NHL lunacy gets worse
It’s Day 91 of the NHL lockout, and both sides are lawyered to the max.
NHL lunacy gets worse
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
It’s Day 91 of the NHL lockout, and both sides are lawyered to the max.
NHLPA: Waaaaaah! We’ll go to court and prove the lockout is illegal.
NHL: Waaaaaah! We’ll get the courts to void all the players’ contracts.
NHL fans: Waaaaaah! We quit!
That, in a nutshell, is where we stand, folks: Two greedy sides still arguing about how to divide $3.3 billion.
Do you still care?
The league and the players’ union have gone to the courts _ or are about to go to the courts _ to complain about each other like grade-school kids. The players are in the process of voting to see if they should file a disclaimer of interest. If they do, it’s their hope they will dissolve the union and file an antitrust suit against the league _ and ask a judge to declare the lockout illegal.
The league has filed a pre-emptive legal strike, trying to stop the players from dissolving the union. (And it’s not because the NHL loves the union’s boss, Donald Fehr.)
If the NHL is unsuccessful in claiming the lockout is legal, it wants to have all player contracts nullified and declared void.
That, in effect, would make every player an unrestricted free agent.
Want Sidney Crosby? Claude Giroux? Shea Weber?
Step right up, bidders!
Repeat after me: CHAOS.
What we have here is a lot of posturing. If both sides spent as much time negotiating as they did trying to ruin the opposing party, well, we might just be playing hockey now.
Maybe all of this legal mumbo jumbo will speed up the process and lead to a settlement, as it did in the NBA last year, when it had a new CBA 12 days after the union filed a disclaimer of interest.
My guess: We have a settlement just before Christmas and we’re playing on Jan. 5.
Will any fans still care by then?
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
You're waaaaay to optimistic. I don't think they're playing this season.— meteo30
If the NHL wants to void all player contracts, does that mean we can get rid of Bryz?
Where is snipemorris?
— backhand
I was done in October.- No salary cap then. 10 teams go away and the rest have a free for all signing players.
- Hey Sam, how many season ticket holders have canceled? Not many, I suspect. Thats why the league isn't worried. Fans will be back.— dfc5632
- 182 season ticket holders have requested and been given refunds.
18,200 season ticket holders paid the Flyers who are giving them (someone correct me if I'm off here) 2% interest on the money.
Cancellations are approximately 0.01% of all season ticket holders.
— backhand - No Hockey League— eagle fan for life
- This comment has been deleted.— Dutch10
- I couldn't agree more.
People complain about the millionaire players, and side with the billionaire owners. Where is the logic in that?
— backhand - Bettman is THE WORST— Mike Boryla
- Between the CHL games on NHL Network and college games on NBCSP, Big 10 and CBS Sports, I have been getting my hockey fill. And AMC has been showing Miracle a lot recently. The NHL is a complete joke right now. The players and owners should just be ashamed of themselves. A kids game being played by adults and ruined by babies.— AreaMan
- Good God. I want this lockout to end ASAP just so I don't have to read the same cliches over and over and over.— schnitzelboy
- This season/league is done. Not even Cindy can save the league... The owners will settle out of court; there's no way they want to go to trial and open their books, emails, texts, etc for all to see. I'm calling your bluff now, you greedy shmucks! Honor your contracts and get back to work.— boom dynamite
- Sam, pens fan from across the state, been reading your stuff for a while. (over a yr) a shame when a pens fan can come onto this site and shake my fist in rage along with the flyer faithfull. Your article along with many others by fed up reporters are nothing but the truth. PREACH ON. Add the fact that the NHL is now killing their rivalries by making rival ticket buyers agree with each other over this entire circus as a new level of shame to the league.
This is like a browns fan agreeing with a ravens fan. And as a steelers fan, no matter how much purple you put on them, they are still browns.
F the bruins. Bring back the NHL so we can get resolution to Sid vs Claude.— NWPA66 - You're alright for a Pens fan.
— Atomic Fury
