NHL, union reach tentative agreement

I can feel it. The feeling of excitement at watching my beloved Red Wings :D

At long last! Can't wait for my Rangers to start dominating!!!

Not too happy about dropping the cap though. They should have dropped the floor, not the top. It's almost as if they want the poorer teams to struggle and get moved to better markets. Which should happen, but why bankrupt them first?

Anyway, great to have the NHL back. Hope it's a good, if short, season.

Let's go Rangers!!

Agree on the cap that the floor should of been dropped for the lower revenue teams. But I'm one that is waiting and hoping for the day that teams return to places like Quebec.

But I'm glad a agreement has been reached and we will see NHL Hockey again. But I'll see you in 10 years Probie when we end up going through it all again.

Kari, it won't be long before Phoenix, Nashville, Florida, Dallas or Columbus go to Quebec, or even Colorado returning there. Bring back the Whalers too; and get a team in Washington state!

I heard a rumor that the proposed re-alignment of divisions would take place next season. If that happens, they'll have to move teams before then, or it wouldn't make sense.

If nothing happens before the next CBA talks, I'm betting that the league will want to get rid of the Southern teams, because profit sharing with them is unfair- because it's not sharing, it's giving them handout because they are losing money. They'll either want to shrink the number of teams, or move them to Northern markets. Which I'm all for.

Also, I heard that in this CBA, there's no mention of playing in the Olympics or the world championships. I'm sure they will okay that, since we had to miss out on the Winter Classic and the All Star game this time round.

I hope we don't have the same mess again in 10 years. Let's hope that Don Fehr isn't around to act like a child, and Bettman has moved on to greener pastures.

I want Gretzky, Howe, Orr, Lemieux, Messier, or some other ex-player with respect as League Commissioner; and Ted Lindsay or someone like him as head of the NHLPA. Can you imagine the roar of the crowd if Gordie Howe or Bobby Hull presented the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy??? It would be amazing. Spine-tingling! Not like the chorus of boos when Bettman fumbles his way through it. Either that, or Don Cherry! ;-)

I've heard that in the agreement of whoever it is that's taking over Phoenix they will be renamed the Arizona Coyotes and part of the deal would be to keep them there for 10 years ( I think) Which is stupid because Hockey doesn't belong in the desert. Dallas aren't a bad performing team though I'm unsure of their fanbase because I don't look into them very much. While I don't think Nashville should be one of the teams to go. But I agree with bringing back the Whalers as well as the Nordiques. Just look at what happened when the Jets returned.

I hope the players play in the Olympics because that makes things that bit more special. Meanwhile with the World Champs I don't agree with players joining the national teams halfway through the tournament.

Hopefully Fehr and Bettman aren't around in the next 10 years! They could be the cause of killing the NHL. I'd love for former greats to be the League Commissioner and head of the NHLPA. I find it outrageous that we have people in charge who've never played the great game and don't understand it. Anyone of those legends that you listed I would love to see and would cheer when presenting the Stanley Cup. I'd also like to add Nicklas Lidstrom to the list because hes a fine example of a legend who remained level headed and honest throughout his career.

and as much as I hate Bettman I do feel it ruins the presentation when the fans boo. Which is why we need a legend ;)

Lidstrom is a legend, but someone like those I mentioned, or Mike Bossey, Stan Mikita or Denis Potvin, are players who everyone looks up to, even if you hate the teams they played for.

I hate the Bruins and the Penguins, but if Bobby Orr or Mario Lemieux was Commissioner- or even just handing over the Cup and Trophy- I'd be excited. With Lidstrom, even though he was an amazing player, I think there are a lot of people who would boo him just because he's a recently retired Wings player. Although, if it was him or Bettman though, I'm sure everyone would be happy with Nick doing it ;)

I hate the Bruins and the Penguins too but when it comes to Bobby Orr who I regard as one of the greatest defenders of all time and who I've based my style of play on I've got huge respect for him and would be glad to see him in of those roles. Same with many of the other greats. I'm unsure if many people would boo Lidstrom for being a former Wings player. There isn't anybody I can think of who he might of upset over his 20 seasons. Which is very rare for a player. Its funny that my favourite player of all time is Swedish when I'm Finnish and he was primarily the cause that prevented us from the gold in the 2006 Winter Olympics lol.

favourite player of all time

Steve Yzerman's name deserves to be among those mentioned, IMO.

Steve Yzerman's name deserves to be among those mentioned, IMO.

Yeah, but he's busy doing the GM stuff with the Lightening- he wasn't even interested in playing in the Winter Classic legends game apparently. So, I don't think he'd be up for it anyway. I think he's too serious too. They need someone who is a more "approachable" guy. I love Stevie Y though.

I love Steve Yzerman as well. He was a fantastic captain for the Wings. But as Probie has already mentioned he's currently the GM for the Lightning. If a legend did fill the role of Commissioner lets just hope they don't turn into what Brendan Shanahan has...

They should've Just cancel the whole season. If the fans were smart they would be writing the league and their local team telling them that they are so disgusted with the situation and that they should cancel the remainder of the season and not watch or attend the games. Right now they think we are all dummies given how most fans responded.