- Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: Don Cherry thinks the NHL will be shut down for 2 months,
“I’m afraid it looks like two months. Everybody’s talking that they’re going to be out two months,” Cherry said after the walk Friday evening. “It’s a lockout, it’s a shame. Everybody’s making money but everybody wants more money, and wouldn’t you? And that’s the way it works. It’s too bad.
“It’s hard to believe we’re going to miss hockey for two months.”
- David Giambusso and Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: The Devils nor the NHL would confirm the NY Post report that owner Jeff Vanderbeek had an imminent 2 year deal with the lenders on refinancing a loan. A lockout would further complicate Vanderbeek’s situation,
“Until you know what the final parameters of the collective bargaining agreement are, it’s pure speculation to engage in any sort of discussion of what the Devils revenues and expenses could be,” said Scott Rosner, a sports business professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “My sense is that the parties in these negotiations have no idea how things are going to line up.”
Two people close to the situation were skeptical of the Post report. They did acknowledge that it’s possible that something occurs in the next week, but they have been negotiating similar settlements for over a year with nothing happening.
- Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free-Press: There may come a time when the Jets and Evander Kane halt negotiations until a new CBA is in place. Both sides aren’t saying anything about the matter. The Jets had put a 6 year, $29 million on the table back in July. Kane’s side is looking for a Jeff Skinner deal (6 years, $34 million), while the Jets are looking for a Max Pacioretty deal (6 years, $27 million).
- Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Devils forward David Clarkson played in the playoffs with a fractured foot that didn’t know about.
“I had a bad foot at the beginning of the playoffis, and I hurt it again at the end,” Clarkson said yesterday. “Emotions are high during the playoffs and you can play through it, but then you realize you’re still sore a couple of weeks after it’s over. It was a fracture so I just stayed off it and relaxed this summer, if you can call it that. You can call me a sore loser.”
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings have cancelled the annual prospect camp that is held in Traverse City. GM Ken Holland,
“we had a conference call with all the teams involved. Due to the uncertainty of CBA negotiations and teams having to make commitments for hotel rooms and travel plans — the biggest thing is the hotel rooms. The people Up North needed to know if the rooms would be used or not. So we made the decision to cancel for 2012. We plan to be back next year.”
The Wings, Sabres, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Stars, Wild, Rangers and Blues were to take part in the tournament.
