How Will the Bruins Fare in the Shortened Season?

The NHL gets back to business as unusual on Jan. 19th when they begin a shortened 48-game season.  For Bruins fans, just seeing the players back on the ice in black and gold will be a success, but for the players, they must be licking their chops for the 2013 season.

The B's won the Lord Stanley's Cup for the 2010-11 season, and most of that same roster til laces 'em up at the TD Garden for home games.  The Bruins have young stars like Tyler Seguin, 20, Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic, 24, as well as elder statesmen like Andrew Ference and Shawn Thornton, 33, and captain Zdeno Chara, 35.  Age has never seemed to slow the Bruins down, and Ference and Chara have been playing for over a month already overseas, so in 2013, that's not a concern.

After a few concussions, the most famous of which came at the hands of Canucks defender Aaron Rome, B's winger Nathan Horton is ready to rock.  According to Lucic, Horton looks more game-ready than ever some of their teammates playing overseas.

"We had a little scrimmage to end [Thursday's practice] and on our side there was only five forwards.  we were huffing and puffing, but he looked good," he said.  "He looks to be back on track.  He's in really good shape and I'm excited to get back out there and play with him."

Horton's condition shouldn't be a problem this year, but one player to keep an eye on will be goaltender Tuukka Rask.  Poised to be the starter between the pipes after Tim Thomas lost his marbles, Rask aggravated his groin against playing in the Czech Republic.  It was not as severe as when he originally injured it last March, but took himself out of a few games as a precaution.

The only other injury on the team right now appears to be to perennial all-star snub defender Adam McQuaid.  Darth Quaider has had multiple surgeries to correct blood clots around his collarbone and arms, and will hopefully be ready by the end of the month.  Watching the Bruins won't be the same without McQuaid crushing faces on the ice.

All in all, the Bruins look to be in an excellent position to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference this year.  With an embarrassing first round exit after losing to the Capitals, the Bruins will come back faster, stronger and hungrier for another championship. 

I'm predicting Seguin will lead the team in points, followed closely by linemate Patrice Bergeron and second line winger Lucic.  If Seguin and Bergeron find their rhythm like they did last year, they can again be one of the most electric lines if Marchand is up to the task.  A lot of Lucic's points come right down in front of the net, allowing Horton and Krejci to use their skills to fire pucks on net for Looch to slap home on a rebound.

Defense has always been a strong point for the Bruins, if they get out to a hot start on the pillows of Rask, that should be all it takes to fuel a playoff run.  The first test will come right away against the East favorite New York Rangers on opening night  Its tough to judge with a 48-game season, but I'm gonna say the Bruins can get 29 to 31 wins.  Doesn't hurt to be optimistic, right? 

Don't forgot to join Three if by Strike on Jan. 19th for the Bruins opener live blog!

NHL is Back

Finally.  113 days and over 500 missed games later, the NHL lockout appears to be over.

"We still have a lot of work to do," said Emperor Gary Bettman, "but it's good to be at this point."

The collective bargaining agreement is for 10 years with a mutual opt-out clause after eight years.  There is also a new contract term limit of seven years for players.  In order for this deal to become official, it must be ratified by both the NHL board of governors and NHLPA membership.

The season has two possible starting dates: a 50-game season starting Jan. 15, or a 48-game season to start on Jan. 19.  Either way, a full playoff schedule will take place, extending to the end of June.

Teams can spend up to $70.2 million in the first year of the deal, but the 2013-14 salary cap will drop down to $64.3 million.  There are a lot of other details to sort out about the deal, but the important part is that the lockout appear to be done, and we will see NHL hockey by the end of the both.

Now for the tricky part.  To me, there is no better sport to watch than hockey.  Being at a college basketball game or a baseball game comes close, but the pace and intensity of an NHL game cannot be matched.  That being said, I highly doubt I will be in attendance at any game this season.  The higher ups in the NHL treat their fans like trash, and being a Bruins fan, there is no bigger example of that than Jeremy Jacobs. 

Sources claim that he was one of the biggest reasons the talks kept dissolving, and only a scumbag like him would give huge contracts to players like Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin knowing that the lockout would nearly all but cancel them out.  I will still watch hockey and TV, and still root for the Bruins wearing my Adam McQuaid jersey.  As pumped as I am for the start of the season, I know that it just starts the eight year countdown for another idiotic labor dispute to start up again.

82 Days In, Still No NHL

CBA talks have been going on like crazy for three straight days, with everyone playing their hands pretty close to their chests.

For now, watch some people beating each other up and pretend that the loser in each fight is either Gary Bettman, Bill Daly or Jeremy Jacobs.

WBZ-Boston Reports End to NHL Lockout Out of The Blue

Social media can make anything seem believable these days.  As long as enough people read something, enough people will then talk about that something to make it seem like common knowledge.  In this case, Steve Burton of WBZ-TV, Boston's CBS affiliate, has decided to go ahead and announce an imminent end to the NHL lockout.

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times -- I hate writing about the lockout, but what if this complete shot in the dark is true?

Burton, the go-to sports reporter on the WBZ nightly news, reported that "an unannounced meeting was held [Monday] with a high-ranking official from each side and significant progress was made towards salvaging the hockey season." 

As always, there are two sides to this statement.  On the one hand, you gotta believe, now 80 days into the lockout, the two sides are going to run out of thing to argue about.  They have had to go over the same things a thousand times over by now, so how many more times can they run through the rigmarole?  But on the other side, the two sides have met with federal mediators who lasted about 48 hours until they said, yeah, you know what, these two sides have nothing in common and are so far apart that we're just going to call it quits.

Burton states that "his sources" told him of the news, but did not go into naming them.  But to his credit, his sources were the one that supplied him with the information to boldly break then-Bruins rookie Phil Kessel's testicular cancer in 2006.  But, at the same time, Sports Illustrated reporter Sarah Kwak asked deputy commissioner Bill Daly if there was a single morsel of truth to the report, and he wasn't a terrible human being, I'd be inclined to believe him.

"Not even a single morsel."

You make the call, but I'm staying cautiously optimistic while living in the fantasy world of NHL 13 where Adam McQuaid now plays for the Philadelphia Flyers and Claude Giroux averages a goal a game nearly halfway through the season.

Soupy and the Police

This story is not about the lockout.

Because of that thing going on that doesn't allow hockey players to play their sport against one another wearing official uniforms -- the name escapes me -- players are looking for things to do.  Something to keep themselves busy aside from trying to stay in shape with various hockey workouts at the closest arenas that they aren't locked out of.

In Boston, Gregory Campbell, center on the Bruins "Merlot" line, is getting his daily dose of adrenaline by joining one of his friends from the Boston Police department on ride-alongs.  Soupy gets in the mix with the BPD's gang unit, which he has some experience with.

When Campbell played for the Florida Panthers he would do ride-alongs with the Miami Police, rolling through Miami's Liberty City neighborhoods.  Whatever gives you that rush, I guess.  But I tell you what, sending Soupy out there with a bulletproof vests and his fists is probably one of the best crime deterrents.

Two points for creativity on this one.  Though there's still that risk of injury, Campbell's still in playing shape unlike his comrades who've signed up to play in Europe.  Tuukka Rask left a game with a groin injury and Patrice Bergeron injured his hand, keeping them out of action for a number of games.

NHL, NHLPA Scheduled to Talk Tuesday, Does Anyone Care?

The Winter Classic has been cancelled, and the NHL has reportedly cost themselves $70 million in the process.  At what point does there stubbornness just get completely out of control?

Wait, what?  Oh, that's already happened?  A month and a half ago?  Sounds about right.

Any hopes of a season are fading by the hour.  The NHL and Players Association have scheduled talks for Tuesday afternoon, but does that even matter anymore?  Here's how the deputy commissioner Bill Daly described the last set of talks over the weekend after two weeks of silence.

"We had a series of meetings and exchanged views on the most important issues separating us.  We plan to meet again sometime early this week."

Brilliant!  Looks like the season should start any second!  This next bit is from commissioner Gary Bettman from those discussions two weeks ago.

"But, as you see, despite what we did on [Oct. 16], we were done in an hour today because there was really nothing there."

And what happened on October 16th?  The NHL made an offer to split revenue at 50-50, but then NHLPA director Donald Fehr made the executive decision that it would cost players too much, but then proposed three different counter-proposals.  Good move.  No, just kidding, Bettman shot all three down.  So the "nothing there" line was because the NHLPA was not willing to work with only the commissioner's plan.  Absolute joke.

This may be one of my last NHL pieces because of how obnoxious this whole fiasco is.  Look, most fans don't care anymore, and barely care enough to read the news about it anymore.  Shutting down the Winter Classic was the final straw, and as to how this season or these fan bases can be rebuilt, well, that's a lot more than just one blog can handle.

Gary Bettman Ruins Any Chances of Having NHL Season Any Time Soon

Remember all that optimism milling around just a few days ago when the NHL issued a proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement in which the players and owners would split all hockey-related revenue 50-50?

Well, that's gone.  When the NHLPA looked into it, NHLPA director Donald Fehr said that over a six year period with five percent industry growth, the players would stand to lose $1.6 billion.  So they went to work and on Thursday issued three different counter-proposals back to the NHL.  Alright, a little bit of back-and-forth is good, right?

Dead wrong.  "None of the three variations of player share that they gave us even began to approach 50-50, either at all or for some long period of time," Bettman said.  "It's clear we're not speaking the same language."

"I am concerned based on the proposal that was made today that things are not progressing.  To the contrary, I view the proposal made by the Players' Association in many ways a step backward."

We're screwed.  Bettman is just going to go back into his lair while the owners stand guard.  Also, am I missing something, or does it seem like there is very little input to be heard from the players?  Fehr released a memo to players after the latest NHL proposal, but he never met with them.  I don't know the whole business of the Players Association, but it seems just as shady as the owners.  It would only make sense though, considering the circumstances each side is in, that each side would entrench themselves as deep as they can.

No more talks have been slated, as both sides have appeared to completely walk away from the table.  In order for the season to start on Nov. 2, like the NHL proposal stated, a deal would have to be struck by Oct. 25.  Not happening.  The only hope I have at this point is that the season will start with the Winter Classic.  The problem with that being it will turn into one big marketing scheme to make even more money, with such little focus on the teams.  NHL fans are smarter than that though, so if that's their play, good luck.  If not, then let the 365-day countdown begin.

NHL Proposes 50-50 Revenue Split

In the last NHL collective bargaining agreement, the players stood to make 57 percent of all hockey-related revenue that came in through the team.  I think a good place to start is by outlining what "hockey-related revenue" actually is.

Money "derived or earned from, relating to or arising directly or indirectly out of the playing of NHL hockey games or NHL-related events in which current NHL Players participate or in which current NHL Players’ names and likenesses are used, by each such Club or the League, or attributable directly to the Club or the League from a Club Affiliated Entity or League Affiliated Entity."

So, the players were earning a 57 percent share during the last CBA.  For this CBA, the owners wanted 57 percent, a 14 percent swing in their favor.  This created the giant schism that has been the month-long 2012-13 NHL lockout.

But when the two sides met Tuesday, the NHL came out of left field and proposed a 50-50 split, right down the center, of revenue.  If accepted by the players union, the season could start as soon as Nov. 2, with all 82 games intact.  The NHLPA will be going over the proposal and it is speculated they could have an answer as early as Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.

This is easily the best news that has come out of the lockout talks for the past couple months.  A lot of speculation pointed towards the season starting, if it was even to start, around Christmas.  Just this morning I was talking about it over breakfast, expecting the first game to be the Winter Classic.  We'll wait and see what becomes of this proposal, and Three if by Strike will be on standby all day for the latest news.

NHL Cancels Games Through October 24th

I hate posting this more than you could imagine, but the people deserve to know.

The NHL has cancelled the beginning of the 2012-13 season through Oct. 24.  Is was only a matter of time once we got into the month of October, really.  Making it even worse is the dream I had last night that the lockout was lifted and there was a Bruins parade down Causeway Street.

Six Bruins games will be wiped out as a result, with many other NHL teams losing about the same number of games.  Last word from the league is that they are still awaiting an NHLPA proposal, so let's all take a knee and pray that the time they're taking is to ensure an end to this nightmare.

Day by day, more and more players drift overseas to play.  Tyler Seguin just scored his first goal over in Switzerland, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Andrew Ference and Tuukka Rask are just a few more of the Bruins who have jumped ship.  Elsewhere in the league, names like Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Claude Giroux and Gabriel Landeskog are suiting up in Europe and Russia to stay sharp and play the game they love while commissioner Gary Bettman pretends to care about anyone but himself.

Hopefully the next news I have to post about the NHL is good news.  Keep your fingers crossed.

NHL Lockout Becoming More Real by the Day as Seguin, Ference To Play Across the Pond

The NHL officially locked players out 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning.  Since then, players have been dropping like flies, going overseas to play in Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries.

Star players like Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash have already shipped out to keep their skills sharp if the lockout ends.  News hit home today with reports that two Bruins, Tyler Seguin and Andrew Ference would be taking their talents across the pond.

Seguin has signed with EHC Biel of the Swiss National A League, and Ference with Ceske Budejovice of Czech Extraliga.  Ference has some familiarity with the team, as he played for them during the last NHL lockout.

But there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, here, if you're down to travel to the Czech Republic.  Ference will buy you a beer.

Supporter Submission: A Letter to the NHL Commissioner

Dear NHL,

The day is almost upon us and I am in a state of shock and disbelief. The players are about to be locked out for the second time in seven years. This time, there is no excuse. This is a show of unadulterated greed on the part of the owners greased by Gary Bettman. The owners are showing a complete disregard for the people that truly make this sport one of the most beloved in the world, the players and the fans.

Seven years ago we were told that average ticket prices would fall as a result of the new collective bargaining agreement. We were told that the new rules would speed up the pace of play and create more scoring and excitement. We were told that new franchises would foster fierce rivalries and engage even more fans. We were told that hockey would push for a higher standing in the “big four” American sporting leagues.

Seven years later we have seen some of these changes enrich the sport, but moreover we have been left with empty promises and a looming D-Day that will threaten the sport as we know it. In the past seven years, ticket prices have risen by an average of 39 percent across the board. Real fans, the ones who live and die with their teams, cannot afford to go to a game and live through the energy of their home arena. I am a Boston Bruins fan. Over the past three years the price of balcony seats at the TD Garden have risen from around $30 per seat to around $50. This is only face value. To get a seat one must seek out a secondary ticket supplier. One saturated with entrepreneurs who buy up seats with the sole intention to re-sell them at double, sometimes triple face value. You tell me if the league has lived up to its promise.

We have been spoiled over the past few years with an influx of young talent that borders the category of “phenom.” Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin, Erik Karlsson, Claude Girioux, and Jonathan Quick are all guys that have shaped this league into a fast paced high intensity game that we love and once which we watch on the edge of our seats. Goals were up this year almost reaching pre-lockout numbers for the first time in the new-age NHL. It took a generation of players growing up playing the new style to adapt their skills. Now you are just going to create a new generational gap that will take just as long to recover from.

It seems like every year there is talk of a team being sold and moved in an ever-expanding NHL. Teams stretch from Beantown to Vancouver, SoCal to the Florida Keys and everywhere in between. Every new franchise comes with huge franchise fees that are paid directly to owners, but what is not talked about is the burden that some of these teams are on the league. Teams in markets like Phoenix and Florida (though the Panthers owner did a great job bringing the fans back this year) are afterthoughts to the other sports happening in those regions. Since the early ‘90s the NHL has grown from 21 to 30 teams with no regard for the financial burden they are creating.

The affect this lockout will have is simple to understand. The NHL is not the NBA, NFL or MLB. It will not be granted forgiveness from its brokenhearted fans overnight. At this point, the league doesn’t seem to care. Thousands of jobs will be put on hold in an economy where people cannot afford missed paychecks. It’s not just the players. It’s the ushers, concession employees, locker room attendants, equipment manufacturers, television employees, and sure, even the players that aren’t guaranteed a spot on the roster and players that were going to have their only shot this year that will be hurt. These people all need their jobs. The players were willing to play under the old CBA just so they could get the season started but the owners said no. The players reached out to come to a solution; the owners turned a cold shoulder. The owners are firmly to blame.

So blame the owners and Gary Bettman. Blame them when TV contracts are given to a sport that is lurking in the shadows waiting for a big break.

The MLS has been rapidly growing in attendance over the past five years and is now one of the most attended sports in the country. I’m sure they would love a nice NBC Sports contract and more TV time because it won’t be hard for them to jump into fourth with some exposure. The NHL will be back in the basement scratching at the door for a piece of the pie.

Last time as a 15 year old I was heartbroken when the players were locked out and the season cancelled, and I was over-joyed upon it’s return. This time I know better. This time I can see how many lives and how many families are truly affected by a small group’s greed. This time I won’t be so quick to return. This time forgiveness is not on the bargaining table. If this lockout doesn’t work out, don’t say nobody warned you.

Sincerely,

NHL Fan

Stick tap to Bill for writing this one -- first blog post ever for him.  Awesome job.

It's Crunch Time - Speak Up

The NHL, led by commissioner Gary Bettman is just days away from locking the players out and putting the entire 2012-13 season in jeopardy.

I've been trying to be as optimistic as possible, mentioning the lockout talks in passing, but mostly just focusing on the positive aspects, such as trades and contract extensions.  But with the deadline set for Saturday, I can't take it anymore.

“We recovered last time because we have the world’s greatest fans,” Bettman said a few weeks ago.  Recovered?  Hockey is still working its way back into the mainstream.  Apparently the "commish" doesn't realize that cancelling an entire season of hockey less than 10 years ago does nearly irreparable damage to the sport.  As it is, hockey is fourth among the four pro sports in the US, and isn't even close to the other three as far as the average American is concerned.

I'm not about to get into the numbers or any other nonsense being thrown around by the NHL to the Players Association, but if you haven't been following, allow me to get you up to speed.  Essentially, the commissioner has come out and said that he thinks the NHL is paying its players too much to play the game.  Too much to go out on the ice, give their all and get knocked around.  Too much to play for a Stanley Cup for their entire organization, their families and the fans.  They want to cut the players share of hockey-related revenue from 57 percent down to 43.  Oh wait, they amended that -- 46 percent.  Much better.

Hockey fans really are the world's greatest fans, because they love the players and love the game.  Fans shouldn't have to start petitions begging the league to think about them.  The league should have fans' needs be a top priority.  Easier said than done, I understand, but really, without fans, the league crumbles, and this conversation doesn't even need to happen.

Watch the video above, sign the petition at www.change.org/nolockout.  Do show this post or this video to any other hockey fan.  Get mad.  Get loud.

NHL Forecast - Cloudy With Little Chance of Games

Its September 6, just nine days away from the September 15 deadline the NHL has set for the current collective bargaining agreement to expire.  With both sides agreeing they would continue to meet after the latest impasse if there is progress to be made, neither the NHL nor the Players Association have been heard from since last Friday.

With the Red Sox struggling, and the Detroit Lions too far away for me to follow too closely, there was nothing I was looking forward to quite like the 2012-13 NHL season.  Tyler Seguin becoming a full-fledged superstar and the rise of Tuukka Rask and Dougie Hamilton in Boston, the new acquisitions of Rick Nash to the Rangers, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter for the Wild and Alexander Semin on the 'Canes.

Instead, all we get to hear about is how Gary Bettman wants his players to give up more of their share and how this will be the third lockout under his regime.  Watch this Adam McQuaid fight for some relief, and watch him pummel one of the only people in the NHL who is worse than Bettman -- Raffi Torres.