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Watch Alex Ovechkin shatter a pane of KHL glass with his head (VIDEO)

20 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

Alex Ovechkin is a large man and he hits with a great deal of force. On Saturday, Atlant Moscow forward Alexei Mikhnov experienced this phenomenon firsthand.

A split-second later, so did a pane of glass. And, judging by the way it shattered from fairly harmless contact with the big Russian winger, it's a wonder Mikhnov's nostrils didn't shoot clouds of dust from his bones exploding. Here's what happens when Alex Ovechkin meets KHL glass:

Holy cow, what is Ovechkin's helmet made of? High-pitched frequency?

The shattered pane wasn't the only thing that needed cleaning up. Ovechkin left the game briefly so that the Dynamo medical staff could sweep away the shards of glass in his equipment and bandage up a massive gash on his hand.

[More NHL: Donald Fehr addresses 'greedy' player myth]

When Ovechkin headed to the KHL a month ago, he made the ominous suggestion that he just might stay there if his salary was reduced. We called it an empty threat, citing the fact that a) his salary came from a contract and b) his sponsors weren't paying for him to play in Russia. But this clip gives us another reason.

Anyone who watches Ovechkin on the regular knows he really, really enjoys leaping into the glass, back-first. It's his jam. But as it turns out, KHL glass isn't quite as conducive to Ovechkin's signature celebration. Heck, you can't even back into it.

s/t to Dirty Dangle.

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Tags: Alex Ovechkin, Alexei Mikhnov, Atlant, Atlant Moscow, Donald Fehr, game, KHL, Mikhnov, nhl, Ovechkin, pane of glass, shards of glass, shatter, Video, Yahoo

ECHL’s Florida Everblades taunt visitors bench with creative advertising

19 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

One of the things that's always bugged me about rink board advertising in the NHL is how unoriginal it is. Most companies just stamp their logo on the space they've been allotted and call it a day.

But leave it to a company called Boost Creative to get, well, creative:

OK, the guy above the printed skirt lines up perfectly.

That's the visitors bench at the Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., where the ECHL Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades play. The image comes to us via Everblades blog Swamp Hockey:

Winning the Kelly Cup has brought many things to Germain Arena, including sponsors. This year's ice is decorated to the max with sponsorship logos. Some of the dasher board ads are creative and definitely got a laugh from me.

"Visual media is our launch pad," says the Boost Creative website, and they certainly catch the eye with this emasculating ad, which will remain in place for the entire Everblades season.

Chris Palin, the Everblades' vice president of sales and marketing, says the team has had one or two complaints about sexism so far. But that's the nature of advertising on the edge, says Palin.

"You want to evoke emotion, that's OK. As long as you don't get a ton of complaints, that's what it supposed to do."

Other than that, the reaction has been mostly positive. In the home opener, when the visitors bench appeared on the Jumbotron, the fans went nuts. "It was by far the loudest cheer of the night. It was hilarious."

There's more, too: Since the above photo was taken in the preseason, another cheeky ad has gone up behind the visitors bench. It's for an exterminator:

Thus far, there haven't been any complaints from the opposition, says Palin. But who cares if they complain? They're the opposition.

"It's a little home cooking," says Palin. "You gotta do whatever you can to keep that home-ice advantage."

Tags: bench, Chris Palin, creative advertising, ECHL, Everblades, florida everblades, home, Kelly Cup, Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades, logo, nhl, rink, stamp

The Vent: Protesting the lockout by cheering harder for the Leafs, partying

18 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

THE VENT is a forum for rants, raves, pleas and laments from hockey fans across the world about the NHL lockout. It runs every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. If you've got a take on the lockout and need to let it out, email us at .)

Wouldn't it have been nice if this feature came to an end today? It was a nice thought, but it didn't, so here are some thoughts that aren't quite as nice.

Ryan F. won't sit idly by and do nothing. He's got a brand-new protest: he will only watch Toronto Maple Leafs from here on out. It's kind of like a hunger strike, but with more suffering, I guess.

I'll keep this short. So here we are once again. The NHL season is supposed to be underway but alas it is not. You know, the last couple of weeks fans like me have been told how we can stop this lockout. I've seen people and even hockey media suggest I unfollow the NHL/NHLPA on social media sites, stop buying tickets/merchandise or even stop being a hockey fan altogether. I'm not going to do any of those things. I am not naive enough to think that I could have any effect on ending this lockout. I am going to do something though, not from pressure but simply based on what I feel.

You know the old saying "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." I was willing to let the last lockout slide because I was told it was necessary to fix the systemic problems with the league. I bought that and boy was I dead wrong. How else would we be back here once again? I live in Toronto where like so many people I live and breathe the Maple Leafs. My father is a Leafs fan and my grandfather was too. I watch every game on TV that I am capable of viewing and through winning and losing (mostly losing), I support them. I try and get out to a couple games a year at the ACC but usually I cannot afford tickets. Remember in the last lockout when you claimed we would have lower ticket prices under a new agreement? Again, you won't fool me twice.

Look, I'm always going to be a Leafs fan until the day I die. I will continue to watch every Leafs game I can whether they return in 2012, 2013 or 2014. But here's what I will not do. I will not be watching other NHL games. I won't be watching Calgary vs. Edmonton or Detroit vs. St Louis. I'm done with that. Instead I'll be watching the NFL, MLB, NBA and heck even the AHL. This is not a threat or a form of protest. This is simply the reality of taking your fans for granted. It doesn't matter how big or small your role is in this. Whether you are Gary Bettman or Donald Fehr, Sidney Crosby or Shawn Thornton you have reduced a former NHL fan into just a Leafs fan. Stop posturing and negotiate like civilized people who have influence over the lives of so many who are hurt not only emotionally but financially but this lockout. You know them right? They are the broadcasters, writers, bars, mascots and concession workers. I believe there are a lot of people who share my sentiment and that's not good for anyone. Time to grow up and do what is right. Drop the puck.

Angela H. also cooked up a unique way to protest the lockout. A party.

To mourn the loss of opening night, some of my hockey friends and I had a F#%k the Lockout Party this past weekend. Beer, nachos, classic Bruins games on the TV, and A LOT of bitching.

My amazingly talented friend Stephanie brought over this cake, and I just had to share it. It pretty much says it all!

Pro-tip: If your protest involves cake, you're protesting the right way.

And finally, Nicole H. wants to do something, but she doesn't know what to do but share with us her despair:

I first fell in love during the summer of 2003 while paying a visit to my Midwestern relatives. I had lived my whole life (to that point) unaware I was related to die hard hockey fans. Then I sat down to watch a playoff game with my Pépère, and found myself instantly hooked.

I picked up right where I left off the following season, determined to learn all I could. Having just moved to the DC area I became a Caps fan (which, given my timing, was both a show of incredible dedication and stupidity). I have bled black and bronze/red, white, and blue ever since. I count down the days till prospect camp, then rookie camp, then training camp. Between the league and third party ticket sites I pay huge mark ups to see the occasional game on my teacher's salary (if only I would take the player's advice and just get a better paying job). I came back after the first lockout, even though I had barely had any time to invest myself in the sport. But this time is different.

I can't say I am giving up forever- that would be ridiculous. And I am still a hockey fan- I bought AHL Live in anticipation of the worst to get me through the winter. But my heart just doesn't feel in it for the NHL right now.

My husband tells me I'm nuts and maybe I'll feel different the moment the improbable actually happens. But for now all I want to do is stick it to the NHL and NHLPA. But how? I'm thinking "opening night" boycott. Wouldn't that be nice to see the fans say "screw you, we'll come back when WE are good and ready". But alas, hockey fans are well dressed crack heads. So I will be left with the ability to do little more than sit in the corner like a petulant child till I feel like I've made my point. That always works out well...

Tags: game, hockey, Leafs, League, Maple Leafs, nhl, NHL lockout, protest, shame, toronto maple leafs

‘Today is not a good day’, says Donald Fehr, as NHL, NHLPA meet again, get nowhere

18 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

Just prior to Thursday's meeting with the NHLPA, Gary Bettman was confronted by a hockey fan named Barry Murphy, who told the commissioner that, as a fan, he felt disrespected and neglected. "What are you going to do to show us you care about us?" Murphy asked Bettman, according to Elliotte Friedman.

"We're going to get a deal done," Bettman responded.

It was yet another reason for optimism ahead of the meeting, which was precipitated by the NHL's surprise proposal to the players on Tuesday, offering a 50/50 revenue split and the same definition of hockey-related revenue to the players, and a faint glimmer of hope to fans. Might Camps Fehr and Bettman find some middle ground Thursday?

Nope.

When the two sides emerged from the meeting just an hour later doing the Charlie Brown walk of sadness, it was clear things had gone badly. It was also clear, according to Bettman, that they weren't speaking the same language. From TSN:

"This is the best offer that we have to make," Bettman said of the proposal from the league earlier this week. "The fact is, we're nowhere close to what we proposed."

[...] "I don't know what the next step is," added Bettman. "I'm obviously very discouraged."

The players surprised the NHL with three offers. According to Bettman, none of them even began to approach the 50/50 revenue split of the NHL's most recent proposal.

One reason for that: the union wants all contracts honoured. In breaking down the latest breakdown in talks, Donald Fehr made specific mention of the deals signed this summer. "We'll get you to 50-50 but you have to agree to honor the contracts you have signed," he reportedly told Bettman.

According to Fehr, and in direct opposition to what Bettman told Barry Murphy, the players want to make a deal. Apparently, the owners don't. Fehr:

"The reason I say 'apparently they don't' is that after the proposal was made, they did what they have done before: they take very few minutes, they don't think about it, they don't analyze it, they don't talk to the other owners, they take less than 10 minutes... all three proposals are rejected in their entirety. And secondly, the proposal that we recently got is their best offer."

"They might be willing to tweak it around the edges -- a tweak is sort of a small and insubstantial thing, and they agreed -- but that's it, and that's what we're supposed to do."

"And when you think about it, if you assume that's their best offer, why in the world did we see it four weeks into a lockout? ... I can't answer that question."

Fehr summarized the meeting thusly: "The vibe we got was, unless you're prepared to sign with very minor variations, don't bother us.'"

The damning characterization of the NHL likely has something to do with combatting the way the NHL's proposal set the players up to look like the badguys.

Let's not fool ourselves. Disappointed though Bettman may be, he's nowhere near as disappointed as hockey fans are, and that was sort of the point. The NHL's offer was designed to stoke fan optimism and force the NHLPA to crush it, putting the pressure on the players to make concessions and save face.

In that sense, today went exactly how it was supposed to go, and I'd say Barry Murphy has every right to feel he just got the Cindy Lou Who treatment.

Unreported by Friedman: when Murphy asked, "Why are you stealing our Christmas tree?" Bettman responded, "I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear. I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."

Now, the season dangles perilously on the edge of a metaphorical Mount Crumpit. For a deal to get done, someone's heart is going to have to grow three sizes.

"Today is not a good day," said Fehr. "It should have been, but it wasn't."

Tags: Barry Murphy, Donald Fehr, gary bettman, hockey, nhl, offer, optimism, reason, sort

Edmonton city council votes to cease arena negotiations with the Katz Group

17 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

Things got ugly last month in Daryl Katz's negotiations with the city of Edmonton on a new arena deal for the Oilers. On Monday, September 24th, a frustrated Mayor Stephen Mandel set a deadline of October 17th for the Katz Group and the city to come to an agreement. Later that same day, the Katz Group was in Seattle, touring Key Arena, watching a little football and, you know, tacitly threatening to move if their demands weren't met.

Most assumed that Katz was bluffing.

It would appear Mandel was not. Today is October 17th, there is no deal, and Edmonton City Council has voted unanimously to cease negotiations with Katz immediately.

It's possible Mandel was bluffing originally. Canadian cities don't tend to be this dismissive with their NHL franchises. In fact, the city's urgency to get Katz to appear in person on Tuesday, on the eve of the deadline, and spell out his demands suggests they really didn't want to go through with this. But, instead of appearing as requested, Katz refused, then released a letter to the media effectively saying the mayor sucked at mayoring.

We and the city can't even agree on basic assumptions relating to the financial aspects of operating a new arena.

Perhaps with more time and political leadership this deal can still be saved. But as it stands we remain far apart both on substance and process.

Mayor Mandel, this is an opportunity for Edmonton to be bold and forward-looking, and it warrants your support and leadership.

Said Stephen Mandel, in the understatement of the year, "Negotiations are not in good shape."

No kidding. When, the day before a negotiation deadline, the other side is writing nasty letters insulting your leadership, "not in good shape" is probably a light characterization of the state of things.

24 hours later, it's also an out-of-date characterization.

City Council made no secret of the role the letter played in their decision to kill the deal. From the Edmonton Sun:

The first point of the three part motion reads "As a result of Mr. Katz's letter and unwillingness to have an open discussion with council and the frustration of the interim design agreement, all negotiations and ongoing city work related to the Oct. 26, 2011, framework be ceased immediately."

Yeah. They didn't like your letter, bro.

Now, don't panic, Edmontonians. This doesn't mean the rise of the Seattle Oilers. Or the Kansas City Oilers. It simply means that negotiations on this deal are done. The city can still start up negotiations on a new deal, and there are 24 months remaining until the lease on Rexall Arena expires. There is time and, provided someone hides Daryl Katz's quill and parchment paper, there is still hope.

Tags: agreement, characterization, Daryl Katz, Edmonton City Council, Katz Group, leadership, letter, Mandel, nhl, October, shape, Stephen Mandel

Sidney Crosby didn’t try to break Claude Giroux’s wrists, but if he did, good

17 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

Shortly after the Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, Claude Giroux went under the knife to repair fractures to both of his wrists. But the symmetrical scars remain, and in July, he was asked about them by Kevin Anderson of the Timmins Press.

"J'accuse, Sidney Crosby!" said Giroux. (Well, basically. Crosby was the culprit, according to Giroux. His response just wasn't quite so Zola-esque*.) From the Timmins Press:

"Those are from (Sidney) Crosby," he says half smiling, but with some tension in his voice. "Every time we'd line up against each other for a face-off during our (2012 playoff) series, instead of going for the puck when it was dropped, he'd hack me across the wrists. I ended up playing the series against (New) Jersey with one of them fractured and had to go for surgery on both of them after we were out of the playoffs."

Crosby did that? Former Timbits player Sidney Crosby? But he seems so nice!

Or not. On Wednesday, Crosby (i.e., the accused) sat down with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to talk the lockout, among other topics. One such other topic: Claude Giroux's broken wrists, and the role Crosby played in how they got that way. So did he see the faceoff circle as the fairgrounds for slash-a-palooza on Giroux's wrists?

"No. I really like to win the faceoff.

Oh, OK.

I don't try to go after his wrists but if I caught it, I'm not sorry for it.

Hold up. What?

I think it's hilarious I hear that stuff from Philly. It's comedy to me to be honest with you. They're probably involved in that stuff more than any team in the league and they're the ones always talking about it. I guess I'm not apologetic. I was trying to win a faceoff and if I caught his wrist, then I caught his wrist. He seemed to play okay so I couldn't have hurt him that bad."

So, in other words, Sidney Crosby didn't try to break Claude Giroux's wrists, and they certainly didn't seem broken, but if he did, that's totally fine with him.

These guys are so nasty to each other. Janet Jackson nasty.

Among the myriad reasons the lockout needs to end right the heck now: we need to get these two back on a sheet of ice while they're still mad about last year's playoffs (read: temporarily insane), and before they forget how much they hate each other.

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Tags: Claude, Claude Giroux, half, Kevin Anderson, nhl, Press, Series, Sidney Crosby, Timmins Press, wrist, wrists, Yahoo, Zola-esque

Depressing proposal reactions; Subban’s video resume; Michael Buble with the Sedins (Puck Headlines)

17 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

• An unemployed P.K. Subban puts together a video resume. He's good with computers.

• Bob McKenzie, downer: The NHL's proposal wasn't met with much enthusiasm from the players. [TSN]

• Brooks Orpik, downer: "There's a lot of little details. It doesn't look all that great to me. That second bullet point — HRR is the same as last year, but it's still subject to interpretation. So 50 percent of what? The other big thing is the [huge] contracts that were given out, especially that mad rush right before Sept. 15, they really had no intention of really paying all that money out. We heard yesterday that they were going to honor all the contracts, but when you look at it and read it, in one sentence, separated by a comma, the league is going go pay all current contracts that were deferred. It's just coming from future players' share. It's not coming from the league. It's players paying players." [Post Gazette]

• James Mirtle, downer: The NHL's proposal won't be accepted by the players because of stupid escrow. [The Globe & Mail]

• Hal Gill, downer: is dubious of the NHL's proposal as it appears online: "I just saw the whole proposal online. It looks kind of dummied down. I don't know if you read the old CBA, but you read through it and there's a lot in it and there's a lot of fine print. That was what the big concern is — going through it and looking at the finer points. You can say 50-50 in hockey-related revenue, but HRR is a big topic, and I know they've been discussing that a lot. The finer points of that are more what I think they're concerned about with what they're looking into now." [Tennesseean]

• Elliotte Friedman, mild upper: with the NHL's offer yesterday, we've entered the Zone of Possible Agreement. It's like the Twilight Zone, but without a gremlin on the plane. [CBC]

• Among the men outed for being clients of the Zumba prostitution ring: a high school hockey coach. High school hockey coaches need love, y'all. [NECN]

• Bain Capital tried to buy the league in 2005. What would that have been like? [Deadspin]

• The roster for Kevin Bieksa's charity squad, Bieksa's Buddies, includes Michael Buble playing with the Sedins, the guy that played John Carter on Manny Malhotra's wing, and Dan Hamhuis on a defensive pairing with Jason Priestley. [PITB]

• Now is a good time to get to know the Asia Ice Hockey League, which sounds just fantastic: "There's drama: Will the hapless China Dragon, out of Shanghai, a team so bad it can't even afford a plural S on its name, ever win a game? (Think of the Dragon this way: they're sort of the Asian answer to the Toronto Maple Leaf.) In fairness, I think they won a game back in 2009. Plus, unlike most professional sports leagues, the AIHL is always changing the schedule, so just figuring out when the next game is can be thrilling!" [Rabble]

• Looking back at the 1974-75 Washington Capitals, when men wore the hair on their head and their face with way more panache. [Japers Rink]

• Dobber audits a guy's fantasy team and comes to the expert conclusion that he should get rid of Joe Corvo. [Dobber Hockey]

• "A Bracebridge hockey historian is scouring the community for anyone who may have the official paperwork behind a goaltender's remarkable two-goal game." If he can find it, the goalie will earn a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, so someone help this guy out. [Cottage Country]

• Suitable alternatives to Gary Bettman, including Ryan Gosling and a sack of flour. [02L Sports]

• The KHL's website features kittens and yields untold joy. [Backhand Shelf]

• And finally, in case it wasn't clear that the Dallas Stars ice girls have only a tangential relation to hockey, they're just as effective during the lockout. They recently went to the lake.

Tags: downer, finer, guy, hockey, HRR, Ice, Michael Buble, nhl, proposal, Sedins, video resume

Get your Halloween on with lifelike Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk face masks

17 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

With Halloween just two weeks away, you're no doubt thinking about what you're going to be this year. A witch? A ghost? Hey, how about something even scarier: Pavel Datsyuk?

Egad.

This Datsyuk mask is one of five licensed NHL Bleacher Creature face masks. The other four: Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, and Alexander Ovechkin. Each retails for $11.99 at the NHL store.

That price may seem steep to you, especially for a piece of paper and a bit of string. But it's a recession, people.

I mean, sure, you can probably make one of these masks at home for free. That might even be less effort than digging your credit card out of your wallet. But consider the following: first, your mask will be unlicensed, which means you'll be wearing a face foul, and second, your mask won't be "printed on a perforated material to allow a full range of sight and speech," which means you'll have to cut eyeholes out of it. Are you prepared to lose Datsyuk's zombie eyes, clearly his mask's most frightening element?

Now, even if you do purchase one of these masks, your costume is hardly complete. If wearing a person's face over your face was all you needed to truly become that person, Hannibal Lecter would have become that one guard from Silence of the Lambs. If you're truly committed to being Pavel Datsyuk, for instance, you should spend most of the night slipping up behind people and stealing their candy.

And as for the other four:

Going as Jonathan Toews is a tall task. Don't enjoy yourself. That's a must. Now, you'll be wearing his face over yours, which makes it difficult to have a purgatorial wasteland behind his lifeless eyes. But, on the bright side, wearing his mouth over yours should give you a very realistic Toewsian mumble.

Other things you'll need: a drunk friend, a seething hatred for Ryan Kesler, no sense of humour whatsoever.

Far and away the most fun costume, because going as Alex Ovechkin means eating your candy as you go and staying out waaaaaay past your curfew. If you happen to see a kid that looks like Phil Kessel, mock him mercilessly and take photos with your cell phone, especially if he's alone.

Tuck the back of your shirt into your pants. Rather than knocking on doors, jump into them. For added effect, travel with shots vodka and a hot Russian lady on each arm.

Since Sidney Crosby doesn't go out at night, your best option is to sport this mask during the day. Unfortunately, Claude Giroux does go out at night, and if you really want to sell a Crosby costume, you should follow a kid in a Giroux mask around and hack his wrists every time he knocks on a door.

If you can find a bald, creepy guy to follow you around, raving like a lunatic about great you are while standing too close to people, all the better. Pierre McGuire will probably do it himself if you call early enough.

Finally, if someone asks you a question -- like, say, trick or treat? or what are you supposed to be?-- be sure your answer is as clichéd as possible.

For maximum realism in your Claude Giroux costume, you should be accompanied by a Peter Laviolette lookalike that will tell everyone that you're wearing the best costume in the world. And a friend who falls down all the time.

Casts on both wrists will sell the look. Offer to share your candy with others, then eat it yourself right in front of them.

Finally, in honour of Ilya Bryzgalov, your pillowcase should probably have a hole in it.

Tags: Claude Giroux, doubt, face, ghost, mask, nhl, pavel datsyuk, person, Sidney Crosby

Brandon Prust shows how much easier PR is for players with impromptu game of road hockey

16 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

I hate to open this post talking about the difficulties of the owners, but on the public relations front, they do face a few. For one thing, when it comes to being young and handsome, and thus, likable, the players have that angle on lock. For another, their fabulous wealth makes empathy difficult.

And Monday, when they dropped some of that fabulous wealth hiring professional dishonest-phrase-inventor Frank Luntz to help them overcome some of these difficulties, documents leaked that made them seem even less sympathetic. Longing for your love, making the big play and tendering a new offer Tuesday afternoon was just wisdom.

Meanwhile, all the players have to do is drop in on a youth hockey practice. Or, even easier, tweet an open invitation to play a little road hockey, as Brandon Prust did Tuesday.

Brandon Prust, 1. Jeremy Jacobs, 0. (Although if Jacobs tweeted an invitation to play road hockey with him I'd be there in a second.)

Fellow Montreal Canadien Colby Armstrong joined the game, as did plenty of fans. A slough of cameras and media showed up as well, which Prust didn't seem to mind.

So, did Prust's decision to break out of the orange ball have anything to do with the aforementioned PR battle? Or was it just "an innocent idea," as he told Montreal radio station CJAD 800?

Maybe he was just really bored? He is presently unemployed, after all, a concept he's fully embracing, judging by his look.

But considering he retweeted Boomer Esiason claiming the owners' offer was just an attempt to publicly pressure the players right before he headed out, I'm going to assume Prust was at least a little aware. He was also hardly flattering in his characterization of the owners' negotiations up to this point or their intentions with this most recent offer. From CJAD:

"I'm sure the Fehr brothers are looking over it with their crew right now to see the inside and outs of it and i'm sure they`ll get back to us as soon as possible with their findings. I saw some quotes from Don and obviously they're optimistic that they want to do some real negotiations now."

And while Prust agrees, he says it's too soon to tell if it's an offer the NHLPA will be willing to accept. "We'll know more later today when we start talking and we get our updates from Don, but it's good that there's movement but it's also something that's going to look good for the owners and everybody's going to want to say that everyone's on the owners side so it's tough to say right now."

He seems somewhat aware of the public relations battle, don't you think?

It sounds like everybody had a lot of fun. Here's hoping Prust's next game of hockey happens on ice.

Tags: Brandon Prust, CJAD, fabulous wealth, Fellow Montreal Canadien Colby Armstrong, Frank Luntz, front, hockey, Jeremy Jacobs, lock, Longing, nhl, Post, road hockey

Reaction to NHL’s proposal; don’t choke coaches; Andrew Ference, spin fighter (Puck Headlines)

16 Oct
2012

Posted by Harrison Mooney in Fantasy Hockey, General

• Struggling to decide which college hockey team you should cheer for? Let this chart, which was created using the science of emotion (i.e. not science) be your guide. Click to enlarge to readability. [Lost City of Bettman]

• Jesse Spector on the NHL's latest proposal: "There is Bettman's genius: By holding out until now to ask for what he really wants, to put a true first offer on the table rather than the wish lists the NHL has previously trotted out, he looks reasonable. And by putting a 10-day shelf life on the offer, Bettman addresses what has been a major annoyance for the league—the NHLPA slow-playing negotiations all summer long, going back to waiting a full month to make a counterproposal after the NHL came to the table with its initial desires." [Sporting News]

• Chemmy's not so into the proposal: "This does not seem like a genuine attempt to end the lockout. This seems like NHL owners are trying to win the PR war so they can wage an extended lockout and force NHLers into their terms. The NHL's offer was designed to get people excited about a season happening in much the same way that Luntz' coining of 'death panels' was designed to get people to dismiss health care reform in the US." [Pension Plan Puppets]

• Eric Duhatschek is a bummer: "It is easy to jump the gun in these situations. For proof, consider the events of December, 2004, when the NHLPA offered a 24 per cent rollback that felt as if it should get a deal done. It didn't. Instead, the two sides were still bickering two months later and then the season was eventually cancelled." [The Globe & Mail]

• How Tim Horton went from hockey sticks to stir sticks. [National Post]

• A Minnesota man was sentenced to six months in prison for choking in his son's hockey coach. See, you're not supposed to do that, is the thing. [Star Tribune]

• Calgary Flames' prospect Sven Baertschi is off to an amazing start in Abbotsford. [Calgary Herald]

• "We care about sport more than spin," said Andrew Ference, using spin. [CSNNE]

• Steve Dangle and Andrey Osadchenko are doing KHL highlight packages for the Nation Network. Here's Novokuznetsk versus St. Petersburg. The headshot at 0:52 is absolutely horrifying. [Leafs Nation]

• Mark Spector thinks it's time for Gary Bettman to go. He is the first person to think this. [Sportsnet]

• Why NHL fans should be rooting for the success of the KHL. [Pensburgh]

• The top 10 references to the Canucks in TV and film. I think every team blog should do one of these. Hockey teams show up in some strange places. [Canucks Army]

• Are NHL hockey players the toughest athletes? I'll say no, because ferret legging is a thing. [The Hockey Writers]

• In the wake of the NHL's latest offer, 7 steps the NHLPA can take to keep public perception on their side. [The Province]

• Getting a phone call from someone trying to sell you Blue Jackets tickets: offensive on so many levels right now. [Nightmare on Helm Street]

• Meanwhile, totally unrelated to public relations, NHL Green is the NHL's new sustainability blog. [NHL]

• Read H.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Revenue'. [Lighthouse Hockey]

• And finally, enjoy this beauty of a shot from 17-year-old Dylan McLaughlin, who goes between-the-legs for the goal. [Buzzing the Net]

Tags: Andrew Ference, blog, gary bettman, nhl, NHLPA, offer, reaction, table, team

1 2 3 … 13 14 Next »

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Blog // Archive // Harrison Mooney

Watch Alex Ovechkin shatter a pane of KHL glass with his head (VIDEO)

ECHL’s Florida Everblades taunt visitors bench with creative advertising

The Vent: Protesting the lockout by cheering harder for the Leafs, partying

‘Today is not a good day’, says Donald Fehr, as NHL, NHLPA meet again, get nowhere

Edmonton city council votes to cease arena negotiations with the Katz Group

Sidney Crosby didn’t try to break Claude Giroux’s wrists, but if he did, good

Depressing proposal reactions; Subban’s video resume; Michael Buble with the Sedins (Puck Headlines)

Get your Halloween on with lifelike Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk face masks

Brandon Prust shows how much easier PR is for players with impromptu game of road hockey

Reaction to NHL’s proposal; don’t choke coaches; Andrew Ference, spin fighter (Puck Headlines)

Recent Posts

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Recent Comments

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Popular Fantasy News

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