rookie1
09-15-2004, 04:51 AM
Looks like no hockey this season
TORONTO (AP) - First, the talking stopped. Now, the games have, too.
Hockey has run out of time and tournaments. All that's left is a lockout.
Players from Canada and Finland spoke about being focused on the World Cup of Hockey's final game and not on their fight with NHL owners.
But Canada ended that tournament with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. So amid the cheers, the beers and probably some tears, the questions turned to what was going to happen next.
The current collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. With no talks scheduled, a lockout is a virtual certainty once the NHL board of governors conclude a Wednesday meeting in New York.
"We're supposed to be partners," said Mario Lemieux, the player-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "It's not a question of going to war or winning a battle, it's just a question of what makes sense for the business and what makes sense for the players."
Training camps won't open this week and games - slated to begin Oct. 13 - will soon be canceled, too.
"I think everyone is going to be on the same page and hopefully something is going to happen sooner than later," New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur said. "As for my plans, I'm just going to probably coach minor hockey, my kids."
Wade Redden took off his practice gear unsure of when he'd have a chance to put it on again.
His injured shoulder wouldn't allow him to play for Canada. The lockout will extend his rest time.
"Tomorrow is D-Day and it's going to be probably the last time we get on the ice for a bit," Redden said Tuesday.
A bit would be an optimistic view. The sides haven't spoken since talks broke off last Thursday, when the players' association made a proposal of a luxury-tax system with revenue sharing, a rollback of salaries, and changes to entry-level contracts.
The owners said that framework doesn't ensure cost certainty for its clubs, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the sides "weren't speaking the same language."
"It's a sad situation but there's nothing you can do right now," free-agent forward Teemu Selanne said. "Everybody is expecting a long lockout, which is not good for hockey, but it's going to happen no matter what."
That's what happened in the 1994-95 season when the game was shut down for 103 days and the schedule was cut nearly in half. If no deal is reached by January, as it was the last time, the season would likely be lost.
The message in the locker rooms of Canada and Finland was clear. Players won't accept a salary-cap system and they are prepared to wait as long as necessary to get a deal they can live with.
Even if that means sacrificing a season or two.
"I'd rather not miss a year in hockey when I'm 25," Dallas forward Brenden Morrow said. "I'd like to be playing, but I'm just one small piece of this whole puzzle.
"So until we can divide up that pie and everyone be happy with their piece, we're not going to get too much hockey played this year."
Ville Nieminen, a forward with the Calgary Flames, will join his hometown team in the Finnish Elite League that begins this week. European players have more options in that regard than their North American counterparts, who could join some optimistic startup leagues.
"If I don't do anything, I can't play hockey ever again. I like food too much," Nieminen said.
Morrow has opportunities to play in Europe, but he has been reluctant to act on them because he has an infant at home and is not eager to go so far away.
"I want to take a few weeks after this tournament, go back to Dallas and wait for a miracle to happen," he said. "If it doesn't, then I'll check over my options.
"I don't think I'm going to go a year without hockey. I'm going to end up doing something, eventually. I'm just not doing anything tomorrow."
On Monday, Nieminen took some of his younger Finnish teammates to the players' association offices and introduced them to representatives.
His quiet, 20-year-old teammate Joni Pitkanen has just one NHL season under his belt, and the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman is not looking to return to Finland.
Pitkanen just got here and wants to get more comfortable with the smaller North American ice rinks and with English - a language still quite foreign.
"It was a big change for me and I don't want to take a back step and go home again," Pitkanen said.
So, he will instead play with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' minor league team in the AHL.
Teppo Numminen's career might be over if the lockout stretches too long. He's 36, with 16 NHL seasons behind him. His time in North America might be done for good.
"Maybe as a player," he said. "If this drags out, I might be back for vacation."
It seems there'll be plenty of time for that.
TORONTO (AP) - First, the talking stopped. Now, the games have, too.
Hockey has run out of time and tournaments. All that's left is a lockout.
Players from Canada and Finland spoke about being focused on the World Cup of Hockey's final game and not on their fight with NHL owners.
But Canada ended that tournament with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. So amid the cheers, the beers and probably some tears, the questions turned to what was going to happen next.
The current collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. With no talks scheduled, a lockout is a virtual certainty once the NHL board of governors conclude a Wednesday meeting in New York.
"We're supposed to be partners," said Mario Lemieux, the player-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. "It's not a question of going to war or winning a battle, it's just a question of what makes sense for the business and what makes sense for the players."
Training camps won't open this week and games - slated to begin Oct. 13 - will soon be canceled, too.
"I think everyone is going to be on the same page and hopefully something is going to happen sooner than later," New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur said. "As for my plans, I'm just going to probably coach minor hockey, my kids."
Wade Redden took off his practice gear unsure of when he'd have a chance to put it on again.
His injured shoulder wouldn't allow him to play for Canada. The lockout will extend his rest time.
"Tomorrow is D-Day and it's going to be probably the last time we get on the ice for a bit," Redden said Tuesday.
A bit would be an optimistic view. The sides haven't spoken since talks broke off last Thursday, when the players' association made a proposal of a luxury-tax system with revenue sharing, a rollback of salaries, and changes to entry-level contracts.
The owners said that framework doesn't ensure cost certainty for its clubs, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the sides "weren't speaking the same language."
"It's a sad situation but there's nothing you can do right now," free-agent forward Teemu Selanne said. "Everybody is expecting a long lockout, which is not good for hockey, but it's going to happen no matter what."
That's what happened in the 1994-95 season when the game was shut down for 103 days and the schedule was cut nearly in half. If no deal is reached by January, as it was the last time, the season would likely be lost.
The message in the locker rooms of Canada and Finland was clear. Players won't accept a salary-cap system and they are prepared to wait as long as necessary to get a deal they can live with.
Even if that means sacrificing a season or two.
"I'd rather not miss a year in hockey when I'm 25," Dallas forward Brenden Morrow said. "I'd like to be playing, but I'm just one small piece of this whole puzzle.
"So until we can divide up that pie and everyone be happy with their piece, we're not going to get too much hockey played this year."
Ville Nieminen, a forward with the Calgary Flames, will join his hometown team in the Finnish Elite League that begins this week. European players have more options in that regard than their North American counterparts, who could join some optimistic startup leagues.
"If I don't do anything, I can't play hockey ever again. I like food too much," Nieminen said.
Morrow has opportunities to play in Europe, but he has been reluctant to act on them because he has an infant at home and is not eager to go so far away.
"I want to take a few weeks after this tournament, go back to Dallas and wait for a miracle to happen," he said. "If it doesn't, then I'll check over my options.
"I don't think I'm going to go a year without hockey. I'm going to end up doing something, eventually. I'm just not doing anything tomorrow."
On Monday, Nieminen took some of his younger Finnish teammates to the players' association offices and introduced them to representatives.
His quiet, 20-year-old teammate Joni Pitkanen has just one NHL season under his belt, and the Philadelphia Flyers defenseman is not looking to return to Finland.
Pitkanen just got here and wants to get more comfortable with the smaller North American ice rinks and with English - a language still quite foreign.
"It was a big change for me and I don't want to take a back step and go home again," Pitkanen said.
So, he will instead play with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' minor league team in the AHL.
Teppo Numminen's career might be over if the lockout stretches too long. He's 36, with 16 NHL seasons behind him. His time in North America might be done for good.
"Maybe as a player," he said. "If this drags out, I might be back for vacation."
It seems there'll be plenty of time for that.