Let's Get It Started

I know they're just talking. But they're talking. They were quiet for a while. And now they're talking. And time is running out. It's been pretty much layed out that the season can't start any later than January 19, which is 3 weeks from yesterday. And I read that the drop-dead plan is to have 1 week of training camp that follows 1 week of legal mumbo-jumbo and paperwork. That leaves us with 6 days, including today (in which they will be talking or texting or skyping or something), to get a deal done so the other necessary stuff can get started. There isn't a whole lot of time.

Personally, I don't think 1 week of training camp is enough. Some players are playing in Europe, some in the AHL, and some are renting ice time at local rinks around North America. Some aren't doing any of that. One week isn't enough time to back into shape when players have been at different activity levels since this stupid lockout started. Some players played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, while others didn't. That might matter too.

The owners obviously want to get the games going as quickly as possible so they can make money. They don't make money during training camp, so keep that as short as possible. But, since everyone needs to do a little giving, here's something the owners can offer the players.

1. Say that, at this point, no matter when a deal is done (assuming one is before the cutoff date of next Saturday), the season starts on January 19.
   
   I guess we can go as far as saying that all 30 teams play on that day, and if they're smart, stagger games throughout the day. Maybe even start with a pseudo-Hockey Day In Canada and Hockey Day In America. Get the CBC involved in Canada (and TSN if CBC would allow another national network to broadcast on a Saturday). Get NBC SportsNetwork involved in the US for the afternoon games, and of course, NHL Network US showing Hockey Night In Canada.
2. Now, for the more logistical fun...Say that the sooner the players and owners agree that a deal is made, the longer training camp can be. Let's say they have the handshake agreement tomorrow (Monday).
   
   In parallel, have the lawyers working this out starting on Tuesday. Have the teams open facilities conditionally for players to gather (but no ice time yet), start pre-camp physicals, and work out the other logistics of officially starting training camp once the lawyers are done (sticking to that one week), one week from Tuesday.
   
   If the agreement is made on Tuesday, then everything is pushed back by one day, and training camp is one day shorter. So, for every day that they can't get a deal done this week, it's one less day for training camp, with the breaking point of next Saturday, not leaving enough reasonable time to get anything started by the real drop-dead date of January 19.
   

It puts a little pressure on the players, knowing that the sooner they can close the deal, the more time they have in training camp before the season starts. But if it works, it makes things slightly more legitimate by having a longer training camp. Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen here. Knowing the parties involved, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they just can't make it work and we lose the entire season. But I'm still hopeful that common sense will invade the process (50% of something is better than 100% of nothing) and a deal will be made this week, and we'll have NHL Hockey on January 19.

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The Fight

I know a lot of what I write and tweet about the NHL lockout might be doom and gloom scenarios. For the most part, that is how I choose to see things. I was hopeful for a long time that a deal could get done, but we're here on December 15 and there is no CBA.

And as much as it looks like (hopefully not just from me) that Don Fehr and Gary Bettman are the bad guys here, they are both people representing groups of people that are fighting for things that (I hope) they believe in, and they are fully within their rights to do so (both to believe in certain things like a salary cap, contract limits, travel expenses, and to be able to fight for them).

But both sides are being asinine, stubborn, and stupid here. Taking a hard stance and hoping the other side rolls over is a foolish viewpoint. But then again, being the side that rolls over is also foolish. Both sides need to be willing to compromise (I may be wrong, but it seems that the players have been more willing to do this than the owners) in order for it to work. Otherwise, it's going to be a stare-down.

I have my own opinions on who's right and who's wrong in what they're asking for. I'll save them for another post (and I think I've shared a few already). This gripe isn't about that anymore. Unfortunately, this don't-back-down mentality is something that's invaded our culture in America a bit too much. Look at the U.S. Congress (I promise I won't get into politics here). They're doing almost the same thing, but instead of playing with the collective money of a relatively small group (professional hockey players), they're playing with the money of an entire nation. Even business and other forms of government leadership has taken this stance, and all it creates is problems. From these analogies, I don't know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but it's all poison.

The NHL owners and players can go out and set an example for everyone that you can be successful even though you don't get everything that you want, even taking/accepting things that you don't want. But they both have to be willing to do that. If one side bargains while the other side sits firm, that's not going to solve anything, but it might bring the NHL back into NHL arenas sooner rather than later...only to go through this again in 6, 7, 8, or however many years.


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The End is Near

Fuck it. I'm done.

Na, why leave now. It's just getting interesting.

It sounds like the battle between the NHL and NHLPA is heading to the courts. This goes beyond my level of expertise. But I think the end of something is near.

Some think the court system will help end the lockout quicker. But I think there is a fundamental divide between the players and owners that doesn't show any signs of being resolved. And that's why I say this (but I'm only about half-joking when I say it).

looks like the @nhl and @nhlpa are heading to the courts. odds bumped up to 15% chance that the league never plays another game. #NHLlockout

— Jason Bornstein (@DyHrdMET) December 15, 2012

This whole time, the two sides have shown no interest and no ability to work together to resolve their differences. They have to try to resolve the labor dispute, and they both need to sign off on it, in order for business to continue. It's kind of like a law of physics. Gravity brings/keeps objects towards/on the ground. There's no escaping it. Just like there's no escaping the fact that the NHL and the NHLPA are partners.

Oh wait, what did I just say? They're partners? Unless the NHL is going to fold, they need a collection of players to play games. It's a partnership that really can't be broken.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the two sides aren't acting like there is a real partnership here. They sound more like a couple going through a bitter divorce (fortunately, not something I know first or even second hand). On twitter, I joke a lot, but there's some truth in what I tweet.

I'm waiting for @onionsports to come up with a post where the @nhl and @nhlpa divorce over "irreconcilable differences". & who gets the Cup?

— Jason Bornstein (@DyHrdMET) December 14, 2012

These two sides are in a bitter fight. One that's now going to the courts. They really haven't spoken the same language during this whole thing. There have been times when they don't even agree on how to resolve their dispute (remember last week when they tried to take Gary Bettman and Don Fehr out of the picture?). It even appears that professional mediators have given up trying to help this dispute. They also got the sense that at times, they weren't wanted by one party. Some reporters (those who I trust to know what they're talking about) have said that this dispute could have been resolved long ago, or that a deal is close if they want it, but obviously, nothing has been settled.

Of course, the last two times the CBA had expired, there was a lockout (1994-95, and who can forget the non-season of 2004-05). This is a pairing that in the past 18 years (the Gary Bettman era) just hasn't worked out well. There's a bad history between these two sides.

They don't get along. They don't work together. They aren't trying to work together. Even if one side caves to save the season, or to save the start of next season, they're going to do this again when the future CBA expires. In a marriage, this is where getting a divorce is better for all parties, even if it hurts the kids (which, in this analogy, is the fans, who are hurt by all the fighting). All of this fighting is petty. Taking it to the courts with these lawsuits is even worse. And that's why I think there is even a chance, and I half-jokingly say a 15% chance (up from 12.5% just this morning and 5% in September) that the league never plays another game, and the two sides go their separate ways.

The end is near.


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