As many of you may or may not know... the NHLPA and NHL are expecting to come to some sort of agreement by month's end that will assure a season next year for us all. While this is a foregone conclusion, I still feel it is important to NOT take these things for granted. After all...fool me once...
And while the NHLPA can open this deal up, no one expects them to. However, until they officially say they aren't opening this up the NHL has taken away a buffer zone of 5 percent for this season since a next season may not exist. That is at least how I understand it...And that buffer zone is the same buffer zone that teams have used to sign players over 35 to special bonuses allowed for that age group.
Now that is all pretty damn boring and confusing...But suffice to say I am told by several sources that the until the CBA is officially allowed to go on as is, Shanahan and Selanne are going to wait since the bonus structures that would allow the Rangers and the Ducks the extra cap space doesn't yet exist...
The irony here is that without Shanahan's hard work the NHLPA wouldn't even have this option. So yes Brendan has essentially put himself a bit behind the eight ball for the good of the whole. However most people believe a deal with the Rangers and Shanny is all but done. Just waiting until this stuff is over...
more to come on the rumour mill in the next little bit.
I do encourage you all to read Eric Engels latest take on the Mats Sundin. Outstanding work Eric!
UPDATED 12:30
NAEGELE, BURKE, HOUSLEY AND LINDSAY SELECTED AS RECIPIENTS OF 2008
LESTER PATRICK TROPHY
NEW YORK (August 7, 2008) -- Minnesota Wild founding owner Bob
Naegele, Jr., Anaheim Ducks Executive Vice President and General Manager
Brian Burke, 21-year NHL defenseman Phil Housley and Hockey Hall of Fame
left wing Ted Lindsay have been named recipients of the 2008 Lester
Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
The award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, was presented to
the National Hockey League by the New York Rangers in 1966. It honors
the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player,
coach, and general manager, and was a pioneer in the sport’s
development.
The recipients will be honored at the 2008 Lester Patrick Awards
Luncheon Oct. 22 in Minnesota. Further details on the event, including
ticket information, will be announced at a later date.
A born and bred Minnesotan who played goal for Minnetonka High
School, Naegele became the lead investor of an informal association of
hockey enthusiasts whose dream was to see the return of NHL hockey to
Minnesota. The group, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment, helped Minnesota
hockey fans realize their dream on June 25, 1997, when the NHL announced
that St. Paul was awarded an expansion franchise. The Minnesota Wild
began competing in the 2000-01 season at the new Xcel Energy Center.
With Naegele as majority owner, the Wild became one of the most
successful expansion franchises in pro sports. The team has played in
front of capacity crowds for every home game in franchise history, a
streak that encompasses seven seasons and 319 pre-season, regular-season
and playoff games.
Born in New England and raised in Minnesota, Brian Burke has been
passionate advocate for the game over a career that spans more than 35
years as a player, player representative and senior executive at both
the League and Club level. Burke played hockey at Providence College
(1973-77) and with the AHL Maine Mariners (1977-78), returned to the
classroom to obtain his degree from Harvard Law School (1981) and
practiced law in Boston for the next six years as a player
representative.
Burke launched his NHL career with the Vancouver Canucks in 1987
as VP Hockey Operations, a post he held until joining the Hartford
Whalers as General Manager in 1992. He joined the NHL front office in
1993 as Senior VP/Hockey Operations and returned to Vancouver in 1998
for a six-year stint as the Canucks' President and General Manager.
Burke has served as Executive VP and General Manager of the Anaheim
Ducks since 2005, re-tooling the club into an aggressive, up-tempo squad
that became the first California club to capture the Stanley Cup in
2007. In June, Burke was named President and General Manager of the 2010
U.S. entry at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
Phil Housley made headlines when the Buffalo Sabres selected the
18-year-old South St. Paul High School star with the sixth overall pick
of the 1982 Entry Draft. Only one U.S.-born player had been taken with a
higher draft pick -- Massachusetts prep prodigy Bob Carpenter, who went
third overall to Washington the previous year. Housley made a successful
jump from high school to the NHL, leading all first-year defensemen in
scoring with 66 points (19 goals, 47 assists) and earning a place on the
NHL's All-Rookie Team in 1982-83.
Housley went on to play 21 NHL seasons with eight clubs and
retired as the League's all-time leader among U.S.-born players in games
(1,495) and points (338-894--1,232). He currently ranks second in both
categories, trailing Chris Chelios (1,616) and Mike Modano (1,283),
respectively. Housley was a member of the United States team that
defeated Canada to win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, captured a silver
medal with Team USA at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City
and also represented his country in one World Junior Championship, two
Canada Cups and six World Championships. He was inducted into the U.S.
Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
An icon in Detroit sports history, Ted Lindsay played 14 of his 17
NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and was a key member of the Red
Wings dynasty that captured seven consecutive regular-season titles and
four Stanley Cups from 1948-49 through 1954-55. Playing much of his
career at left wing on the Red Wings' famed 'Production Line' alongside
right wing Gordie Howe and center Sid Abel, Lindsay captured the League
scoring title in 1949-50, made 11 All-Star Game appearances and was
named an NHL First Team All-Star eight times.
Traded to Chicago in 1957-58, Lindsay played three seasons with
the Blackhawks before retiring following the 1959-60 season. He made a
storied one-season comeback with the Red Wings in 1964-65, helping the
club to a first-place finish, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1966. Lindsay later served as Red Wings General Manager from 1976-77
through 1979-80 and also coached the club for parts of the 1979-80 and
1980-81 campaigns.
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