***Official*** NHL Lockout news thread ***Confirmed***

[Aquaman]

NHL, NHLPA meet for 8.5 hours

Canadian Press
5/18/2005 5:21:14 PM

NEW YORK (CP) - The NHL and NHL Players' Association met for eight and a half hours Wednesday, once again dissecting the tedious team-by-team accounting practices.

It's all in the name of finding a formula that both sides can live with to determine team revenues in order to tie them to a floating team-by-team salary cap - the basis for the union's April 4 offer.

Wednesday's meeting started at 8 a.m. EDT and wrapped up around 4:30 p.m. The two sides also met for six hours Tuesday.

A larger group will meet Thursday, also in New York.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: MeanMeosh
thanks for the updates aquaman, i miss hockey :brokenheart:

I miss it also.......... hopefully those knuckleheads will get the job done & get back to work for 2005-2006

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[rh71]

Proposed NHL Draft for this year:

May 18, 2005. 07:36 AM

Proposed lottery gives Leafs a slim chance at phenom
Crosby could end up with Marlies if lockout continues

KEN CAMPBELL
SPORTS REPORTER

The Maple Leafs would have a 1.7 per cent chance of landing Sidney
Crosby under the NHL's proposed lottery system for the next entry
draft, while the New York Rangers would be one of two teams with the
best shot of getting the junior superstar.

Multiple sources say the league's board of governors has in place the
framework of a system that will allow each of the NHL's 30 teams a
chance at the first overall pick in the next draft and the opportunity
to select Crosby, who will be at the Memorial Cup with his Rimouski
Oceanic in London starting Saturday.

The proposed system would skew the lottery in favour of teams that have
finished out of the playoffs in the past four seasons and not had the
first overall selection in any of the past four entry drafts.

Nothing has been passed by the board of governors and isn't expected to
be for some time, but it's believed the lottery will work like this:

Each team starts with four balls in the lottery.

Teams lose a ball for each year they qualified for the playoffs in the
past four seasons.

Teams also lose a ball if they have had the first overall selection in
any of the past four drafts.

Each team is guaranteed at least one ball.

Under that system, there would be a total of 60 balls in the lottery.
The Leafs, along with 12 other teams, would have just one chance,
giving them a 1.7 per cent likelihood of winning the lottery.

The Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets would be the only teams in the
league to have four balls in the lottery, giving them each a 6.7 per
cent chance of winning.

The Blue Jackets had the first overall pick in the 2002 draft and
selected Rick Nash, but they traded up for that pick with the Florida
Panthers so that pick is assigned to Florida.

If Crosby were to go to the Rangers, it would be an enormous marketing
opportunity for the league, which will almost certainly need all the
help it can get after a lockout that could stretch into next season.

Sources say the draft order would be reversed each round, meaning the
team that picked first overall would have the last selection in the
second round.

The system likely won't be put into place officially until a collective
bargaining agreement is reached with the players, but one league
general manager said revenue sharing would be key to the lottery.

"If there is a system of revenue sharing, and I'd be shocked if there
weren't, that's the way it will be," he said. "The attitude of the
large market teams is that they're going to be losing some revenues to
small markets, so they want some kind of a chance (at Crosby)."

But the proposed deal is sure to draw the ire of the more successful
teams, such as the Maple Leafs, who would have shared a 3.3 per cent
chance of getting Crosby with the 29 other teams in the league if each
team were given a 1in30 chance.

Meanwhile, the Leafs are expected to be more involved in discussions
with Crosby's agent after the Memorial Cup about the possibility of him
signing with the new Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League if
the lockout extends into next season.

AHL president Dave Andrews said yesterday there is nothing in the
league's bylaws preventing a team from signing Crosby.

"Sidney Crosby is going to play where Sidney Crosby and his agent
decide he's going to play," Andrews said. "Any player who has reached
the age of 18 by Sept. 15 is eligible to play in our league if he is
appropriately under contract."

The NHL's agreement with the Canadian Hockey League stipulates players
in junior hockey must either play in the NHL or in major junior, but
that agreement has expired.

Crosby's standard players' contract also stipulates that he must play
junior hockey until he either plays in the NHL or his junior
eligibility expires, but it has been widely expected Crosby will be
allowed to leave the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after this
season for either Europe or the AHL.

Meanwhile, Crosby signed a $2.5 million (U.S.) deal to endorse Reebok's
hockey line and it's doubtful that Reebok would want him playing in
Moscow or Stockholm instead of Toronto. Len Rhodes, vice-president,
marketing for The Hockey Company and Reebok Canada, said the company
would have no input on where Crosby ends up.

"We haven't had any discussions with him or his agent in terms of where
we would prefer him to play," Rhodes said. "We know that because of the
fact he's a superstar, whatever league he plays in will want to
showcase him. We want him to play where he gets the maximum exposure
within a hockey market. Toronto is definitely is a true hockey market."

 

[Aquaman]

Hey RH71.......... did you see the World Championships?

The Russian team is actually really good......... Ovetchkin and Malkin where on fire.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[rh71]

Yes, I heard, didn't see it ... the iihc site has entire games for download but it costs money... I'm not THAT desperate. I heard Ovechkin, Malkin, and even Semin looked good.

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: rh71
Yes, I heard, didn't see it ... the iihc site has entire games for download but it costs money... I'm not THAT desperate. I heard Ovechkin, Malkin, and even Semin looked good.

Hey ........ next time when I get my DVD recorder unit (to replacec my VCR). I'll make you a copy

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[rh71]

^ that desperate I am

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: rh71
^ that desperate I am

I'll make sure to put cloutiers head on ovechkin

cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Marathon NHL labour meeting ends

Canadian Press
5/19/2005 11:37:21 PM

The NHL and NHL Players' Association held a marathon 14-hour meeting in New York on Thursday but that doesn't mean they're any closer towards ending their stalemate.

A source close to the talks said little progress was made although a healthy discussion on a variety of subjects took place. The two sides convened around 10 a.m. EDT and wrapped things up just before midnight EDT.

Neither side wanted to comment after the meeting.

Sources said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow would talk Friday morning regarding setting up future meetings. The two sides hope to meet every week from here on in until a deal is finally agreed upon. The lockout is more than eight months old and wiped out the entire NHL season.

After two days of small group meetings examining the financial practices of teams around the league, a larger group got together Thursday to examine the findings. The two sides hope to agree on what constitutes revenue in order to flesh out the union's April 4 offer. That system featured an upper and lower limit on team-by-team payrolls _ a salary cap _ which fluctuates year to year depending on revenues.

Representing the league Thursday was Bettman, chief legal officer and executive vice-president Bill Daly, director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, NHL general counsel David Zimmerman, board of governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss of the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils CEO and GM Lou Lamoriello, Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold, outside counsel Bob Batterman and lawyer Shep Goldfein.

The NHLPA roster included Goodenow, senior director Ted Saskin, associate counsel Ian Pulver, director of business relations Mike Gartner, outside counsel McCambridge, Detroit Red Wings veteran player Brendan Shanahan, and the players' executive committee: president Trevor Linden and vice-presidents Vincent Damphousse, Bill Guerin, Daniel Alfredsson, Arturs Irbe, Trent Klatt and Bob Boughner.

The presence of Shanahan and Campbell likely signified the need to talk about rule changes which will be made part of the CBA. The most contentious issue has been the reduction of goalie equipment, something the league needs the union to sign off on before going ahead with it.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

McKenzie: Marathon meeting a positive sign

TSN.ca Staff
5/20/2005 2:48:07 AM

I get the real sense that this is the first week that the NHL and NHLPA actually started truly negotiating through this entire process that's been going on for more than nine months. I think we'll know better on Friday morning as to what's going on exactly here, because the word coming out of the meeting simply was ''we'll know more in the morning.''

What that suggests to me is that there are some things they have to sleep on - proposals being made one way or the other. That response ultimately will let us know what direction we are headed in - whether they'll continue to meet and get some momentum going or whether things are going to take a step back again. Do understand this: When they've met as much as they have this week, I've got to believe that there is at least some momentum going here and that is a good thing.

You would have to think that there is enough pressure on both sides now that they can't afford not to have meetings like this. There has got be more where that came from. They could have 14-hour meetings every night for a week and they still could be far away from getting a deal done.

There is a lot to be done here. People think this is a simple process, but it is not. There are huge issues here - it is not just a salary cap number, it's not just a payroll range. There are all sorts of transition issues like the fate of Sidney Crosby, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards and restricted free agents.

There are hours and hours and hours of work to be done, but having said that they are not going to get that done if they don't sit for a long time in the room. They did that on Thursday and I think they are going to do that a lot more in the future, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to snap our fingers and within a week say ''great, the game's back on next fall for sure.

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks, but it's going to take an awful lot of hard work. We'll have lots of peaks and valleys and there may be a valley on Friday if the response comes back negative from one side or the other.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[dragonballgtz2]

Originally posted by: Aquaman
McKenzie: Marathon meeting a positive sign

TSN.ca Staff
5/20/2005 2:48:07 AM

I get the real sense that this is the first week that the NHL and NHLPA actually started truly negotiating through this entire process that's been going on for more than nine months. I think we'll know better on Friday morning as to what's going on exactly here, because the word coming out of the meeting simply was ''we'll know more in the morning.''

What that suggests to me is that there are some things they have to sleep on - proposals being made one way or the other. That response ultimately will let us know what direction we are headed in - whether they'll continue to meet and get some momentum going or whether things are going to take a step back again. Do understand this: When they've met as much as they have this week, I've got to believe that there is at least some momentum going here and that is a good thing.

You would have to think that there is enough pressure on both sides now that they can't afford not to have meetings like this. There has got be more where that came from. They could have 14-hour meetings every night for a week and they still could be far away from getting a deal done.

There is a lot to be done here. People think this is a simple process, but it is not. There are huge issues here - it is not just a salary cap number, it's not just a payroll range. There are all sorts of transition issues like the fate of Sidney Crosby, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards and restricted free agents.

There are hours and hours and hours of work to be done, but having said that they are not going to get that done if they don't sit for a long time in the room. They did that on Thursday and I think they are going to do that a lot more in the future, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to snap our fingers and within a week say ''great, the game's back on next fall for sure.

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks, but it's going to take an awful lot of hard work. We'll have lots of peaks and valleys and there may be a valley on Friday if the response comes back negative from one side or the other.

Cheers,
Aquaman

What really gets me is that they waited this long to look at the each others books and every teams book.

 

[Insane3D]

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks

McKenzie talking out his a$$ again?

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks

McKenzie talking out his a$$ again?

If he is wrong........ I am going to go to toronto and pee in his butt

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[dragonballgtz2]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks

McKenzie talking out his a$$ again?

If he is wrong........ I am going to go to toronto and pee in his butt

Cheers,
Aquaman

:Q
Make sure you take :camera:s

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks

McKenzie talking out his a$$ again?

If he is wrong........ I am going to go to toronto and pee in his butt

Cheers,
Aquaman

If he's wrong? He's been wrong about just about everything in this lockout... He was the one writing how the sides were close to a deal to save the season like 50 times before they cancelled it. Now he says because of who was at the meeting, and the lack of comment, they will make a deal soon?

Here, I'll make a prediction. They will sign a deal before 2010.

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Everything points to a deal possibly being done within the next four to six weeks

McKenzie talking out his a$$ again?

If he is wrong........ I am going to go to toronto and pee in his butt

Cheers,
Aquaman

If he's wrong? He's been wrong about just about everything in this lockout... He was the one writing how the sides were close to a deal to save the season like 50 times before they cancelled it. Now he says because of who was at the meeting, and the lack of comment, they will make a deal soon?

Here, I'll make a prediction. They will sign a deal before 2010.

If he is wrong again........ I will pee in your butt :Q

But I will miss and it will go through your five hole and hit pyonir :Q

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHL labour meetings roll into Friday

Canadian Press
5/20/2005 9:27:26 AM

The NHL and NHL Players' Association will meet this morning in New York to resume CBA talks, following a marathon 14-hour meeting on Thursday. A source close to the talks said little progress was made Thursday although a healthy discussion on a variety of subjects took place.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players' Association executive director Bob Goodenow met early Friday morning and decided to bring the two groups back to the table for yet another session.

The two sides convened around 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday morning and wrapped things up just before midnight EDT.

Neither side wanted to comment after the meeting.

Sources said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow would talk Friday morning regarding setting up future meetings. The two sides hope to meet every week from here on in until a deal is finally agreed upon. The lockout is more than eight months old and wiped out the entire NHL season.

After two days of small group meetings examining the financial practices of teams around the league, a larger group got together Thursday to examine the findings. The two sides hope to agree on what constitutes revenue in order to flesh out the union's April 4 offer. That system featured an upper and lower limit on team-by-team payrolls _ a salary cap _ which fluctuates year to year depending on revenues.

Representing the league Thursday was Bettman, chief legal officer and executive vice-president Bill Daly, director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, NHL general counsel David Zimmerman, board of governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss of the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils CEO and GM Lou Lamoriello, Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold, outside counsel Bob Batterman and lawyer Shep Goldfein.

The NHLPA roster included Goodenow, senior director Ted Saskin, associate counsel Ian Pulver, director of business relations Mike Gartner, outside counsel McCambridge, Detroit Red Wings veteran player Brendan Shanahan, and the players' executive committee: president Trevor Linden and vice-presidents Vincent Damphousse, Bill Guerin, Daniel Alfredsson, Arturs Irbe, Trent Klatt and Bob Boughner.

The presence of Shanahan and Campbell likely signified the need to talk about rule changes which will be made part of the CBA. The most contentious issue has been the reduction of goalie equipment, something the league needs the union to sign off on before going ahead with it.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

McKenzie: A good sense of inevitability

TSN.ca Staff
5/20/2005 7:25:57 PM

Maybe it's the cockeyed optimism you get on the Friday of a long weekend, but for the first time since this labour brouhaha started last September, I get the sense that a deal is going to get done, and sooner rather than later.

Whether that makes it days or weeks away, who knows for sure? But for the first time, really, there seems to be a sense of inevitability about it.

That isn't to say there isn't the potential for problems. This whole process is like walking through a field of landmines and until an agreement is signed, sealed and delivered, nothing is for sure.

And that isn't to say there won't be some blow-ups along the way. That, too, is part of the process.

But four consecutive days of meetings, including two long sessions on Thursday and Friday, have generated a degree of momentum on which they can build.

But as encouraging as the frequency and length of meetings were, the real reason it looks as though we're finally on our way to getting this solved is simply that it's time.

There are going to be all sorts of mixed messages -- progress, no progress -- coming from the principals, but on this you can be certain: many players are telling NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow to get a deal done and get it done now so to as allow for a properly-launched resumption of play in the fall.

Now, Goodenow's nature is not to roll over and play dead, and he won't do that. He'll no doubt grind the NHL wherever and whenever he can, but it certainly doesn't appear he's in a position to pull the plug on negotiations or shut things down.

The desire to get this deal done, and done ASAP, seems to be at an all-time high. Both sides realize to not get it done within the next month would have a huge negative impact on everyone's bottom line for next season.

Logic, it would appear, has finally taken over. But on that, one supposes we'll have to wait to see it's not fool's gold and the cockeyed optimism of a Friday of the long weekend.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Cautious optimism as NHL talks wrap up

Canadian Press
5/20/2005 9:27:26 AM

(CP) - There's still much work to be done but a feeling of cautious optimism emerged from a week full of NHL labour talks in New York, including 22 hours in the last two days.

The league and the NHL Players' Association met for eight hours in New York on Friday, a day after sitting in a boardroom for 14 hours and word from within is that perhaps there's finally light at the end of the tunnel - albeit with the knowledge that there are weeks worth of work still ahead.

''We had two long days of meetings in which the parties discussed and made progress on some of the key issues pertaining to a new economic system,'' Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer and executive vice-president, said in a release. ''While we have not yet been able to reach agreement on those issues, we remain committed to continuing the process in earnest until a new collective bargaining agreement can be achieved.''

They'll take the weekend off before NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow decide when talks will resume next week. They weren't even supposed to talk Friday but the two leaders met in the morning and decided to bring the two groups back to the table for yet another session in New York.

Before anyone gets too excited about the latest developments, there's still plenty that needs to be done. But for the first time since the lockout began last September, it isn't premature to believe that a collective bargaining agreement could be reached within the next two months.

''While we made progress in some areas there remain many issues to be addressed,'' NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said in a statement. ''Since so many of the systemic and economic issues are interrelated, it is clear that much work remains to be done.''

The two sides hope to meet every week from here on in until a deal is finally agreed upon.

After two days of small group meetings Tuesday and Wednesday examining the financial practices of teams around the league, a larger group got together Thursday to examine the findings. The two sides hope to agree on what constitutes revenue in order to flesh out the union's April 4 offer. That system featured an upper and lower limit on team-by-team payrolls - a salary cap - which fluctuates year to year depending on revenues.

Representing the league Thursday and again on Friday was Bettman, Daly, director of hockey operations Colin Campbell, NHL general counsel David Zimmerman, board of governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss of the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils CEO and GM Lou Lamoriello, Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, Nashville Predators owner Craig Leipold, outside counsel Bob Batterman and lawyer Shep Goldfein.

The NHLPA roster included Goodenow, Saskin, associate counsel Ian Pulver, director of business relations Mike Gartner, outside counsel McCambridge, Detroit Red Wings veteran player Brendan Shanahan, and the players' executive committee: president Trevor Linden and vice-presidents Vincent Damphousse, Bill Guerin, Daniel Alfredsson, Arturs Irbe, Trent Klatt and Bob Boughner.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[ElFenix]

and look, these are all the people that care!





















see that, that's crickets

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
and look, these are all the people that care!

see that, that's crickets

They did pee in your butt :Q

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Report: NHL wants deal by mid-June?

TSN.ca Staff with Sun Media files
5/21/2005 3:55:33 PM

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has a drop dead date in mind for the upcoming NHL season, according to a report by Sun Media.

A story in Saturday's Ottawa Sun cited league sources who said if a new CBA is not in place by mid June, the NHL may cancel next season and scrap negotiations altogether until the union accepts the league's terms.

The news comes amid reports that major sponsors have told the league they will take their money elsewhere if there is no labor agreement by June 15.

The league and the NHL Players' Association met for eight hours in New York on Friday, a day after sitting in a boardroom for 14 hours and word from within was that some progess was made.

Both sides have the weekend off before Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow decide when talks will resume next week.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[SaigonK]

And now more....

NHL
The NHL Entry Draft, scheduled for Ottawa in June, was cancelled earlier this year. Several NHL people at the IIHF World Hockey Championship believe Bettman will convince the board of governors to adopt a lottery system for the draft that will be based on how teams finished over the course of the last three years. The concept features a relatively simple system involving bingo balls and whether or not your team has been making or missing the playoffs lately. If you've missed the playoffs three times in the last three years, you get three balls in the bingo machine. That's Columbus, Buffalo, Atlanta, Florida, Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers. If you've missed the playoffs twice, you get two balls. That's Edmonton, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Nashville, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Washington, Minnesota and Anaheim. Everybody else gets one ball. Total: 52 balls. Your number rolls out first and ... BINGO! Sidney Crosby is yours.
-- Edmonton Sun


So now it appears anyone has a shot at Sidney Crosby.....

 

[Aquaman]

Firm offers new $4 billion bid for NHL

TSN.ca Staff with Bloomberg files
5/22/2005 10:31:47 AM

Bloomberg Business News reports that Bain Capital LLC, one of America's most reputable companies and buyout firms, has increased its bid for the National Hockey League by at least $500 million to more than $4 billion.

Sources familiar with the proposal told Bloomberg that Bain and Game Plan LLC, a firm that arranges the sale of professional sports teams, made the new offer on Friday.

"We haven't given up, that's for sure," Game Plan chairman Bob Caporale told Bloomberg. Caporale declined to confirm that a revised offer was submitted to the league.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown told Bloomberg, "I will not confirm any aspect of what you're reporting."

The firm pitched NHL owners a proposal to buy the entire league for more than $3 billion US at a league board of governors' meeting in March. But top officials with several clubs characterized Bain's presentation as merely an interesting information session that barely lasted half an hour and won't be given much thought in the future.

The proposal would see all 30 teams run out of a central office, setting team payroll budgets before the season started and distributing revenues to each club.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Daly optimistic about CBA settlement

TSN.ca Staff with CP
5/24/2005 11:51:39 AM

The National Post reports that National Hockey League chief legal officer Bill Daly told a New York-based sports website that, if collective bargaining talks with the players' association continue to progress as they did last Friday, a deal could "get done by early June."

Daly was also quoted by MSGNetwork.com columnist Stan Fischler as saying, "we are on our way home."

Additional meetings have been scheduled to take place later this week.

When contacted by the Post, Daly appeared to back away a bit from his earlier comments.

"Obviously, the sooner we can get this done and behind us, the better off we'll all be," he told the Post by email. "We'll have to see if we can continue to make progress. It's really too early to say when a deal could be concluded.

"We didn't get anything resolved, per se, but I thought we had a good, productive week of meetings last week," Daly added to the Post. "Hopefully, we can continue and build off of that."

The NHL and NHL Players' Association will resume labour talks Wednesday and Thursday in Chicago.

Both sides are quick to point out there's lots of work ahead but at least there's light at the end of the tunnel - even if binoculars are still needed to see it at this stage.

"Until you get something done, nothing is done," Devils CEO and GM Lou Lamoriello, a key player in the talks, cautioned Tuesday from New Jersey. "The only thing that you can take as a positive is that there is continuous talk and there doesn't seem to be interruptions and to me, that's the only way something will get done if it's to get done.

"But I don't want to be optimistic and certainly not pessimistic by any means."

The two sides met for four days last week in New York, including 22 hours over Thursday and Friday. And they hope to meet every week from here on in until a deal is finally agreed upon. They've met 14 times since commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the season on Feb. 15.

"It's too early to get excited," Vincent Damphousse, a member of the players' executive committee, said Tuesday. "I hope it's going to get settled but it's too soon to be too optimistic or to say that we're close to agreeing on a deal. It's too premature to say that.

"But we're meeting and we're talking about all kinds of things and we're trying to find common ground. That's the best way I can describe things right now."

The lockout is more than eight months old and has wiped out the entire season, robbing fans of a Stanley Cup champion for the first time since 1919. The entry draft in Ottawa was also scrapped.

Many are stunned at how long the NHL labour saga has gone.

"When you're in this business for the time I've been in, unfortunately you're not amazed any more at things that transpire," Lamoriello said. "But I still could have not ever imagined that this would have transpired.

"That's why I can't make a prediction on what the future is until something is actually put on a piece of paper."

The NHL desperately wants to make a deal in the next month, before corporate sponsors pull their support and ESPN decides what to do with an option on its contract with the league. The players, in turn, are just as keen to end a lockout that has cost them over $1 billion US in lost salaries. The league lost over $2 billion in revenues.

The union and the league are trying to find common ground on what constitutes revenue in order to flesh out the union's April 4 offer. That system featured an upper and lower limit on team-by-team payrolls - a salary cap - which fluctuates year to year depending on revenues.

In the meantime, Boston hedge fund Bain Capital continues its determined effort to buy the damaged league. Word came last week that Bain upped its offer from $3.3 billion in March to $4.3 billion to buy all 30 teams. But sources indicated Tuesday that the NHL has no interest in the offer.

Cheers,Aquaman