In case you may have forgotten, hockey is that sport in which players don heavy sweaters and bladed skates, all while pushing a hard rubber disc along the ice and into a net. It’s understandable to not remember what it looks like. After all, it’s been five months since the sport has graced our television sets. The news wire has been slow over the past couple weeks. Since the NHL owners spurned the rebuttal offers of the NHLPA, both sides have hunkered down for a deeply bitter battle. However, ... Read More
A Ray of Hope
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” While I’m quite certain he wasn’t talking about the NHL lockout, his words certainly ring true today. All of a sudden, shortly after 12 p.m. EST, Twitter pretty much set itself on fire with the news of the NHL making an offer to the NHL Players’ Association. I made a noise of shock that was not unlike that of a cat who just got his tail stepped on. I had to forage for some details. The gist ... Read More
Lockout Hinders Best NHL Season in Years
The 2012-2013 season was supposed to start tonight. Instead, the league is in a labor dispute with the Player's Association which has led to a lockout, and subsequent work stoppage. As a result, the first two weeks of the season, totaling 82 games, has been cancelled. What a shame. After rebuilding a league that was pushed to the brink of extinction in 2006, the owners and players simply cannot find a common ground to get a deal in place and start the season on time. The fans will always come ... Read More
Bikini Hockey League: Puck Bunnies Unite
Look out, Lingerie Football League. If you’re a red meat eating, testosterone-filled dude, or just a Canadian, then this is probably the greatest idea you’ve ever heard of (at least until someone invents the beer sandwich). Bikini-clad women trying to pull off a back heel toe-drag? Sign me up. The format of the league is actually quite different. Rather than just being a sporting event, it’s attempting to pattern itself after a reality show. There will be two teams of 10 players each, and ... Read More
Will the NHL use replacement players?
25 years ago today, the National Football League used replacement players in regular season games for the first time in its history. It was a groundbreaking move, one that the league had often threatened, but never reverted to until then. The strike lasted for three total weeks before finally coming to an end. So that begs the question, the NHL has canceled the first two weeks of the season, but could they possibly retain the rest of the schedule and bring in replacement players until the ... Read More
Top five prospects in the 2013 NHL draft
The internet has done two things simultaneously: shortened our attention spans and yet somehow fostered a love for long-term projections. Considering that we have yet to even begin the 2012-13 season, it may seem a bit premature to start anointing the cream of next year’s draft crop. However, hockey fans have to do something to stave off lockout depression, and this is about the best we can do. 1. Nathan MacKinnon- Center- Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) MacKinnon is a naturally gifted ... Read More
The Imminent Lockout
I really did not want to write this, but forces far beyond my power are forcing me to do so. Unless a miraculous deal comes down before Sunday, the NHL will begin its lockout next week. There were a few grumblings about things potentially being closer, and then the legend Bob McKenzie at TSN dropped some knowledge in this tweet: “You can get bogged down with the #s, but all you need to know is NHLPA says won’t take an actual decrease to $ spent on salaries, and the NHL is asking for an ... Read More