Yes nice problem to have. Doubt we'll see a dynasty in ever again. If they somehow end up with the number 1 pick again this year...I would definitely look to trade for a goalie or trade down for multiple picks...all those high draft picks eat away at payroll and cap space. Hall won't be much good if he doesn't stay healthy. I followed his junior career...10 minutes away...does he still crash and bang? That's what he did in Windsor...I would hope he'd be a little more careful in the NHL.
Ya he does....that was always the knock on him - the possibility that he wouldn't be able to stay healthy because his style of play in junior would be suicidal in the NHL. He fearlessly pursues the puck into corners, behind the net, crashes on rushes.....He hasn't changed his game....two injuries were freak accidents (one was a fall during a fight, of all things, the other a skate to the face by a team mate in warmup)....but another was def caused by not having his head up. He does get flattened often - prob once a game.....So the jury is still out on whether he can continue playing his style without being killed. He's so exciting to watch tho....SO fast, and every shift he has an impact. The opposing team has to completely alter their defence to keep up with him....opens up a lot of space. I'm not too worried about him, I think he has the talent and resilience to be a star for years to come.
Also, don't discount Dubnyk as an NHL starter....he's just coming up on the age that goalies reach full potential....he had great numbers last year for being on a shitty team (think he was top 5 in save %).....this year (or next, I guess) will be the make-or-break for him.
The unsentimental analysts at Bain had exposed the uncomfortable fact about NHL lockouts, then and now: They're proxy wars between big markets and small markets.
And so you see, I have come to doubt All that I once held as true I stand alone without beliefs The only truth I know is you.
MONTREAL - Major junior hockey players have threatened to sue their leagues if they don't get minimum wage and benefits, QMI Agency has learned.
The Canadian Hockey League Players' Association, led by former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque, has served notice to owners and general managers of every team in the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.
The six-page letter on behalf of current and former players alleges "serious and ongoing violation" of labour, pension and employment insurance laws.
Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson and CHL commissioner David Branch also got letters.
The players union was formed during the summer, as QMI Agency reported in August, after being in the works for a year.
Laraque says the fact the federal government considers junior hockey players to be employees means they're entitled to salaries and things like vacation pay.
"In reality, the players don't want to fight in court against the owners to have minimum wage," Laraque told QMI Agency.
"They simply want the best possible conditions."
The topic came up briefly at an OHL board of governors meeting in the summer, but Branch said it was only "speculation" and "rumours."
Junior hockey players, most of whom are 15 to 20 years of age, make up the majority of NHL draftees every year but they're not paid a full salary despite the for-profit nature of their teams.
Most players earn $35 to $50 a week -- an amount that hasn't changed for 50 years.
The player's lodging, schooling and food costs are covered by their team but the union also wants minimum wage, overtime, severance pay and other benefits.
Laraque says league officials have refused to discuss salary issues. He says players who have tried to raise the issue with their bosses have been subject to intimidation tactics.
"We have proof that certain players received threats," he said.
The former bruiser says current players have been meeting since the summer but would prefer to remain anonymous for now.
"I'm only doing what (players) asked me," Laraque said. "We have members everywhere in Canada and we'll let you know more about this soon."
Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Hockey Canada in Calgary, confirmed that the organization had received the letter and was reviewing it. The CHL did not return messages.
=-=-=-=-=-=
EXCERPTS FROM CHLPA LEGAL NOTICE IN ONTARIO:
"We are writing concerning the serious and ongoing violations by the OHL and all its member teams of the minimum employment legislative standards. More specifically, there have been, and continue to be, flagrant breaches of the Employment Standards Act (Ontario), the Canada Pension Plan and the Employment Insurance Act."
LETTER ALLEGES OHL HAS FAILED TO:
-Pay the players at least minimum wage
-Pay the players at least time and a half if they work more than 44 hours a week
-Pay the players vacation pay
-Pay the players holiday pay
-Pay the players severance pay
-Make CPP and EI contributions on players' behalf
"We will take the necessary legal action should the OHL or any team take any reprisal action, directly or indirectly, against any player(s) for exercising their legislative rights and remedies."
"Should you wish to resolve this matter please contact us immediately. Otherwise we have been instructed to redress these matters with legal intervention and will be doing so quite expeditiously."
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Cancellation of Winter Classic could be sign of doom for NHL season
Three hundred and twenty-six regular-season games have been hacked from the schedule, but Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports consultant, said the fate of one specific game will be more telling than all the rest: “The Winter Classic has become the single most important event put on by the National Hockey League in the United States.”
And according to reports, that game could be removed from the schedule as early as next week. On Friday, the NHL announced it was cancelling games through the end of November because of its ongoing lockout of the players.
“It would be detrimental, but more for what it indicates about the season than about the one event itself,” said Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd. “Because if they cancelled the Winter Classic, there will be a greater perception that the entire season might be cancelled.”
Related
NHL slices another month from the schedule as lockout talks stall
‘No contact’: NHL and players give each other the silent treatment
When asked if the game was at risk of facing the chopping block as early as Monday, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly responded via email: “That’s not the current plan.”
The sixth edition of the Winter Classic is scheduled to be the most ambitious yet, with the Toronto Maple Leafs facing the Detroit Red Wings inside the 115,000-seat University of Michigan stadium. A festival has been planned around the event, along with junior games and a host of other attractions built around the popular New Year’s Day game.
According to the contract the league signed with the university — the details of which were published in a story by The New York Times earlier this year — the NHL is paying US$2.85-million to the school for the use of the facility. But the NHL has the ability to cancel the game up to the day of the event itself, “due to any work stoppage or other activity including a strike, work action, lockout or any other events arising” after the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players expired on Sept. 15.
If the NHL cancels by Nov. 2, it only owes the school US$100,000.
“If I’m the NHL, you’re trying to make the Winter Classic occur, even if it’s your first game,” said Michael Cramer, a former president of the Dallas Stars now teaching at the University of Texas. “There’s just no reason to cancel it next week. You don’t have to. The NHL doesn’t need that long to get in shape and ready to go.”
It is increasingly difficult to determine the shape of the negotiations, though. The NHL has withdrawn a proposal it made last week — a proposal it made public one day after it was presented to the union — and it is not clear when the two sides will meet again.
George Smith, a Queen’s University professor and former labour negotiator, suggested the NHL leaked word of a potential cancellation for a reason. Smith said the move to release the proposal to the public was an unusual step and that he believes “some of this tactic is actually to distract from that and get back to their agenda and get the owners all on board.”
So what of the Winter Classic, then?
“It’s a great thing for the NHL, and you sure wouldn’t want to cancel it,” Cramer said. “Having said that, is it in the end of the world? No. In the whole scheme of things, I think having a season is much more important than the Winter Classic.”
I disagree with the timing of the cancellation...in fairness this will be the best winter classic ever and biggest so they'll need to make a decision sooner than later...and in fairness to all the fans that are attending the game over the holidays i'm sure they'd like to know...of course when did the fans ever matter to the NHL.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
MONTREAL - Major junior hockey players have threatened to sue their leagues if they don't get minimum wage and benefits, QMI Agency has learned.
The Canadian Hockey League Players' Association, led by former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque, has served notice to owners and general managers of every team in the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.
The six-page letter on behalf of current and former players alleges "serious and ongoing violation" of labour, pension and employment insurance laws.
Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson and CHL commissioner David Branch also got letters.
The players union was formed during the summer, as QMI Agency reported in August, after being in the works for a year.
Laraque says the fact the federal government considers junior hockey players to be employees means they're entitled to salaries and things like vacation pay.
"In reality, the players don't want to fight in court against the owners to have minimum wage," Laraque told QMI Agency.
"They simply want the best possible conditions."
The topic came up briefly at an OHL board of governors meeting in the summer, but Branch said it was only "speculation" and "rumours."
Junior hockey players, most of whom are 15 to 20 years of age, make up the majority of NHL draftees every year but they're not paid a full salary despite the for-profit nature of their teams.
Most players earn $35 to $50 a week -- an amount that hasn't changed for 50 years.
The player's lodging, schooling and food costs are covered by their team but the union also wants minimum wage, overtime, severance pay and other benefits.
Laraque says league officials have refused to discuss salary issues. He says players who have tried to raise the issue with their bosses have been subject to intimidation tactics.
"We have proof that certain players received threats," he said.
The former bruiser says current players have been meeting since the summer but would prefer to remain anonymous for now.
"I'm only doing what (players) asked me," Laraque said. "We have members everywhere in Canada and we'll let you know more about this soon."
Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Hockey Canada in Calgary, confirmed that the organization had received the letter and was reviewing it. The CHL did not return messages.
=-=-=-=-=-=
EXCERPTS FROM CHLPA LEGAL NOTICE IN ONTARIO:
"We are writing concerning the serious and ongoing violations by the OHL and all its member teams of the minimum employment legislative standards. More specifically, there have been, and continue to be, flagrant breaches of the Employment Standards Act (Ontario), the Canada Pension Plan and the Employment Insurance Act."
LETTER ALLEGES OHL HAS FAILED TO:
-Pay the players at least minimum wage
-Pay the players at least time and a half if they work more than 44 hours a week
-Pay the players vacation pay
-Pay the players holiday pay
-Pay the players severance pay
-Make CPP and EI contributions on players' behalf
"We will take the necessary legal action should the OHL or any team take any reprisal action, directly or indirectly, against any player(s) for exercising their legislative rights and remedies."
"Should you wish to resolve this matter please contact us immediately. Otherwise we have been instructed to redress these matters with legal intervention and will be doing so quite expeditiously."
This is getting ridiculous. You don't like playing juniors go play college hockey. Oh yeah, you won't get paid there either. I only played through high school and our school charged admission to teh games. I guess I should have held out. :fp:
MONTREAL - Major junior hockey players have threatened to sue their leagues if they don't get minimum wage and benefits, QMI Agency has learned.
The Canadian Hockey League Players' Association, led by former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque, has served notice to owners and general managers of every team in the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.
The six-page letter on behalf of current and former players alleges "serious and ongoing violation" of labour, pension and employment insurance laws.
Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson and CHL commissioner David Branch also got letters.
The players union was formed during the summer, as QMI Agency reported in August, after being in the works for a year.
Laraque says the fact the federal government considers junior hockey players to be employees means they're entitled to salaries and things like vacation pay.
"In reality, the players don't want to fight in court against the owners to have minimum wage," Laraque told QMI Agency.
"They simply want the best possible conditions."
The topic came up briefly at an OHL board of governors meeting in the summer, but Branch said it was only "speculation" and "rumours."
Junior hockey players, most of whom are 15 to 20 years of age, make up the majority of NHL draftees every year but they're not paid a full salary despite the for-profit nature of their teams.
Most players earn $35 to $50 a week -- an amount that hasn't changed for 50 years.
The player's lodging, schooling and food costs are covered by their team but the union also wants minimum wage, overtime, severance pay and other benefits.
Laraque says league officials have refused to discuss salary issues. He says players who have tried to raise the issue with their bosses have been subject to intimidation tactics.
"We have proof that certain players received threats," he said.
The former bruiser says current players have been meeting since the summer but would prefer to remain anonymous for now.
"I'm only doing what (players) asked me," Laraque said. "We have members everywhere in Canada and we'll let you know more about this soon."
Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Hockey Canada in Calgary, confirmed that the organization had received the letter and was reviewing it. The CHL did not return messages.
=-=-=-=-=-=
EXCERPTS FROM CHLPA LEGAL NOTICE IN ONTARIO:
"We are writing concerning the serious and ongoing violations by the OHL and all its member teams of the minimum employment legislative standards. More specifically, there have been, and continue to be, flagrant breaches of the Employment Standards Act (Ontario), the Canada Pension Plan and the Employment Insurance Act."
LETTER ALLEGES OHL HAS FAILED TO:
-Pay the players at least minimum wage
-Pay the players at least time and a half if they work more than 44 hours a week
-Pay the players vacation pay
-Pay the players holiday pay
-Pay the players severance pay
-Make CPP and EI contributions on players' behalf
"We will take the necessary legal action should the OHL or any team take any reprisal action, directly or indirectly, against any player(s) for exercising their legislative rights and remedies."
"Should you wish to resolve this matter please contact us immediately. Otherwise we have been instructed to redress these matters with legal intervention and will be doing so quite expeditiously."
This is getting ridiculous. You don't like playing juniors go play college hockey. Oh yeah, you won't get paid there either. I only played through high school and our school charged admission to teh games. I guess I should have held out. :fp:
College hockey sucks...imo...besides most of the best hockey players come out of the CHL.
with that being said many junior clubs in Canada would have a tough time providing all this...there are some teams that could...and then there'd be a big competitive unbalance...I think it's always been a given that you play junior hockey for the development of your skills with the long shot hope of a NHL career.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
College hockey sucks...imo...besides most of the best hockey players come out of the CHL.
with that being said many junior clubs in Canada would have a tough time providing all this...there are some teams that could...and then there'd be a big competitive unbalance...I think it's always been a given that you play junior hockey for the development of your skills with the long shot hope of a NHL career.
I like college hockey. I'm lucky I have two decent programs where I live now with Union and RPI.
College hockey sucks...imo...besides most of the best hockey players come out of the CHL.
with that being said many junior clubs in Canada would have a tough time providing all this...there are some teams that could...and then there'd be a big competitive unbalance...I think it's always been a given that you play junior hockey for the development of your skills with the long shot hope of a NHL career.
I like college hockey. I'm lucky I have two decent programs where I live now with Union and RPI.
It's like watching female hockey... .
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
College hockey sucks...imo...besides most of the best hockey players come out of the CHL.
with that being said many junior clubs in Canada would have a tough time providing all this...there are some teams that could...and then there'd be a big competitive unbalance...I think it's always been a given that you play junior hockey for the development of your skills with the long shot hope of a NHL career.
I like college hockey. I'm lucky I have two decent programs where I live now with Union and RPI.
Some of us in Canada still like our hockey tough, don't mind a good scrap...I just don't like the cheap shots to the head, clutching and grabbing and all the lovely stick work.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Although there was limited communication between NHL Players' Association special counsel Steve Fehr and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly over the weekend, the stalemate between the sides continues, making it likely that the Winter Classic will be canceled.
Daly said Monday that the two sides had no plans to meet but that the league is ready and willing to meet as soon as necessary.
"No new news. We withdrew our most recent proposal on Friday, and now we are spending time thinking about our next proposal and how best to get closer to a resolution," Daly said by email. "We hope the union is doing the same thing. Given the fact that the union refused even to discuss our last proposal, it would appear that we still have a large gulf to bridge."
The league and union have not resumed negotiations since swapping proposals in Toronto almost two weeks ago, and it seems clear that the impasse is not close to ending.
Fehr denied that the union is not willing to play ball.
"Since the last bargaining meeting on Oct. 18, we have consistently made it clear to the League that we are ready to meet and are willing to discuss all ideas, certainly including their last proposal," he told ESPN.com. "The league has unfortunately continued to decline to meet. Their position makes it difficult to move the process forward, as it is obviously hard to make progress without talking."
Since rejecting the union's trio of proposals, the league has made two rounds of game cancellations. The latest, announced on Friday, wiped out the regular-season schedule for November. A source familiar with the league's plan told ESPNNewYork.com that the league is expected to cancel the Winter Classic on Thursday, the source said.
Even if tensions between the two sides thaw, Mother Nature would make it tough for the sides to resume negotiations in New York this week because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The storm is moving in to the city later Monday; mass transit and schools have been suspended, and the city has ordered hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
NHLPA executive director Don Fehr is back in Toronto, the union's nerve center. Fehr had plans to fly to Minnesota to meet with players on Monday.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Good thing the NBA is starting up soon, and by the time it and football are done, spring training starts.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
my suggestion to everyone is to take the time they would've spent watching games, highlights, checking stats, reading game summaries and blogs and pick up a hobby ... who knows - by the time this thing gets settled you may know a whole new language or play the entire neil young catalogue on pan flute ...
Barring unexpected progress in the NHL's labour talks this week, the league's signature Jan. 1 event will follow the 326 regular-season games already wiped from the schedule. The formal cancellation is expected to be made by Friday, according to a source, just ahead of a deadline built into the NHL's contract with the University of Michigan.
The deal struck with the school for the rental of Michigan Stadium last February included a "work stoppage cancellation" clause that allows the NHL to call off the game as late as Friday for a penalty of $100,000 — an amount it has already paid as a deposit.
If a cancellation comes Nov. 3 or after, the league would also have to reimburse the university for any "out-of-pocket expenses reasonably occurred" in connection with the outdoor game.
This year's Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings was billed as the biggest in the event's six-year history. Organizers were expecting a crowd that would eclipse the world record of 104,173 who attended the "Big Chill" NCAA game at the University of Michigan in 2010 and an increased number of secondary events — including alumni, junior, college and American Hockey Leagues games — were slated for a second outdoor venue at Comerica Park in Detroit.
A source indicated that they wouldn't be held if the Winter Classic was cancelled.
In addition to the contractual commitments to the University of Michigan, the NHL must be mindful of sponsors who have been left out in the cold during the lockout. Not only is the outdoor game an important event on their schedule, it's one that requires a lot of planning.
"While the game may be Jan. 1, I knew that (a decision on the Winter Classic) was coming sooner than people thought," sports marketer Brian Cooper said Monday. "Say you're a bank and you're going to bring down your top 150 wealth management clients and they're going to block off New Year's Day — you have to give that a lot of advance, especially if it's New Year's Day."
Cooper, the president and CEO of S&E Sponsorship Group, represents a number of corporate clients who do business with the NHL.
He views the pending cancellation of the Winter Classic as a significant moment in the league's ongoing labour dispute. The game at Michigan's "Big House" was one he thought had a tremendous amount of potential because of the inclusion of the Maple Leafs, the first Canadian team to participate.
"This is the first year that it really affects Canada," said Cooper. "There was going to be a lot of in-market (sponsorship) activations, there were going to be a lot of hosting opportunities, there were going to be consumer promotions. ...
"This was a big date."
The NHL and NHL Players' Association have been locked in a stalemate since last meeting on Oct. 18. Both sides indicated Monday that there are no plans to resume negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The league has already cancelled all of its regular-season games through Nov. 30 and deputy commissioner Bill Daly estimated it will have lost US$720 million in revenue if they are never played.
Losing the Winter Classic would further add to that total. Cooper estimated this season's event was poised to generate about $3 million in corporate sponsorships, not to mention revenue lost from ticket and merchandise sales that are unmatched on any other single day during the NHL season.
The NHL made a big splash when it announced details of the 2013 Winter Classic back in February, with Leafs and Red Wings alumni in attendance and commissioner Gary Bettman predicting the two Original Six rivals would take the event "to a new record-setting level."
The league's $3-million rental fee for Michigan Stadium was to be made in five payments, with the next $250,000 instalment due on Friday. It's unlikely that money will ever change hands.
Speculation has surrounded the Winter Classic since the lockout began on Sept. 15 and the league has acknowledged publicly that a decision about the event needed to be made sooner than later.
"It takes a lot of time and it takes the commitment of a lot of money in order to put on the Winter Classic," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said earlier this month. "My understanding is at some point in the not-too-distant future we will have to commit many millions of dollars if we're going to play the Winter Classic on Jan. 1. Obviously under these circumstances and all the uncertainty, we're not going to commit the many millions of dollars if we don't think we're going to have a deal.
"And so the Winter Classic timeframe, in terms of making that decision, is probably rapidly approaching."
I have a feeling that if the season is canceled, more then the winter classic will be gone (bettman) hmmm.....
i think this is driven by the owners ... the owners got a great deal with the nba so, i think a lot of them are buoyed by that and figure the union will break ... a lot of nba owners own nhl teams too ...
I think if the lock out goes to near the end of January the season will be lost...the players will have very little incentive...they will have already lost a good chunk of their salary and they don't make ton in the playoffs (bonus money). I don't know why holding out into the new year why they'd cave then.
As long as the NHL remains the only true professional league the players will always be in tough against the owners.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
once the winter classic is gone ... might as well consider it a lost season ...
They only lose 100k if they cancel Friday...they'll just move the winter classic to the following year.
Cancelling the winter classic hurts the little guy...I know here in Windsor they expected hotels to be booked for the weekend, not to mention hotels in Detroit area, bars, restaurants etc.. That's who I feel sorry for the little guys.
I have certain rules I live by ... My First Rule ... I don't believe anything the government tells me ... George Carlin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Let's have the players go on a barnstorming session!
That'd be great.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
Comments
Also, don't discount Dubnyk as an NHL starter....he's just coming up on the age that goalies reach full potential....he had great numbers last year for being on a shitty team (think he was top 5 in save %).....this year (or next, I guess) will be the make-or-break for him.
http://deadspin.com/5939623/where-would ... ue-in-2005
The unsentimental analysts at Bain had exposed the uncomfortable fact about NHL lockouts, then and now: They're proxy wars between big markets and small markets.
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
JUNIOR HOCKEY
CHLers demand minimum wage, threaten lawsuit
http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2012/10/ ... en-lawsuit
MONTREAL - Major junior hockey players have threatened to sue their leagues if they don't get minimum wage and benefits, QMI Agency has learned.
The Canadian Hockey League Players' Association, led by former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque, has served notice to owners and general managers of every team in the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.
The six-page letter on behalf of current and former players alleges "serious and ongoing violation" of labour, pension and employment insurance laws.
Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson and CHL commissioner David Branch also got letters.
The players union was formed during the summer, as QMI Agency reported in August, after being in the works for a year.
Laraque says the fact the federal government considers junior hockey players to be employees means they're entitled to salaries and things like vacation pay.
"In reality, the players don't want to fight in court against the owners to have minimum wage," Laraque told QMI Agency.
"They simply want the best possible conditions."
The topic came up briefly at an OHL board of governors meeting in the summer, but Branch said it was only "speculation" and "rumours."
Junior hockey players, most of whom are 15 to 20 years of age, make up the majority of NHL draftees every year but they're not paid a full salary despite the for-profit nature of their teams.
Most players earn $35 to $50 a week -- an amount that hasn't changed for 50 years.
The player's lodging, schooling and food costs are covered by their team but the union also wants minimum wage, overtime, severance pay and other benefits.
Laraque says league officials have refused to discuss salary issues. He says players who have tried to raise the issue with their bosses have been subject to intimidation tactics.
"We have proof that certain players received threats," he said.
The former bruiser says current players have been meeting since the summer but would prefer to remain anonymous for now.
"I'm only doing what (players) asked me," Laraque said. "We have members everywhere in Canada and we'll let you know more about this soon."
Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Hockey Canada in Calgary, confirmed that the organization had received the letter and was reviewing it. The CHL did not return messages.
=-=-=-=-=-=
EXCERPTS FROM CHLPA LEGAL NOTICE IN ONTARIO:
"We are writing concerning the serious and ongoing violations by the OHL and all its member teams of the minimum employment legislative standards. More specifically, there have been, and continue to be, flagrant breaches of the Employment Standards Act (Ontario), the Canada Pension Plan and the Employment Insurance Act."
LETTER ALLEGES OHL HAS FAILED TO:
-Pay the players at least minimum wage
-Pay the players at least time and a half if they work more than 44 hours a week
-Pay the players vacation pay
-Pay the players holiday pay
-Pay the players severance pay
-Make CPP and EI contributions on players' behalf
"We will take the necessary legal action should the OHL or any team take any reprisal action, directly or indirectly, against any player(s) for exercising their legislative rights and remedies."
"Should you wish to resolve this matter please contact us immediately. Otherwise we have been instructed to redress these matters with legal intervention and will be doing so quite expeditiously."
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Sammi: Wanna just break up?
Cancellation of Winter Classic could be sign of doom for NHL season
Three hundred and twenty-six regular-season games have been hacked from the schedule, but Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports consultant, said the fate of one specific game will be more telling than all the rest: “The Winter Classic has become the single most important event put on by the National Hockey League in the United States.”
And according to reports, that game could be removed from the schedule as early as next week. On Friday, the NHL announced it was cancelling games through the end of November because of its ongoing lockout of the players.
“It would be detrimental, but more for what it indicates about the season than about the one event itself,” said Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd. “Because if they cancelled the Winter Classic, there will be a greater perception that the entire season might be cancelled.”
Related
NHL slices another month from the schedule as lockout talks stall
‘No contact’: NHL and players give each other the silent treatment
When asked if the game was at risk of facing the chopping block as early as Monday, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly responded via email: “That’s not the current plan.”
The sixth edition of the Winter Classic is scheduled to be the most ambitious yet, with the Toronto Maple Leafs facing the Detroit Red Wings inside the 115,000-seat University of Michigan stadium. A festival has been planned around the event, along with junior games and a host of other attractions built around the popular New Year’s Day game.
According to the contract the league signed with the university — the details of which were published in a story by The New York Times earlier this year — the NHL is paying US$2.85-million to the school for the use of the facility. But the NHL has the ability to cancel the game up to the day of the event itself, “due to any work stoppage or other activity including a strike, work action, lockout or any other events arising” after the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players expired on Sept. 15.
If the NHL cancels by Nov. 2, it only owes the school US$100,000.
“If I’m the NHL, you’re trying to make the Winter Classic occur, even if it’s your first game,” said Michael Cramer, a former president of the Dallas Stars now teaching at the University of Texas. “There’s just no reason to cancel it next week. You don’t have to. The NHL doesn’t need that long to get in shape and ready to go.”
It is increasingly difficult to determine the shape of the negotiations, though. The NHL has withdrawn a proposal it made last week — a proposal it made public one day after it was presented to the union — and it is not clear when the two sides will meet again.
George Smith, a Queen’s University professor and former labour negotiator, suggested the NHL leaked word of a potential cancellation for a reason. Smith said the move to release the proposal to the public was an unusual step and that he believes “some of this tactic is actually to distract from that and get back to their agenda and get the owners all on board.”
So what of the Winter Classic, then?
“It’s a great thing for the NHL, and you sure wouldn’t want to cancel it,” Cramer said. “Having said that, is it in the end of the world? No. In the whole scheme of things, I think having a season is much more important than the Winter Classic.”
I disagree with the timing of the cancellation...in fairness this will be the best winter classic ever and biggest so they'll need to make a decision sooner than later...and in fairness to all the fans that are attending the game over the holidays i'm sure they'd like to know...of course when did the fans ever matter to the NHL.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
This is getting ridiculous. You don't like playing juniors go play college hockey. Oh yeah, you won't get paid there either. I only played through high school and our school charged admission to teh games. I guess I should have held out. :fp:
College hockey sucks...imo...besides most of the best hockey players come out of the CHL.
with that being said many junior clubs in Canada would have a tough time providing all this...there are some teams that could...and then there'd be a big competitive unbalance...I think it's always been a given that you play junior hockey for the development of your skills with the long shot hope of a NHL career.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
I like college hockey. I'm lucky I have two decent programs where I live now with Union and RPI.
It's like watching female hockey...
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
It Cananda it probably is. Not here though.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
grrr
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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Labor sides have no plans to meet
Although there was limited communication between NHL Players' Association special counsel Steve Fehr and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly over the weekend, the stalemate between the sides continues, making it likely that the Winter Classic will be canceled.
Daly said Monday that the two sides had no plans to meet but that the league is ready and willing to meet as soon as necessary.
"No new news. We withdrew our most recent proposal on Friday, and now we are spending time thinking about our next proposal and how best to get closer to a resolution," Daly said by email. "We hope the union is doing the same thing. Given the fact that the union refused even to discuss our last proposal, it would appear that we still have a large gulf to bridge."
The league and union have not resumed negotiations since swapping proposals in Toronto almost two weeks ago, and it seems clear that the impasse is not close to ending.
Fehr denied that the union is not willing to play ball.
"Since the last bargaining meeting on Oct. 18, we have consistently made it clear to the League that we are ready to meet and are willing to discuss all ideas, certainly including their last proposal," he told ESPN.com. "The league has unfortunately continued to decline to meet. Their position makes it difficult to move the process forward, as it is obviously hard to make progress without talking."
Since rejecting the union's trio of proposals, the league has made two rounds of game cancellations. The latest, announced on Friday, wiped out the regular-season schedule for November. A source familiar with the league's plan told ESPNNewYork.com that the league is expected to cancel the Winter Classic on Thursday, the source said.
Even if tensions between the two sides thaw, Mother Nature would make it tough for the sides to resume negotiations in New York this week because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The storm is moving in to the city later Monday; mass transit and schools have been suspended, and the city has ordered hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
NHLPA executive director Don Fehr is back in Toronto, the union's nerve center. Fehr had plans to fly to Minnesota to meet with players on Monday.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Barring unexpected progress in the NHL's labour talks this week, the league's signature Jan. 1 event will follow the 326 regular-season games already wiped from the schedule. The formal cancellation is expected to be made by Friday, according to a source, just ahead of a deadline built into the NHL's contract with the University of Michigan.
The deal struck with the school for the rental of Michigan Stadium last February included a "work stoppage cancellation" clause that allows the NHL to call off the game as late as Friday for a penalty of $100,000 — an amount it has already paid as a deposit.
If a cancellation comes Nov. 3 or after, the league would also have to reimburse the university for any "out-of-pocket expenses reasonably occurred" in connection with the outdoor game.
This year's Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings was billed as the biggest in the event's six-year history. Organizers were expecting a crowd that would eclipse the world record of 104,173 who attended the "Big Chill" NCAA game at the University of Michigan in 2010 and an increased number of secondary events — including alumni, junior, college and American Hockey Leagues games — were slated for a second outdoor venue at Comerica Park in Detroit.
A source indicated that they wouldn't be held if the Winter Classic was cancelled.
In addition to the contractual commitments to the University of Michigan, the NHL must be mindful of sponsors who have been left out in the cold during the lockout. Not only is the outdoor game an important event on their schedule, it's one that requires a lot of planning.
"While the game may be Jan. 1, I knew that (a decision on the Winter Classic) was coming sooner than people thought," sports marketer Brian Cooper said Monday. "Say you're a bank and you're going to bring down your top 150 wealth management clients and they're going to block off New Year's Day — you have to give that a lot of advance, especially if it's New Year's Day."
Cooper, the president and CEO of S&E Sponsorship Group, represents a number of corporate clients who do business with the NHL.
He views the pending cancellation of the Winter Classic as a significant moment in the league's ongoing labour dispute. The game at Michigan's "Big House" was one he thought had a tremendous amount of potential because of the inclusion of the Maple Leafs, the first Canadian team to participate.
"This is the first year that it really affects Canada," said Cooper. "There was going to be a lot of in-market (sponsorship) activations, there were going to be a lot of hosting opportunities, there were going to be consumer promotions. ...
"This was a big date."
The NHL and NHL Players' Association have been locked in a stalemate since last meeting on Oct. 18. Both sides indicated Monday that there are no plans to resume negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The league has already cancelled all of its regular-season games through Nov. 30 and deputy commissioner Bill Daly estimated it will have lost US$720 million in revenue if they are never played.
Losing the Winter Classic would further add to that total. Cooper estimated this season's event was poised to generate about $3 million in corporate sponsorships, not to mention revenue lost from ticket and merchandise sales that are unmatched on any other single day during the NHL season.
The NHL made a big splash when it announced details of the 2013 Winter Classic back in February, with Leafs and Red Wings alumni in attendance and commissioner Gary Bettman predicting the two Original Six rivals would take the event "to a new record-setting level."
The league's $3-million rental fee for Michigan Stadium was to be made in five payments, with the next $250,000 instalment due on Friday. It's unlikely that money will ever change hands.
Speculation has surrounded the Winter Classic since the lockout began on Sept. 15 and the league has acknowledged publicly that a decision about the event needed to be made sooner than later.
"It takes a lot of time and it takes the commitment of a lot of money in order to put on the Winter Classic," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said earlier this month. "My understanding is at some point in the not-too-distant future we will have to commit many millions of dollars if we're going to play the Winter Classic on Jan. 1. Obviously under these circumstances and all the uncertainty, we're not going to commit the many millions of dollars if we don't think we're going to have a deal.
"And so the Winter Classic timeframe, in terms of making that decision, is probably rapidly approaching."
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/hockey/nhlne ... z2AjEhsQWU
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Hartford 5-13-06, 6-27-08, 10-25-13
Mansfield, MA 6-30-08, 6-28-08, 7-2-03, 7-3-03, 7-11-03, 8-29-00, 8-30-00, 9-15-98, 9-16-98
Worcester 10-15-13, 10-16-13
I have a feeling that if the season is canceled, more then the winter classic will be gone (bettman) hmmm.....
i think this is driven by the owners ... the owners got a great deal with the nba so, i think a lot of them are buoyed by that and figure the union will break ... a lot of nba owners own nhl teams too ...
As long as the NHL remains the only true professional league the players will always be in tough against the owners.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
They only lose 100k if they cancel Friday...they'll just move the winter classic to the following year.
Cancelling the winter classic hurts the little guy...I know here in Windsor they expected hotels to be booked for the weekend, not to mention hotels in Detroit area, bars, restaurants etc.. That's who I feel sorry for the little guys.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
And fuck these guys. I think I will follow NCAA Basketball this year
Yep. Fuck everybody. Owners and players. All of them make me sick.
Not a bad idea with focusing on NCAA hoops this year. I need something to fill this hockey void
Figure this shit out, dummies.