It appears that they will be playing hockey again starting in the fall.

========================================
===
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL and the players' association reached an agreement in principle Wednesday on a six-year labor deal, ending a lockout that wiped out last season.

The sides met for 24 hours starting Tuesday afternoon to hammer out the collective bargaining agreement that will return the NHL to the ice on time in the fall. In February, commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, making the NHL the first North American sports league to lose a year because of a labor dispute.

``It's a new day,'' Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitch**** told The Associated Press. ``It's pretty exciting.''

Both sides still need to ratify the deal, a pact that is expected to contain a salary cap -- something players' association executive director Bob Goodenow never wanted. That process is expected to be completed next week, the league and the union said in a joint news release.

If all goes according to plan, a scaled-down draft is expected to be held later this month and training camps will open from Vancouver to Miami in September. Real NHL games will be back on the schedule come October.

``It'll be a great thing to get the game back up,'' Columbus Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said.

It took all night and then some for the final round of negotiations to produce an agreement.

The sides met for 10 straight days in New York, and it became clear Wednesday morning -- the 301st day of the lockout -- that they weren't going to leave the room without an agreement in hand.

The expected salary cap will likely have a ceiling approaching $40 million and a minimum somewhere between $20 million and $25 million.

Player salaries will not exceed 54 percent of league-wide revenues.

Some players in recent days have voiced their displeasure over what will be included in the new agreement.

Bettman warned in February that the offers the union passed up were better than any it would see once a year of hockey was lost.

Just days before the season was wiped out, the players' association said for the first time it would accept a salary cap if the league dropped its desire to link player costs to revenues.

That started a wild week that included the cancellation of the season on Feb. 16 and a false hope three days later that it would be saved. Even Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux -- superstars turned executives -- couldn't resurrect it during an emergency bargaining session in New York.

Negotiations resumed in mid-March.

Bettman promised ``cost certainty'' in the form of a hard salary cap to the owners and he has gotten it.

The landscape of the NHL will be quite different than it was back in June 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning skated off with the Stanley Cup in the league's last game before the lockout. For the first time since a flu epidemic in 1919, there was no Stanley Cup champion in 2005.

Now when the league relaunches in the fall, it will do so with a brand new salary structure that keeps high-spending teams such as Toronto, Philadelphia and the New York Rangers in line.

The first order of business after the deal is ratified will be to get a majority of the players signed. The belief is that last season's contracts will be wiped from the books, leaving many players without deals.

Those who are still under contract will have their salaries reduced by 24 percent, a concept first proposed by the union last December. Some expensive players will also be on the market as teams pare payrolls to get down to the cap.

There will also be several rules changes that could run the gamut from the size of goaltender equipment to the installation of a shootout to eliminate tie games.

``Our focus right now, from the coaches standpoint, is we're waiting to see what our roster is going to look like and what the playing rules are going to look like,'' Hitch**** said in a phone interview.

The draft was supposed to be held last month in Ottawa, but the Canadian capital might get to host the event soon.

Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby is the consensus choice to be the No. 1 pick. Where he goes will be determined by a draft lottery that will give each team an opportunity to snag him.

He will certainly be part of the NHL's campaign to win back fans that were disenchanted by the lockout.

The deal finally came down during sport's biggest lull of the year -- the baseball All-Star break.

The NHL probably won't hold such an event until 2007 as next year's All-Star game is expected to be replaced by an Olympic break, allowing for players to represent their countries in Turin, Italy.

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh !

Zzzzzzzzzzz Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

friday: i agree. not a hockey fan. we have the caps in town but i barely follow them.

they/we? have hockey. There was a time last year that I would have been ecstatic over this news. I'm still happy to see hockey coming back, but the NHL/players assoc. has left me with somewhat bitter over their greed and how the whole thing was handled. The NHL is in big trouble and will have to work hard at upgrading their image and to gain back lost fans.
On the up side, their lockout allowed me to revisit the NBA and develope a great ML betting system. Looks like it will soon be time to get out my NHL files and start updating my data base. Got to wonder if the long lay off hurt the goalies more. There has to be new rules forthcoming to juice up the scoring and increase fan interest. Over/under players beware.
UUMMM?? Was that guys name edited out hitchco-K? Johnson? Wang?Post? in his get along?

Wow! 90% of people either don't care or wish the league didn't come back. I realize that this isn't a scientific survey, but if this many die-hard sports fans don't care?!? I wonder how far the attendance will sink, especially in some US cities where interest is weak to begin with.

The chances of long-term damage to the league is pretty high.

I wouldnt be at all surprised to see a new pro hockey league emerge. I also can see where the NHL-player/owners may not only shot themselves in the foot, but the league may go belly up. No interest, no TV contracts. They can't pay the big bucko players on their gate revenues alone. The ice is melting-the ice is melting.

I care, but I'm Canadian...so that probably explains it :p

Great to see hockey back!!!

Hockey = $$$

Rags,

Let's hammer the man again this year. I'll have to review the new agreement and see how it will affect scoring. I don't necessarily think the goalies will be at a disadvantage vs. the players from the time off...the only thing that may hurt their GAA is if there are significant rule changes.

Playing O/U has typically been more about a team's style of play in the NHL, although goalies definitely weigh into the mix...

I agree, the players could have gotten a better deal in the winter, but both sides will have some serious P.R. to do to get the fans back...Crosby will help though as he is the next superstar...

Either way, it's great to see the game will be back in the fall!!!

The results of the poll don't really surprise me...70% of the people in here probably don't watch or bet on hockey anyway, and most of the respondants will be USA based.

It would be like if you asked Canadians if they cared about NASCAR. 70% or more wouldn't give a rat's ass if there was no NASCAR...

But I do agree, the NHL could be in serious long-term jeopardy without money or revenue coming in from a lot of these larger US markets. Contraction could be around the corner where the league is only viable in popular US markets.

With the Cdn dollar getting stronger compared to the US dollar, small market Cdn teams may be able to compete a little better now.

Bobby,
Think Winnipeg could make another go at it???

Heavy,

That's all the talk around Winnipeg today...bring back the Jets. The owner of the AHL team (and I think our new arena, but not sure), Mark Chipman, is saying he is very interested in bringing back the Jets. He says that he wants to see how the new CBA runs for one season and then there could be serious talks about getting a team after that since it will then be clear how badly some of the small market teams in the US have been hurt by the lockout. So basically if people stop going to games in Nashville or Carolina we seem to have a good chance.


I love betting on NHL. It's kind of like the CFL where only a select few people seem to be good at it but the ones who are good at it can run up their profits like crazy.


One thing about NHL totals this year that I'm not clear about is that it seems that there will be shootouts this season. Lets say you have an OU of 5.5 (fairly common OU), and teams are tied 2-2 after regulation time. It's still tied after OT so you go to a shootout. Will every goal scored in the shootout go towards the score, or will only the winner of the shootout be awarded a one goal win over their opponent. This makes a huge difference.

If the winner of the shootout just recieves a one goal win over their opponent (so a 2-2 tie after regulatoin would ALWAYS end up a 3-2 game) I'd have a really hard time taking a game under a 4.5 OU. It's hard to predict how the OU's will adjust to this.

I don't know, I'm happy they signed a deal but I really don't like the idea of of my cover possibly being decided by a shootout. That's just one more thing I now have to think about when picking my teams.

Do you think they might go to something like the soccer format with 3-way wagering, regulation time, etc?

They are more likely to just count the shootout goals as a single goal making the score 3-2 in your example, but I don't like them changing the game in the regular season (shootout) versus the playoffs (overtime) and sudden death overtime is still the best option. There is nothing like playoff hockey.

I think the 4-4 option with an extra point to the winner they have been using was a good move, but maybe there needs to be some greater distinction for a regulation win versus an overtime win. I don't know what that should be 3 points for a regulation win versus 2 points for an overtime win, or maybe make it 2 points for a regulation win, 1.5 for the winner in overtime and only 0.5 for the loser in overtime.

As you can tell I'm not a fan of shootouts, but I thought there was something like less than 10% of games ending in a tie, so I don't see what the big hangup is with overtime.

And, like some of you have mentioned, hockey is the most predictable game to select winners, but money management and the wagering odds are the most important things to consider.

Looking forward to posting with you again this hockey season. Still trying to figure if the shoot out goals will have much of an impact on my ML's. Anyway the horns in the ice rinks should be blasting more this season. Its time to get out the hockey skates and clean the rust from the blades and replace the laces.
I would guess you would have to be a Northern boy to understand why kids would spend hours to shovel the snow off the frozen ponds to only play for a few minutes until sundown.

The NHL is making a comeback in the poll. Up to 38% of the respondents now care! Keep it going NHL fans!

It doesn't bother me that people don't care about the NHL coming back...especially from a capping standpoint. The books are more concerned with the NFL and NCAA games than they are the NHL...and thats great for those of us that love NHL capping.

" The Books " have longed for this and to bring back what it offered .

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Myself ..... I will do what I have long done ...... " Pass "

G.L>

Ms>>MM

Thats the thing MM. The NHL is just like the CFL....it just flys under the radar and the books offer the lines more as a service to their customers than they do moneymakers (thus the reason for most books having a 1000 limit on CFL). Book makers are more concerned about monday night football and other big games that could cost them more money than they are a Tuesday night NHL matchup between the Leafs and the Thrashers.

Can't wait to cap NHL with you guys. I do well during the regular season but NHL playoff time is my favorite time to cap.

BobbyBraveheart


Registered: Apr 2005
Posts: 203
Thats the thing MM. The NHL is just like the CFL....it just flys under the radar and the books offer the lines more as a service to their customers than they do moneymakers (thus the reason for most books having a 1000 limit on CFL). Book makers are more concerned about monday night football and other big games that could cost them more money than they are a Tuesday night NHL matchup between the Leafs and the Thrashers.

Can't wait to cap NHL with you guys. I do well during the regular season but NHL playoff time is my favorite time to cap.

****************************************
*****

Speaking from a state-side , point of view (lower-48) .

Most folks that I have encountered in my day would have just as soon left that game north of thier wallet , Personally I have tried to figure it , but have failed . I find it very difficult in my life to bat 60% in a sport and still be down (boo-koo) , so I will keep testing because I will not quit , but will offer very little to the gambling God`s !

G.L>

Ms>>MM

Bobby: Good point about how the number of people liking the NHL doesn't matter much for bettors. However, don't forget that : more casual fans = more square bettors = more opportunities for sharp cappers to take advantage. Look at how much money is made on NFL squares!

Most normal male boys who has grown up in the border states and some of New England, have at one time played hockey. It is as normal a thing to do as play baseball in the spring, stickball in the cities or hoops/football in the Fall. I made a statement in another post about kids shoveling off frozen ponds for hours, only to get a few minutes of ice time in before sunset. It is that great a sport to play.It is truely a game that must be played to fully enjoy and appreciate. It is no way like scoccer, that I find boring. Hockey players are the real deal. No wimps, no slackers. These guys are the real deal. They play hurt, they play hard and they play to win. That is why I like to wager on them.
To say that hockey is strictly a Canadian sport is not correct. Its international. Many U S citizens who have ever played this game will almost always enjoy a good hockey game, weather its watchng their backyard kids, a local college team, semi pros the AHL or the NHL.
In my case to be able to love the game and also be able to cap it and win is the best of both worlds. I guess you could say that I missed hockey in spite of the people in the NHL that almost destroyed it. Lets freeze the ice and bring out the nets,pucks,sticks and zebras. Ragtop on hockey as Prof. Riggs would say.