nhl: a framework for a deal..

dude..

the nhl lockout might finally be over... however.. a framework for a deal is not a done deal.. the devil is in the details..

theres still plenty of i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed.. questions remain regarding the leagues realignment, playoff format (20 teams, like an mlb style a play-in series) for this season and moving forward..

wake up sid.. its on.. huh what?

the owners found all sorts of ways to end-run the last cba like with lifetime monster contracts the fizzle out over time reducing the cap hit.. will this be the contract that finally protects the owners from themselves and each other? its a long-term deal, so right or wrong theyre gonna have to live with it..
whats a 48 or 50 game season gonna smell like? how will the reduction of hhr and team buy-outs of players gonna be phased in?  will all the soviet russian players come back to the nhl?

will all the owners ratify this deal, or just the bare minimum needed? if its the latter, is gary bettman done as commissioner after this season? the fans hate him, he embarrassed himself and the league several times during the lockout, and its obvious that bruins owner jeremy jacobs, the guy who is really running things, tried to break the union again with a lockout and failed.. thats on bettmans watch and it might just be his head..

and dont expect to see your favorite teams from the east out west until the stanley cup finals.. if the league adopts the same format it did in the '94-'95 lockout-shortened season all the games will be in-conference only.. so no devils vs kings rematch.. no boston vs vancouver.. and to my utter dismay, the penguins/ducks game that was scheduled for january 11, 2013 in anaheim isnt gonna happen..
that being said..

im not sure if i should be all happy and dancing around my room.. i prolly wont shell out any money for tickets.. maybe a new hat or shirt if the sale price is right but idk, i so wanna be all excited and errything..  im just kinda meh right now..

i just dont know what to feel anymoar.. sigh..

ive been wearing my penguins team swag all throughout the lockout.. granted, i cut the sleeves off the shirts and have consigned them to the "gym clothes drawer", but my favorite caps and toques are penguins branded wear..

right now im really only looking forward to "hockey dinners" with my brother and my mates.. and it will be pretty cool to watch the kings finally be able to raise their stanley cup banner at staples center.. of course its been so long since the actly won it that in a basketball cra-cray city like los angeles, most people will have forgotten the city even has an nhl hockey team.. the kings? theyre in sacramento, right? so um.. yeah..

i think rick over at the pensblog wrote it best.. 

The NHL lockout is over.

The question now is: Are you going to jump right back in? Some people certainly will. NHL hockey is exciting, the games are fun to watch and the prospect of Crosby and Malkin both being in shape for a "full" season are tempting. On the other hand, the fact that fans will come rushing back immediately is part of the reason why both sides knew they could waste months "negotiating" with barely any consequences. Some fans won't feel comfortable giving money to the same people who didn't seem to care about them at all. Also, many have found other things to do during the lockout and they may not feel as though they have as much time to dedicate to the NHL as they once did.

There's no right decision here. If you want to surround yourself and your life with NHL hockey again, go for it. That's entirely your decision and it makes sense. If you want to cut down on games you watch and money you spend on the NHL, that's entirely understandable as well. If you've moved on from the NHL, that's the league and the [NHL]PA's fault for letting it get to this point. If you feel like waiting a while to see how you feel, then you should do that. 

Personally, I (yes, using the word "I") am not sure how I feel about all of this. I just hope they paint "Thank You Fans" on the ice again, just to show how out of touch they are.

~ rick @ the pensblog 01/06/2013

nhl commissioner gary bettman showing the hockey media the shape of his mouth and placement of his hands while he explains what he agreed to do for donald fehr, executive director of the nhlpa, in order to get this cba done.. bill daly is not  amused..

~ cheers... david