This is just me, but I think tomorrow’s Board of Governors meeting will be more critical to the proceedings than today’s meeting of 18 hand-picked players and six hand-picked owners (especially since Jeremy Jacobs is one of the owners in the room).
I think there’s a chance the governors (i.e. owners in most cases) get it out in the open that they might want to save a season, and that the owners’ side might need to budge a bit in order to save them all a ton of revenue they will otherwise lose.
I also think there’s a chance the owners are convinced by the hawk-ish leadership to flush the season down the toilet.
As for today’s meeting, the NHLPA sent out its roster:Â Craig Adams, David Backes, Michael Cammalleri, Sidney Crosby, B.J. Crombeen, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Ron Hainsey, Shawn Horcoff, Jamal Mayers, Manny Malhotra, Andy McDonald, Ryan Miller, George Parros, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, Jonathan Toews and Kevin Westgarth.
Some smart guys in that group. Or maybe Skidney can whine the owners into a deal.
And as far as James Dolan not being invited for the owners’ side (and we all pretty much know that he wants this thing settled), this is what I’ve heard (and I’m not saying previous reports are false):
If he wanted to be involved, he didn’t make that clear or attempt to communicate that to the Lockout Commissioner. That’s what I was told. Not that he would have been included anyway. But if he didn’t say so, how or why would the league put him on the roster?
Too bad. Would be great so see some moderate owners do some of the negotiating.
204 Comments
Go time?
Well, let’s hope Dolan is planning to show up tomorrow then. Maybe he is saving his best song for tomorrow’s meeting.
Need more defensemen on that team. Too many forwards.
I just saw someone in a Chris Drury jersey. Which reminded me, Anybody know how that protest went on Saturday?
Need a backup goaltender also.
I’m guessing it was a bust, Manny, since it got no attention, even on twitter.
Wow. That’s tough. I saw some people headed to the Subway in Rangers Jerseys. Maybe the NHL gassed them and then tortured them?
Where’s Mark Sanchez for these meetings… Is he mid-siesta?
Plenty of goons though, Doodie.
They could use Oktoberfest Biron as their backup!
Highly educated goons, Manny…Similar to to owners.
Disregard the second “to”. And go close the previous post, Manny. Carp must be getting tired doing your job.
So the protesters boycotted their own protest?
Doctor, similar to the owners. I think you using that vile filthy word last post as thrown you off a bit. ;)
BANJ, Mark Sanchez showed up to the protest, and his stench drove them all away!
He’s down and out Tiki, probably hasn’t showered since Sunday.
Good one, ilb. Nice comparison
“Walking into hotel all Bettman said to the media was: “I’m hoping we get to where we need to be.”
Prostate issues, I’m guessing…
He probably hasnt showered ever, BANJ! LOL
Tiki, what does that say about the women he “sees”?
why is this Jacobs guy has so much weight in the NHL? Its like he runs the whole league…
Forget this meeting, MDZ now follows Pitbull on Twitter. Thoughts, Carp?
Maybe they’re his beard, BANJ!
Pitbull , eh? another talentless mofo making millions…
Maybe the moderate owners will vote to remove Jacobs tomorrow?
Well Tiki he better not enter the next beard contest.
so this is going to be utterly pointless, huh
maybe Jacobs will actually say some of the nasty crap he’s said about the players to their faces today
If Jacobs is prepared to taunt Cam Neely in front of thousands of fans at the team’s Cup parade, he probably would insult players to their faces.
dear god. please give me hockey this year.
i promise to be a good boy always
and i will refresh 10 times a day
TONY
>>Pitbull , eh? another talentless mofo making millions…
What does that guy do anyway?
>>why is this Jacobs guy has so much weight in the NHL?
Um, perhaps because he’s got fat…wallet?
TONY!!!!
I haven’t been here in awhile, but thought I’d throw in my 2 cents. First off, are ANY of those owners moderate? I’d think maybe the Toronto guy, since Toronto would be much like the Rangers, where they are making money and not having games eats into their revenue.
Second, at this point, I don’t see the benefit of any of this from the owners standpoint. Even if they settled with something close to the deal they wanted, will they ever make back the lost revenue? Are enough owners losing that much money HAVING games that it is worth it to go through this? To me, I think we are at the point where both sides are just SO stubborn that to give is shows weakness. It’s a big macho game now. I’m not surprised that it went this way knowing Donald Fehr from his baseball days. I’m not saying he’s to blame, because I don’t think so, but his MO is to stay hard line and not give in, so here we are. We are hockey nuts here, but these people have to realize that most sports fans just don’t care about hockey and have moved on. That’s why these protests failed.
LW, here’s my thought on that: DIAL IT!
JBytes, here’s what he does: Walks around indoors with sunglasses on, and has to push them down his nose to leer at women.
Atta boy, Tony! But don’t promise what you can’t deliver (I’m talking about being a good boy, not about refreshing).
Even hockey FANS are currently the laughing stock of sports fans. Luckily hockey fans are so much more passionate than fans of other (North American) sports that we really don’t give a Shultz!
a little disappointed in the lack of a reaction to my Skidney comment.
Tort has already been fined for your outburst, Carp.
He hasn’t been fired yet?
the skidney comment was pretty good carp, i already copied it and passed it along…
i agree, i think tomorrow’s meeting will pretty much decide whether or not they’ll be a season this year or not.
Good to see del zaster in mid season form with all his twitter nonsense. Can’t stand him
Torts got fired earlier when he left the Door open while the air conditioning was on.
i miss all of the torts should be fired and eric’s the sky is falling posts… what a disaster this lockout has been
lmgo, eric.
I see no progress at all with this owners / players meeting. You have rich, sophisticated owners who have probably handled hundreds of big money business deals and contracts up against Hockey players, some of them with formal education, but absolutely no experience in such matters. Not to mention the complexity of the financial issues. The intimidation factor is huge, and I don’t care how tough George Parros looks. Besides venting on both sides, there is no way a deal in principal gets hammered out without the egghead professionals being involved on both sides.
Maybe the owners and players can agree that Bettman needs to GTFO.
“sophisticated” owners
don’t confuse money with erudition
If and when there is a 48 gm schedule the playoff race is in from game one. Every night is must win.
check that – to call James Dolan “sophisticated” is a stretch. I just meant these owners are sly bastards with brains. They didn’t get rich because of kindness and compassion.
Good evening, George Parros!
Carp, “Skidney” is my favorite of his nicknames. I don’t think we should keep insulting women by insinuating that he is one. I like “Skidney” cause it shows what he really is: someone who can’t wipe his own tuchus.
wealthy snakes, that I can deal with.
isn’t Parros an Ivy League guy?
Good evening, Sally! Though that’s not what Skidney really means … um, it has more to do with his slewfooting ways.
Lloyd, it’s been a while since you’ve been here consistently. You’ve been missed.
well it’s not like there’s been any hockey to discuss
plus Tortorella’s been helping people recover from Sandy so I can’t exactly call for his head now
OWNERS: Gentleman come in. Now we don’t want to take up much of your time. Let’s make this short and sweet. We’re prepared to offer you all the free coffee you want in any of our arenas throughout North America and Europe, Plus..
PLAYERS: WE’LL TAKE IT!!
Since when have you been so trendy, drinking cafe lattes?
it is a beautiful day.
Tony is in the house.
Some players and owners are in the same room.
Christmas is coming.
they talked for five hours, now breaking for dinner, expected to resume after eats … but I still think that report out of Boston yesterday was a pile of carcillo.
get a freaking deal done. all i want to know how much the cap is. the rest to me i could care less
im hearing rumors that gary bettman has scheduled a press confernce for 1pm tomorrow…any truth to that at all or is that just twitterverse making stuff up?
Adam Rotter:
According to John Shannon of Sportsnet, progress has been made in the meeting between the owners and the players and after breaking for dinner the owners expect to meet again.
He adds that Penguins owner Ron Burkle has been the voice of reason.
In another tweet, Shannon adds “Couldn’t help but notice Crosby’s agent Pat Brisson is in hotel, along with Pens co-owner Mario Lemieux. Could Pgh be building a bridge?”
To me everything is a pile of carcillo at the moment. Until they announce the deal. I’m utterly tired of getting my hopes up every time something seems to be happening just to hear that they’re still far apart next morning.
hard to believe i am rooting for penguins at this moment. come on skid burkle get the deal done
ilb i totally agree about getting out hopes up and being utterly demolished…but i feel like everytime weve gotten our hopes up its been before the meetings…we hear rumors nhlpa willing to move towards owners and we get our hopes up before we hear how the owners are reacting…i feel like this is the first time reports are actually surfacing AFTER the meeting that progress is being made…maybe this time its different? or maybe your right and i will be crushed again tomorrow
i would be absolutely shocked if these meetings result in a deal … but cautiously optimistic that it could be a step in the right direction.
carp im not expecting them to come out of the meetings tonight and say “season saved well opening night next week”...but ill take cautiously optimisitic over no progress anyday
What? returned from dinner with Bettman and Daly?
Those to-go boxes must be something in the big city.
i havnt tried to read to much into things during this lockout but a meeting reconviening at 9:40 has to be a good sign
I see out now “Golden Boy Sidney Crosby ends lock-out! All hail Sidney Crosby.” The lockout was a big conspiracy theory to end the lock out! Imagine
I’ll take cautiously optimistic…
Cautiously optimistic is good. We need our Rangers back for CCCP!
is it wierd that im not getting my hopes up….but at the same time im freaking out right now?
You gotta believe that some positive is finally happening.
Nash, sharpen your blades for your MSG debut….ah…er….well, sharpen your blades and be ready!
51/49 Carp!?
I heard the same iBleed. I am worried about ANY rumors coming out of Boston due to that guy, um….J. Jacobs…..gotta HATE that guy!
“Canucks captain Henrik Sedin voiced some of his frustrations to the Vancouver Province on Monday as the lockout entered its 80th day. “I don’t know if they [owners] think they’re dealing with kids or that we’re stupid or think the fans are stupid. It’s a little mind-boggling when you see what’s coming out of their side,” said Sedin.”
Yankees don’t have enough money to spend during off-season?
Cashman: ‘Beggars can’t be choosers.’
really? sounds like its time to get rid of one of the TREMENDOUS teammates ;)
Yep, 3C. Theyre gonna keep cutting payroll, and with an aged team and little mL talent, theyre just gonna have to make small moves and hope the starting pitching carries them next season. And Cashman has used that line for a while now… everything that comes out of his mouth is foolish.
they’re going to be pretty bad in a few years. maybe next year.
frozen moment on NHL.com (remember that website?) 1994 Mike Richter’s save on Pavel Bure! i miss hockey
what? no white smoke?
Glad to hear about A(ss)Rod. Addition by subtraction!
Not necessarily re: next year. The reason the red sox sucked last season was their pitching, not their offense. And although the Yankees offense isnt built for the postseason (too many all or nothing hitters), it was still a top regular season offensive club. Went with Cody Ransom at 3B for first 2 months of 2009 til Arod came back. Maybe he’ll come back healthy. Doubtful, but im hopeful. Starting pitching is 4 deep solid. Of course, injuries always play a role, but its unlikely we’ll have as many serious injuries as we did last year. Maybe Cashman will find a couple reasonable pickups. Would love Pierzynski as catcher and Scutaro, but I dont think Cashman has any interest in upgrading through overpayment in a weak free agent class.
Ay dios mio! Have you all seen that NY Post cover from today with the picture of man about to die on the train tracks? Guess who was forced to cover it today for the Post? Yup, you guessed it. I cant believe they used that picture along w those heinous captions.
So a long day of talking, but not actual negotiating and more of it today before a Board of Gov’s meeting. I suppose no tweets, bad-mouthing and “insider” comments is a good sign.
I can see several reasons for possible progress:
Voices of a moderate like Burkle & having his boy Crosby across the table (possible impact of Cammalleri and St.Louis having same effect on Edwards/Vinik?)
Presence of Leafs (and not Burke)
Taking a hypocrite like Leipold out of the room
threat of decert/disclaimer
Impending Board of Govs meeting and possible more cancellations or whole season down the pan
I’m hearing rumours that Skidney slewfooted Jacobs on the way in and he had to go to the Claude Giroux Memorial Hospital in Philly for emergency surgery on a broken wrist – thats why they made “progress” yesterday
Good morning, boneheads!
We will know how much, if any, progress was made after 11 am BOG meeting, I would guess. Until then- it’s all another circus show in NY.
What is with all this positivity I am waking up to!?
guys we are all Crosby haters… but from what I’m reading on his action in the current labor dispute, I’m actually pretty impressed. So until we have hockey, I’m going to be a bit more moderate or a bit less “hateful” toward Skid “Slewfoot” Crosby.
see for yourself…
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/sidney-crosby-penguins-co-owner-pushing-save-nhl-032017905—nhl.html#more-45919
Good morning, Carp!
Can’t wait for the Amerks game on Friday! Hockey! ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS!!!
Skidmarks Crosby.
Staal – i’m more impressed with Burkle, Crosby is towing the party line whereas Burkle is seemingly going against his.
I’m also glad the biggest hypocrite of the lot – Leipold – is not in the room. Its shameful to sign 2 guys to 13 yr, $98m contracts then cry poor and ask for 10-15% back and say that all contracts should be limited to 5 years. His presence alone would wind me up – let alone Jacobs and Bettman.
I understand that, Staal. Crosby didn’t go overseas and is actually working pretty hard to get the NHL back. That’s impressive.
I see both points UK and Manny…either way…I’ll take the tempered optimism
Good morning, Sally! (no idea what that bold/uppercase thing means).
Come on NHL and Players lets get a freakin’ deal done.
No season.
Deal, or no deal?
Sounds like its up to the big markets who are going to lose the most to convince the small markets (and Jacobs) to get a deal done to save the season.
https://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/nhl-players-continue-talks-wednesday-1.4294342
I wouldnt be surprised to see the players give a little in the Free agency rules in order to get some back in the “make-whole” – that is if there is a spirit of give and take from the owners (now that more moderate voices are being allowed in)
Is there any news on Michael Sauer?
The last thing I heard about him was an interview with Tortorella in September where Torts said he hadn’t responded that well to treatment and probably wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season.
I realize it has only been three months, not that long for a head injury I know, but thought there may be some news somewhere.
Three months since the interview.
Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the “hit”.
Haven’t seen any new news on Sauer. Weird that it’s a year to the day since the hit that concussed him.
I guess today is the anniversary, wonder why that thought entered my brain today.
You can only ask about Sauer during a chat.
Bettman live…........................................
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl-lockout/gary-bettman-press-conference/?site=www
We’re talking about how many games the season will have? This is a HUGE turnaround.
the news on Sauer is…next time he’ll tighten his helmet strap…and he’s been talking to Hag’s about the same thing.
56 game scehdule?
So the Rangers championship season will have an asterisk next to it?
OK, where do I sign up for an asterisk? And don’t skimp on the mayo, please.
yeah, I think the champion and its fans will get over the asterisk.
... the Devils and Miami Heat have asterisks, and their banners look just fine.
You can only ask about Sauer during a chat.
Is the chat live now?
MOMENTUM
Devils*?
Dainus Zubrus*
TREMENDOUS* teammate*
Nobody can beat double asterisk!
LET’S GO RANGERS!
Punks!
Shortened seasons dont mean anything. You win, you win. TREMENDOUS TEAMMATE, TREMENDOUS LOVER*
Phoenix will win Cup*
Still freakin’ idiots. But this time with asterisk.
*
(g)jibberish*
I don’t care shortened season or not…just give me hockey!
hockey for Christmas
BEST
CHRISTMAS
EVER
*!!!!*
I think A-Rod, Bonds, Clemens and them will all have bold asterisks.
Clemens had a particularly big ass to risk.
hah! LW.
Lol….
come on get it done.
carp
wouldnt league want 60 games or more so sponsors pay the full 100% to league that was publicly stated.
I mean, lol*
in the words of Tony…
REFRESH
REFRESH
REFRESH…
I just want to see a shortened season announced…
sick of freakin’ idiots taking away my game!
As will Manny and Pedro. Does Schill get an asterisk for laying off 400 employees with no severance packages and screwing the state of Rhode Island out of $75 million?
I thought Orr was the voice of reason.
Can someone enlighten me as to why some reporters are claiming Crosby deserves more credit than anyone else if a deal comes out of these meetings?
What has he done that any of the other regular NHLPA attendees haven’t?
eric:
well, they played, what, 48 games in 1995 when the season started in the third week of January. if they somehow get a deal done immediately (and I still don’t believe a deal will be reached anytime soon), I doubt they’d be able to start for another few weeks at the earliest. so, hypothethically, let’s say the season starts around Christmas, I guess it’s possible they could surpass the 1995 mark by 10-12 games. but remember this time around you’re going to have a large number of players who’ve had no “game action” for 8 months, and I’d think they’ll need to be some allowance for an abbreviated training camp. who knows.
I still don’t think they’ll be playing hockey until October 2013
LW3H:
Honestly? Because the league’s reputation is so badly tarnished that they need to make Crosby into a transcendent hero. The golden boy of the sport can become the golden boy who saves the sport and I’m guessing some people think that’s a good way to help repair the game’s public image. You’re not going to get nearly the same cachet by claiming B.J. Crombeen was instrumental in saving the sport.
Adam Rotter is sny just brought me back to earth
According to Mark Everson in the NY Post, the optimism that many are feeling about the NHL making a deal is “overblown” and one hard liner insisted that the hope people were feeling is “irrational exuberance.”The hard liner he spoke with said that the NHL hasn’t changed any of their demandsÂ
also from Rotter’s blog:
“Brian Lawton, a former player, agent and executive, tweets:
The owner said to have been the most helpful to players in the meetings. Not who most have assumed! Yes Ron Burkle has been a voice of reason but the answer is and most people won’t believe it but it is true…….JEREMY JACOBS.”
I’m guessing Jacobs voice of reason goes something like, “Come on, morons, bend over quickly so we can go back to making money and you dummies can skate around in a circle for 3 hours a night.”
Could understand the league pushing the Crosby=saviour agenda (again), Lloyd, but why would the average reporter feel the need to blow his trumpet for being just one of many players engaged in the process?
Makes it sound like he alone got Burkle and Mario to join the talks. Even if true, that says more about Burkle and Mario’s total intransigence over the last four months than anything else.
think it’s a case of the reporters doing the league’s pr work for them
plus so many of these clowns have been up Crosby’s butt from day 1; no reason to stop now, right
players response!!! Bending over? That’s something you’ve been doing to Buttman since you’ve been sleeping together.
i haven’t asked this in a long time, but do you guys follow me on twitter? if not, please do … @rangersreport … been tweeting and re-tweeting a lot lately. thank you.
i do
I follow Pitbull, if that helps.
DIAL IT!
Pedro was on roids? all 5 ft 8, and 160 lbs of him? now Manny, thats a no brainer.
hopefully the end result of this lockout includes Bettman losing his job. 3 lockouts, and possibly 2 seasons washed away.
Carp, where are your tweets? – - – - – - – - – - – - – >
Unfortunately, those are the only tweets I see, never bothered to figure it out since you set it up here. Also I only have a dumb phone with no internet access.
Weight and height have nothing to do with steroid use. Steroids dont put on weight, they help develop muscle mass and strength. Pitchers use steroids to develop stronger legs.
I have a feeling hockey isnt too far away and Ill be calling for more referees’ heads
to be blown off by crazed fansin no time.I know … just discovered this week that my retweets don’t go into the widget, then discovered my own tweets don’t go into the widget all the time, and I have somebody working on it …
in the meantime, just follow me @rangersreport, because I’ve been retweeting all the important info during this clutterbuck. ... and should have said so earlier.
....he was on that list released by the NYT of 104 players on drugs. Team with most on the list was the red sox with 8.
Ive been following you the whole time Carp. Youre the only hockey guy I go to for hockey news.
team with the second most had the biggest choke in playoff history against the team with the most.
how many of the 2000, Yankees were on roids? now thats a long list.
How many of the 2000 Yankees were of the importance of Pedro, Schill, Manny, David? Pretty sure the Bruins had the biggest choke in playoff history.
All baseball players are on ‘Roids.
Am I the only person that is completely sick of Whyshynski in the Twitter feed?
*Pettitte.
how many Celtics that were going to be the next Michael Jordan dropped dead directly because of drug use? now thats a short list. How many championships did they lose because of those 2 corpses? Whew! Thank God!
I am just going to assume that A-Rod’s current health situation is a direct result of morbidly excessive steroid use. Thus, sadly, he’s out on my Hall of Fame list. At least Bonds would have been amazing without them.
Oh Jesus….forget it. We’re celebrating the death of young, vibrant people again.
See ya!
mlb.lohudblogs.com?
Clemens, Stanton.
Stanton?? Really? Clemens wasn’t even good in 2000. Those 2 Celts were habitual drug users. As Carp says about Joe Paterno, I hope they rot in hell.
Canseco, Hill, Spencer, Grimsley.
Justice, Leyritz.
Knoblouch, Ledee.
Pretty sure Doc Gooden and Len Bias had the same problem…
David Justice is the best of the bunch. And Pettitte which Carp mentioned (who hadnt used HGH at that time). We’ll just put Clemens on there. In no way compares to David, Manny, and Pedro. Manny and David are one of the best 3-4 hitting combinations in the history of baseball. Pedro is Pedro.
I am Manny and my brother’s name is David. We are great.
says who? Pettite? well we should believe a known cheat. and still pitching at 40. I’m guessing he’s not using anything now either? some of the guys you are defending are admitted users, by the way.
bull dog. He’s insane. Don’t even bother. It sometimes boggles my mind that he’s even allowed around here. The guy just said he hopes Len Bias rots in hell (and compared him to the Paterno situation). Because
being fromplaying in Boston and looking the other way while dozens of young boys are raped is the same thing.I’m not defending anyone, bull dog. There’s nothing to defend. Those players used. So did the most Red Sox. I couldn’t care less. More power to them for cheating to earn World Series titles and more money. If you aint cheatin’, you aint tryin’
Manny’s laying down the law on what type of person we can hope rots in hell, he lays down the law on what’s racism. This guy’s really powerful…. on a blog.
I learned a lot about MLB teams, and steroid use over the summer. I will just say that the Texas Rangers (in the past, don’t know about today) not only knew, but encouraged use. I am guessing that is probably true for most teams.
That’s fascinating, bull dog. Lou Merloni of the red sox once spoke of how the red sox brought in doctors to teach the players how to administer the steroids.
that does not surprise me Tiki. I would think most teams did that.
my causious optimisim is quickly turning into extreme nervousness…what if this doesnt happen? what if this falls through? what if this falling through causes the cancelation of the whole season…im officially panicing
Real_ESPNLeBrun: Told it’s sort of like a ping pong game today, both sides grinding back and forth.
yeah, right, Pettitte hadn’t used at that time. And McGwire didn’t use until he got hurt. And A-Roid only used those couple of years in Texas. And Clemens never did. Keep telling yourself that.
Manny, I have met the man. Proud to call him a friend. Passion is his middle name. Bringing the pain to Boston and is his game. Wherever there is a Boston cheap-shot, Tiki will be there. Wherever a referee is screwing our Rangers, Tiki will be there. I think he should have his own blog. Tiki has a voice and I support his right to use it as long as he doesn’t violate this blogs rules. Can I get an amen?
bull dog, Giambi, Sheffield, Melky, Colon. And quite a few who wear/have worn that uniform who have yet to be caught.
THERE BACCKKKK
Carp,
like the Yankees 2nd basemen? or 1st basemen for that matter.
um, no comment. (opinion, yes; comment, no). and a couple of other positions, too.
What kind of drugs was the Boogie Boogaard using again?
sill no white smoke?
still no agreement
Are we there yet?
owners left…owners came back…players left…players came back… yadda yadda yadda…
DROP THE FREAKING PUCK ALREADY!
How about now?
my heart cant handle this roller coaster ride anymore! i need to stop watching but i cant stay away!
am i the only one whose been stareing at twitter for two day straight?
Nope. Not the only one.
Thank you carp you made me feel better
yeah i’ve been checking twitter constantly too… I NEED MY RANGERS!! NOW!
Feeling very optimistic right now. I’m calling deal done by Sunday and hockey by mid next week
are we there yet?
as happy as i am that their talking….they do know there IS A TOMORROW right?
man… i gotta get up in 5 hours and here i am sitting here like an idiot… believing
I’ll keep an eye on things, it’s only 8:45 here in Alaska
i feel your pain 3CP…even though i know nothings going to happen tonight i wont be able to sleep untill the meetings break
200!!
talks done….continue tomorrow….goodnight
well f them then!
Thanks for the twitter updates Carp.
I’m all over my twitter feed this past 2 days. A few others you guys might want to follow (if you dont already):
@JSportsnet
@stevezipay
@KatieStrangESPN
@JimCerny
@ByKevinAllen
@Helenenothelen
@NYDNRangers
IBleedRangersBlue – just read your comment, ive done nothing but constantly refresh twitter on my phone for 2 days, and when i wake up its the first thing i do too (bear in mind i’m Eastern+5hrs) so i’m waking up when all the “negotiating done for the night” tweets come in.
I’m much more optimistic today than i was 3-4 days ago, but it could still get derailed on the length and max yrs and % variance issue from the sounds of it, from what i read they are closer on make-whole but i haven heard anything about Olympics, safety etc..
I’m thinking based on the intensity that we will get an announcement on Friday and hockey starting 25-26th Dec after a 10-12 day training camp with 2 pre-season games. I think the only shame will be that the coaches wont get an extended look at the rookies at NHL level competition so it might reduce the chances for JT Miller, Kolarik and Thomas to break into the team.