NHL and NHLPA Reach Deal on Collective Bargaining Agreement

[cardsfan04]

I was starting to look at NFL and NBA for sports to watch this time of year, yikes.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I was actually excited when Fox Sports Midwest announced it would be carrying Pacers games. Glad the Blues will be back within just a few short weeks.

Me too, but not sure there will be anything short about them. The 19th (if that's when they start) seems like an eternity.

[fargoblues]

I'm not giving any NHL team a dime of my money. My wife was all excited when she heard, she said we could go to a game this season and I said absolutely not. So she said that's fine, she'll go with my dad and I told her he won't go either. I know my dad, he wouldn't spend a penny supporting these guys this year, and probably not the next 10 years either. Maybe if she's lucky someone will spring to get her tickets for Christmas, but other than that she's pretty much on her own at least for this and next year.

This. Not gonna buy Center Ice this year. Will still cheer for the Blues but eff that shiite.

[cprice12]

Good to see most of you are still here. I was wondering how many of you drank the 'magic' kool-aid after the season went to lockout. I'm ready for some hookeyz for sure and looking forward to seeing the Tank play. I just don't get all these people saying that they are going to boycot the season completely. I understand not giving them money for jerseys, tickets, and what not, but not even watching the games? I'm just glad it's back. I was starting to look at NFL and NBA for sports to watch this time of year, yikes.

Yeah...I could never boycott 100% of the NHL.
The Just Drop It boycott ends up being for 10 games. And they want you to boycott everything...not even watch on tv.
I'm not going that far. I won't spend any money on the NHL for the first 10 games, just because I don't want to feel like I am bending over and letting the league give it to me. I just feel like I should do something. It might not mean anything to the NHL in the end, but I think it's just something I feel I should do.

Now, the guys who are boycotting the entire season, no tv, no money being spent, etc...hmmm...well, to each their own and that's their deal. But I couldn't do that. At some point I'd feel the only person I'd be punishing would be myself.

[APOD]

As you may know, the NHL and the Players’ Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new CBA. It looks like your St. Louis Blues will soon return to the ice.

As we prepare for the season opener, I want to apologize to all Blues fans, especially our season ticket holders, suite holders, and sponsors. We share in your disappointment and frustration about the lockout and the lack of Blues hockey over the past three months. As you can imagine, the last thing our new ownership group wanted in our first year was a lockout and no Blues hockey. Everyone in the organization -- the players, hockey management, the front office – would have preferred to start the season on time.

Moving forward, our aim is to make up for lost time and to earn your continued support. As I said last May, we are firmly committed to the Blues and to ensuring the franchise’s long-term success here in St. Louis. With the lockout behind us, we reaffirm that commitment. But we know we cannot succeed without you, and we hope you will continue to support us at this critical time.

As you know, we have an exciting season ahead of us. The Blues, led by GM of the Year Doug Armstrong and Coach of the Year Ken Hitchcock, are coming off one of the best campaigns in franchise history and are widely viewed as one of the top teams in the NHL. The compressed season will be intensely competitive, with each game crucial in the race for the playoffs. We can’t wait to get started, and we sincerely hope you will be there with us.

Once again, I am sorry for the delay in starting the season. Thank you for your patience and support during the last few months. We hope to see you at a Blues game soon.

Sincerely,

Tom Stillman

Well that was nice.........But what are you going to do for me as a fan?


Here is Ken Campbell's insight

• Mandatory public service. Stellick points out that every Monday, rookies in the NFL are contractually obliged to do community service. That would be a great template to extend to every player in the NHL. Everyone from Sidney Crosby to the fourth-line pluggers should be required to get into schools to do fitness programs and contribute to their communities in a meaningful way.

• Offer the NHL’s Center Ice Package free for this season. That would fulfill the dual objective of apologizing and exposing the product and its sponsors to as many people as possible.

• Announce an immediate 10 percent reduction in everything from ticket prices to concessions to replica jerseys and hold a line on those prices through 2013-14. The fact of the matter is the NHL as a whole will do very well this season because it’s going to pay about 50 percent of salaries and get all its playoff revenues and most of its sponsorship and TV money. It will also have cost certainty, something the fans need to have for the next little while.

“They can’t just charge $12 for a beer and nine bucks for half a submarine sandwich and then thank people for being fans,” Stellick said.

• Establish an agreement to go to the Olympics and reestablish a meaningful schedule for the World Cup that would see it played every four years. Bettman himself said hockey has the world’s greatest and most devoted fans. And he’s right. It’s time to reward them by giving them a guarantee of best-on-best hockey every two years.

• Require all players from both the home and visiting teams, regardless of whether their team won or lost the game, to make an on-ice appearance when they are selected as one of the three stars of the game and have them toss league memorabilia into the crowd as they skate around the ice.

• When the opt-out period expires in eight years, don’t opt out regardless of the situation. This will not be an issue for the players, but it will for the league. Guarantee fans of the NHL a full decade of labor peace.

Ken Campbell the senior writer for The Hockey News

Help reignite my love for NHL and Blues Hockey, I hav'nt lost my love of the game yet but don't push it.

Ohhhh and one more thing! Short season or not WIN THE GOD DAMN CUP!

[stinkdified]

Now, the guys who are boycotting the entire season, no tv, no money being spent, etc...hmmm...well, to each their own and that's their deal. But I couldn't do that. At some point I'd feel the only person I'd be punishing would be myself.

I totally agree. I still love hockey and couldn't not watch it. I won't buy shit the first 10 games with y'all, but I can't say that I won't go to at least one game this year (after the initial 10, of course).

Help reignite my love for NHL and Blues Hockey, I hav'nt lost my love of the game yet but don't push it.
Ohhhh and one more thing! Short season or not WIN THE GOD DAMN CUP!

I guess you can change your avatar now?

[gaijin]

• Offer the NHL’s Center Ice Package free for this season. That would fulfill the dual objective of apologizing and exposing the product and its sponsors to as many people as possible.

This would go a long way in re-establishing the fan base (not to mention bringing disillusioned fans back faster), as well as bringing in additional folks who wouldn't ordinarily pay for something like this. More free-of-charge exposure/access to the product is probably the best thing the league can do to grow the sport following the lockout.

[dmiles2186]

• Offer the NHL’s Center Ice Package free for this season. That would fulfill the dual objective of apologizing and exposing the product and its sponsors to as many people as possible.

This would go a long way in re-establishing the fan base (not to mention bringing disillusioned fans back faster), as well as bringing in additional folks who wouldn't ordinarily pay for something like this. More free-of-charge exposure/access to the product is probably the best thing the league can do to grow the sport following the lockout.

Exactly. Plus, if they charge for the service, it will just re-establish the fact that the league doesn't care about fans and only grabbing at any available money.

If they were to give Center Ice for free for this shortened season, they would get quite a bit of positive press and win back some fans, for sure.

[kodos]

I'm on a money boycott.

I'm not spending any money on tickets, concessions or merchandise for at least this season. Maybe the next, we'll see.

If I get free tickets from my work, I'll go to the game, but I won't spend a dime.

[big d note]

I'm more pissed at the whole NHL than I thought I'd be, and I just don't really care that the season is happening. I don't plan on watching any games, and I definitely won't be spending any money on the NHL this season. Out of sight, out of mind, just like it has been since the season should have started.

Unfortunately the Denver Cutthroats (CHL) are on a month-long road trip right now, so it will be a while before I can go to another one of their games either.

[abc789987]

A good thing to do instead of going to the games to watch is go to a local bar or restaurant and spend some money there. The local businesses are the ones who were hurt most (besides us fans) from the lockout.

[dmiles2186]

On that free Center Ice thing.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/1/6/384310 ... ant-happen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Boo.

Welcome back, hockey! Or at least, welcome back in 10-13 days from now. A reminder that Puck the Media is your home for all the NHL TV news you can stand to read, and the next couple weeks will be busy.

Before that, however, a few words about the NHL's Center Ice package, which many people have been demanding the league offer up for free for the 48-game or 50-game per team season. Fans are obviously angry about this lockout, which has cost us nearly half of the typical 82-game season. They see free Center Ice as a logical give back from the league to the people who suffered the most, the workers in the arenas who got paid by the game and those who owned businesses around the rinks fans.

A nice thought, but it's not possible, you guys. The NHL doesn't have full ownership of the package. A company called inDEMAND -- which runs similar packages for the NBA, MLB and MLS -- does. They would need the approval of literally every cable and satellite company that runs the package -- everyone from DIRECTV to Comcast -- to make it happen, as inDEMAND and the cable companies all want a piece of those pricey subscriber fees. A discount? Perhaps. A free season of Center Ice? Logistically impossible.

The NHL does, however, have more power over its GameCenter Live application, which could mean a deeply discounted, if not free, season of that. I imagine the league probably doesn't want to make Center Ice a completely useless option for fans with access to a computer (there are many of those, I hear!) so they might not make it free, but a deep discount would make sense.

Hopefully, this ends the discussion of why the league won't just let you have Center Ice for free all 2013 season long. I'm sure those "FREE PREVIEW" weeks and GameCenter Live will be frequent enough to make it almost not a concern. Please don't shoot the messenger, and welcome back, hockey.

[abc789987]

On that free Center Ice thing.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/1/6/384310 ... ant-happen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Boo.

A nice thought, but it's not possible, you guys.

Bullshit. How about they pay the damn Center Ice for me. Setup a coupon code that we can enter that gives it to us for free then they just pay for it out of their pocket. They could do it but they just don't want to.

[Portland Blues]

On that free Center Ice thing.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/1/6/384310 ... ant-happen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Boo.

A nice thought, but it's not possible, you guys.

Bullshit. How about they pay the damn Center Ice for me. Setup a coupon code that we can enter that gives it to us for free then they just pay for it out of their pocket. They could do it but they just don't want to.

[STLADOGG]

More evidence from Tarasenko's agent, that he is coming to the NHL.
http://en.rsport.ru/hockey/20130107/638599585.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Vladimir Tarasenko is flying to St. Louis this week, we don't know the exact date yet," Alexei Demetev wrote on Twitter.

[gaijin]

On that free Center Ice thing.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/1/6/384310 ... ant-happen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Boo.

Welcome back, hockey! Or at least, welcome back in 10-13 days from now. A reminder that Puck the Media is your home for all the NHL TV news you can stand to read, and the next couple weeks will be busy.

Before that, however, a few words about the NHL's Center Ice package, which many people have been demanding the league offer up for free for the 48-game or 50-game per team season. Fans are obviously angry about this lockout, which has cost us nearly half of the typical 82-game season. They see free Center Ice as a logical give back from the league to the people who suffered the most, the workers in the arenas who got paid by the game and those who owned businesses around the rinks fans.

A nice thought, but it's not possible, you guys. The NHL doesn't have full ownership of the package. A company called inDEMAND -- which runs similar packages for the NBA, MLB and MLS -- does. They would need the approval of literally every cable and satellite company that runs the package -- everyone from DIRECTV to Comcast -- to make it happen, as inDEMAND and the cable companies all want a piece of those pricey subscriber fees. A discount? Perhaps. A free season of Center Ice? Logistically impossible.

The NHL does, however, have more power over its GameCenter Live application, which could mean a deeply discounted, if not free, season of that. I imagine the league probably doesn't want to make Center Ice a completely useless option for fans with access to a computer (there are many of those, I hear!) so they might not make it free, but a deep discount would make sense.

Hopefully, this ends the discussion of why the league won't just let you have Center Ice for free all 2013 season long. I'm sure those "FREE PREVIEW" weeks and GameCenter Live will be frequent enough to make it almost not a concern. Please don't shoot the messenger, and welcome back, hockey.

I could live with free games online.

[cprice12]

Yeah, I had heard that Gamecenter Live was a more realistic option since the NHL has 100% control of that, plus it would be cheaper for them to give away than NHL Center Ice would be.

However, I imagine that if the NHL gives that away for free, then there will be a huge number of folks that won't sign up for NHL Center Ice. I'm not sure how that would strain the relationship between DirecTV, DishNetwork, etc and the NHL. I dunno...just thinking out loud.

My guess is that if they do something with GameCenter, it won't be for free. That would cause crazy bandwidth issues, it would crash servers, etc. There would be way too much traffic if it was free. I'd guess they offer it at a substantial discount...probably half off or something. Offer it for $39.99 for the rest of the season. That's something I think would work well and would make a lot of fans happier. Isn't it normally like $160? And isn't a half season something like $120?

[Itchty Meat Hammer]

Boycott first few games completely: +1
Give no $ dircetly to NHL all season: +1
Watch at local business or for free online/radio: +1, at some point
Leauge and players:

[DaDitka]

Sorry....I've done enough missing hockey. It's back...it's here to stay (for at least 8 years) and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. Did the lockout suck, sure....but if you didn't see it coming, you were fooling yourself. It's over now and I'm going to enjoy my puck.

Now.....one thing that I am pissed about is the fact that they didn't fix the revenue sharing. But considering that was really the fault of the owners of the Leafs, Nucks, Rangers and such....I'm not going to punish myself or Mr. Stillman.