GadgetsAndHealth.com - $25 for Revitalizing Whitening System (Shipping Included; Up to $272 Value)
- 1 St. Louisans join millions dreaming of Powerball jackpot
- 2 Woman bought $1 million Powerball ticket in St. Louis County
- 3 McClellan: Larry Conners "issue" proves Facebook is not your friend
- 4 AP courses vs. dual credit: what's best for high school students?
- 5 Troubled Normandy school district looks for answers amid empty chairs, revolving doors
- 6 A Look Back • In 1863, prominent pro-Southerners are banished from St. Louis
- 7 Man suffers cardiac arrest while driving, crashes in St. Louis and dies
- 8 3 injured in 2 drive-by shootings in St. Louis
- 9 Rookie St. Louis cops starting careers on foot patrol
- 10 St. Louisans sidestep another potential traffic nightmare
Live Chats
Blues chat with Jeremy Rutherford
Submit questions and comments about the Blues NOW; talk to Post-Dispatch hockey writer Jeremy Rutherford starting at 1 p.m.
Add Caption
by Mike Smithon Aug 17, 2012 at 5:09 PM
-
-
JR, nice to have you back after a few weeks off!
It seems that the owners are being represented in CBA negotiations solely by Bettman & Daly. Does Bettman & Co. have all of the owners’ interests in mind or just the bigger market/richer ones? To me, it seems that we’ll be right back in this mess 5-10 years from now unless a workable revenue sharing system is put in place. The revenue sharing system in place now seems to not help much at all and is needlessly complicated from what I understand. Would you agree with that? When does each of the 30 owners get to put in their two cents? I can’t imagine that the rich owners are going to be overly willing to share revenue with the poorer teams but if they want the league to survive and have other teams to play against, it needs to happen IMO. I just find it incredibly hypocritical for the owners to ask for contracts to be a max of 5 years and then a week later, Philly’s Ed Snider offers Shea Weber a 14 year contract and then re-sign Hartnell and Simmonds to 6 year deals. Holmgren is the Flyers GM but obviously it’s Snider willing to sign off on such big deals that are a mockery of the league’s “official” position. Talk about talking out of both sides of his mouth!! What do you think owners like Stillman think of hypocrisy like that? Philly is just one example. Don’t the big market owners realize that significant revenue sharing needs to take place for the long-term health of the league? Or do they just not care? What are your thoughts? -
-
In a nutshell, the 30 owners can't possibly all be on the same page. You won't hear about their differences because it doesn't make any sense to air them in public and reports are that Gary Bettman has a sizeable fine waiting for the owner who comments on the CBA negotiations. But even if the owners aren't talking, their demands in the negotiations (5-year max) and their actions (signing players to 13-year deals) contradict. I can understand why Toronto doesn't want to pay for Phoenix's shortcomings, but as you mentioned, they have to do what's in the best interest of the league, or everyone will be back in the same spot in a few years.
-
-
I didn't read it word for word, but what I read, it seemed to touch on the key aspects of the team. It's hard for the national writers to tell hard-core fans in that city much they don't already know, but the 30 in 30 is a nice series and thought Dave Lozo did a good job.
-
-
-
-
-
-
I wouldn't think that he'll play with Pietrangelo from the start. He's ready to be an every day NHL player, I think, but he'll probably start out in the third pair and get a chance to move up if he proves himself. The pairs could work out great if Cole could play with Petro, but again, he's got a lot to show the coaching staff.
-
-
They're not going to say anything publicly. It wouldn't make any sense. Obviously they'd like to see it worked out soon. Many of the GMs complain about the big contracts, and while it's the owners that pay the salaries, the GMs are the ones going after the players. I realize the GMs are doing what they have to do to compete, but they're still partly responsible for the contracts. Not all of them, but some of them.
-
-
I've asked the Blues' organization about the whereabouts/arrival of Tarasenko and there's no update except that all players will be at camp on time. I could be wrong, but the vibe I get is that he'll stay in Russia until it looks like a new CBA is on the horizon. If the NHL locks out, he'll likely play in the KHL until, I'm assuming, the lockout is over.
-
-
-
Pronger was a great player for the Blues. As good as he was, it's a toss-up whether the team would retire his No. 44. My answer is that it would be seriously considered. He is 9th in games played (598), 7th in assists among all Blues' players and 2nd among defensemen (272) and fourth in penalty minutes (931). My take on retiring a number is, 'Was he hands-down one of the best player to suit up for the organization?' ... and I would say he is. Will he be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame? For sure.
-
-
I don't usually like to take sides, but in this situation, I think the blame falls on Gary Bettman. That's an easy stance to take, but I think it's accurate. The current CBA is the one Bettman wanted and after record revenue, it's not good enough. Asking the players to take a salary cut every seven years is not the answer. The demands that Bettman and thus the owners are making don't make much sense in terms of growing the game. They seem to be about making MORE money. And to hear Bettman today basically say that the fans came back once so they'll come back again .... I wish I was on an airplane right now so I had a barf bag handy.
-
-
-
-
-
Yes on Lehtera and I believe they still hold Junland's rights, too. Lehtera was given a qualifying offer and has been in communication with the Blues. He doesn't believe that now is the time to come to North America and the Blues agree. But keep an eye on him in the future. On Junland, despite having his rights, there's a better chance of Lidstrom coming out of retirement and joining the Blues.
-
RE CBA: I think those owners who are sitting on buckets of cash are hoping that the weak sisters die and go away and they can return to a 6 or 12 team league. Less travel = more revenue. Fewer teams = less players needed...so you don't like my contract offer, well there's always the WHL for you. We've seen the owners cry over how little they are making and yet throw $200 million at 2 players or force a small market team to sign a cornerstone player for more money than they likely can afford. sigh
-
-
-
The Walking Dead...I'll have to check it out. Yes, the Blues are still looking for a top-four defenseman, but with the league basically stuck in quicksand right now, there isn't any rumors or potential activity to speak of. Armstrong has some ideas, I'm sure, but with other owners/GMs waiting to see how everything unravels, they're going to hold onto their guys for now.
-
JR...have you heard anything about the potential ownership group of our new St. Charles Chill? I heard the owners from Texas have moved it here with the intention to sell so I'm assuming that there is an interested party. I know that Hull and Chase were involved with the Bandits in Chesterfield but they've ceased operations for next year. Any chance that they might be involved with this new CHL team? Thanks!
-
-
-
-
Breaking Bad is the best show currently on TV! If you feel like watching another great show from start to finish, I highly recommend Arrested Development. Highly underappreciated comedy with amazing writing that lasted only 3 seasons (thus it won't take you overly long to watch the entire run) because FOX continuously moved their timeslot around.
-
-
-
Yes, there is plenty of reason to get excited about Oct. 11th. Oh, you're asking because that's supposed to be the Blues' season opener. I don't know if that'll happen. But Oct. 11 is the 45th anniversary of the Blues' first game in franchise history. On Oct. 11, 1967, the Blues tied the Minnesota North Stars 2-2.
-
-
-
-
At one time, it appeared that Hull would definitely assume a management role with the Blues. It wasn't definitive that it would be on the hockey side, but nonetheless a management role within the organization. But in recent months, the direction of Hull's involvement changed and now it appears that if Hull does get involved (and I think he will), it will be in a minor business-related position.
-
I think it'll happen fairly soon, as in the next couple of years. I agreed with the decision not to give him an "A" last year, letting him focus on his game. He did a tremendous job of that, and we saw what kind of player he can be. Even so, I don't think you give him one this year at the expense of one of the other leaders. If one of those guys gets hurt and misses time, then you can give an "A" to Petro temporarily. But his day will come on a permanent basis soon enough.
-
-
It's a fair question. We don't know what's going on behind the scenes with the owners. I'm sure the big markets have a lot of pull. You would think Bettman sides with the majority, but in paying attention to the negotiation updates, it seems that the league is only focused on increasing revenue for the owners by limiting player expenses.
-
-
-
-
I would like to say that the NHL could NOT afford another lockout. But I really do believe what some other have written, which is the sport has a hardcore niche fan base. Fans of the NHL need the sport. They don't like what's going on, but when hockey is back, they'll watch. Other sports fans will criticize hockey and say the second lockout in seven years is why they don't watch, but you're never going to get those fans on a full-time basis anyway. I believe that most of the die-hard NHL fans will be back, regardless of how the next few months go.
-
QUICK CLICKS
|
Archives |
Lottery |
DEALS, OFFERS AND EVENTS
Stop by The Rice House for some of the best Chop Suey around
The Rice House offers traditional Chinese with Asian Fusion an…
Please Wait…