NHL cancels part of October schedule, other Leaflets
By Cam Charron
11 years ago
This isn’t the first time that the NHL has cancelled the schedule, but it’s the first time that they’ve cancelled regular season games in 2012. Last season, the NBA cancelled games, not the schedule, but the actual, legitimate games, 34 days in advance. The NHL is about a fortnight behind.
According to the NBA last season, it would take about 30 days to get everything ready between agreement and the start of the season. The NHL, presumably, will need 20 days to get everything in order, which includes creating a new schedule. Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy notes that the NHL has only cancelled the schedule, so the chance of an 82-game season is theoretically possible, but the dates on the calendar that you may have circled beforehand can go in the trash now. Even if there is a season, the schedule will have to be re-done.
Why does this matter? I don’t know. We’ve already resigned to the fact that we’re going to miss the first three months of the season. If there isn’t a deal after December 1st, I’ll legitimately be worried. There is simply no more leverage on either side than their was last week. Concessions equal blinking at this stage, and the winner of the staring context gets an extra slice of the $1-billion pie that separate the two sides.
In the meantime, the CBC is offering fans the chance to vote on classic games to be shown Saturday nights. It would be nice if the national broadcaster followed the private networks’ lead and started showing more junior hockey and American Hockey League games, but the NHL brand is simply too strong for the average fan to pass up. The Nikolai Borschevsky game is on the list.
Just don’t vote for that 1994 New York-New Jersey game.
Leaflets
- Let’s get away from slagging owners and players and get back on Brian Burke. This is a couple of days old, but I wanted to link to it at some point because it’s a good discussion on how much time Burke has left in Toronto. [Vintage Leaf Memories]
- James Mirtle and Dallas Eakins talk Marlies. Nothing about Fat Kadri in there, affirmation that Ben Scrivens is the #1 and that Leo Komarov will be a key player for the AHL squad. [Globe]
- But Jussi Rynnas and Mark Owuya will battle for the backup. [Kyle The Reporter]
- An online book club? Is that what we’ve stopped to in this time of crisis? [Pension Plan Puppets]
- Vesa Toskala retires for some reason. [Sportsnet]
- Around the Nations… this is Justin Azevedo over at Flames Nation about how cities value sports teams too much. With public support so shifted against the NHL and Players’, it’s amazing to think that owners are still going to ask for arena subsidies. [Flames Nation]
- Finally, the image below is Soo Greyhounds forward David Broll’s gold star from his homework assignment. He was named an assistant captain yesterday. [Soo Greyhounds]
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