Just got off the phone with Jeff Solomon, the Kings’ vice president of hockey operations and legal affairs — informally known as the CBA guru — who helped clarify the situation the Kings are in, in terms of assigning players to Manchester.
Essentially, on Friday at 9 p.m. Pacific, if no new labor deal has been reached, players will be locked out from the NHL. So, prior to that time, if teams want any of their players to be part of an AHL roster, they must be “loaned” to the AHL team (in the Kings’ case, the Manchester Monarchs). In terms of players who were with the Kings last season, three players — Andrei Loktionov, Jordan Nolan and Slava Voynov — can be assigned and recalled at will, without any exposure to waivers. Eight other players — Andrew Bodnarchuk, Andrew Campbell, Marc-Andre Cliche, Rich Clune, Thomas Hickey, Stefan Legein, David Meckler and Jake Muzzin — must pass through waivers in order to be loaned to Manchester. None of those players, according to Solomon, are subject to re-entry waivers, so the Kings would not be at risk of losing them once the lockout ended. They would, however, risk losing them in the next couple days, if they chose to try to loan them to Manchester. So, that’s the decision.
In a way, not much changes. Even in a normal training camp, if any of those eight players didn’t make the Kings’ opening-night roster, they would have to go through waivers. At least six of them were almost certainly headed to Manchester anyway, so they would have had to clear waivers at some point. The only difference is, the Kings have to make that choice now, rather than seeing them in training camp for a couple weeks. What if, for instance, the Kings tried to get Muzzin through waivers now, he got claimed, and then the lockout got resolved on Monday? The Kings would have lost a player for essentially no reason. In any event, the Kings don’t have much time to figure out which players they want to loan to Manchester in the event of a lockout.
In other news, the Kings signed 18-year-old defenseman Kurtis MacDermid to a standard three-year, entry-level contract. MacDermid participated in the Kings’ development camp in July. MacDermid will be headed back to the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. That much, at least, is certain right now.
Watching Game #5 of the WCF in Phoenix. What a great game that was. Quick makes a huge save, then the Yotes get a PP goal, then the Kings come back with a shorty of a face off. Kings players hitting every Yote they can find whenever they can. Just an awesome game, the kind of game they should show to the idiot owners and NHLPA reps to remind them of how good NHL hockey is.
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IN King (formerly AZ King) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
@DesertKing,
I was at that game, and it was incredible. Not just the result, but the whole atmosphere surrounding it. It was by far the best game of the series.
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DesertKing Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
@IN King (formerly AZ King),
Totally agree. Just wish I had been there too!
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luc20rules Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 8:42 pm
@DesertKing, Why would the Yotes want to come back after that beating?
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DesertKing Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
@luc20rules,
Duh!!! They are the Yote and Doan is their captain
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Go Kings Go!
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Rich, aren’t those 8 guys already at Manchester? Why would they need to “Loan” them to Manch?
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Rich Hammond Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
No, they’re not. The Manchester roster is annually set at the end of training camp. That’s why we go through all the hoops in training camp. Sixty-some guys start out in El Segundo, and then a couple weeks later, players get assigned to Manchester camp and they go through that in order to try to make the Monarchs’ roster. With the exception of a player such as Justin Johnson, who specifically signed a minor-league deal with Manchester, there are no “Monarchs,” per se, right now.
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Quisp Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 6:07 pm
@Rich Hammond,
First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the clarification. Once I started to think about it (e.g. the year LaBarbera was marooned in the AHL) I realized that everything must “re-set” every new season. The thing is, I still can’t find the language in the CBA that spells it out.
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Quisp Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
@Rich
I find the phrase “there are no Monarchs per se” to be extremely helpful and smoke-clearing. It’s interesting because the CBA does make a distinction between players in training camp who are on the Kings active roster and players who are not. That is, there may not be a Monarchs roster until it’s set after the Kings conclude their own camp, but the Kings do in fact have a training camp active roster, which by definition consists of the players who finished the previous season on the Kings’ active roster. Apparently, this is important mostly for issues of salary and pension contributions and things like that. But if memory serves, in past training camps players have gotten injured (e.g. Voynov one year, Muzzin another, Clune, too I think) and could not be put on LTIR because they weren’t on the active roster, and so were designated “injured non roster” on the Kings, until they healed, at which point they were “loaned” to Manchester. Semantics, maybe. But this is the stuff you have to wade through to figure out something as simple as what the status of players is when the season starts.
Rich Hammond Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
It has so many layers, doesn’t it? It really makes you understand why teams employ individuals specifically to master the CBA. And sometimes, even they aren’t certain. I asked Solomon what would happen if — completely hypothetically — Voynov was loaned to Manchester but wanted to play in Europe instead. He said he was pretty sure that Voynov (or any such player) would be breeching his contract, but admitted that it would be uncharted waters. It’s pretty amazing. You do yeoman’s work, sifting through the CBA to try to find answers…
Crown Royal Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 11:21 am
@KHenry14,
I think it unlikely the Kings would loan either Muzzina or Hickey to Manchester even if there’s a lockout. The other six would likely be sent out as Campbell and Cliche cleared waivers last season without being claimed.
It might be Drewiske who later goes on waivers once the season starts so the Kings can keep Muzzin who they may deem more valuable to the organization long-term. I believe DL would attempt to trade DD2 before placing him on waivers and the same for Hickey as well. In the event of an injury to one of the regular six defensemen all that could change anyway.
Muzzin has more offensive upside than DD2 and is bigger and stronger than Hickey who might not ideally be paired with Doughty, Voynov, or Martinez. Muzzin is the better fit with the current core of D-men. I like DD2 and would really hate to see Hickey leave as I think he has a chance to be a good NHL defenseman, but again Muzzin might be the better choice to keep for the reasons already stated.
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I think you loan all of them except Muzzin.
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
@2hitnik, Hickey was the FOURTH pick overall in the 2007 draft… I’d hate to see him claimed on waivers for nothing! I know that the Kings would like a do-over on that pick (at least at this point), but still
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7MILforHickey Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:48 pm
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose,
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Jeff Soloman CBA GURU! Well whats he doing here send him to New York/Toronto to get that CBA finalized so the NHL can resume business.
Thanks for the clarification on the Lockouts implications on our young players.
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
@luc20rules, I think that telephone thing can actually reach out to New York.
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Stuart Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
@Dominick (defrim65), don’t be silly!
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@Stuart, Can’t help it. Posting during the day instead of in the middle of the night leaves me unfocused, and distracted. he he he
DesertKing Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@Dominick (defrim65),
Skype. Oh, wait, sorry, it is Fehr and Bettman running the show. They would interpret “skype” as a modern form of “scalp.”
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Rich, a procedural question–gotta hate us lawyers, I know–and then a policy question.
In MLB, a player under some circumstances can be put on waivers but then the waiver recalled. Is that true here? If the Kings put Jake Muzzin (aka Mr. Example) on waivers to send him to Manchester, and someone put in a claim, could the Kings pull him back and let him sit?
Policy: every NHL team is in this same bind. At a time when ownership (and, in effect, therefore, team management) is trying to maintain solidarity, wouldn’t this be a good time for them to avoid screwing each other over by using the locket *they* have created against someone else? Would seem odd that a franchise would do that to another franchise at this point in this type of process.
Thanks.
…Mel
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variable Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
@Mel Powell,
isn’t mlb void of antitrust laws…?
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Mel Powell Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@variable, This is solely a question of the comparable waiver process, using MLB’s as an example. MLB has the anti-trust exception, yes.
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LomitaKingsFan Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
@Mel Powell, Sort of like the un-written rule among GMs to not sign other teams RFA’s to offer sheets? Well, I think we are safe on Philly not trying to poach our guys unless we try to send Drew down to Manchester
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Mel Powell Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
@LomitaKingsFan, Agreed…from the comedy perspective!
But…GMs are more than willing to rake other GMs over the coals in peacetime. This would give the *appearance* of franchises not sticking together in all aspects of the situation.
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variable Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
@Mel Powell,
it’s funny…
the whole offer sheet controversy was really perpetrated by kevin lowe, when he out-priced the market with the whole dustin penner swipe he did to anaheim and brian burke….
i think the gm’s know each other and what each team has so well, it doesn’t matter…
so teams will be stuck leaving good talent on the market…it’s the whole rfa process that is is need of a good revision….and i think it will get a complete makeover if and when a deal is done…
Steve Jensen Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
@Mel Powell,
Gotta hate us lawyers, you know. Does the word Collusion mean anything. The Owners would never openly do such a thing.
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
@Mel Powell,
Taking advantage of a chance to grab players when they are trying to put a strategy together to force a CBA. Depends on whether the 2 are related in the owners minds, or a seperate issue.
If the owners deem them seperate issues to their solidarity, then it will be a grab bag. Wouldn’t mind seeing if the owners have already discussed this between even themselves, and came up with a decision.
It would be very short sighted of them to not have thought about it till now on their end.
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Rich Hammond Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
No, can’t pull players off waivers once they’ve been put on. And yes, theoretically, what you’re saying makes sense in terms of teams not making life difficult for other teams, but it’s a player you really covet, it might be hard to resist the opportunity.
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Mel Powell Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
@Rich Hammond, Thanks, Rich. So I guess we’d best be careful with Juraj Mikus. Or whoever can find him should be careful.
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IN King (formerly AZ King) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
@Mel Powell,
I have to say it
This ain’t baseball…
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these talks seem to have no sense of urgency and just seem rudimentary/proforma….
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luc20rules Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
@variable, See this article. The NHL finally made a few concessions, but if it doesn’t get done by Saturday. I fear the whole season maybe lost. Bettman’s words make it seem as if there is a lockout the NHLPA will have to take the NHL’s initial offer or worse.
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/8370526/nhl-nhlpa-exchange-offers-talks-resume-new-york
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variable Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@luc20rules,
“The league has stated its intent to lock out the players Saturday, and Bettman confirmed he has the green light from the board of governors to do so.
here’s the meat from betman…:
“As he has all along, Bettman insisted that the league will not operate the upcoming season under the current economic plan, and cited damage that will result from an impending lockout as the reason the current offer won’t be viable after this weekend.
“What we would be prepared to do now to make a deal before there is extensive damage is not the same that we will be prepared to do in the event we get to a point where we have suffered the damage,” Bettman said. “We looked at their proposal. It was clear that there wasn’t very much movement at all — if any.
“We said we have to try something different, which is why we tried to simplify the approach and focus on the percentage.”
and here’s the beef from fehr…:
“”We’re not in position to make a judgment as to whether this is going to be productive. We have to wait and see,” Fehr said. “Every day is in some sense more important than the last one. The commissioner has indicated that a lockout will begin if no agreement is reached. We take him at his word as we have for the better part of a year. So in that sense it is.
“On the other hand, you can only make a deal when people are ready to make a deal.”
….that last line says it all…
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Was down at Nokia live today to have our picture taken with the cup.Just whetted our appetite. NHL and the players have to settle this thing. I do not want the Kings to be like the Lightening and have the Cup for two years.
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
@redondodave, Oh, they’ll have it next year, regardless of whether we have a season or not. The only difference will be whether they hold onto it for safe keeping, or earn it, again.
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dmh012 Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@redondodave,
I want it for two years. But I would rather earn it. You know like the way we kicked the snot out of Vancouver, St.Louis, Phoenix and New Jersey.
Go Kings!!!
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
@dmh012, Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps.
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Sorry i know stupid question, by why risk losing some of these guys to waivers? Do we have to have a certain number of players on the team before the lock out starts? Can someone explain it to me? I apologize
(Please use small words lol)
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Rich Hammond Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
It’s a question of how much you value internal development, and how optimistic you are about the resolution of the lockout. Take Andrew Campbell, for instance. If you don’t put him on waivers, you’re certain not to lose him. But if the lockout goes until January, then you lose four months in which he could be developing in the Kings’ system. Plus, there’s a good chance that when the lockout ends, he’s going to go through waivers anyway (unless he makes the Kings’ roster). So you’re either taking the risk now or (most likely) later,
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Dominick (defrim65) Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@Rich Hammond,
In choosing to take the risk later, they’d also be taking the risk on losing valuale training time. A heavy gamble indeed.
Do you think this would increase his value later, or decrease it if the team chooses not to expose him now?
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Think Muzzin & Hickey would be claimed for sure….would be a big hit to the defensive depth. On the other side of the coin, you eventually have to either move these guys up or out….
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
@JKA, Wonder why we haven’t seen any trades? At least get a draft pick rather than lose a guy for nothing!
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CBA – Continual Baloney Annihilation
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Goallllllll!! Penner!!!!!!!! Kings win!! Kings win!! The Kings are going to the Stanley Cup Finals!!! Oh, sorry, just remembering a great past and practicing for the future
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
@DesertKing, i remeber i filmed my reaction to that goal so i can re-live it over abd over
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370455VinSD Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
@TeamJMFJ, That’s genius. I would have great footage of me, with my dog in my arms, 8 inches from the screen bawling my eyes out. And I’m not ashamed to admit it.
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:03 am
@370455VinSD, haha! Nice! I jumped up and ran out of my room screaming haha i cried when we won the cup
Stuart Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 10:59 am
@DesertKing, I was bummed that the re-showings cut away almost before the puck hits the back of the net…
Penns’ reaction/celebration was priceless!!! The pumpernichol and the toss of the twig will forever be burned in my head just like Stoli’s face after eliminating VAN!!!
so glad the planets aligned just right for us and our team! OT’s aged me more than anything…
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What about Dwight King?
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Here’s some CBA numbers that’ll piss you off.
After the lockout the league’s revenues were 2.1 billion. The players recieved 54% of those revenues, 1,134,000,000 . The owners got the rest, 966,000,000 . Meaning each of the owners had around 32,200,000 to pay their employees, excluding the players.
Last season the league’s revenues were 3.3 billion. The players recieved 57% of those revenues, 1,881,000,000 . The owners got the rest, 1,419,000,000 . Meaning each of the owners had around 47,300,000 to pay their employees, excluding the players.
So each team took in an additional 15,100,000 to pay their employees since the previous lockout, you know the one in which the owners got everything they wanted and claimed they desperately needed that deal so that they wouldn’t lose any more money. Yet they’re now losing money again. Sure.
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Osaka Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
@CB14, And people keep saying Bettman and the owners are idiots…… That last lockout really hurt them eh. That is about a 47% increase in revenue from the 32,200,000 for each team over the last 7 years (if the money was divided evenly). They WILL increase their revenues again after the new CBA is signed even if there is a lockout. They will make more money so where is the incentive to avoid a lockout? If locking out the players will get them just a percent or two more (likely a lot more) of revenues, each team will make tens of tens of millions more in the long term. Why wouldn’t they lock the players out?
It pisses me off and makes me sick.
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Michael J. Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:23 am
@CB14,
Not just pay employees, but stadium rentals, travel expenses, insurance, advertising, Rich Hammond, take the Bailey costume to the dry cleaners, and more. Lets not forget that these owners have made a pretty huge investment and need some return on it.
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Stuart Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 11:24 am
@CB14, which brings me back to a point I tried to make the other day: Even if the players take a “smaller” percentage of a bigger pie (assuming HRR remains defined as it had been in the previous CBA, something the reported last counter by the NHL maintained) then the new 49-52% might be very close to the old 54-57% if revenues keep increasing as they had, no? So if the amount of money in which players get paid is almost the same, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM??? Do the players not want to see the amount of profit made by the owners increase? It is a matter of principles? Don’t the owners bear more risk, therefore they should take in more profit should revenues continue to grow? IDK anymore who is in the right and who is being greedy…
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Rich, sorry to bother you, but I was looking at the Kings contracts on Capgeek.com and had a question. I assume only players with 2 way contracts can play in Manchester. If that’s correct, which I think it is, can Kyle Clifford play in Manchester? And I remember earlier this off-season people were discussing if he would be waiver exempt or not given the amount of games he has played, but I can’t remember if there was ever a definitive conclusion to that discussion. Thanks!
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Osaka Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
@CB14, No any player could play in Manchester. A 2 way contract means Cliffy gets paid less for playing in Manchester ($67,500 vs. $680,000) where Drew would get his $6,500,000 playing in the AHL. Drew would be on loan so his contract would be honored by the AHL team. Of course the owners are locking out the players so they don’t want to pay them to play in the AHL or expose them to waivers. Voynov has a 2 way deal that pays him $65,000 for AHL and $787,5000 for NHL, think he was pissed to be sent down last year?
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Osaka Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
@Osaka, That is 787,500 for Voynov. He isn’t at Drew money yet.
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Token Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 7:34 am
@CB14, When the contract saiz two-way it stands for: The contract can be read in two ways depending on the league where it is executed.
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It sure doesn’t seem like “Superman” is gonna bust down the door and save everything (as in the season start), does it?
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By the way, The players can band together by themselves and practice on their own……correct? Like at El Segundo? I wonder how many, if at all, would be doing that? I’m sure there would be some, at the least.
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Tuttle Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 9:05 pm
@Kingsfanone, And was Bernie Nicholls ever officially made part of the staff? And as he isn’t officially Kings staff, couldn’t the players then “hire” Nicholls to be some sort of camp councilor? Where they play fun games, like hockey?
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I want a hockey season and I want it now!
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Can those players refuse to play at Manchester and go on strike??? Will those players be treated as scabs when the NHL returns???
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Waaaay off topic but I just dug out my commemorative pin set from the 1993 run and each pin names the teams we beat, complete with the win/loss record (ie: Kings slash Vancouver 4 games to 2). Has anyone seen anything like this from this year?
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Stuart Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 11:27 am
@370455VinSD, I don’t know about a pin like that, but the other weekend I was the orange co. swap meet in Costa Mesa, and the pin dealer guy there had a set of Kings SC pins and a few other ones too! he wanted like 25$ for the set. I’ll be picking it up next time I go, if he has some still…
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That is interesting about Voynov because he has a 2 way contract that pays him $65,000 to play in the AHL and $787,500 to play in the NHL. If he were to play in the KHL I would think he would be paid a lot more than $65,000 so he might want to play there.
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Rich or someone else out there, please , if there is a lockout, what would happen to the schedule? would it remain the same with just the games in the beginning of the season dropping off? or would there be a new schedule created? thanks in advance
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
@crown city simtom, There was a new one in basketball last year… Including back to back to back games scheduled!
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Crown city simtom Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 6:47 am
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose, I’m trying to figure out our vacation dates, I would rather die than miss the raising of the banner next year.
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This whole lockout business is really starting to irritate me. I’ve always thought of hockey as something to look forward to. No matter what happens in my life, I always knew there’d be hockey to watch. I have no job, despite the fact that I’ve practically shoved my resume into countless employers’ hands, and I have very, very little money to my own name. IF I can manage to scrap up a few bucks, I was planning on trying to go to opening night. That’s, at the least, $145 bucks. $145 bucks that will go into the hands of these players and owners. Now, because they can’t decide how much of my very limited money they’ll each get, I don’t get to watch hockey? You’re making millions of dollars from fans who pay to watch hockey, so let the fans watch hockey. Figure it out.
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TeamJMFJ Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:07 am
@FiG17, amen.
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Just a question since this is the first time I’ve heard of this and am trying to understand the process. If we have a chance of losing our prospects through the waivers, don’t we have just as good of a chance at picking up other team’s top prospects through the same process? What is preventing us from improving that way?
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Kings Win, Ducks Lose Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
@absoludicrous, I may be wrong, but I think we would be last in line (like the draft order)… Anyone else know?
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luc20rules Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
@Kings Win, Ducks Lose, That is correct your name is therefore reversed in the waiver process. The other problem is other teams are not as deep as the Kings and can keep their good prospects as the 3 man scratch squad or maybe forced to use them even if they aren’t NHL ready to stay under the cap or save money business wise.
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Game 3 of Western Conference Finals, 16:48 of the second period, Dave Tippett utters those immortal words: “Eff me.”
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Yep, this CBA thing is just a cover. The other teams know the Kings are in “dynasty” mode and don’t want to play them this season.
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luc20rules Reply:
September 12th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
@DesertKing, I’ve been saying the Kings were building to dynasty mode for the last 3 years, and for the most part been getting ripped here for it. I remember DL’s Kool Aide wasn’t very popular in Dec. 2011 to March 2012. Build thru the draft, trade for support pieces, and only offer reasonable contracts to UFAs.
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All I can say to the CBA thing is “OH NO!!!! NOT AGAIN!!!” Please owners please. Get to the tables and figure this thing out….quick! I must see the banners raised before I “shuffle off this mortal coyle” On a more positive note, my family and I took our picture with Lord Stanley’s Cup today at Club Nokia. Great moment that brought another tear to these old eyes. Also, Thank you to the Kings Org for a very organized event. Very grateful for this chance of a lifetime. I couldn’t guess how many have actually touched the cup, but we were a few more today. Awesome, couldn’t be happier. Having my 10 year old daughter with me to be part of this, knowing that she will never have to wait for her favorite team to win the championship, for her to be able to touch and take a picture with the greatest trophy in the world, that she will have this for the rest of her life is so gratifying. I know I know, dad’s getting a little sentimental, but this is so awesome. Anyway….Hope we get to watch our boys play soon. Thanks guys for your commitment to giving us this memory….Go Kings Go
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Gustavo Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 7:31 am
@TiredOfIt,
We were at Nokia yesterday, as well. good point on the quality of the event organization. They even started earlier than scheduled and seemed to go very smoothly.
Bob Miller was there for a little while and we got to say hello. What a quality guy he is! Not a speck of hesitation to talk to anyone who approaches him. We not only have the best announcer in him, we also got a great man who goes out of his way to ensure everyone around him is having a good time. Never seen so much down to earth attitude and humility in any celebrity or Hall of Famer.
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Gail Web Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:28 am
@Gustavo, Waiting for next month to go so at least we can try to find our players names on it, Go Kings Go!
Miller and Fox are the best class acts around what a great team they make and we all the fans are so very lucky indeed to have such talent in our country.
They are the best none better, and Rich too!
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“We need to save hockey!”
“WONDER TWIN POWERS, ACTIVATE!!”
“Shape of Donald Fehr!”
“Shape of Gary Bettman!”
“I don’t kow about you, but my shape feels creepy”
“Same here, what the heck kind of person is this!”
Hurry, lets sign the CBA and revert back to our normal mutant selves”
“Its signed, hockey is saved!”
Now back to your normal Saturday morning TV programming on Thursday.
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Gail Web Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:26 am
@DesertKing, Sorry but its not in our (fans) hands at all
Go Kings Go!
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DesertKing Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:33 am
@Gail Web,
Completely agree, its just that we are getting desperate. GKG-AGAIN!!!
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Whelp, at least we can all go fill up the stands at Ontario Reign games now. 50 bucks for glass seats? Sounds like a good deal! Anyone have any experience with these games? Are they fun at all? Are the players talented at all?
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DesertKing Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 10:42 am
@Purple Reign,
Games are fun. You literally see jerseys from just above every NHL team in the stands. The arena is excellent, not a bad seat in the house. $5 dollar parking and food is about half the price of Staples, good (not great) hockey. My son doesn’t know it yet, but he is getting a 10-pack of games for Christmas. The new head of their ticket department just left the Kings (he was my ticket agent for the Kings) so they have some expereince with ticket plans.
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Purple Reign Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 11:44 am
@DesertKing, Thank you for your insight!
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CT King Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
@Purple Reign,
If you go to a Reign game and if J.D. Watt is still there, root for him hard. He was in Manchester for a few weeks last year and is an incredible human being.
I just want to know where kopis gonna play
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This sucks
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gives a different perspective on the Owners vs NHPLA
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl–nhl–nhlpa-need-spirit-of-compromise-and-common-sense-to-start-making-cba-progress.html
Both need to make a compromise. I point to this because I think the majority of people are only blaming bettman and the owners.
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Stuart Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
@Lake Forest, good read… I didn’t know the owners wanted to start the talks a year ago…
also interesting:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/bain-capital-tried-buy-nhl-203229290–nhl.html
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Rich –
One last (?) thing: do the Kings have to till tomorrow to place players on waivers (so that they clear the next day, i.e. when the lock-out has already begun), or did they have until today at 9am PT to do it, so they would clear before the lock-out, and could thus be assigned before the lock-out?
Are teams allowed to make transactions during a lock-out?
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Rich Hammond Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
They can still put guys on waivers tomorrow morning in order to have them clear Saturday and be assigned to AHL. It’s confusing because the league and players basically made up this rule this week, and the details of it haven’t been totally clear. But I confirmed this much with Solomon. In terms of transactions, I can’t think of any transactions that would be allowed once the lockout starts. Loaning players to the AHL is pretty much the last step before the door is closed, to the best of my knowledge.
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Quisp Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
@Rich Hammond,
I keep thinking today is the 14th.
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variable Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@Quisp,
i can’t imagine to see a flurry of activity tomorrow….regarding this…or getting a deal done by the “deadline”….
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I love hockey just as much as the next fan but don’t have sympathy for any of them at this point. Hockey at this level ceases to be a sport and is apparently a fully disfunctional business. Everyone of these guys are overpaid for the type of work they do and education they have /dont have. These guys overvalue their skills because thus far the public, advertisers have supported it. This goes for every pro sport I might add.
So enjoy your time-off…I just wish you’d donate some of your millions /billions to the arena workers and others who sell tickets, or serve food in and around the arenas who are going to lose jobs, homes, cars etc. because you can’t decide how to split the $3.3 billion or whatever rediculious dollar amount it is that you’ve generated off hard working peoples backs and support. The fans, and workers deserve better than a bunch of greedy, pompous, self righteous puds who cant figure out how to split billions of dollars.
As much as I dont agree with what the owners are trying to do here to the players within the current sytem of league Vs PA’s, I just cant bring myself to support the players either. Personaly I think none of this would be an issue if PA’s didnt feel they have a right to revenue sharing. My employr doesnt share revenue with me or any other employee of my corporation… so why should guys who play a sport for a living and make millions have a right to it? I say Disband the union! The NHL and the owners dont share a penny of revenue with players, and they can use the $ to help support the small market teams that create jobs for alot these players. Seems like a win win to me. We will never see labor strife again, the NHL and the 30 owners will have the $ to prosper and operate and pay players salaries, while players still make the millions their accustomed to. I must admit im ignorant in alot of cases and maybe this doesnt make sense to someone who knows the intricate details of pro sports and thier Unions but it seems to me without the Unions there would be no Lockouts/Strikes ect. and no fan would miss a game unless its by their own agenda.
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variable Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
“Everyone of these guys are overpaid for the type of work they do and education they have /dont have. These guys overvalue their skills because thus far the public, advertisers have supported it. This goes for every pro sport I might add.”
well….gm’s, owners and player agents decide on salary and what fair[market value means….and that’s just it – it’s subjective and bound to leapfrog into escalating salaries….
that’s not the player’s fault…i’m sure if yr boss gave you the opportunity to renegotiate yr salary, you would try yr hardest to get the most out of it for yrself – just like the players….
but let me backup and just say this….:
this is becoming more of a question of intentions….it’s very clear – at least in the public’s eye – that the owners want a lockout….
if you were to “disband the union”, then things would really get out of control eventually….because larger market teams will always overpay for what they need/want….and players become their own “islands”…tell me, do you really want to see players hold out….? do you want to see the players splinter off and not have solidarity….?
how do you think the republican party felt about the tea party merging into their design, persuading the GOP’s constituency….?
there’s no way the players should disband….the nba players thought about it and realized the complications – legally, financially and realistically – and decided it was crazy to do so..
and speaking of the nba, bettman -a student of stern – is basically following the same negotiating road the nba took in last season’s negotiations….
registering blame on any one particular party in this fray is difficult and moot – however, there should be more sympathy towards the players….because if they were teachers asked to take a 7-12% pay cut after accepting a huge rollback to get the last deal done, the public would be up in arms….
the dollar amounts are disparate between the two professions…but the principle remains the same….
…and so does this song and dance….
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Stuart Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
@variable, “because if they were teachers asked to take a 7-12% pay cut after accepting a huge rollback to get the last deal done, the public would be up in arms…”
but it would still happen. Also, a little misleading when taking into account teachers salaries/states budget vs. players salaries/NHL rev’s. Teachers are nowhere near making 50% of any state’s budget, yet upper management of all school districts are making 6 figures – easy! not to mention being reimbursed by public/tax funds for everything little fart the make in the name of “school business.” the only song and dance that relates in your comparison is that it’s all rotten AT THE TOP.
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variable Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
@Stuart,
the comparison does relate back to the hierarchy of each industry – true…of course, there are different dynamics involved in how each of their revenues are earned….
however, it’s the principle that these people in their respective industry share – and that really was my point…
Gmo Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
Totally agree with you on here in regards to the profit sharing. Who does the union or players think they are? Owners are the ones who have money invested , so should be entitled to the profit . If the team/organization loses money, players still gets paid, the owner takes the hit finacially. Tell me who in this blog or world for that matter can go to their boss ask for a % of the profit the company is making, and if not receiving such, saying to your employer “if I don’t receive such % I won’t work till I do” how many would still be employed? Players need to get off their high horses and play the game “they love”. All that extra revenues is being made should be used towards lowering related costs associated with the attending of a game for the average fan .
GKG
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