Lockout Over: NHL and NHLPA Agree To New CBA

It's over. After wiping out all of training camp and the first three and a half months of the season, the NHL lockout is officially over. The outstanding news broke earlier today, when details began to trickle in that the NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement late Saturday evening. Both sides have since confirmed that a tentative deal has been reached, and we officially have a 2012-2013 hockey season to look forward to.

The new CBA is a 10-year deal with an opt out clause (gotta love those, right?) after the eighth year. The players and owners agreed on a 50/50 split of revenue sharing, meaning the players took a cut of seven percent in the revenue sharing they were previously receiving. You can read more details on the new CBA as they continue to trickle in here. I'm sure we'll get more information of the next few days.

As for when the season begins? Well, hockey fans apparently won't have to wait long. The NHL has confirmed that the season will be 48 games long, and depending on how quickly the new CBA is officially approved the season could being as early as Jan. 15. A lot of it is still up in the air, though, and the Jan. 15 start date is still just being rumored. The NHL will likely release an official start date within the next week.

I'll have more on my thoughts regarding this entire negotiation process and the new agreement that was reached, but for now I'll just say it's a fantastic feeling to know we have hockey back. I thought we were bound to lose the entire season once the lockout extended into the new calendar year, and Gary Bettman did confirm a few days ago that the next step would be to cancel the remainder of the season if no agreement had been reached by Jan. 11. I think most people were prepared for the worst based on the recent string of events, and rightfully so. There had been little progress reported by both sides over the past several months, and every time it seemed like both sides were finally starting to make a breakthrough in negotiations things would fall apart every single time. To say that I was shocked when I woke up today and heard an agreement had been reached would be an understatement.

I'll also say that while I, like every hockey fan, am ecstatic that we will have an abbreviated season, it still angers me that it took this long for a deal to be reached. Neither the owners nor the players come out looking like saints after this whole ordeal, but that analysis will be saved for another day.

As for the Rangers, I expect we'll begin getting more information on players over the next few days. Henrik Lundqvist returned to New York from Sweden last week with the hope that there would be an NHL season, and a few other players have already commented on Twitter, Instagram and the Rangers' official website about how psyched they are for the season to begin. It'll be nice to finally get to see Rick Nash take the Garden ice in a Rangers uniform, and hopefully Marian Gaborik is fully healed by now from his shoulder surgery that was expected to sideline him until December at the latest.

Much more to come over the next few days. We're just getting started!

NHL Offers 50/50 Revenue Split To NHLPA In Latest CBA Proposal

We may finally have gotten the breakthrough in negotiations between the NHL owners and players that we've seemingly been waiting forever for. The NHL delivered a proposal to the players today - the first proposal offered between either side within the last 34 days - that calls for a 50-50 split in total revenue between owners and players. The NHL's original proposal made in September had them asking for a 53-47 split in revenue with the owners getting the 53-percent cut of revenue.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that both sides have approximately nine to 10 days to hammer out a new deal so that a full 82-game season could begin on Nov. 2. The specifics on how scheduling and all that would work has not yet been revealed

NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr called the NHL's latest proposal "an excellent starting point" for negotiations to move forward, but declined to comment any further beyond that. The NHLPA reportedly scheduled a conference call for later today to go over the new proposal, so it's possible we'll hear more tonight or tomorrow about whether or not they will approve this deal.

It's worth noting, however, that even though the owners have lowered their demands to getting 50-percent of the revenue, the players would still be taking a pay cut from the 57-percent of revenue they were receiving in the last CBA.

In the NHL's latest proposal, they reportedly went back to wanting three-year Entry Level contracts as opposed to five-year deals that they asked for in their first proposal. The owners also were asking for players to be in the league for 10 years before becoming unrestricted free agents in their first proposal and lowered it to eight years in this proposal (one year more than the previous CBA allowed players to become UFAs). The only one rule that remained unchanged in the NHL's latest proposal is that the maximum length of future contracts would be five years.

I've been firmly in the NHLPA's corner throughout this process after learning how absurd the owners' original proposal was, but I must say this is a gigantic step forward. Gary Bettman and the owners' original stance seemed obnoxious and unwilling to move off any of their demands after they made their first proposal, so kudos to them for being more realistic with what they're asking for in this latest offer. Dare I say it actually seems like Bettman is actually doing something to help get hockey back? It sure seems like it. I'm not going to completely applaud the owners and Bettman for softening their stance, but this is absolutely a good sign that the owners seem willing to bend on what they originally were asking for.

So now the ball (or puck) is in the players' court (or ice). Don Fehr is on record saying that the players had no problem continuing to play under terms of the previous CBA, and the NHL's latest proposal is certainly a lot closer to that than their first. One thing people have repeatedly said is that with Don Fehr involved these negotiations never go smoothly. I'm too young to remember his role in the strike when he was head of the MLBPA; I just know that these things are never officially resolved until both sides sign on the dotted lines. All I know is there finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Report: Rick Nash To Play In Switzerland During Lockout

Katie Strang of ESPN.com reported today that Rick Nash will be heading to Switzerland to play hockey until the NHL lockout ends, according to sources. Nash will be playing for the team Davos of the Swiss-A league, where Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks is also playing during the lockout. Neither Nash or his agent have officially confirmed that he'll be playing in Europe yet, but the writing is pretty much on the wall considering guys are jumping ship to Europe left and right since the NHL lockout became official on Sunday.

Nash, according to Strang, "wants to hit the ground running in New York once the lockout ends and feels that playing overseas will help him stay sharp."

No players on the Rangers have agreed to play elsewhere during the lockout thus far, so if Nash does indeed play in Switzerland he'll be the first.

Outside of that, there hasn't been any other news regarding the Rangers since the lockout began on Sunday. The NHLPA and the owners have not spoken since the lockout began and have no future talks scheduled, but that could reportedly change on Wednesday after the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah ends. Right now the only activity going on in the NHL are players exploring options playing in Europe and teams sending young players down to their AHL affiliates so that they can remain playing hockey within their organizations while the lockout goes on.

NHL Lockout Nearly Official; No CBA Talks Scheduled For Saturday

The NHL is headed to a lockout. Any optimism we got when both sides reopened negotiations last Friday is dead, and at midnight tonight players will be locked out by the owners. The NHL owners and NHLPA have no meetings scheduled for today, meaning there will be no further attempts to reach a deal before players are locked out by owners at midnight. This really shouldn't surprise anybody at this point, but that doesn't make any of this suck any less for hockey fans all over the world.

Teams have already started making contingency plans by assigning players who are still eligible to their AHL affiliates so that they can play until the NHL season begins. Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes, for instance, was optioned to their AHL team specifically for that reason. The Rangers announced that they have assigned eight players to the Connecticut Whale, although all of them (Forwards Kris Newbury, Chad Kolarik, Michael Haley, Tommy Grant and Brandon Segal and defensemen Sean Collins, Logan Pyett, and Mike Vernace) are veteran AHL guys who had virtually no shot of landing a roster spot with the big club anyway. There have been whispers over the past week that the Rangers would send Chris Kreider down to the Whale, but nothing has been officially announced by the team yet.

As far as what the rest of the team has planned, Ryan Callahan and Brad Richards told Larry Brooks of The New York Post that the players have already begun looking to rent ice rinks in the New York area so that the team can still do conditioning drills and skate together as a team. John Tortorella has reportedly been in touch with Richards, Callahan and Henrik Lundqvist about keeping the team together and remaining conditioned. It's worth noting that as of right now no players on the Rangers have agreed to play overseas in Europe like other NHL players have. The Rangers obviously wouldn't admit to this, but it seems like the plan is for the team to stick together for now while they wait and hope that a new CBA is agreed upon fairly quickly. If weeks and months begin to go by with no progress towards a new deal I wouldn't be surprised if players begin to explore options playing in Europe. Lundqvist, for instance, has already indicated that he would likely go back to Sweden to play if the lockout drags on. Nevertheless, it's still great to see this team sticking together and shows the comradery of these guys for not wanting to immediately go their separate ways when the lockout begins.

Where things go from here is anybody's guess. The fact that both sides are still reportedly $1 billion apart in negotiations would seem to indicate that at the very least the lockout will drag on for a few weeks. I also think the fact that the NHL and NHLPA didn't even bother to meet today seems to indicate that both sides are still so far apart that there's no way they could settle everything in just one day. Gary Bettman's stubborn, two-faced approach has been the most aggravating part of all of this to me, personally. One day he gives the NHLPA a "take it or leave it" offer in an almost threateningly manner, and the next he's talking about how nobody wants to see hockey more than him. I'll have more on my disgust with Bettman and the owners in the next few days, though.

Oh, and just in case you wanted some more bad news on top of all this, there is virtually "no chance" restricted free agent Michael Del Zotto agrees to a new contract with the Rangers before the lockout begins at midnight tonight, according to both Bob McKenzie of TSN and Katie Strang of ESPN. All this really means is that whenever the season resumes and a new CBA is agreed to Glen Sather will immediately have to work on getting Del Zotto signed before the start of the season. Fantastic.

NHL, NHLPA Reopen CBA Talks In New York

With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Sept. 15, the NHL owners and NHLPA reopened CBA talks today in New York, according to TSN. Both NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman were in attendance for the meeting, which lasted two hours long. No other details about the meeting have been leaked up to this point, but they reportedly may meet again later tonight or sometime on Saturday. It was a week ago today that both sides agreed to "recess" and break off talks.

It's obviously good news that both sides have reopened dialogue, but beyond that it's hard to delve too much into this until more details from the meeting leaks out. It was inevitable that both sides were going to talk several more times before the owners plan to lock players out on Sept. 15, so I'm not overly optimistic just because they're talking again.

Hopefully, though, this is the start of something big, and both sides can make some headway towards a new deal as the clock continues to tick closer to the Sept. 15 deadline.

NHL, NHLPA Remain At Stalemate Over CBA Talks

It's officially time to panic.

Late last week news broke that negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHLPA, headed by Don Fehr, and the owners, headed by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, have broken off after the owners rejected the players' first proposal last Friday. According to Fehr, it was ultimately the owner' decision who decided to break off talks, and the players remain willing to reopen negotiations whenever the owners want to come back to the table to talk about a new deal. Both sides had been negotiation for three days last week prior to the breakdown of talks. No other talks between the two sides have been planned at this time.

Click below to read more details on the latest breakdown of CBA talks, plus my thoughts on this whole mess and where we go from here.

Los Angeles Kings Win Stanley Cup, Quick Named Conn Smythe Winner

The 2011-2012 NHL season officially came to a close tonight with the Los Angeles Kings defeating the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals by a score of 6-1. Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy after posting a brilliant 1.46 GAA and .946 SV% while going 16-4 in 20 playoff games.

Congratulations to the Kings, and also to the Devils for putting him quite a fight after it looked like this series would be an easy win for the Kings after the first three games. I said after the Rangers were eliminated that I really had no plans to watch any of the Stanley Cup Finals, and I really didn't. Aside from being out at places where it may have been on I didn't go out of my way and put any of the games on. I'm a fan of the game of hockey, but after the rollercoaster the Rangers put everybody through in the playoffs, I really just had no interest in watching the Devils attempt to win a Stanley Cup when the Rangers came so close to being in that position. That being said, you have to give the Devils credit where it's due. They turned this into a series after losing the first three games and showed a lot of heart coming winning the past two games. But, as is the case nine times out of ten, the Devils ultimately found out that putting themselves in a 3-0 hole was just too much to overcome. There's a reason only one team has come back from a 3-0 series deficit to go onto win the series - it's kind of hard to do. You just need to have so many things go right while your opponent needs to have so many things go wrong to be able to turn the entire series upside down, and it obviously takes everything out of you. The Devils deserve credit for climbing back into the series, though, so good for them.

And now we play the waiting game. With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire this offseason, the NHL and NHLPA will need to get to work on reaching a new CBA as soon as possible. Many people expect a lockout could be in the future, and after the way things went the last time the CBA expired, it's certainly a realistic worry to have. I'll get into it more in the next few weeks and months, but the one thing I'll say is that if another full season is canceled under Gary Bettman's watch, it will absolutely ruin what's left of his already tarnished legacy as NHL Commissioner. That reason alone makes me thing a deal will be reached. When that will come, though, is anyone's guess. If a lockout happens that extends into the regular season, however, I think it would actually be beneficial to the Rangers. For one, the style of hockey they play is so physical and rough that playing less games would only be a good thing for these guys' bodies. Secondly, it would also mean the Rangers would have less games to play without Marian Gaborik, whose offseason shoulder surgery is expected to keep him sidelined until November or December.

As I said, though, there will be plenty of time to discuss all that, along with the Draft and free agency in the upcoming weeks.

Report: Ex-Ranger Steve Valiquette Turned Down Offer To Play For Yaroslavl Lokomotiv

Re-Tweeted by the Connecticut Whale's official Twitter earlier today was a story from Boston.com that had an interesting blurb in it. Apparently, former Rangers goalie Steve Valiquette had an offer to play for the Lokomotiv this season, but turned them down because he only wanted to continue playing in the KHL if he was going to be guaranteed regular playing time.

Local agent Kent Hughes noted yesterday that one of his clients, ex-Rangers backup goalie Steve Valiquette, just recently turned down a contract offer to play for Yaroslavl this season. According to Hughes, Valiquette, a Canadian who now lives in Connecticut, was bought out over the summer after playing one season for CSKA (Red Army) and wasn’t eager to resume playing in the KHL without an assurance that he would be given regular playing time.

Boston.com

Valiquette, of course, was Henrik Lundqvist's last "regular" backup before the team signed Marty Biron last offseason. It certainly turned out to be a blessing in disguise that Valley turned down a deal with Yaroslavl.

I highly recommend reading the entire article, as it's really a great piece worth checking out. There's a story in the article that during the lockout when a bunch of NHL players were playing in Russia, a plane that was carrying Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Darius Kasparaitis, and Alexei Kovalev was supposed to originally be delayed for 2 to 3 hours and wound up being proclaimed ready for takeoff after only a 20 minute delay. Kasparaitis was skeptical and the players on-board demanded that Alex Kovalev fly in the cockpit since he has a pilot's license.

The more stories you hear about tragedies occurring in Russia with KHL teams, the more it makes me question why any athlete would want to play there.

Marian Gaborik Reacts To Pavol Demitra's Death, Rangers Confirm Karpovtsev's Death

Marian Gaborik took to Twitter and commented on the death of his best friend Pavel Demitra about 20 minutes ago. Before today the last time Gaborik Tweeted anything was back on April 16, 2010.

Gaborik's Tweet read:

Demo,u will always b in my heart.U were one of my best friends on and off the ice.U will be greatly missed by all of us.My condolences...

Marian Gaborik's Twitter 

Gaborik has lost two of his closest friends on and off the ice within the last several months - first Derek Boogaard and now Pavel Demitra.

Jim Cerny of NewYorkRangers.com originally said a few hours ago that Marian Gaborik left practice without meeting with the media and offering any words on the death of one of his best friends, Pavol Demitra, who died in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that took place this morning. Mats Zuccarello did say that Gaborik was "devastated" when news hit of Demitra's death.

Also, the New York Rangers have commented on the death of Alexander Karpovtsev, an assistant coach of the Lokomotiv who also died this morning. The Rangers, apparently, were waiting to officially confirm his death before posting anything on their website. Karpovtsev was a member of the 1994 Stanley Cup team and will always be remembered for being a part of New York Rangers history.

Several Current and Ex-Rangers Affected By KHL Plane Crash

The tragic plane crash that reportedly killed somewhere between 36 to 43 members of the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl this morning has hit everybody hard who is around the game of hockey, including several members of the New York Rangers. As Andrew Gross pointed out on Twitter, Marian Gaborik has lost two of his closest friends and former teammates within the last several months - first Derek Boogaard and now Pavol Demitra. One of Henrik Lundqvist's friends, Swedish goaltender Stefan Liv, also perished on the flight. Mike Rupp also played with ex-Ranger Karel Rachunek when they were with the Devils during Rachunek's last NHL stint before playing in Europe.

Gross has talked to several Rangers and have gotten their reactions on the crash.

Henrik Lundqvist devastated when told former Swedish national team teammate G Stefan Liv may have been on flight.

Lundqvist, told of Stefan Liv (now confirmed to be on flight), buries head in hands and says, like him, Liv was married this summer.

Mike Rupp befriended Karel Rachunek during their time with the Devils. "He was a quiet guy with a really good sense of humor."

Artem Anisimov came up with Locomotiv, says he knows about half the roster. "I feel like it can't happen. I feel sick about that."

 Andrew Gross on Twitter

More to come later today as news and reactions around hockey continue to break.

Breaking News: 43 People Dead in Plane Crash Carrying KHL Team

Unbelievably tragic news today this morning. A plane crashed in Russia this morning that was carrying the entire KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and killed 43 people who were on board, including ex-NHL players Pavol Demitra, Josef Vasicek, Jan Marek and Karel Rachunek (who also spent a few seasons playing with the Rangers). The team's head coach, Brad McCrimmon, and assistant coaches Igor Korolev and ex-Ranger Alexander Karpovtsev were also killed on the flight.

Breaking News: Ex-NHL Forward Wade Belak Found Dead At Age 35

Terrible news to pass along. Wade Belak, who retired in March after being waived by the Nashville Predators, was found dead today at his Toronto home. NHL.com reported that the cause of death for Belak has not been determined, but foul play is not believed to have been involved.

Belak, 35, skated in 15 games with the Predators last season, recording 0 points, 18 PIM and a minus-1 rating before being waived by the team in February. Belak retired in March after clearing waivers, and remained with the Predators after accepting an organizational role with the team. Belak was a 14-year NHL veteran who played for the Predators, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche.

Belak is the third person in the NHL to die since May, with Rick Rypien and Derek Boogaard being the other two - all three men gone way too soon.

I send my condolences out to Wade Belak's friends and family. It's truly been an awful last few months for the hockey world.

Sean Avery Arrested For Shoving LA Cop, Released On $20,000 Bail

TMZ is reporting that Rangers LW Sean Avery was arrested at his home in Hollywood Hills early this morning and has been charged with battery of a police officer after shoving a cop who responded to a complaint from one of Avery's neighbors that music coming from a party Avery was throwing was too loud. According to TMZ, Avery shoved a police officer when they arrived, called them "fat little pigs" and told the officers he would fight all of them if they would "come back without your badges." Avery then slammed the door on the police and only reopened it after police threatened to break his door down if he didn't. Apparently, Avery cooperated with law officials after that and was arrested at 2:30 a.m. before being released on $20,000 bail at 8:10 a.m.

Avery has a court date scheduled for Sept. 2, in which he faces charges for a misdemeanor.

Click below to read more.

Nassau Residents Vote Against New Coliseum, Islanders' Future In Doubt

The vote is in, and it's not good news for Islanders fans. After tallying 99 percent of the votes, the Nassau County Board of Elections revealed that the residents of Nassau County have voted against Islanders owner Charles Wang's proposed $400 million plan to build a new Nassau Coliseum, by a tally of 56 percent to 43 percent. The future of the New York Islanders is now very much up in the air after their lease at the current Coliseum expires in 2015.

Click below to read more.

The Breakdown Of Brad Richards' Contract, Includes No-Movement Clause

Original Image Credit Goes To Dave Lozo of NHL.com

Gord Miller at TSN Tweeted the contract numbers for Brad Richards' new deal with the Rangers. Richards will make $12 million in 2011-2012, $12 million in 2012-2013, $9 million in 2013-2014, $8.5 million in 2014-2015, $8.5 million in 2015-2016, $7 million in 2016-2017, $1 million in 2017-2018, $1 million in 2018-2019 and $1 million in 2019-2020. Richards also received a $10 million signing bonus plus $2 million of his actual salary in the first year of his contract, and an $8 million signing bonus plus a $4 million base salary in the second year. Larry Brooks also Tweeted last night that Richards' contract includes a no-movement clause for the entire duration of his contract.

Read more...

Rangers Buy Out Chris Drury; Other News From Around The NHL

As reported earlier today by Larry Brooks in the New York Post, the New York Rangers officially announced that they have bought out the remaining year on Chris Drury's contract. Drury and the team each issued separate statements on the buyout.

2011-2012 NHL Schedule Released; Rangers to Open Season in Europe

Original Image Credit: Newsday.com

 The NHL officially released their 2011-2012 team schedules today, and even though it was all but confirmed before today, the Rangers will officially open their season with two games in Sweden against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks in addition to playing the Flyers in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2, 2012.

Rangers fans can view the entire team schedule here.

Read more...

Rangers-Flyers Will Headline 2012 Winter Classic in Philly

The New York Post is reporting what has been rumored for a while now - the Rangers and Flyers will face each other in next year's Winter Classic from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Jan. 2, 2012. The NHL will confirm the announcement once the 2011-2012 team schedules are released, which is rumored to be sometime this week