Thanks to Yardbarker

NHL follies continue: Winter Classic cancelled

After wild speculation for much of the last week, the National Hockey League  made it official on Friday afternoon, cancelling the 2013 Winter Classic. The game, scheduled for January 1 at Michigan Stadium to be contested by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, would have been the sixth annual outdoor contest and the fifth to take place on the first day of the calendar year. “The logistical demands for staging events of this magnitude made today’s decision unavoidable. We simply are out of time,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in a statement issued a short time ago. …

Thanks to the NY Post

Flyers’ Storm Stories

We here at Flyers Faithful hope for the safety of our readers as well as everyone in the Delaware Valley affected in some way by the ravages of Hurricane Sandy. But that doesn’t mean time stops over here at the Home Office. The Philadelphia Flyers have been caught up in some weather hijinks during their 45-year history. Here are a few memorable games that have been wiped out or have taken place in the belly of the weather beast in the Northeast. March 3, 1968: Seals 1, Flyers 1 at Madison Square Garden – Yes, you read that right. Two …

Image courtesy of openingfaceoff.net

CBA 101: Mailbag questions while you’re stuck inside

Is anyone reading this? Does anyone have power? Is the world over? Hurricane Sandy is here after all, and we are quickly approaching the end of the world on December 21, 2012. If you didn’t see our Tim McManus’ article last week on mailbags, you should definitely check it out. With that said, it’s time for some mailbag questions of my own! From reader Mike Tomon, “Why do I see a cap hit of $100,000 for Oskars Bartulis for the Flyers?”. This is good question Mike, and one I expect other fans will wonder if/when we ever have hockey again and …

Thanks to SI.com

November No Mo

From its perch in the steel and glass canyons of midtown Manhattan, the National Hockey League announced the cancellation of its 2012-13 regular-season schedule for the entire month of November on Friday. “The National Hockey League deeply regrets having to take this action. By presenting a proposal to the NHLPA that contemplated a fair division of revenues and was responsive to Player concerns regarding the value of their contracts, we had hoped to be able to forge a long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement that would have preserved an 82-game Regular Season for our fans. Unfortunately, that did not occur,” said NHL …

manning

Answering reader mail, even when there isn’t any

I’ll let you in on a little media secret. Every time a writer uses a column to answer mail, or even better, “clean out the mailbag,” it usually means they just don’t have a strong enough premise to carry a whole piece. Or they just ran out of time. I cop to both those this week. With the Phantoms having played only four games, two of them in the far reaches of St. John’s, Newfoundland, there isn’t a whole lot of new material to cover. So please forgive me for me turning to the old writer’s crutch of answering reader …

Photo courtesy of Philly.com

CBA Chatter

Everything you wanted to know about the CBA but were afraid to ask Here are your updates from the past week on the ongoing collective bargaining agreement talks from around the Web. If this whole thing wasn’t sad, it would be funny. The NHL refused to meet with the NHLPA unless the union works from the owners last proposal. I officially hate everyone involved in this. [Philly.com] [Eklund] [Toronto Sun] [The Hockey News] There are no further talks scheduled at this point, so it looks like if we have a season at all, it will be a 60 games or less schedule. 1994, here …

We know how you feel, buddy.

Another week, another blunder by the NHL

Well, the National Hockey League has done it again! On Wednesday morning, reports began to surface about the league allowing team management personnel to speak one-on-one to their players regarding the NHL’s latest offer in an attempt to sway them towards agreeing to it. This allowance comes after the owners and general managers were forbidden from speaking to their players, and were threatened with heavy fines if they were to do so — including a $1 million penalty for offering any thoughts about the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement mess. Think about this: back in September, Scott Hartnell held his charity …

Giroux

A Video Diary: G being G

I miss hockey. I know it can be found all around me, but I miss it in its most elite form, embraced by the casual independent and celebrated on televisions and in various media formats across the globe. Instead, the hockey as I know it is being played elsewhere around the world in miniscule bits, with no one to enjoy it but the 5,000 to 7,000 people that can fit into the arenas and the other serious few who are brave enough to seek it elsewhere, quality of the stream and play be damned. I miss hockey as it is …

homerfrown

Point/Counterpoint: Holmgren’s best move to date

Welcome to another edition of Point/Counterpoint, where a pair of Flyers Faithful scribes square off, debating an issue with their own unique style and flair. This week, Kevin C and Steve J debate what has been Paul Holmgren’s best move during his tenure as General Manager. Point, Kevin: The signing of Claude Giroux to his current three year $11.25 million is Paul Holmgren’s best move to date. It’s probably an unconventional choice. I’d expect that most people would pick the flashy acquisitions: Pronger, Hartnell and Timonen, Briere, Voracek, Couturier and Cousins. I get it, they are the sexy picks. I, however, am a risk averse …

Image courtesy of openingfaceoff.net

CBA 102: The Wade Redden rule

Upon completion of the new CBA I had been planning to progress CBA 101 to CBA 102 (clever…I know) and tackle the differences between the two. However, with many of the specifics of the proposals between the National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), I thought that I would go ahead and proceed with it now. Last week I wrote a piece about the NHL’s latest offer to the NHLPA and how it severely hurts a team like the Flyers. I wanted to expand upon one of the proposed stipulations, specifically what is being called the “Wade Redden rule”. …