- Ansar Khan of MLive: Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg thinks that some players will remain overseas this year,
“I know for a fact Russians will probably stay,” Zetterberg said. “I can’t blame them either. The Russian league treats players a different way. For them to play in their home country and not have these (labor) disputes every other year … and they honor the contracts over there. If you sign a deal, that’s the deal you get.”
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Sharks Ryane Clowe on the lockout,
“Players are on the same page,” Clowe told ESPN.com Wednesday. “No one’s cracking. We’re informed and updated and guys have a good understanding of what’s going on. …
“We’re hockey players,” he added. “We’re not going to get pushed around.”
“The way I see it, if Ryan Suter or Zach Parise signed those big deals in July and then arrived at training camp and said, ‘We’re not playing until we get 20 percent more on our contract,’ there would be an uproar,” said Clowe. “The owners would say, ‘No chance.’ Well, it’s the same thing. Contracts have been signed, both the owners and the players have signed these contracts. Now they’re trying to take whatever percentage off the top? It’s all about principle. It’s a handshake and an agreement. Why did all these owners rush to sign all these players before the lockout?”
“I’m sure there are owners that want to be playing now and probably like our last proposal,” said Clowe. “Obviously Gary has done a good job keeping the reins tight. But I can’t believe how the owners are kept on the back burner like that.”
