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NHL "No Lockout" Promo (HD)

BULLDOGS TRAINING CAMP BEGINS

                Friday in Sherbrooke, the Hamilton Bulldogs were back to work and getting ready for the 2012-13 season. 43 Players were on hand and hope that they can make it to the next best thing to the NHL, the AHL. With the NHL lockout in progress, more attention will be put onto the AHL and the Bulldogs. So they better be ready to play come October 13th, especially if the games get televised (which is a high possibility).“I’m excited to get going. I’ve spent the last few months since I was named coach thinking of new ideas and strategies and preparing for the season,” said Lefebvre, who was appointed new as the new coach in June. “It’s fun to get things started today. When you’re a coach, all you want to do is lace up the skates and get out there with your team. Preparation is all well and good but there’s nowhere you want to be more than with your players.” The Bulldogs season begins on October 13th when Hamilton travel to Grand Rapids to take on the Griffins.

 Written By Andrew Di Pardo

PRACTICE SCHEDULE – COMPLEXE SPORTIF THIBAULT GM - SHERBROOKE
September 29 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
September 30 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (including game White vs Red)
October 1 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. (including game White vs Red)
October 2 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
6 p.m. (Game White vs Red @ Complexe sportif Thibault GM)
October 3 10 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
7 p.m. (Game White vs Red @ Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet)

http://hamiltonbulldogsahl.blogspot.ca/

NHL & NHLPA MEET FOR 3 STRAIGHT DAYS AND MAKE NO PROGRESS

            Over the course of the last 3 days the NHL and NHLPA met to discuss how to end the lockout. No progress was made on Friday and Saturday. Even after there 5 hour dicussion on Sunday, no progress was made on the main topics and it looks like the lockout will continue into the season."We did not discuss core economic issues, as was the plan," NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr said. "We discussed health and safety, drug testing, including more discussion of drug testing, medical care etc. Also a number of things in the CBA legal area of player movements."

         Bill Daley was unhappy with the progress over the course of the weekend and said that they should focus on the main issues."I hate to sound like a broken record, but we need some movement on the economic issues. We need some movement on the system issues," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "We need them to be scheduled as the subject of a meeting, and right now the union is not prepared to do that." It is expected that sometime this week the NHL will announce the cancellations of Regular Season games anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Mathieu Schneider Updates CBA Meetings 9/28

GOMEZ OFF TO THE ECHL

            Today in Montreal, Scott Gomez announced that he will be going to the ECHL during the lockout. Gomez will play for team Alaska. Gomez is coming off a bad year in Montreal with just 11 points in 38 games.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

SUBBAN TO BE SIGNED AFTER THE LOCKOUT

               With the 2012-13 NHL lockout in full force, the Habs have stopped negotiating with Star defenseman PK Subban. Before the lockout, Marc Bergivan offered Subban a 3 year $12 Million contract and Subban and his agent were ready to sign. But then the lockout hit and negotiations were put on hold. The NHL wants players to get a salary reduction. So both the Habs and Subban decided, why sign a contract and then later get it reduced if the NHL gets their way. So Bergivan decided that he will sign Subban to a contract after the lockout."There's no question that people know that I enjoy playing [in Montreal]," Subban said. "I grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan. "

          "I love playing there and I want to play there for the rest of my career.Maybe a lot of people were expecting me to have [the contract] done by now, but I know that it's a process," Subban said. "I don't think there is any doubt in anybody's mind that I want to be a Montreal Canadien, so hopefully it gets done."Whenever the Lockout ends, expect to see Subban back in the Blu, Blanc and Rouge.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

NHL CANCELS REMAINDER OF PRESEASON GAMES

             Today in new York, the NHL announced that they have cancelled the remainder of the preseason games from the 1st of October to the 8th. The NHL and NHLPA will meet tomorrow to further continue the CBA negotiations."We have agreed on an agenda of topics that we think can lead to productive discussions and agreement, and we hope that it will be constructive to the overall process," Daly said. "We're 100 percent focused on not missing any regular-season games and, hopefully, we can achieve that objective." I think that the negotiations will get the NHL no where on Friday, so expect to see between a week to two weeks of the Regular Season games cancelled by Monday. As of right now the NHL season is scheduled to be under way on October 11th.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

BULLDOGS ATTENDANCE RECORD AT THE BELL CENTRE

HAMILTON BULLDOGS AT BELL CENTRE
Date	Game	Attendance
March 18th, 2007	Syracuse Crunch 3, Hamilton Bulldogs 2	8,013
November 30th, 2008	Binghamton Senators 5, Hamilton Bulldogs 3	14,446
February 21st, 2010	Hamilton Bulldogs 5, Adirondack Phantoms 0	15,529*
November 5th, 2010	Hamilton Bulldogs 5, Binghamton Senators 2	13,267
February 25th, 2011	Hamilton Bulldogs 4, Adirondack Phantoms 1	14,809
November 18th, 2011	Binghamton Senators 4, Hamilton Bulldogs 2	8,472
February 24th, 2012	Hamilton Bulldogs 3, St. John’s IceCaps 2 (SO)	11,300

With there being a NHL lockout, expect the Bulldogs to gain a higher attendance record when they travel to Montreal in November.

BULLDOGS TO PLAY 2 GAMES IN MONTREAL

                 Today in Montreal, it has been announced that the Habs AHL affiliate team, the Hamilton Bulldogs will play a couple of games at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The first game at the Bell Centre will be on November 9th against the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliat) The next game at the Bell Centre will be on Febuary 22nd 2013 against the Rochester Americans (Buffalos AHL affilat). The Ticket prices range from $15 to $69.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

http://hamiltonbulldogsahl.blogspot.ca/

AHL: HAMILTON SIGN DESJARDINS, PALUSHAJ AND ST-DENIS

                 Today in Montreal, Habs Gm Marc Bergivan announced that he has signed goaltender Cedrick Desjardins, forward Aaron Palushaj and defenceman Frederic St-Denis to AHL level contracts. Due to club policy the terms and length of the deals were not announced...With the Bulldogs last season, Palushaj  had 15 goals and 20 assists and was 3rd in points on the team. He also played 38 games with the Canadiens last season and he had 1 goal and 4 assists. Onto St.Denis, he had 3 goals and 25 assists on the Bulldogs last season. As for Desjardins, he played a total of 148 AHL games and he had a record of 80-43-12.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

http://hamiltonbulldogsahl.blogspot.ca/ 

AHL: 42 Players to join Bulldogs Training Camp

          Today in Hamilton, the Bulldogs announced that 42 players will be joining the teams training camp on Friday.

The Players are:

FORWARDS
Alexander Avtsin, Brendan Gallagher, Michel Ouellet, Spencer Bennett, Blake Geoffrion, Aaron Palushaj, Alain Berger, Kyle Hagel, Steve Quailer, Michael Blunden, Patrick Holland, Brendan Ranford, Michael Bournival, Louis Leblanc, Kyle Rank, Stefan Chaput, Philippe Lefebvre, Ian Schultz, Gabriel Dumont, Daultan Leveille, Zack Stortini, Bobby Farnham, Stephen Macaulay, Zack Torquato, Olivier Fortier, Joonas Nattinen 

DEFENCE
Nathan Beaulieu, Brendon Nash, Joe Stejskal, Antoine Corbin, Sebastian Owuya, Jarred Tinordi, Morgan Ellis, Greg Pateryn, Cody Wild, Kevin Gagne, Frederic St-Denis

GOALTENDERS
Scott Darling, Cedrick Desjardins, Cody Reichard, Peter Delmas, Robert Mayer

Source: TSN

 http://hamiltonbulldogsahl.blogspot.ca/

AHL GAMES TO BE TELEVISED DURING NHL LOCKOUT

              With the NHL Lockout looking like more and more like a full season lockout, we may see some AHL games as fillers on select channels."The effect then was a window of opportunity for the American League to have a greater presence from a media perspective across North America and certainly more live television exposure, and to some extent an even stronger player pool than we normally have," AHL president and CEO David Andrews said. "I'm anticipating that will be the case again this time." It has been reported that the AHL have been talking to NBC, CBC, TSN & Rogers Sportsnet about the possibility of televising their games. But if any network will be broadcasting the AHL games it would be Sportsnet and CBC as they own the rights to the majority of the games until 2016. But that doesn't mean that they can't share the rights.

          I think they will as a matter of fact there is a rumour saying that the AHL will be televised in Canada on TSN, Sportsnet & CBC during the duration of the lockout. But with no NHL regular Season games being cancelled yet, its unlikely that it will be announced this week. But the NHL is ready to announce more cancellations of games by end of this week after the Friday negotiations.  So lets wait until the first week of October to see where the AHL games will be televised.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

AHL: BULLDOGS TO PLAY MARLIES ON OCTOBER 8TH

            Steve Ostaszewicz ( President of the Bulldogs) announced that the Hamilton Bulldogs will play to the Toronto Marlies on October 8th at the "Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre" in Brantford, Ontario. It will be an exhibition game 4 days before the AHL season gets started. This is the Bulldogs first exhibition game within their community in the last 5 years.  Please return to this blog on October 9th for the recap of the exhibition game.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

http://hamiltonbulldogsahl.blogspot.ca/

AHL: HAMILTON SIGNS ZACK STORTINI TO AHL CONTRACT

         The other day in Montreal, Habs Gm Marc Bergevin announced that he had signed Forward Zack Stortini to a 1 year AHL level contract. Due to the Hamilton Bulldogs policy the terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stortini won 1 Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs back in 2007. In the 06-07 season with Hamilton, Stortini had 9 goals and 6 assists in 47 games.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

http://hamiltonbulldogsahl.blogspot.ca/

AHL: Exhibition Game Announcement

NHLPA & NHL tto Continue Negotiations on Friday

           Today the NHL announced that the CBA negotiations will resume on Friday. The NHL will hope to win the debate as they are standing their ground on cutting down the player salaries. As for the players, they are standing strong as well and will not take a pay cut. Lets see what happens on Friday.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

PACIORETTY OFF TO THE SWISS LEAGUE

             Today in Montreal, it was announced that due to the NHL lockout, Max Pacioretty will be joining Ambri Piotta of the Swiss League. Pacioretty played 79 games with the Habs last season and had 33 goals and 32 assists for a total of 65 points. Pacioretty waslead the team in scoring and he was second behind Eric Cole in goals for the team lead. In August, Pacioretty signed a 6 year extension worth $27 Million with the Canadiens. If the lockout comes to an early end the Habs would love to have him back.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

RED WINGS OWNER FINED FOR COMMENTS AGAINST THE NHL

               Last night in New York, the NHL fined Red Wings owner Jim Devellano $250,000 for coments he made against the NHL."It's very complicated and way too much for the average Joe to understand, but having said that, I will tell you this," said Devellano. "The owners can basically be viewed as the Ranch, and the players, and me included, are the cattle. The owners own the Ranch and allow the players to eat there. That's the way its always been and that the way it will be forever. And the owners simply aren't going to let a union push them around. It's not going to happen.Yes, they are billionaires," Devellano said. "Good on them, they deserve it, but they also make their employees millionaires. "

          " Not a bad tradeoff for a guy like (Milan) Lucic getting what, $6 million a year? I mean good on him too, but he should be grateful," Devellano continued. "Understand, though, that these players want for nothing ... it's first class this, first class that, meal allowances, travel money on the road, the whole shebang." The funny thing in this situation is that players like Ovechkin and Crosby can make comments about their thoughts on the lockout, but when a owner does it the NHL says its unacceptable. This is what Bill Daley siad about the comments.

           "The Detroit Red Wings' organization and the League agree that the comments made by Mr. Devellano are neither appropriate, nor authorized, nor permissible under the League's By-Laws," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. "Such comments are neither constructive nor helpful to the negotiations." I get the fact that its supposed to be a owners lockout and Devellano isn't really on their side, but everyone has opinions and you should not be fined for that.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HABS YOUNG STARS TO GAIN MORE EXPERIANCE DURING THE LOCKOUT

        With the NHL Lockout in full effect, a few young guns from the Montreal Canadiens will continue to play hockey this season in the AHL. Louis LeBlanc and Michael Blunden are a few of the key names that will play for the Bulldogs this season. Blunden will gain more experiance in the fighting and hitting aspect of the game. As for LeBlanc, he is expected to be a future star winger in Montreal and now has time to gain more scoring power in Hamilton. When the lockout ends you should see more big hits from Blunden and more goals and assists from LeBlanc.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

BULLDOGS GAME VS AMERICANS HAS BEEN MOVED

          Today in Hamilton, the AHL announced that they have moved the game between the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Rochester Americans from being played at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester on Sunday, October 21st,to the First Niagara Center in Buffalo on Tuesday, October 23rd at 7:35 pm E.T. The AHL apologized for the inconvenience.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

A message from Players to Fans about the NHL Lockout

GEOFF MOLSON & GUY LAFLEUR SPEAK ABOUT THE LOCKOUT

            Today in Montreal, Habs owner Goff Molson and former Habs star Guy Lafleur spoke about the lockout. Molson is very optimistic that it will be a short lockout."For the league to be healthy, for the economic system to be good for all teams, there must be adjustments, as Gary mentioned," Molson told reporters at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. "The 30 owners are standing together and are united and they support Gary's approach." Guy on the other hand thinks it can go for a while.

          "The players are being unfair," Lafleur said. "The revenue shouldn't be 57% for the players it should be 50, 50. Lets split the pie in half. But the players don't want to do that."  I agree with Guy in the sense that the NHL should split the revenue half and half. But the players are being stubborn and they want what they want and they will not play until they get it. So I think that it will be a long lockout.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

THE NHL CANCELS FIRST WEEK OF PRE-SEASON GAMES

                   Today in New York, Gary Betteman and the NHL announced that they have cancelled the full first week of Pre-Season games through September 30th. They also announced that they have cancelled the 2012 Kraft Hockey game that was supposed to take place on October 3rd and moved it to 2013.

Here are the Habs Preseason games that are yet to be cancelled, but will be soon:

October 2012
Date	Visitor	Home	Time (ET)	TV Network/Results
Tue, 2 Oct 2012	Canadiens	Hurricanes (Quebec City, QC)	7:30 PM
Wed, 3 Oct 2012	Hurricanes	Canadiens	7:30 PM		Tickets
Sat, 6 Oct 2012	Bruins	Canadiens	7:00 PM		Tickets
Sun, 7 Oct 2012	Devils	Canadiens	7:00 PM		Tickets

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

PRICE TALKS SUBBAN/ SUBBAN OFFERED A 3 YEAR DEAL

                 Carey Price spoke to the media about P.K Subban not being signed. "I'm Sure he's looking for a certain number and I'm sure he wants to get that. I think thats his purgative," Price said. Subban is still negotiating and has been offered a 3 year $12-million contract which he and his agent are considering and were close to signing until the NHL Lockout begun. My best guess is that once theres a new CBA deal in place than Subban will be signed. Subban doesn't want to sign a contract and then lose money if the NHL gets their way. So I think he will be signed when theres a new CBA contract.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

PRICE & GIONTA UNHAPPY & FUSTRATED WITH THE NHL LOCKOUT

            With the NHL lockout in full throttle, Habs captain Brian Gionta and Star Goalie Carey Price spoke about how frustrated they are with the lockout. "Its definitely frustrating. We had a long summer and we sat and stewed last year and got ready for a quick start. Were just sitting here idling right now so yea its frustrating," Carey Price said. With all the reports of a possible full season NHL lockout, the Habs captain  Brian Gionta still has hope that there will be a season.

        "Threes still hope that it can happen," Gionta said. " But now were just doing what we can do." Gionta also talked about his thoughts on the NHL holding their ground and not giving in to what the players want to lead to a lockout."It seemed very evident on their side that they to push it this far," Gionta said about the NHL lockout. "Unfortunately, when a side has their mind set to go this far and not hold back, its tough."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo
        

A message from the Montreal Canadiens

Dear Canadiens Fans,

We understand that the current situation affects a great number of people, including our employees, our partners and local businesses – as well as our loyal fans who patiently and enthusiastically await the arrival of each Canadiens hockey season.

Please know that it is our sincere hope that an agreement between the National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association is reached so that the hockey season may get underway. To this end the National Hockey League has been and remains willing to negotiate around the clock to conclude a new CBA that provides a fair system for all teams and its players, thus allowing the NHL to continue to develop and prosper long term. This is in the interest of everyone involved.

Meanwhile, the Club’s charitable efforts move forward with today’s annual Montreal Canadiens golf tournament to benefit our Children’s Foundation. We will gather with our generous partners, sponsors and numerous Canadiens Alumni in the name of helping children in need.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your understanding and your patience. I remain convinced that we have the best fans in the world.

Geoff Molson

AHL: Hamilton Bulldogs 2012-13 Schedule

DATE	Opponent	Result
Oct. 13	at Grand Rapids	7:00 pm EDT
Oct. 19	Toronto	7:30 pm EDT
Oct. 20	at Toronto	3:00 pm EDT
Oct. 21	at Rochester	5:05 pm EDT
Oct. 26	Toronto	7:30 pm EDT
Oct. 28	Abbotsford	5:00 pm EDT
Nov. 2	at Rochester	7:05 pm EDT
Nov. 3	Rochester	7:00 pm EDT
Nov. 7	Syracuse	7:30 pm EST
Nov. 9	Syracuse	7:30 pm EST
Nov. 14	Rochester	10:00 am EST
Nov. 16	Toronto	7:30 pm EST
Nov. 17	at Toronto	3:00 pm EST
Nov. 20	at St. John's	7:30 pm NST
Nov. 21	at St. John's	7:30 pm NST
Nov. 25	Lake Erie	4:00 pm EST
Nov. 30	at Abbotsford	7:00 pm PST
Dec. 1	at Abbotsford	7:00 pm PST
Dec. 7	at Syracuse	7:30 pm EST
Dec. 8	at Hershey	7:00 pm EST
Dec. 11	Lake Erie	7:30 pm EST
Dec. 13	at Chicago	7:00 pm CST
Dec. 15	at Rockford	7:05 pm CST
Dec. 16	at Milwaukee	5:00 pm CST
Dec. 18	at Peoria	7:05 pm CST
Dec. 21	St. John's	7:30 pm EST
Dec. 22	San Antonio	7:00 pm EST
Dec. 26	at Toronto	1:00 pm EST
Dec. 28	St. John's	7:30 pm EST
Dec. 29	at Lake Erie	7:30 pm EST
Dec. 31	at Rochester	3:05 pm EST
Jan. 2	at Toronto	7:00 pm EST
Jan. 4	Rockford	7:30 pm EST
Jan. 5	Lake Erie	7:00 pm EST
Jan. 8	Toronto	7:30 pm EST
Jan. 11	at Rochester	7:05 pm EST
Jan. 15	at Abbotsford	7:00 pm PST
Jan. 16	at Abbotsford	7:00 pm PST
Jan. 19	Toronto	7:00 pm EST
Jan. 21	at Rochester	1:05 pm EST
Jan. 26	at Lake Erie	7:30 pm EST
Feb. 1	Grand Rapids	7:30 pm EST
Feb. 2	at Toronto	3:00 pm EST
Feb. 6	at Toronto	11:00 am EST
Feb. 8	Chicago	7:30 pm EST
Feb. 9	Texas	7:00 pm EST
Feb. 12	Toronto	7:30 pm EST
Feb. 15	Hershey	7:30 pm EST
Feb. 16	Houston	7:00 pm EST
Feb. 18	Rochester	3:00 pm EST
Feb. 22	Rochester	7:30 pm EST
Feb. 24	Milwaukee	3:00 pm EST
Feb. 26	St. John's	7:30 pm EST
Mar. 1	Binghamton	7:30 pm EST
Mar. 2	at Lake Erie	7:30 pm EST
Mar. 5	Abbotsford	7:30 pm EST
Mar. 8	at Grand Rapids	7:00 pm EST
Mar. 9	Peoria	7:00 pm EST
Mar. 10	Grand Rapids	5:00 pm EDT
Mar. 15	at St. John's	7:30 pm NDT
Mar. 16	at St. John's	7:30 pm NDT
Mar. 22	at Syracuse	7:30 pm EDT
Mar. 23	at Binghamton	7:05 pm EDT
Mar. 27	Abbotsford	7:30 pm EDT
Mar. 29	Abbotsford	7:30 pm EDT
Mar. 30	Rochester	7:00 pm EDT
Apr. 2	at Oklahoma City	7:00 pm CDT
Apr. 5	at San Antonio	7:30 pm CDT
Apr. 6	at Texas	7:00 pm CDT
Apr. 7	at Houston	5:05 pm CDT
Apr. 12	Lake Erie	7:30 pm EDT
Apr. 13	at Lake Erie	7:30 pm EDT
Apr. 14	Oklahoma City	5:00 pm EDT
Apr. 19	St. John's	7:30 pm EDT
Apr. 20	at Rochester	7:05 pm EDT
Apr. 21	Rochester	3:00 pm EDT

BLOG UPDATE: What will I write about until the end of the Lockout?

              During the 2012 NHL lockout, I will be writing about the Canadiens farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. I will give summaries on almost every Bulldogs Game. I will also give updates on the progression of the lockout. If the NHL lockouts for a full season, than I will write about 60 out of the 80 Hamilton Bulldog games and I will write about every playoff game. But if the NHL resumes play at some point, the temporary Hamilton Bulldogs/NHL Lockout blog will be over and I will be back to only writting about the Montreal Canadiens.

Blog Update By Andrew Di Pardo

HABS SEND 21 PLAYERS DOWN TO THE AHL

       Today in Montreal, the Canadiens sent 21 players down to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. A few of the big names were Blake Geoffrion, Mike Blunden and Louis LeBlanc who all played on the Habs last season. Montreal decided to send those 3 players down as a result of the recent NHL lockout.

THE FULL LIST:

• Alexander Avtsin
• Alain Berger
• Michael Blunden
• Michaël Bournival
• Gabriel Dumont
• Brendan Gallagher
• Blake Geoffrion
•  Patrick Holland
• Louis Leblanc
•  Philippe Lefebvre
•  Joonas Nattinen
• Steven Quailer
•  Ian Schultz
•  Nathan Beaulieu
•  Morgan Ellis
• Brendon Nash
•  Greg Pateryn
•  Joe Stejskal 
•  Jarred Tinordi
• Peter Delmas (G)
•  Robert Mayer (G)

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

A message to our fans (From the NHL)

The following message to fans was issued by the National Hockey League on Sunday:

Despite the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the National Hockey League has been, and remains, committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the Players and to the 30 NHL teams.

Thanks to the conditions fostered by seven seasons under the previous CBA, competitive balance has created arguably the most meaningful regular season in pro sports; a different team has won the Stanley Cup every year; fans and sponsors have agreed the game is at its best, and the League has generated remarkable growth and momentum. While our last CBA negotiation resulted in a seismic change in the League's economic system, and produced corresponding on-ice benefits, our current negotiation is focused on a fairer and more sustainable division of revenues with the Players -- as well as other necessary adjustments consistent with the objectives of the economic system we developed jointly with the NHL Players' Association seven years ago. Those adjustments are attainable through sensible, focused negotiation -- not through rhetoric.

This is a time of year for all attention to be focused on the ice, not on a meeting room. The League, the Clubs and the Players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible. We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans.

From,

the NHL

CBA EXPIRES, LOCKOUT IN PROGRESS

          AT 12:01am this morning the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) has expired and the NHL are once again in a lockout. There is currently no time frame for how long the lockout can go."We talked with the Union this morning and in light of the fact that they have nothing new to offer, or any substantive response to our last proposal, there would be nothing gained by convening a bargaining session at this time," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "I'm sure that we will remain in contact in the coming days." The discussions were that Cominissioner Gary Betteman had with  NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daley were about player contracts.

      Betteman feels that the NHL is dishing out too much money to help teams pay their fees and he says if the players get a pay reduction than the teams won't have to go to the league for money. Under the expired CBA, players made 57% of the teams renevue share and Betteman wants to reduce it to 47% over the next 6 years. Bill Daley and the players believe that they should get more money. Some players even said if they get a pay reduction they might not want to play in the NHL. "Today we suggested that the parties meet in advance of the owners' self-imposed deadline of midnight tonight," Steve Fehr, special counsel for the NHLPA said. "Don Fehr, myself and several players on the Negotiating Committee were in the city and prepared to meet. The NHL said that it saw no purpose in having a formal meeting."

        "There have been and continue to be private, informal discussions between representatives of both sides." Teams are currently not ready to announce the cancellation of training camps (which would open next week) and the NHL is getting ready to announce the cancellation of pre-season games. How long will the lockout go on you ask? Who knows? It might be 2 months and it might be 1 full season. Only time will tell.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Showdown 2012: NHL Lockout Special FULL

SUBBAN IS STILL NOT SIGNED, BUT HE'S NEGOTIATING

          It is now September 12th and Marc Bergevan still hasn't closed a deal with Canadiens star defence man P.K Subban. Bergevan had offered Subban a 2 year $5.5 Million dollar contract, but Subban wanted a longer deal. So it was quickly rejected. “I’ve never felt one ounce of pressure, I’ve never put any pressure on anybody to do anything. I’ve had two years and two playoffs to prove that I can play and be a top defenseman in this league and I think I’ve done that," Subban Said. "A lot of people ask me questions about my contract, if I could print one out and fill it out I would. Ultimately it’s not up to me – it’s up to my agent and the Montreal Canadiens organization to get it done. I’m confident that they will.”

        But some good news coming out of today. It has now been reported that Subban is close to signing a 3 Year Deal. But if he does sign a deal it will probably be after the NHL's CBA deadline on September 15th. I think the CBA is a big contribution to as if Subban will sign in Montreal this year because if no deal from the NHL is made by the deadline there will be a lockout. If there is a lockout Subban may want to play else where which would result in him not signing in Montreal.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HABS HIRE EX NHLer JOHN MADDEN AS A MEMBER OF THE PLAYER RECRUITMENT GROUP

             Habs GM Marc Bergevin announced that he has signed former NHLer John Madden as a member of the amateur player recruitment group. Madden is responsible for scouting players from the US college level. In 13 NHL seasons Madden played 898 games and he had 165 goals along with a total of 348 points. In those 13 seasons he won two Stanley Cups (New Jersey in 2000 &; Chicago in 2010).

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

THR HABS HIT THE ICE

FIRST LINE

Classic Blooper: Down But Not Out

Classic Blooper: Collision Course