The NHL Lockout, and the possibility of the league using Replacement Players
Patrick Johnston
October 03 2012 12:27PM
Things got pretty extreme in 1987 (© Bettmann/CORBIS via mentalfloss)
(I should note that some credit for this piece should go to my brother, Rory Johnston, an aspiring sports lawyer, currently articling in Ontario. Follow him on twitter here. He helped to make sure my legal interpretations are correct.)
Bill Watters' recent rantings about replacement players being used as a bargaining tactic by the NHL's owners elicited a good question - would the NHL be allowed, legally, to use replacement players in Canada?
The NFL used replacement players in retaliation against a players' strike in 1987 and the players eventually capitulated. Watters has argued that should serve as a strong precedent for Gary Bettman & co. It's worked once in sports labour law, why not again?
Headshots September 26th
Patrick Johnston
September 26 2012 04:43PM
Headshots are a Canucks Army feature where we link to the day's freshest news, and other assorted Canucks web-goodies. If you've written a blogpost, produced a tribute video, birthed a clever .gif into existence, or have a hockey related cause you'd like to see promoted in this space - please e-mail Thom at thom.drance@gmail.com.
Wherein Cory Schneider notes the rarity of Offer Sheets and criticizes owners over collusion
Patrick Johnston
September 26 2012 08:26AM
An offer sheet for you and you and... (photo: kurichan+ / flickr cc)
Offer sheets are nothing new to the game, but why don't we see them used more regularly by the league's General Mangers? It's something Cory Schneider brought up during a post-practice scrum on Monday. Asked to comment on Red Wings executive Jim Devellano's comparison of players to cattle and owners to ranchers, Schneider was more interested in talking about Devellano's comments that managers operated under an unspoken rule - or a gentleman's agreement - that they wouldn't target each other's restricted free agents.
Kevin Connauton's "extra-half-step" opportunity in Chicago
Patrick Johnston
September 24 2012 04:42PM
Kevin Connauton (right) hopes to be back sharing a bench with the Sedins in short order.
After stepping up the defensive side of his game last season, Canucks defence prospect Kevin Connauton was poised to push for an NHL roster spot at training camp this fall. With the lockout intervening, however, Connauton is headed back to Chicago for another few months of AHL action (at least). How does a guy prepare himself mentally for this, and might going back to the AHL be a blessing in disguise? After the Canucks practiced today, we caught up with Connauton and Chris Higgins (who was in Connauton's shoes during the 2004-05 lockout) about the "little, extra half step" that otherwise NHL ready young players will take in the AHL this season.
Zero Progress, but lots of Empty Rhetoric: Recapping the First Week of the NHL Lockout
Patrick Johnston
September 23 2012 05:26PM
A week ago I wrote about how the media have been on the fans' side and are pretty cynical about the position of owners (certainly) and players (somewhat less). A public relations battle has emerged, but what is there for either side to gain, really? The owners would seem to care about what the fans think, but they also know they hold almost all the chips. They have the money to pay the players and they control the venues for where the fans get to watch the games and spend their money.
The narrative a week ago was focused on fans getting screwed; this week that thread remained, to a degree, but questions about how the players are going to hold up in the coming weeks and months became a more dominant story - even though the players have yet to miss the first cheque as a result of the lockout.
In a week where little movement appeared in either side's position, there was still plenty written. Let's have a look.
