The NHL Lockout is Over!

I'v made it fairly obvious here im a hockey fan, i love hockey and this winter has been a bit of a bummer so far without it. Its been a long time coming but the lockout is finally over and hockey is coming back!

A shortened season is scheduled to start towards the end of next week, so it will be around 48 games there saying.

Im just glad to be able to watch the game again.

I follow American Sports pretty closely but Hockey never interested me. That being said, I've followed the lockout situation from a far and it's baffled me that it wasn't resolved sooner. When it happened in the NBA and NFL, the want for money prevailed and things got sorted but with the NHL, it just felt like every party was being stubborn as hell. Hockey is rapidly becoming a dying sport in the US and this whole lock out situation has proven it.

How long until the next one, two seasons?

Go Canucks!

@DriveupLife said:

How long until the next one, two seasons?

Its like a 10 year deal with the option to opt out after 7 so no.

I don't know anything about hockey, whats a lockout.

@dudy80 said:

@DriveupLife said:

How long until the next one, two seasons?

Its like a 10 year deal with the option to opt out after 7 so no.

Ill say 8

WTH the NHL was in a lockout? I guess like (football) soccer, hockey is one of those sports that feels year round for me and season start blending over to the next.

@Hockeymask27 said:

@dudy80 said:

@DriveupLife said:

How long until the next one, two seasons?

Its like a 10 year deal with the option to opt out after 7 so no.

Ill say 8

Yea, your right, was thinking 7 for some reason.

@SamStrife: There aren't really any basketball or football leagues for NBA or NFL players to work for during their lockouts. With the NHL you could play in the American Hockey League or East Coast Hockey League in North America. If you're young enough you could play in the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League or the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. If you want to go to Europe there are comparable leagues in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Russia. With all that opportunity to work elsewhere the players can hold out longer. It's why a lockout would never work in soccer; the players would just go elsewhere.

Personally I hope this means that the CBC will get enough ad revenue to make their news department good again. With the lack of NHL beer and car ads combined with the cuts of the conservative government they have resorted to the sort of hyperbolic, attention grabbing headlines and click traps that you would expect from a for profit news organization.

@artofwar420 said:

I don't know anything about hockey, whats a lockout.

In business, when managers and unions don't have a contract in place and the managers lockout the unions so that they can't work or go on strike. It's basically the same as a strike, but when managers do it instead of unions. That way they have a little more control at the bargaining table.

I really really wish nobody would go to the first few games. 

So do the Capitals get Ovechkin back or is he stuck in Mother Russia with his new tennis-playing fiancee and his teammates on Moscow Dynamo?

@DocHaus: I think under the KHL contracts the players agreed to play there for the full season. Olympic participation hasn't been agreed upon under this new deal so if that isn't resolved I'd bet Ovechkin stays there since he plans to play in the Olympics no matter what the NHL/Capitals say.

@Nick said:

Go Canucks!

Well, you're always in a lockout situation being a Canucks fan. So no change for you.

Not a hockey fan but happy for those who are. I know the NBA lock out sucked for me so I understand how it can be.

@warxsnake said:

I really really wish nobody would go to the first few games.

I understand the mentality. It was the same with the NBA for me, I wanted to stick it to them for being so greedy, but when the games started on Christmas day I couldn't help but be so glad to have the Celtics and NBA back. It's tough.

The cool thing is that with a 48 games season the Canadiens probably won't lose as many games as they did last season.

@mosespippy: @DocHaus Not sure about this. I always thought the KHL contracts were contingent on the NHL being locked out and that any player signing a KHL contract had an exit clause allowing them to leave once the NHL came back. Nicklas Backstrom, for instance was playing on Dynamo w/ Ovechkin and is apparently already on his way back to Washington. The Sochi Olympic games won't be an issue until next season, and I assume NHL participation (or lack thereof) was addressed in the new CBA. I would expect Ovechkin along with all of the other NHL players who joined KHL teams to be on their way back to their NHL teams within the next few days. Time will tell.

I want to say fuck the NHL but I know ill be watching my leafs mid January.

@Deakor said:

@mosespippy: @DocHaus Not sure about this. I always thought the KHL contracts were contingent on the NHL being locked out and that any player signing a KHL contract had an exit clause allowing them to leave once the NHL came back. Nicklas Backstrom, for instance was playing on Dynamo w/ Ovechkin and is apparently already on his way back to Washington. The Sochi Olympic games won't be an issue until next season, and I assume NHL participation (or lack thereof) was addressed in the new CBA. I would expect Ovechkin along with all of the other NHL players who joined KHL teams to be on their way back to their NHL teams within the next few days. Time will tell.

Yea, the agreement was that if the lockout ended they could come back to the nhl, otherwise they obviously would be infringing on there already signed NHL contracts.

@dudy80: My thinking as well.

I know I should still be pissed that this nonsense took so long to resolve but frankly I'm just glad that we are going to have a season. Even if my Caps will crush my spirit yet again.

It's great that the lockout is ending, but who "won?"

Whether or not Don Fehr and company got what they needed out of the deal will determine if we have to sit through another one of these, is my point.

A shortened season works perfectly into the Rangers' strengths. I'm pretty excited.

@Oldirtybearon said:

It's great that the lockout is ending, but who "won?"

Whether or not Don Fehr and company got what they needed out of the deal will determine if we have to sit through another one of these, is my point.

I'd be surprised if another lockout doesn't happen at the end of this agreement. I haven't watched the news, but I'm going to bet the owners gave in more than the players which generally means that there will be another lockout when this contract runs up. I hope not, but that's a worry for future me to worry about.

I'm happy but at the same time I'm so sickened by all parties involved that I think it might take me a while to get over it and have any respect for any of them - on ice and off.

Currently, the NHL does not deserve your viewership. Support the smaller guys like AHL, not the bullshit that is the NHL.

@modeps said:

Currently, the NHL does not deserve your viewership. Support the smaller guys like AHL, not the bullshit that is the NHL.

I agree... but im a weak person and i will watch every Penguins game they play.

@modeps said:

Currently, the NHL does not deserve your viewership. Support the smaller guys like AHL, not the bullshit that is the NHL.

This might finally be the year my Leafs go to the Stanley Cup.

... Shut up. :(

@Patman99 said:

@Oldirtybearon said:

It's great that the lockout is ending, but who "won?"

Whether or not Don Fehr and company got what they needed out of the deal will determine if we have to sit through another one of these, is my point.

I'd be surprised if another lockout doesn't happen at the end of this agreement. I haven't watched the news, but I'm going to bet the owners gave in more than the players which generally means that there will be another lockout when this contract runs up. I hope not, but that's a worry for future me to worry about.

See that's what I'm curious about. If after the seven or eight years of this new Don Fehr approved CBA the league grows in revenue and the smaller market teams remain healthy and profitable, wouldn't that fix the leagues overarching issues? I asked originally because Don Fehr is attributed to having a very large role in "fixing baseball." More or less hoping he did the same thing with the NHL.

Gotta feel bad for hockey fans. The NFL referee lockout got way more coverage than the NHL lockout did.

Cool. I tend to not pay much attention until NFL is finished. Let's go Pens.

Cool.

This whole thing has been stupid but I am excited to know that I'll be watching Hockey again soon.

Go Ducks!

@Milkman said:

A shortened season works perfectly into the Rangers' strengths. I'm pretty excited.

And now we get to see if Rick Nash is gonna do the team any good.

@TheVeteran13 said:

@Milkman said:

A shortened season works perfectly into the Rangers' strengths. I'm pretty excited.

And now we get to see if Rick Nash is gonna do the team any good.

Yea, i think the Rangers have the best shot at taking it but who knows. There actually talking about including 4 extra teams, 2 from each conference in the playoffs this year. On one hand i would love to see teams like the flames and the leafs make it in but i think its also getting crazy when you include 2/3 of the teams in the playoffs. Would be interested in seeing it once to see how it goes though.

@DriveupLife: Something like that...

@mosespippy said:

@SamStrife: There aren't really any basketball or football leagues for NBA or NFL players to work for during their lockouts. With the NHL you could play in the American Hockey League or East Coast Hockey League in North America. If you're young enough you could play in the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League or the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. If you want to go to Europe there are comparable leagues in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Russia. With all that opportunity to work elsewhere the players can hold out longer. It's why a lockout would never work in soccer; the players would just go elsewhere.

Not true with basketball players. There is the growing Euro basketball league (FIBA) and there's a growing league in China. Many players go to play in Europe to further develop themselves if they couldn't get into the NBA or they go overseas if they couldn't find a way to stay in the NBA. Since the NBA is the premier basketball league, many players wouldn't leave, because competition is higher and the payout is higher.

I'll be watching like a die hard fan once the NFL playoffs are over but I'm still pretty pissed off with both sides. Greed and petty grudges plagued both the NHL and NHLPA. Most of the owners are nearly billionaires and those that aren't should be owning an NHL team. The Players went on about getting a fair deal, they are making more money then they will ever need playing the game they love, they don't need a fair deal by any stretch. The Owners were supposed to be fighting for small market teams, if they aren't financially stable then they should be moved to an area where they will be, such as anywhere in Canada. The fans are the ones paying for the whole operation and made last year a record setting year for revenues for the NHL, and yet they are the ones left with no input and no consideration.

I'll proudly wear my Canucks gear(not with much guilt cause it's not like the Aquilini's had much interest in keeping the lockout going), cheer on my team, and watch as many games as I can; though, I will not forgive and forget. 2 lockouts in less than a decade is horrible for business, especially one dependent on loyal fans like me.

As much as I want to not watch any of the games because I'm pissed at the league and the players for being ass-hats, I need my fix of something to watch while drinking.

Thank god less Basketball on Sports Center

@mosespippy said:

Personally I hope this means that the CBC will get enough ad revenue to make their news department good again. With the lack of NHL beer and car ads combined with the cuts of the conservative government they have resorted to the sort of hyperbolic, attention grabbing headlines and click traps that you would expect from a for profit news organization.

Not sure it's the lack of funding that's the problem. The equivalent of CBC in quebec has a very good news department (investigative journalism that ultimatly led to the resignation of multiple mayors across the province, coverage of the syrian crysis, etc) and the channel droped the rights to NHL coverage years ago. I think the CBC takes way to much cues/borows way to much content from US channels. You would think a greater instale base would mean more great and original content but it's quite the opposite...It's sad, really

I cant freaking wait until the first game of the season!

Also not everything about the lockout was bad, saw this reposted from a few months ago on Puckdaddy and was reminded of that.

It's about damn time!! I finally have reason to turn my TV back on!!