The 94-95 Lockout

[SprongShowHKY]

Welcome Hockey Fans





Bob McKenzie states:

The 93-94 Season has just ended. The Detroit Red Wings were crowned champions, Lemieux broke the 200 point club at 204pts and Mark Messier wins the Trophy in his name sake.

The CBA is set to expire right after the 94 Entry Draft. Meaning the NHLPA and the Owners will have to have an agreement in place before starting next season. With the MLB seemingly headed towards a lockout and the abrupt retirement of Michael Jordan, the landscape of the 4 major North American leagues has never been more vulnerable. Commissioner Gary Bettman has his work cut out for him as the NHL can't afford to lose any ground.

The NHLPA is threatening a lockout on the grounds that players on entry level deals or second contracts are making the same/more money than veterans who have signed their free agent deals years ago. Their main argument is that with the recent expansion of San Jose, Ottawa, Tampa, and Anaheim, the Owners and League Revenues have never been higher.

There is turmoil amongst the owners as well. With a small player pool for expansion franchises to get started, it is very difficult to become a competitive team, hurting ticket sales and making it hard to establish a fan base. Bettman has used the term "competitive balance" in recent interviews. Other Owners are upset that Detroit is seemingly in a position to become a dynasty, gambling on Russians like Fedorov, Kozlov and Konstantinov while already having players like Yzerman, Sheppard, Lidstrom and Probert.

Some storylines for the Off-Season:

What will become of the CBA negotiations?
How will the Draft Play out?
LA has done a poor job building around Gretzky and the team has remained stagnant over the last few years? Will Gretzky look to enter his twilight years on a club he doesn't have to carry?
Early rumblings of Patrick Roy and conflict among Les Canadiens staff.

And most importantly,

How will this affect the Maple Leafs?

Edit: For the sake of the story I want to tell and having control of a team. I will take control of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I want to let the CPU do the entry draft, but will have to negotiate with FA's long before I let everyone know

[SprongShowHKY]

Sorry everyone, not allowed to post pictures yet!

[SprongShowHKY]

By the end of the Entry Draft, sources have confirmed that the league will officially enter a lockout. They still have until the end of draft to strike a deal with representatives from the league and the players association on hand for the annual event, but it is unlikely.

The Top 10 Draft Picks of the 94 draft went as follows:
1 - Brian Rafalski D Anaheim
2 - Todd Bertuzzi FW Tampa Bay
3 - Martin St. Louis FW Ottawa
4 - Steve Sullivan FW Florida
5 - Jose Theodore G Montreal Canadiens
6 - Tim Thomas G New Jersey Devils
7 - Evgeni Nabokov G Vancouver
8 - Victor Kozlov FW Washington
9 - Patrik Elias FW NYI
10 - Steve Aubin FW Winnipeg

21 - Matitas Ohlund D Toronto

With the league's upcoming season in flux, here are the top rumors you need to know about what could be on the table

1)Relocation - Quebec, Winnipeg and Hartford are said to have been shopping their team around to other locations. Could this be Bettman's idea to clear most of the remains of the WHA?

2)Expansion - With Owners delighted about growing the league and their revenues, could the league seek further expansion in the case the player salaries rise.

3)Scorched Earth? - One unknown source says it is possible that every player that is on a league's protected list may be granted Free Agency as opposed to adding a multiplier to existing contracts. There could be an age restriction on this as this would help rebuilding/budget teams keep their developed youth.

We caught up with some personalities and personnell across the league for their thoughts on the pending rumors;

Don Cherry - Boy I'll tell ya, if this has anything to do with letting those Russian's into the league and taking spots away from professionals that have worked their ass off, the league will be paying for this for years.

Mike Illitch - Yes I've heard the rumors about this "Scorched Earth", it'll never happen. Detroit has just come off a dominant championship run and the players love to play here. So no matter what contract comes their way, we're prepared to match.

Meanwhile, Toronto hires "SprongShowHky" in a hockey operations Position, the kid is set to be an adviser, and is said to be of the same breed of Herb Brooks in trying innovative/controversial practices for their organization. Some say he touts the same version of +/- as that kook Jim Corsi.


To be continued.

[SprongShowHKY]

The NHLPA and the Owners have officially declared a lockout in a Press Release today. Rumors are rampant and in full swing. The issue getting the most traction is the one of the "Scorched Earth" where all 26 NHL teams would start from scratch in a Free Agency free for all.

I figured this would test the Loyalty and Favorite Team factors in FHM

Some players were made comments available on such a possibility, including the following;

Wayne Gretzky: "I think I would hold out until an agreement has been made. I've played a lot of hockey over the last 15 or so years. There are talks that some of us will start a travel team to stay near game shape (IRL the Ninety Nine All Stars).

Paul Kariya: "It would be a great opportunity to be able to play with some great players, Anaheim is an amazing city.

The league's top player, Mario Lemieux, would likely have to face a choice to stay loyal to his team on which he won back to back cups, or maybe return home to play for Les Canadiens or Nordiques.

Dave Hodge had this to say;
The possibility of starting from scratch has generated quite the buzz throughout hockey circles. One would have to think that organizations will want to ensure their hockey operations and coaching staff are top notch as players will have to be enticed by factors such as location, role and organization. The idea right now is that all players that were 20 and Under on July 1st will be retained by their respective clubs. Thus players such as Eric Lindros could be on the move while Daigle, Yashin, Kariya, etc will be staying put. This should help give the smaller markets who have drafted well an advantage for veterans not looking to carry a lineup.

[Colorado]

And....