September 11, 2010 Yahoo Sports: “There’s no one better – bottom line,” said former NHL defenseman Chris Chelios, who was active in the union before he recently became the Detroit Red Wings’ advisor to hockey operations. “At the end of the day, it’s him that’s going to do the negotiating, not the players. So they’re in great hands with him.”

Wonder how he feels now
- resqmed99

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTodQ6Svo9A

This is how he (and others) felt about Bettman back in '94. Obviously not much had changed for him to be to be saying what he did about Fehr.

Bettman is a real class act, HOW DARE HE, while being the CEO of the NHL, grow the game and revenue so that players are earning more than they ever have before, you bastard Bettman

Totally at ease with where the NHL is coming from, players can go and sick Fehrs' butt crack.
- MikeyOz

Grow the game????? If you believe the owners only 12 teams make money. 18 lose money? How did they grow the game?? Oh ticket prices have gone up every year since the last lockout. Just what BETTMAN said they wouldnt do.

The second Fehr was hired this became all too predictable.

Problem for Fehr this time around is that hate him or not, Bettman is skilled at what he does. He has always been a step ahead of Fehr. Donald wasn't used to that in his MLB dealings.

For all the folks who say that the players were willing to play and this is the owners lockout, if Bettman allowed season to start Fehr would just pull the same stunt he did in 1994. He would have orchestrated a player strike right before the playoffs. I for one would rather lose the first half of the season, not the back half. Bettman neutered Fehr's ace card by stealing his potential to strike. Bettman has maintained leverage the entire process.
- Gunner Staal

Problem with praising Bettman is that he is winning the game - NOT the reason for his being Commissioner (to get a deal done).

Three lockouts and at least one lost season - not HOF credentials.

I believe this is a lockout, not a strike. Fehr is doing his job just like Bettman. The owners started the negotiations by offering an awful deal. What is Fehr supposed to do? He is supposed to fight until the bitter end. If the players wanted to accept the offer they would. If the owners wanted to accept the deal they would. Besides the players are the ones giving here. They are negotiating terms that were already present. Don't hear the players saying we want no cap,etc. The owners are taking from what the players had in the last CBA. Sure it is to keep 30 teams in the league. I do recall Nashville and the Wild handing out some big contracts. (Nashville of course matched). I blame Bettman. Put teams in cities that can support them.
- fnmjoe13

Fehr's doing the job he was hired to do but he is excellent at cementing quagmires while being an obstinant wiener.

Bettman and Daly are full of sh1t. That press conference was staged, Gary was shaking like a little girl. At the exact time he says we need to take a deep breath, bill daly beside him takes a deep breath. I don't buy what these two are selling.

Hey Jackel for the next ten years You will only work for hockey buzz cause they were the ones who drafted you and now you must stay here even if you dont want to for the next ten years. You can not get any raises of more than 5 percent year over year. Oh yea and we are going to cut your salary cause We were just joking when we said we were going to give you that salary before the CBA expired.
Oh Yea WHAA dont call me names anymore. Hey Mods hey called me a name
- Brukie

Umm... Of course you know that players have the freedom to get a job where ever and when ever they want. Nobody's forcing them to take a job with a franchise in the NHL.

I'd say 99% of the population would GLADLY accept 5% annual raises. Most people these days never get a raise.

Pay cuts? Yeah..... nobody should ever take a pay cut. They absolutely never happen in the real world.

Bettman and Daly are full of sh1t. That press conference was staged, Gary was shaking like a little girl. At the exact time he says we need to take a deep breath, bill daly beside him takes a deep breath. I don't buy what these two are selling.
- Scooby_Doo

No worries..i'd rather watch junior puck where PASSION is still KING.

No worries..i'd rather watch junior puck where PASSION is still KING.
- philco28

Yah college ball is better than the nba etc... Still not the same.

true but I would say thy have fully recovered by now and growth has been huge last 8 years.
- Feeling_Glucky

Comments like this remind me of comments about how far ahead the players are now compared to where they were in 2004. Yes, they're ahead - but go back to 2004 and project forward based on what the players were getting then, and they've lost in a huge way.

Same thing with MLB. Revenues are much higher than in 1994, they've got a huge TV contract - and yet, if you stepped off of where they were in '93 and poised to go in '94 before the strike hit and project forward, it's pretty clear MLB took a massive hit. Certainly, for the "huge" growth over the last X years, it could have been higher if not for numerous fans who got pissed and left MLB for good - and it's not a trivial number by any stretch.

Moral of the story here: include all of the data and see what conclusion falls out, don't just cherry-pick the points that fit the conclusion you want to believe.

Hey Jackel for the next ten years You will only work for hockey buzz cause they were the ones who drafted you and now you must stay here even if you dont want to for the next ten years. You can not get any raises of more than 5 percent year over year. Oh yea and we are going to cut your salary cause We were just joking when we said we were going to give you that salary before the CBA expired.
Oh Yea WHAA dont call me names anymore. Hey Mods hey called me a name
- Brukie

Jesus - do you people ever read what the proposals have been?

Or do you not understand the concepts?

Grow the game????? If you believe the owners only 12 teams make money. 18 lose money? How did they grow the game?? Oh ticket prices have gone up every year since the last lockout. Just what BETTMAN said they wouldnt do.
- Brukie

They have grown the game, there is no 2 ways about it, I don't agree with all the expansion, but it has taken hockey into some previously never played before places and they are trying to get an agreement in place which will allow those markets to stay viable, if you can't see that, that is your problem.

The players are NOT going to lose anything in this, they will make money they always do, but right as it now, they are now going to lose a BUCKET load of money.

So ticket prices have never gone up in any other sport ? Grow up man, it is called inflation, prices always go up, when have you ever seen prices go down ?

I'm not buying ANY of today's drama. Bettman/Fehr's job is to get the best deal for their employer. If a the owners/players really wanted to get a deal done the past few days, it'd have been done. If certain NHL concessions were truly off the table, then Bettman should've and would've just cancelled the season tonight. There would really be no point in going back to the table for either side.

In all the acting (yes that was acting) tonight, what was lost is that progress was actually made the past few days and the sides are closer. This is playing out like many said it would, season will probably start next month and consist of about 50 games. People forget that these guys are PROFESSIONAL negotiators, this is what they do. Look for a deal to get done soon in the next week or two with the season starting in January.

Bettman and Daly are full of sh1t. That press conference was staged, Gary was shaking like a little girl. At the exact time he says we need to take a deep breath, bill daly beside him takes a deep breath. I don't buy what these two are selling.
- Scooby_Doo

So are you buying Fehr's gold painted dog sh!t?

Problem with praising Bettman is that he is winning the game - NOT the reason for his being Commissioner (to get a deal done).

Three lockouts and at least one lost season - not HOF credentials.
- StLBravesFan

I'm not some blowhard for Gary Bettman but I'm also not going to be an ignorant sheep in the boo Bettman no matter what he does camp either.

Bettman has grown the game. Spreading into non traditional markets was a great idea. His flaw in that area has been overstaying in some markets, namely Phoenix, Florida and Atlanta.

He is responsible for NHL players being in the Olympics. One of my favorite things in all of hockey.

Introduction of the shootout. A switch to a 3-2-1 point system would alleviate most people's complaints about a shootout being worth the same as a regulation win.

Growing player salaries by 70% since last lockout.

Growing NHL into 3.3B business.

The guy is socially awkward and comes off as an unlikable lawyer type but he has still done more good than bad for the NHL.

You'd be hard pressed to find a commissioner in any sport that fans overwhelmingly love.

Not a lawyer, but what I understand about desertification is that it won't work for the NHLPA.

The NFL is a monopoly, there really is no other comparable option for NFL players. The CFL is too small, and there's no one else out there playing
american football.

On the other hand, there are a myriad of options for hockey players, as we've seen in the lockout. In addition to the AHL, there are professional leagues in Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Russia, etc. Lots of places to go play. The NHL players have options, the footballers do not.

Fehr's doing the job he was hired to do but he is excellent at cementing quagmires while being an obstinant wiener.
- philco28

I can agree with that. My only problem with him is that he most likely has no love for the game, only for the battle of negotiating. The players need to keep him in line if they really want to play.

Been awhile....I have to say I disagree with Fehr being the rat. Based on what I remember of the MLB strike the players union more or less dictated to the owners what was going to happen and pretty much got everything they wanted. The NHLPA has made a lot of concessions during this whole process which I believe, based on his track record is against what Fehr is about. A lot of this is part of the negotiations but remember Bettman and the owners have done this before. The owners signed these players to these contracts and why shouldn't they be honored. Look at the dollars amounts thrown around this offseason. Parise, Suter....heck even Crosby's re-up. Then a month later the owners try to get out of the mess they created? Really? That's not right. I do agree that with all the new and increased revenue there should be a more even split. I believe and from what I've heard there is growing tension between the owners. Just look at who was involved this past week. The owners from Pitt, Tor, Wpg.....more moderate owners are having more of an influence and I think that will continue to grow. I still believe there will be a season. With the NBC contract and new sponsprship.......no way the owners throw that away.

So are you buying Fehr's gold painted dog sh!t?
- As_I_See_It

No, but I've met union lawyers, they don't know any different. I blame Bettman, he's been the problem for a long time.

Yah college ball is better than the nba etc... Still not the same.
- Scooby_Doo

The NBA is SH I T.....10 minutes to play the last :15 seconds....cr ap'ola

Not a lawyer, but what I understand about desertification is that it won't work for the NHLPA.

The NFL is a monopoly, there really is no other comparable option for NFL players. The CFL is too small, and there's no one else out there playing
american football.

On the other hand, there are a myriad of options for hockey players, as we've seen in the lockout. In addition to the AHL, there are professional leagues in Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Russia, etc. Lots of places to go play. The NHL players have options, the footballers do not.
- scottak

Wont work for the NHLPA or the NHL. From what I hear the owners fear this .

Not a lawyer, but what I understand about desertification is that it won't work for the NHLPA.

The NFL is a monopoly, there really is no other comparable option for NFL players. The CFL is too small, and there's no one else out there playing
american football.

On the other hand, there are a myriad of options for hockey players, as we've seen in the lockout. In addition to the AHL, there are professional leagues in Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Russia, etc. Lots of places to go play. The NHL players have options, the footballers do not.
- scottak

I can't say if the union would win that court battle, but one thing's for sure, the court system is slow as frozen pi*s. Lot's of players would never step foot on an NHL rink by the time they've proven their point..... if they win that is....

Been awhile....I have to say I disagree with Fehr being the rat.

*PUKE*


- UnnamedSource

Yeah well good for you "unnamed source", players have screwed this, if they want to go and play in Europe good for them, players don't want that longterm most of them over there NON-European are probably see-ing it as a holiday and way to get some money, but they want to come back to the NHL. What about long term for European players, all those players possibly now not getting rink time or as much money because NHL players are taking their spots. Yeah brothers in arms.

The reason the owners want the contract length cap is because of what happened in MLB.

If the owners got together under the current CBA and said to each other, 'Let's just independently decide we'll give no contract longer than 5 years', then it's collusion, which is illegal. Even if they had no formal talk among the teams, it would give the appearance of collusion. Remember when no one would offer Andre Dawson a contract, even though he was on of the best players in MLB, and a free agent? It was because owners were trying to limit the length and amount of contracts outside the CBA, and the courts ruled for the players and against MLB.

So yes, they need the CBA to save them from themselves, because even if each team decided to do it 'independently', they'd be stopped by the courts from doing it (limiting contract length).

At the same time, it takes care of the issue of front loading contracts, so you can't do a deal where the cap hit is spread out over years when the player probably won't be playing.

Please explain to me why most of what the owners propose isn't better for us fans?

Also, please explain why what the owners are offering is not in-line with the other major North American sports?

I can't say if the union would win that court battle, but one thing's for sure, the court system is slow as frozen pi*s. Lot's of players would never step foot on an NHL rink by the time they've proven their point..... if they win that is....
- madmike71

Decertification would allow the players to challenge the salary cap in the court system, owners don't want that at all. That's something they want to avoid at all costs.