Nothing celebratory about CBA status
I fully believe there will be a settlement to the NHL lockout before the season is canceled. The NHL and NHLPA are finally engaging in negotiations that will bring about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and a shortened 2012-13 season.
It is a disgrace that things that could and should have been settled by September are only coming to "possible" resolution now. What's the big hurry guys? You've already willfully burned down half the village before you even tried to get the blaze under control.
This whole miserable affair has been a battle of avarice, hubris and ego. It will be followed by more cynical PR-driven kowtowing to the "greatest fans in the world". The reality is that these people's post-lockout support has been taken for granted.
The truth of the matter is that many fans' season ticket money was virtually held hostage for months by teams none too eager to return money for games they KNEW would not be played. Peoples' collective emotions have been willfully dragged through the mud while the NHL and NHLPA dressed up their own transparent stalling tactics in the guise of "we're bargaining in good faith, they're not" declarations each time their own non-starter negotiating demands got swiftly rejected.
The one and only positive thing likely to come out of the lockout is an 8-to-10 year agreement on a new CBA. Yesterday, the PA reportedly yielded to that NHL demand -- with some strings attached to the concession. When all this is said and done, we won't have to go through it again in a few years.
I will be relieved if and when the NHL comes back. In the interest of full disclosure, there are personal interests involved in seeing a settlement (like many hockey writers during the lockout, I've taken a steep financial hit on an already precarious living). But I also truly want to see hockey played at its highest level again.
As with most folks, my love of the game has not been shaken during the lockout. If anything, it's been reaffirmed. I've gotten some enjoyment by being able to devote much more time to following -- and writing about -- non-NHL hockey than I would in a typical season.
I do miss covering the NHL and detailing the season for the Flyers and Stars. I miss the people I know from the pressbox. I miss the more relaxed atmosphere and joking around at practices in Voorhees. I most certainly miss the speed and skill of the NHL game.
The season never should have interrupted in the first place. As much as I love the NHL game, I have a lot of anger at both the NHL and NHLPA leadership.
Both Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr are leaders who are all too willing to use scorched-earth tactics as their method of first resort. As a result, the negotiations they preside over are often guaranteed to get to the brink of utter collapse before a deal "miraculously" gets rescued (or, in the case of Bettman and the 2004-05 lockout, the cold war actually goes nuclear).
My only hope is that the two sides, for once, do the right thing. Get an agreement finished now. Don't drag it out until the Jan. 11 season cancellation deadline in the name of squeezing out a few more minor concessions from the other side. Get it over with and let the teams of the NHL get back on the ice to play hockey.
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WJC: USA Advances to Semis
While most folks in North America were still sleeping, Team USA advance to the World Junior Championships semifinals after destroying the Czech Republic by a 7-0 count. John Gaudreau scored a hat trick, while Riley Barber tallied a pair of goals and J.T. Miller (three points) and Ryan Hartman had one goal apiece. Defensemen Jacob Trouba and Seth Jones each racked up four assists apiece.
Team USA led 1-0 after the first period, courtesy of a 5-on-3 power play goal by Gaudreau. It was actually a fairly evenly played stanza, with both the Americans and Czechs generating eight shots. The second period was the one where Team USA took over the game, as the team exploded for five goals while the Czech team came unglued.
John Gibson was once again rock solid in goal for the Americans. He turned back all 31 shots sent his way, and made several tough stops look easy.
Flyers defense prospect
Shayne Gostisbehere sat out the game as a result of a one-game suspension from the IIHF. He will return for the semifinals against Canada tomorrow.
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Phantoms recall Noebels
The Flyers have promoted rookie winger
Marcel Noebels from the ECHL's Trenton Titans to the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms. During his stint with Trenton, Noebels had 30 points (11G, 19A) in 31 GP. He was on torrid pace in October and December, sandwiched around a lengthy slump that spanned the month of November.
It remains to be seen how much Noebels will score as he moves up to hockey's higher levels. He still has to work on his skating and the consistency of using his size and strength to his advantage. But the other elements of his game are in place.
Even with
Brayden Schenn and
Sean Couturier on the Phantoms' roster, the Flyers' AHL affiliate is short on forward scoring depth. If and when the NHL lockout ends and the team's two best players return to the NHL, the lack of offense will go from bad to worse. Recalling Noebels now gives
Terry Murray the opportunity to see if the German rookie can succeed in a top-six role at the AHL level while continuing to work on his game.
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