NHL Lockout Over; Now What??

Alright, well, the NHL Lockout is over.

What does that mean?? Well, plenty.

In a 50 (or 48) game season, it'll be a big rush for them to get to the playoffs. If a team gets on an extended losing streak, it could be curtains for their playoff hopes. These games will benefit teams who had a lot of players playing in the AHL or Europe because they won't have to shake off the rust. On top of that, it'll show how good the condition is, which means we could have a lot of injuries because of the short season.

Even before that, when the CBA is ratified; it'll be a rush for trades and signing free agents, especially restricted ones. It'll be a chance to see who gets bought-out for the 2013-14 season and to see if there's going to be quick chemistry between the new free agents with their teams in a short season.

The biggest things is whether the fans will come back or not. You see a lot of people who have mixed emotions on social media, many saying they won't come back. While I think the hyperbole of some is a little extreme, there's going to be some who have their interest of the NHL drop off because of this and that's to be expected. However, you can take the fan out of hockey, but you can't take hockey out of the fan. Most people will come back in some way, shape, or form, thus ending their arbitrary stand-off with the NHL.

How the NHL gets fans back will be interesting to see. While the NHL itself doesn't have the ruling power to dictate ticket prices or concession prices, they will need to somehow make the game a little more accessible, maybe urge the member teams to do something in order to get people back in the seats. Rumors of free Center Ice could be a good start, but who knows how likely that is.

The NHL is back. That's really all that matters. The battles can happen on the ice rather than off.

On the Topic Of 20-Team Playoffs

With word of the NHL and NHLPA possibly looking at a 20-team playoff when play finally returns leaking out-- the social media people came out in droves and questioned the audacity of such a thing, that this outside the box thinking is something that shouldn't be even considered.

Of course...it was considered since Elliotte Friedman wrote about it December 2011 and then Dave Hodge kept the idea rolling in March 2012, but that wasn't 2013 thinking!!

In any case, the idea is something that Friedman threw out about the 20 teams being grouped into one, then having seeds 13-20 playing in some kind of play-in series or sudden death game in order to join the other ten teams in the march to the Stanley Cup, Whether or not it's like the QMJHL and they do a 1 vs. 16 and say the hell with the conferences is to be decided, I'm sure. Again-- this is just outloud thinking and not set in stone as many would think.

The main ideal is to bring more revenue to the teams, which goes to the league, which then gets shared with the players. When you lose half a season, you have to find a way to get that money that you lost back in some capacity. Plus, when you look at what happened with MLB and their play-in Wild Card games-- it could be something that is right in Donald Fehr's wheelhouse.

When all is said and done, it probably won't happen, but thinking outside the box isn't a horrible thing. The more drama the playoffs bring the better it is for the game and the casual fan. Of course, the "traditionalists" will all be opposed to it, much like they were many other innovations and stuff like that. In a game that has had more changes over the past couple decade in their rules and technology than most any other sport-- the term "traditionalist" has to be in quotes or else those who call themselves that could have checked out of the game years ago.

For me, when you have 30 teams and 66% of the teams get into the playoffs makes the league look more farce-like than the lockout had us believe. The best idea is to either bring in two teams or get rid of two teams and then have four divisions, have the playoffs start with divisional play and then the two divisions in each conference play to win the conference, then to the Stanley Cup-- much like the old days of four divisions. Of course-- when you bring up expansion or even contraction-- people get all into a tizzy.

Nothing can go right for the NHL, especially not in the state they are in now. The fact of the matter is that rather than tinkering with the playoffs-- they need to have a season in order to get to the playoffs. And even after there's games-- make sure you exhaust all your research and tools in order to make sure that 20 teams in the playoffs is a great idea for the game rather than for the revenue it could bring in.

Airing of Grievances

In the "Seinfeld" tradition of Festivus, it's time for the airing of grievances. AND I GOT A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH YOU PEOPLE.

NHL and NHLPA: Let's get it together. Enough about seeing who's junk is bigger and talking all this noise and actually maybe put that energy to better use. In a world that seems to be all about who "wins" and who "loses," sport is usually the getaway from that...but it's not. It's the same high school drama we've had to deal with for years and you're making an already niche sport less relevant.

NHL-Only Fans: I get that you miss the league, but please let's stop actually saying that all of hockey is over. Sure, the main league is a big loss, but the expansions of horizons about the game as a whole is not a bad thing. Sad that Nike only increases that stereotype that just because the NHL is gone, all of hockey is gone.

Minor League Fans: Let's not push the agenda that there's actual hockey out there because of course it is. It's not for everyone and it's not supposed to be for everyone. Why are you trying to blow up your little secret you have only to get interlopers in there and ruin the fun for everyone else when they say that it's not as good as the NHL. It only gets you down and make the minor leagues look that less credible.

Silly Twitter Accounts: It's great to laugh at these little nuances that happen during the Lockout, but the fact that the NHL podium (or lectern if you're a proper jerk) had a Twitter account and people got excited about it shows that NHL fans will flock back easy and almost makes the fans look silly to other sports out there.

Punditry: Enough with the bi-polarness of your reporting. The emotional rollercoaster you put everyone on is almost sickening and makes me believe that you're masochistic and enjoy getting everyone up to let them down-- enough of you.

Lip-Synching Songs: It was cute at once, but much like alternate jerseys-- the oversaturation of the marketplace has made it horrific to even watch the cringe-inducing nature these players put themselves though. I understand this world is all about going viral because everyone wants to be famous-- but come on. Christmas songs are depressing and there's so few that are any good. We all love Mariah Carey, but it doesn't mean you need to keep going on and on with her song. Enough.

I'm sure there's some more, but I've lost my train of thought. Now...the feats of strength.

On the Topic Of NHL Contraction

As I've tried to avoid lockout talk, I did see something that should be a discussion point and should have been a discussion point for this lockout-- the idea of contraction, something that hasn't happened since the Cleveland Barons in 1979. Luckily, someone much smarter and more well-known than I has made that a new discussion point-- especially with all that legal wrangling going on right now. Here's what Pierre Lebrun had to say in his latest article:

"I'm not sure the NHL returns with 30 teams on the other side of a lost season. Can the weaker markets truly survive this? That's damage both sides would feel."

Even Forbes has made the argument for contraction, thinking it could be the best hope and saying Western and Southern teams aren't hockey markets and the "fans" are "fans" at all. They know something about money, but I don't know about pleasing the masses.

If that were to happen, it could do much more damage to the revenue stream and how it is divided or proposed to be divided in any projection that comes out. Sure, the lower teams wouldn't bring in much revenue; but any hit would skew the boat one way or another.

Of course, the question becomes-- how many teams do you cut to make the league healthy again?? Is it two, four, 10?? The question will vary depending upon what people believe from their own view. And while the lower market teams would take away some money-- those teams could be the ones bleeding the money, as well-- thus making their elimination something that could keep the league healthy under whomever terms and conditions the NHL and NHLPA agree on.

That said, that's going to hurt the NHLPA as well for the obvious reason of jobs being lost by the players. Even if two teams are gone, that makes 64 players without jobs (based on the 23 players per roster ideal) and you can bet Don Fehr won't like that one bit...which means that Bettman and the Board of Governors could be touting this as a possibility soon.

Which is what makes this whole lockout posturing insane. But we all knew that.

In any case, the idea of contraction is something that could make the league better off than it is right now because it could cut cost of travel, lessen the amount of money lost, and while losing revenue in some sorts; it'll be for the greater health of the league and revenue sharing if something were to happen. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a couple teams taken out for the health of the league, but the fans who would suffer would probably revolt as it were-- though when has the NHL thought of the fans, am I right, folks??

Expect this to be the new talking point as this battle goes around and around into possibly the New Year. Unless there's a Christmas or Festivus Miracle, this thing will go on and on with teams, players, and fans hurting-- but maybe some other leagues reaping the benefits-- hockey or otherwise.

An Ode to the Minor League Super Teams

During the lockout of 2004-05, the minor leagues saw a little bit of a boon when you had some select NHL players dropping down the rank to keep in shape for a season that never happened. This lockout, we're seeing a bit of the same thing-- but with a couple more teams.

Of course, this doesn't include the AHL teams that have the young prospects-- like the Oklahoma City Barons-- who are tearing up the league because they have experience in the NHL, but I'm more talking about the AA leagues like the ECHL who have been doing well enough for their teams to thrive, but not overly dominating the league.

For example, in the 2004-05 season, the United Hockey League's Motor City Mechanics were the darling of the minor league world, as they had a roster than included Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher, Bryan Smolinski, and Sean Avery, while Kris Draper was signed, but never played. It was a team that looked very good on paper, but none of those players played more than 24 games (Hatcher) and Avery was the leading scorer of all of them with 15 goals, 11 assists, and 149 PIMs in only 16 games. The Mechanics didn't make the playoffs and dissolved after the next season.

This lockout, the ECHL has been quite the travel adventure for NHLers, with the Alaska Aces really sporting the names of the NHL. While Brandon Dubinsky, Joey Crabb, and Nate Thompson have played all season, Scott Gomez just signed on to play after training for the longest time with his hometown team. Crabb has really flourished with the team with 8 goals and 21 points leading the team and 13th in the league in scoring.

Another Western ECHL team with a good amount of NHLers is the Ontario Reign who have Paul Mara, Devin Setoguchi, and Kyle Clifford are on the roster, despite none of them really turning the league upside down. Only Mara has played the entire season, while Setoguchi (6 games) and Clifford (3) are still working their way into the line-up.

Ryan Clowe has also been around the ECHL, practicing and coaching with the San Francisco Bulls, but won't play until he knows that the NHL is either coming back or going away outright. Plus, it's not like these NHLers are tearing up the scoring chart, as three Colorado Eagles-- Chad Costello, Jack Combs, and Michael Forney-- lead the ECHL in scoring.

While some in the ECHL are upset about teams stockpiling this talent when this is supposed to be a development league, I've pointed out elsewhere that the number of teams using their ECHL teams is few and far-between-- granted this is different circumstances where the NHL teams could utilize their ECHL teams more-- but still, very few really have.

There's plenty of people out there who don't like the minor leagues because it's not the NHL and won't check out minor leagues because the games there aren't as smooth (which isn't a bad thing and understandable), it seems that the longer the lockout turns on, the better the talent could get domestically rather than them going overseas.

Season Starts Tomorrow-- Lockout, Schmlockout

Shirt via Pucking Hilarious

As you know, I love gimmicks. And I love NHL94. Therefore, why not have a gimmick that involves NHL94....again.

You're welcome.

Starting on Thursday and going until they figure out the damn lockout-- I'll be simulating all the games that have been cancelled on the NHL94 ROM emulator. That's right, we'll have a full 82 game season as it stands and figure out how the hell this will all pan out.

Now, of course-- there's issues. As of now, they don't have a NHL13 ROM update for the NHL94 platform, so I'm going to have to use the NHL12 rosters at the time being. Hopefully trying to get the playoff updated roster so I can get at least some accuracy.

Anyway-- starting tomorrow with four games on the docket, we'll have some faux NHL action.

Going Viral or Gaining Vitriol??

As we all know, tension is high when it comes to the lockout. Fans are getting stir-crazy, the information coming out is never good for too long or vague, and the people already presuming gloom and doom are licking their chops when it comes to their prediction being right.

More over, the players are becoming more and more vocal about this disdain for the owners and the lockout. Of course, the players have that freedom. The NHL has a bylaw restricting the owners or those in the front office from talking about the CBA or the lockout. Jim Devellano can attest to that.

But while the players have their freedom-- that freedom could be a little too much at times. Their accessibility has gotten them to say some things that make their staunchest of supporters do a double take. Amongst those are:

• Krys Barch's crazy Twitter ranting about players being born to play and the owners not knowing what it's like.
• Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Bryzgalov talking about how players could stay over in the KHL, especially if they have Russian passports or don't like the new CBA.
• Dan Boyle saying not all the owners are on the same page.
• Mike Commodore using his rage against Verizon to take jabs at Gary Bettman.
• Most anything Allan Walsh tweets.
• Karl Alzner pretty much spilling the beans that the players aren't going to win, but it being a matter of how little they'll lose. 

While it's good the the NHLPA to allow their members to freely speak their mind and frustration, they may want to reign in their contingency just a little bit-- maybe going full cliche mode for some of them. Especially with what Alzner said, it's almost like he's taking a knee early on.

The PA had the public opinion with them, and even with some people swinging hatred to both sides-- people still seemed to have an edge on the PA's side rather than right down the middle. Yet, with every comment that a PA member is making, the vitriol is being spewed their way in bigger spurts than there were at the beginning of this. 

(In full disclosure, I do believe both sides are idiotic for letting it get to this point, the ownership side is one I'm a little more on the side of. Sure, I get that the players have dedicated their lives in order to get to play professionally in the best league in the world (so they say); the owners sank money into a team and while some of their management styles are sometimes ill-advised and short-sighted, I think many people can relate on not losing money on potential investments over getting paid to live your dream. Both sides are kind of pipe dreams on the larger scale of the Average Joe, but for the sake of explanation-- that's what I use.)

For the NHLPA, they got the social media movement out there from the start. Creating hashtags for their cause (as seen above on the NHLPA practice jerseys), putting out a viral video showing their passion, and just making sure their presence was felt to the masses and the people who will see what they are standing for, especially since the NHL owners have no voice due to the gag order. 

With the PA allowing their guys speak their mind, it's a nice interactive instance from time to time. However, the more they speak, the less sympathy people are taking on them and the more annoyance it is becoming. It's one thing to be open and freely express your views, it's a whole other when those views start to sway people in the other direction. There are times when you can become too opinionated and people start to roll their eyes. 

Social media or just the easy accessibility to players is the biggest it has been before. The NHLPA probably didn't take that into account for....well, most anything-- lockout or otherwise. While their campaigns on it have been widely well received, the fact of the matter is the thing they viewed as the biggest upside for them may end up being a big free-fall in favor, as well. 

On the Topic Of the NHL Lockout

The lockout is coming.

That isn't news to anyone and shouldn't be news to anyone.

While the NHL says they were ready to meet at the All-Star break, the talks didn't start until July. They did meet frequently at least, giving hope to the hopeless-- then dashing those hopes when they had their press conferences when the meetings were over.

The bitterness and vitriol the fans will spew is going to be heightened as the social media movement is one that will ultimately show its worth in this work stoppage. They have began protesting outside the NHL Store in New York and maybe it could spread. And while they do have a right to do it-- it does bring out the worst in people; both attitude wise and in dealing with them when they're steadfast in their opinion and nothing will make them let up from it. Though, the overly pessimistic attitude is something that is a sign of the times in every aspect of life.

You can see the player's side of it-- they don't want to have their money taken away from them, especially since they feel they earned the contracts and shouldn't have it taken away from them. Sure, most of them will have plenty left over and will get a lot for their next contract for playing the game they love-- but it's the principle behind it that makes them fight and gets people on their side. My brother-in-arms Jonny P made a great point about how Fehr was going to be a tough negotiator and there would have been trouble when the NHLPA brought him onboard in the first place.

The owners are always in the wrong and there's few people who will defend them. I, for one, can see their side of it a lot more than I can see it from the player's side of it. The owners want to protect their investment. Sure, them giving insane contract because of "market value" isn't the smartest idea when trying to defend their point, but you have to give your team the best chance to win. Plus, to be in the position the owners are in, they had to take risks and that's how they made their billions and allowed them to actually have the money to own their teams.

Derek Zona wrote a piece about how much the owners are worth. One can assume it's to show that no one should support the owners because they aren't like the common man due to their riches. However, they had to work their way up the ladder in order to be in a position to make the money they did-- and they did a lot of things that maybe the common person would love to do: have financial freedom, be their own boss, own their own sports team. Let's be honest-- how many owners have actually made their fortunes from owning a sports team?? Plus, you can say that the investment in the NHL is a fool's bet-- if it wasn't, the Coyotes would have had an owner three years ago and we wouldn't have the amount of franchises changing owners as we have seen in the past two decades.

On top of that, when you hear many teams would lose less money without a season than with a season-- shows that the economic nature isn't the best in the world. Whether that means new owners are needed, less teams are needed, or whatever-- it seems that some people pass over that point. Not to mention, the owners have their hands in other things as well, which means they'll still make some money while the NHL is locked out.

No one will look good at the end of this. Owners are already hated, regardless of what they do. Players will get plenty of people on their side, but as things wear on-- they could lose some support depending on what they say and do while being locked out. The fans suffer, the arena staff suffers, writers suffer, the industry of the NHL suffers.

The game of hockey will only suffer due to its main league being out. Yet, it will continue to live on that the minor league, junior, and college teams would love for you to spend your entertainment dollar there. That's why I've done my "Better Know A League" series in order to enlighten people who may think the NHL is the only game in town. It'd be great for the health of the game if the lower leagues were supported and when the NHL comes back--maybe fans will be more inclined to go to a minor league game rather than NHL games-- which will really show the owners what you can do with your money and your choice.

And even with the lockout-- it could be a good thing for fans. Buddy Oakes at Preds on the Glass has a spectacular piece about how the lockout could be a good thing for some fans and how the last one was a good one for him personally. That's a kind of story you'll start to see if this lockout drags on for any amount of time. We all want the NHL to come back quickly, but a break from it all may not be the worst for some people out there.

In the end, the NHL will be back. People will go back to it, though it might be a little thinner than it once was. It's times like these where you can really tell that sports isn't about a game anymore-- it's a business.