevor Smith; defensemen Simon Despres, Brian Dumoulin, Reid McNeill, Joe Morrow, Philip Samuelsson, Carl Sneep, Alex Grant and Dylan Reese; G Patrick Killeen.

San Jose Sharks

D Jason Demers (Oulu -- Finland), C Joe Thornton (Davos -- Switzerland)

AHL assignments (Worcester): F Curt Gogol, F Freddie Hamilton, F Bracken Kearns, F James Livingston, F Jon Matsumoto, F Travis Oleksuk, F Brodie Reid, F Sebastian Stalberg; D Sena Acolatse, D Danny Groulx, D Taylor Doherty, D Matt Irwin, D Matt Tennyson; G Thomas Heemskerk, G Harri Sateri, G Alex Stalock.

St. Louis Blues

AHL assignments (Peoria): G Jake Allen, G Paul Karpowich, G Mike McKenna, D Taylor Chorney, D Ian Cole, D Mark Cundari, D Cade Fairchild, D Scott Ford, D Brett Ponich, D David Shields, F Jay Barriball, F Cody Beach, F Adam Cracknell, F Stefan Della Rovere, F Evgeny Grachev, F Philip McRae, F Andrew Murray, F Anthony Nigro, F Anthony Peluso, F Jaden Schwartz, F Tyler Shattock, F Brett Sonne, F Vladimir Tarasenko, F Sebastian Vannstrom

OJL: G Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound)

Tampa Bay Lightning

AHL assignments (Syracuse): F J.T. Brown, F Cory Conacher, F Brett Connolly, F Danick Gauthier, F Alex Hutchings, F Tyler Johnson, F Alexander Killorn, F Vladislav Namestnikov, F Ondrej Palat, F Richard Panik, D Mark Barberio, D Radko Gudas, D Dmitry Korobov, D Charles Landry, D Dan Milan, G Riku Helenius, G Pat Nagle, G Dustin Tokarski

Toronto Maple Leafs

LW Nikolai Kulemin (Metallurg -- KHL)

AHL assignments (Toronto Marlies): F Spencer Abbott, F Carter Ashton, D Jesse Blacker, F Tyler Brenner, F Sam Carrick, F Joe Colborne, C Andrew Crescenzi, F Jerry D'Amigo, F Nicolas Deschamps, F Jamie Devane, D Jake Gardiner, D Simon Gysbers, LW Ryan Hamilton, D Korbinian Holzer, F Nazem Kadri, F Leo Komarov, F Greg McKegg, G Mark Owuya, F Brad Ross, F Kenny Ryan, G Jussi Rynnas, F Greg Scott.

OHL: F Tyler Biggs (Oshawa), David Broli (Sault St. Marie), D Stuart Percy (Mississauga)

Vancouver Canucks

AHL assignments (Chicago): F -- Bill Sweatt, Anton Rodin Darren Archibald; Andrew Gordon, Jordan Schroeder Stefan Schneider, Andrew Ebbett, Alexandre Mallet, Alex Friesen, Prab Rai; Zack Kassian, Guillaume Desbiens, Kellan Tochkin, Steven Anthony; D -- Chris Tanev, Kevin Connauton, Yann Sauve, Adam Polasek, Derek Joslin, Patrick Mullen Peter Andersson ; G -- Eddie Lack, Joe Cannata;

Washington Capitals

AHL assignments (Hershey): F Mike Carman, F Stanislav Galiev, F Garrett Mitchell, F Danick Paquette, F Mattias Sjogren, F Matt Clackson, F Zach Hamill, F Ryan Potulny, F Ryan Stoa, D Brett Flemming, D Tomas Kundratek, D Dmitry Orlov, D Cameron Schilling, D Dustin Stevenson, D Kevin Marshall, D Patrick McNeill, D Garrett Stafford, G Brandon Anderson, G Philipp Grubauer, G Braden Holtby and G Dany Sabourin to Hershey

OHL: F Tom Wilson (Plymouth)

Winnipeg Jets

RW Alexei Ponikarovsky (HC Donbass -- KHL)

AHL assignments (St. John's): F Alexander Burmistrov, G Chris Carrozzi, D Ben Chiarot, F Patrice Cormier, F Jason Gregoire, F Carl Klingberg, D Julian Melchiori, F Eric O'Dell, D Will O'Neill, G Edward Pasquale, D Zach Redmond, D Cody Sol, F Ivan Telegin

OHL: F Mark Scheifele (Barrie)

18 Sep, 2012

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Report: Kings' Kopitar close to playing in Sweden

As the NHL lockout drags into its second day with no end in sight, Los Angeles Kings star center Anze Kopitar is close to a deal with Mora IK of the Swedish league, The Los Angeles Times' Helene Elliott reported via Twitter Monday night.

The LA Times' Lisa Dillman reported that Mora IK is a natural fit for Kopitar because his brother plays for the team. He is also able to sign a deal that would allow him to return to the NHL if and when the lockout ends. Mora IK plays in the second-highest division in Sweden.

Kopitar was one of the key cogs for the Kings in their Stanley Cup-winning season last year, tallying 76 points in all 82 games played. He also had 20 points in 20 playoff games, including an assist in the Kings' Stanley Cup-clinching victory over the Devils.

18 Sep, 2012

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AHL ready to to reap benefits of another lockout

THE NHL lockout began Sunday and no bargaining sessions are scheduled.

Andy Clark/REUTERS

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- As the owner of the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch, Howard Dolgon isn't enamored with another NHL lockout, even though it's good for business.

He's torn, understandably. He loves the business. But he knows what the NHL means to the game he loves.

"It makes it maybe easier to market our brand, but at the same time I think every owner in the league will tell you that we really don't want a lockout," Dolgon said Monday after perusing the NHL's website. "I think it is important to us for the NHL to be playing and the NHL to be healthy.

"But that's an issue that we don't have any control over."

Join the club.

The NHL locked the players out over the weekend when the collective bargaining agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. It's the NHL's fourth work stoppage in 20 years. Day 2 of the NHL lockout on Monday saw no changes from either side as talks between the league and the NHLPA remain unscheduled.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr have spoken informally since the lockout began, and may do so again on Tuesday. But nothing official will resume until at least Wednesday between Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr. The two sides haven't met for face-to-face talks since last Wednesday.

Attention already has turned to alternative leagues like the AHL, where players will continue to train for the season and play the game. The AHL consists of 17 independently-owned franchises and another 13 owned by NHL clubs. It's the primary minor league of the NHL - nearly 90 percent of today's NHL players spent time in the A - and a safe haven these days for younger players on two-way contracts that remain eligible to play at the lower level.

Another prolonged NHL lockout like the one that forced the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season means better competition in AHL cities like Syracuse, increased attendance everywhere, and international media attention that it is simply not used to.

"The effect then was a window of opportunity for the American League to have a greater presence from a media perspective across North America and certainly more live television exposure, and to some extent an even stronger player pool than we normally have," longtime AHL president and CEO David Andrews said. "I'm anticipating that will be the case again this time."

The AHL's 77th regular season starts Oct. 12 - a day after the scheduled start of the NHL season - and training camps open in less than two weeks.

There's been movement toward the A already.

The Buffalo Sabres announced Monday that it had loaned 20 players to the Rochester Americans. Among them were forward Luke Adam, AHL rookie of the year for the 2010-11 season, and Marcus Foligno, who played 60 games for Rochester last season. On Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers assigned 26 players, including Erik Gustafsson, Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier, to the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

"At least I know my season's going to start. We have camp on the 28th which is great. I'm just preparing for that," Gustafsson said. "I think the AHL is going to be a great league. I think it will be the best league in the world."

Among the young NHL standouts that could give the A a jolt are Carolina's Jeff Skinner, the 2011 NHL rookie of the year; Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the first pick of the 2011 Draft by Edmonton; and New Jersey's Adam Henrique, who clinched the Devils' Eastern Conference title in June with an overtime goal against the New York Rangers in Game 6.

Ottawa's Jason Spezza set the standard during the last lockout. Spezza, a Senators forward, played 80 games for Ottawa's AHL franchise in Binghamton, N.Y. and had 32 goals and 85 assists.

"We've always been the second-best league in the world," said Dolgon, who switched NHL affiliations from Anaheim to Tampa Bay after last season and has seen a bump in fan interest. "Now, we can be the second-best league with even greater talent playing in that league."

If the lockout goes beyond the start of the AHL season, Dolgon said he expects attendance will be up across the board.

"I don't know that we're seeing NHL fans flocking to our ticket windows, but I do believe that our current fan base is more excited, and I think that'll ultimately lead to more ticket sales," said John Bitter, in his ninth year as ticket manager of the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals. "Hopefully, we'll start to get newer fans on account of it. Our hardcore hockey fans are excited about this. I think they'd rather see the NHL play, but they're not going to turn down the guys coming back, that's for sure."

The public perception is that there seems to be a pretty wide gap between the union and the owners, which could mean another prolonged stoppage as the search for a new CBA continues.

"Obviously, the question is: How long will the labor stoppage continue," Andrews asked. "There's still a month to go before the season is scheduled to open. So, it's difficult to say how it's going to play out.

"We're certainly looking at it as an opportunity again for our league to benefit over the short term, and at the same time recognize that our sport is better off with the NHL playing. The NHL is the engine that drives our business. For us, any kind of short-term financial windfalls or brand exposure windfalls are just that - short-term.

"We'd be just as happy if it all gets resolved and the NHL begins the season on time."

He's not alone.

18 Sep, 2012

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Day 2: Nothing doing, informal talks possible Tuesday

Penguins star Sidney Crosby appeared in an NHLPA video message to fans.

Mary Altaffer/AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Day 2 of the NHL lockout saw no changes from either side Monday, as talks between the league and the NHLPA remain unscheduled.

The NHL locked the players out over the weekend, when the collective bargaining agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. It's the NHL's fourth work stoppage in the last 20 years.

HACKEL: NHL nuclear winter ahead

The two sides haven't met for face-to-face talks since last Wednesday.

Over the weekend, the league issued a statement to fans on its website that it was "committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the players and to the 30 NHL teams."

The clock is ticking and there's no new collective bargaining agreement in sight. The league could start to announce this week the cancellation of preseason games and there's little chance training camps will open on time. The regular season is scheduled to begin Oct. 11, but that obviously is in peril.

DATER & MUIR: Who holds the aces?

"This is a time of year for all attention to be focused on the ice, not on a meeting room," the league said. "The league, the clubs and the players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible. We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans."

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog were among the players participating in a weekend NHLPA video to fans that was posted on YouTube. With black-and-white photos of each player as a backdrop, they talked about how much the game meant to them, and thanked fans for their support.

"We understand the people that suffer the most are the fans," Crosby said.

Well, that might not totally be the case. The Ottawa Senators, after all, have already had layoffs and full-time staff have been placed on a reduced work week, according to president Cyril Leeder.

"Every full-time, every part-time employee is affected by a work stoppage," Leeder said. "On the full-time employees, they've either been laid off temporarily or gone to a four-day work week."

Leeder wouldn't say exactly how many people have been laid off, but that "it was a significant number" and "more than ten." The Senators have 170 full-time employees.

"This really is the area that I worry about the most," Leeder said. "It's not good for anybody when we have a work stoppage and the people most affected are our staff here."

Leeder said the organization is working hard to ensure it's ready to resume operations once the lockout comes to an end.

18 Sep, 2012

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No progress, no meetings for Day 2 of lockout

Penguins star Sidney Crosby appeared in an NHLPA video message to fans.

Mary Altaffer/AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Day 2 of the NHL lockout saw no changes from either side Monday, as talks between the league and the NHLPA remain unscheduled.

The NHL locked the players out over the weekend, when the collective bargaining agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. It's the NHL's fourth work stoppage in the last 20 years.

HACKEL: NHL nuclear winter ahead

The two sides haven't met for face-to-face talks since last Wednesday.

Over the weekend, the league issued a statement to fans on its website that it was "committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the players and to the 30 NHL teams."

DATER & MUIR: Who holds the aces?

"We understand the people that suffer the most are the fans," Crosby said.

Well, that might not totally be the case. The Ottawa Senators, after all, have already had layoffs and full-time staff have been placed on a reduced work week, according to president Cyril Leeder.

"Every full-time, every part-time employee is affected by a work stoppage," Leeder said. "On the full-time employees, they've either been laid off temporarily or gone to a four-day work week."

Leeder wouldn't say exactly how many people have been laid off, but that "it was a significant number" and "more than ten." The Senators have 170 full-time employees.

"This really is the area that I worry about the most," Leeder said. "It's not good for anybody when we have a work stoppage and the people most affected are our staff here."

Leeder said the organization is working hard to ensure it's ready to resume operations once the lockout comes to an end.

18 Sep, 2012

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Dater and Muir: NHL lockout insights and insults

Our aggravated scribes ponder how long we'll be without the NHL and toss around a non-CBA-related stuff.

One of the NHL's top young stars, Jonathan Quick can easily lose a season before his lucrative new 10-yea deal kicks in.

Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images

Al Muir: First off AD, I'd like to thank you for skipping that Carly Rae Jepsen karaoke contest --I know how many hours you slaved over your choreography -- to spend a few minutes talking about the lockout. Things are looking grimmer than that new NBC Matthew Perry "comedy." There's some gulf between the two sides.

Adrian Dater: I find it suspicious that I couldn't get tickets to Ms. Jepson's contest because they told me a "Mr. Allan Muir has requested a block of 200 seats." But I'm afraid I couldn't hear your initial inquiry anyway, since I'm too busy listening right now to a conference call between the local Denver roller derby team's general manager and the media about their next match. This is my new beat for the coming few months....

Muir: Lucky man you are. Big flat-track fan myself -- what up, Lone Star Assassins! -- but word is I'm getting the middle school marching band beat. I got a good lead on a band candy scandal. I'm gonna bust that thing wide open. Hold page one!

Dater: OK, let's get down to brass tacks: I had an angry day today. One of my favorite movies is Wall Street, and one of the top 50 great lines from Gordon Gekko in the film is: "Never get emotional about stocks - lousy judgment." Being a journalist, I try to take that to heart when covering stories. Don't get emotional about your subject -- lousy judgment. But it's still hugely aggravating that we're into ANOTHER NHL lockout.

Muir: Tough not to get riled up, AD. It's either anger or apathy and neither of us is comfortably numb with this insanity just yet. What's interesting to me is how my feelings have started to shift. In 2004, I was totally on board with the owners. This time, I found myself sympathizing with the union, for a couple of reasons. Any problems with overspending during the just-expired deal were strictly the fault of the teams or the league, and the players shouldn't have to surrender money they bargained for in good faith to solve those problems. And I really admired the creativity that went into their proposal. It's not exactly the "shared sacrifice" they've painted it to be, but it had the fundamentals to be the cycle-breaker the industry needs.

But lately I've been thinking that something this bold should have been brought to the table much, much sooner to give it any real chance of gaining traction -- and remember, the timing of the talks has been at the discretion of the union. I get what Fehr was trying to do while familiarizing himself with the game, the issues and most important, the players, but that 18-month process killed too much time.

Dater: Mind you, this is the "columnist" portion of me talking. As long as I'm allowed to have an opinion, I'm coming back down firmly in the players' camp. And I was on the general side of the owners last time -- despite that meaning that I was on the same philosophic page as Jeremy Jacobs.

Gary Bettman has said repeatedly over the years that the new CBA "worked for everybody." He bragged over and over how much money the league was raking in. Now, he's in the unfortunate position of trying to plead poverty again on behalf of his owners. He's a smart man -- he must know down deep how foolish he's looking. Anybody who wants to Google my name and Bettman's will find positive stories I've written about some of the things he's done for the game. But this time? He's in the losing corner, and I suspect he knows it. Talking about things like airplane fuel and -- oh, this will haunt him big-time -- the cost of team massage therapists as reasons why teams need a financial lift from the players, all of whom were signed to contracts that the OWNERS AGREED TO. I think the players are going to roll the owners and Bettman in this one, I really do.

Muir: This is going to be a war of attrition, and the players are no more prepared to win than any previous union. Sure, NHL 13 just came out, so that should keep them from getting bored for a couple months, at least. But in the end they'll all meander their way to the same realization: principle is nice, but I want to play hockey. Not in the KHL or the Allsvenskan or the Dr. Pepper Starcenter men's league. In the NHL. And they aren't going to outlast the owners. Not gonna happen. Yeah, the league's wearing the black hat, but Gary has never much cared how he looks. For him, it's always been about making the best deal. That first offer was a laugher, but he made a fair point when he noted that it was similar to the ones used by the NBA and NFL on the path to their CBAs. So as callous as it was, it's an effective approach.

Dater: To argue your solidarity issue -- I pointed out in my lockout timeline (2004-05 vs. now) why the players are much better positioned to sit out a whole year this time and the owners will be stuck with 41 empty regular-season dates in their arenas, missing huge paychecks from the Winter Classic and the playoffs and even more TV money down the road. If they're such smart businessmen, they'll realize that's a loser in the end. Finally, keep this in mind: many of the league's top players are young and early in their 8-to-15-year contracts. So what if they miss one season of a 12-year deal? That's different from 2004-05, when much of the league's elite were older guys who were at the ends of their contracts and started to really miss the money.

The union's boogeyman: Can Commisioner Gary Bettman have it both ways in justifying the lockout?

Mary Altaffer/AP

Muir: I think you're really onto something. But if you think the owners are less entrenched in their position, you're bananas. Was that vote of support Bettman mentioned really unanimous? I'm guessing there were at least a couple hands raised begrudgingly, if at all, and I'm sure there will be some second thoughts down the road as those empty dates start hammering away at the owners' bank accounts. But any dissension will be internal, and not enough to force the group to seriously reconsider the revenue-sharing option. I wish I was wrong, but I just don't see it happening.

Speaking of things I don't see happening, did you catch Bettman's reaction when he was asked about the players possibly putting the cap on the table? Say what you want about his oily speaking manner, but I don't think I've ever seen the man visibly caught off guard. Might have been the only smile of the day.

Dater: Fehr did not rule that out! This could be really, really nasty. But I'm still clinging, however tenuously, to my prediction all along: we'll have hockey back by December 15 at the latest. Think about it: it'll be dead of winter by then, the prospect of huge Winter Classic dollars will be in the crisp, cold air and Bettman/owners will salivate enough over them to make a deal.

I see the endgame as the players agreeing to a deal that lessens their percentage over time, with the hope that, say, 50 percent of revenue by 2017 could be worth more in hard dollars than 57 percent of the existing $3.3 billion. If revenues are $4 billion in 2017 and the players' share is "only" 50 percent, they'll still take in nearly $200 million more in total dollars. And they'll have more incentive to grow the game over the term of those years. The players will always be the best vehicle to grow revenues. They're the people fans come to see -- not Jeremy Jacobs sitting up in his walled-off suite sipping a wine spritzer.

Muir: That's a lot if "ifs" and "hopes," buddy. The NHL needs simple, definable percentages, not "the league is going to make sooo much money in the future it'll be just like we're taking a pay cut!" Ultimately I think that's what it'll come down to: a clearly drawn drop from 57 percent of HRR to 49 or 50, accomplished over time in a way that won't call for a drastic increase in escrow to the players or force cap-ceiling teams to scuttle large chunks of their rosters in order to get under the new number. It's the only path that gets the league where it wants to be while minimizing the players' inevitable pain.

Dater: One more point to my belief that the players will win and are very well unified: they have the same bogeyman against whom to stake their cause now in Gary Bettman as the owners did in 2004-05 with Bob Goodenow. The players, at least the ones I've talked to, really want to kick Bettman's ass this time. They have a true rallying cry. If that means cutting off their noses to spite their face financially, I think they're willing to do it. I think many of them have the same ferocity of desire to want to kick Bettman out of the game as the owners did in booting Goodenow.

And Fehr is an expert at rallying players to a cause. The players fell apart under Goodenow last time because they knew in their hearts they were overpaid, and he started to become too cloistered from the meat-and-potatoes core of his constituency. Not the case with Fehr, who really has reached out to the players and gotten them to want to fight for him. That's a HUGE difference. I get the absolute sense that the owners are nowhere near as unified as the last time, and someone is going to crack come December or so.

Muir: You keep talking about a union win and kicking Gary's ass....what form do you think that takes? You actually believe the owners are going to buckle and agree to a broader, more impactful commitment to revenue sharing? Hey, I'd love to see that more than you'd like to see Ace Frehley back in the Space Man makeup, but Jeremy Jacobs and Ed Snider and their cronies have no interest in pulling any more Benjamins out of their fat stacks to prop up Columbus and Florida and Phoenix.

Dater: Well, at least we agree on this: Ed Snider and JJ and the ghost of Bill Wirtz don't give a rat's patootie about Florida or Columbus and never have -- except for getting their original cut of their expansion fees. Therein lies the rub: Bettman and the owners this time, at least, are caught red-handed in their canard attempt to frame this lockout as one necessary to help all franchises stay financially healthy. They said they got that last time - just watch this YouTube video here if you don't believe me. Now, the jig is up. The owners are exposed for what they are: interested in only their own self-interest. Period.

Muir: Is that a pungent mix of fresh turnip and truck grease you're wearing? Since when have owners NOT been motivated by their own self-interest? I'm not saying there aren't great guys who love their players and place a high priority on winning, but come on. If they thought they could get away with doing all that and paying out just 40 or 30 or 20 percent of HRR, it would already be done. These guys didn't get to be team-buying rich through regular acts of financial benevolence. They got there by making more deals that weighed heavily in their favor than not. I wish I could see it your way. I think the game is better off if something based on the players' plan carries the day, but I just can't envision a scenario where the owners splinter and send Bettman out to make that kind of deal.

Okay, so how about we close with a lightning round. Ready? If this thing ends with a major union victory, does Gary Bettman clear out his desk?

Dater: No, Bettman hangs on either way, but his "legacy" such as it is, will be tarnished no matter what coming out of this lockout.

Muir: The $8 million he banks each year is the only legacy he's worried about. But if he fails to get something close to the deal that's currently on the table, I think he and Bill Daly skate off into the horizon when it's over.

The NHL is much more rugged than European leagues, but an injury to Sidney Crosby could be devastating, given his concussion history.

Sean Rudyk/NHLI via Getty Images

Dater: Should Sidney Crosby play in Europe during the lockout?

Muir: I think he will. Listening to him last week, it's clear he wants to play...and that he doesn't care if that means some poor schlub has to turn in his Magnitogorsk sweater and go back to working in the steel mill. That's some cold, mercenary-style shizz, Sid. But you asked if he *should* play. And I think that answer is no. First, I can't imagine him being able to get his new contact insured -- it's just too expensive, especially with his history. And the hockey over there may be softer but it's hardly no-contact. You know he'd be a target. It's just not worth it.

Dater: I agree. Keep Sid back at home, not donning those masculinity-challenged Euro team getups with 25 advertisements all over them. Besides, it's not going to help his game much, other than the pure exercise of it. And yep, if he gets seriously hurt there, good luck getting your insurance money back from, say, a Russian with, shall we might imagine, with shady ties to the financial worlds of Moscow.

Muir: Shane Doan got a no-move clause in his last-minute extension, but the Coyotes have yet to secure theirs with Greg Jamison still struggling to lock down a deal in Phoenix. Do you think the potential empty dates at Jobing.com Arena help or hurt Jamison as he tries to dot the i's with Glendale City Council?

Dater: Is there a city council as well-known to hockey fans as Glendale's? I think not. Honestly, I really do think putting a man on the moon wasn't as hard as closing a deal in Glendale. Just get the darned thing signed already and let's play some hockey. Oh yeah, whoops, none to play in Glendale right now, regardless. I don't know, they've managed to keep a team around in Glendale with empty buildings before, so a few more months of nobody sitting in the seats of Jobing.com Arena shouldn't be so bad.

Muir: I'm thinking this could really help Jamison. This is Glendale's Ghost of Christmas Future moment when they find out what life would be like with that rink sitting idle. If they notice a calamitous decline in area businesses, then hockey supporters on the council have all the bullets they need. Of course, if it's the same ol' same ol'...

Okay, last one: P.K. Subban. Lots of rumors swirling about talks between the Habs and Flyers and maybe one other team. Any chance that Marc Bergevin cuts ties with his most exciting player once we have a new CBA in place?

Dater: No way, P.K. stays a Hab. Philly's still mad after failing to get Shea Weber, so they want to try to heist PK out of Montreal. Not if a deal doesn't include a Couturier going back, and no way do I trade that kid if I'm Paul Holmgren.

Muir: With you there, although if there was any way to pry Couturier away from the Flyers, I'd throw in one-year supply of Schwartz's smoked meat. My son just switched to center and that's one of the guys he's been keying on in repeats as he tries to learn the position. That kid Couturier's a beauty.

Dater: OK, Al, see you in December when all my predictions will have come to fruition. Meantime, I've got to get back to mastering my glossary of terms for the next roller derby match. Wait, here's one: "fishnet burn." Ouch. I mean, oh, interesting. Sign me up!

18 Sep, 2012

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Ovechkin: I'm ready to play full season in Russia

Alexander Ovechkin doesn't have any problem playing a whole season in his native Russia (Alexander Nemenov, Getty Images)

As the NHL lockout continues and the sports biggest stars sign with foreign teams, one of the league's marquee names has made it known he may not be back anytime soon, according to tweets from Russian hockey reporter Pavel Lysenkov.

The lockout of NHL players began yesterday and little progress has been made since then, according to multiple reports. The lack of a functioning league has led many players to sign professional contracts with European clubs, just as many NBA players in that league's lockout that carried into the first quarter of the season.

However, none of those players have the star status or the influence of Ovechnkin, a five-time All-Star and two-time MVP of the NHL.

18 Sep, 2012

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Report: Selanne says Bettman NHL's most hated

Some NHL players are critical of commissioner Gary Bettman. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Anaheim Ducks veteran scorer Teemu Selanne has cast his venom on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman regarding the current owners lockout of the players. Selanne's untranslated comments first appeared on his Finnish blog Salama.

Selanne comes out firing calling Bettman the NHL's "most hated person," and blaming him for the league's labor conflicts.

Selanne wonders if Bettman would be willing to give up his $8 million salary for a year. Bettman and NHLPA director Donald Fehr have said they will not draw their salaries during the lockout.

The Morning Line at Yardbarker reports the translated text.

17 Sep, 2012

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NHL, union make no progress on Day 1 of NHL lockout

Written By Emdua on Minggu, 16 September 2012 | 17.44

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (right) looks on as NHLPA director Donald Fehr addresses media.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Die-hard hockey fans might need to invest in some classic NHL games on DVD.

It might be the only taste of hockey for months.

There's no telling when the NHL lockout will end, especially when neither the league nor the NHLPA has committed to face-to-face negotiations to end the labor unrest. There were no formal talks Sunday on the first day of the lockout, the league's fourth shutdown since 1992, including a year-long dispute that forced the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season when the league successfully held out for a salary cap.

And there are no formal talks planned.

The league issued a statement to fans on its website that it was "committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the players and to the 30 NHL teams."

Day 1 of the lockout could serve as a preview for the next several cold months: Empty rinks, empty talk.

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog were among the players participating in an NHLPA video to fans that was posted on YouTube. With black-and-white photos of each player as a backdrop, they talked about how much the game meant to them, and thanked fans for their support.

"We understand the people that suffer the most are the fans," Crosby said.

Some players won't wait for labor talks to pick up - they've already packed up.

As of Sunday morning, all NHL players were free to speak to other leagues. Many will land in Russia's KHL, and two big names already signed. Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin and Ottawa defenseman Sergei Gonchar agreed to deals with Metallurg. More will surely follow.

Malkin, a 26-year-old center with the Penguins, is the NHL's reigning MVP. The 38-year-old Gonchar is a defenseman who helped lead the Senators to the playoffs last season.

Although the club provided no further details of their contracts, it said that they would comply with KHL regulations on signing NHL players during the lockout. Under these rules, KHL teams can sign a maximum of three NHL players above their limit of 25.

The KHL also sets the ceiling for the salaries of NHL players at a maximum of 65 percent of what they earn under their NHL deals. Malkin has two years and $16.5 million remaining on his deal with Pittsburgh. Gonchar has one year and $5.5 million left with Ottawa.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell are part owners of a team in the Finnish league. Timonen, a father of three children, said it would be hard to immediately consider playing overseas unless the entire season was wiped out. But Timonen returned to his native Finland to play in 2004, and clearly understands why some young players are interested in finding a roster spot in Europe.

"A lot of young guys are asking if there's a spot to play," he said. "I'm sure our team can take a few of the guys, but not many."

Many of the players, 25 years and younger, could end up in the AHL, the NHL's primary minor league. No matter where they play, the players are prepared for a lengthy wait to return to the NHL.

The core issue is money - how to split a $3.3 billion pot of revenue. The owners want to decrease the percentage of hockey-related revenue that goes to players, while the union wants a guarantee that players annually get at least the $1.8 billion in salaries paid out last season.

While the NHL lockout might not destroy the whole season - like in 2004-05 - a sizable chunk of games could be lost without any productive talks on tap.

"I'm sure we will remain in contact," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "But there are no negotiations planned or scheduled at this point."

Teams are prepared for the likelihood the season will not start on time. And so they are making economic plans on several fronts. At the end of each month, for instance, the Buffalo Sabres will refund any games that are canceled by the NHL.

The Minnesota Wild, meanwhile, fresh off a free-agent spending spree that landed them forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Sutter, will send out ticket policies on Monday.

"We support the league's position and trust our NHL negotiating team is looking out for the long-term interests of the game," the Wild said in a statement. "Even as NHL games may be missed, the Wild will continue to support the great sport of hockey at all levels through our grass roots partnerships with amateur hockey associations."

Minnesota defenseman Steven Kampfer was fired up to report for training part in part to see what it would look like to have those prized free agents - Parise and Suter - in uniform to ignite a franchise that missed the playoffs last season.

"It was going to be really exciting to see our lineup with those two acquisitions," Kampfer said. "I guess we'll just have to wait a little longer."

Parise and Suter signed on the same day in July as the Wild made a statement to the rest of the league that they wanted to be true players in the Western Conference. But that will have to wait.

"It's a frustration situation to go through because you never want a work stoppage," Kampfer said. "But we're trying to fight for what's fair for both the owners and players. Everybody wants more money. The owners want to keep more of their profits and the players want their fair share of the profits. As players, we have full confidence that (NHLPA executive director) Donald Fehr will do his job to get us the best deal that he can."

For now, most teams seem to be stable financially. The cancellation of games may change that, but for the time being, the panic button has not been pushed. Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan, for example, said the team has no plans on layoffs "at this time."

In jeopardy are some key dates on the calendar: the New Year's Day outdoor Winter Classic at 115,000-seat Michigan Stadium between the host Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs; and the Jan. 27 All-Star game hosted by the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of the league's struggling small-market teams.

The Blue Jackets put out a statement Sunday supporting the league, but did not mention the All-Star game.

"The league, the clubs and the players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible," the team said. "We owe it to each other, to the game, and most of all, to the fans."

NHL players struck in April 1992, causing 30 games to be postponed. This marks the third lockout under Commissioner Gary Bettman. The 1994-95 lockout ended after 103 days and the cancellation of 468 games.

"Like any partnership, you want both sides to benefit," Crosby said in the video. "I think that's the case here. As players we want to play.

"But we also know what's right, what's fair."

17 Sep, 2012

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Spinning Their Wheels

While neither side in the NHL's lockout of the players had anything to say at midnight when the CBA expired, on Sunday the messaging war began.

The league issued the following statement at 9 AM on NHL.com:

"Despite the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the National Hockey League has been, and remains, committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the Players and to the 30 NHL teams.

"Thanks to the conditions fostered by seven seasons under the previous CBA, competitive balance has created arguably the most meaningful regular season in pro sports; a different team has won the Stanley Cup every year; fans and sponsors have agreed the game is at its best, and the League has generated remarkable growth and momentum. While our last CBA negotiation resulted in a seismic change in the League's economic system, and produced corresponding on-ice benefits, our current negotiation is focused on a fairer and more sustainable division of revenues with the Players — as well as other necessary adjustments consistent with the objectives of the economic system we developed jointly with the NHL Players' Association seven years ago. Those adjustments are attainable through sensible, focused negotiation — not through rhetoric.

"This is a time of year for all attention to be focused on the ice, not on a meeting room. The League, the Clubs and the Players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible. We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans."

That was followed at around 1 PM Sunday afternoon by the release of this very slickly produced video by the NHLPA:

On their websites, many clubs reran the league's message. A third of them — Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Islanders, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Jose and Vancouver — crafted messages of their own to fans and sponsors. Some , teams that feel they made major offseason strides, reinforced that effort in their communiques. It's rare that the clubs or team executives have said anything at all about the talks or the lockout — they have been prohibited by the NHL from making statements under the threat of a million dollar fine. It's quite possible that all these messages had to cleared by the league office prior to publication.

As for the owners and players speaking to each other about reaching a new collective bargaining agreement, there were no formal talks today and none are scheduled. Katie Strang of ESPN New York tweeted that a phone discussion between NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr took place sometime Sunday and that they plan to speak again Tuesday evening. These two have kept the lines of communication open even as the sides have remain committed to their now-entrenched positions. But as for anything productive coming from their chat, RDS's Renaud Lavoie tweeted, "Nothing new to report."

17 Sep, 2012

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