Tweets from today.

@_markmarino @goon48 @themikemoonan @_timrosenthal @bruinsdaily Keep it going everyone. #FireBettman
— Chris Wassel (@ChrisWasselTHW) September 1, 2012

Guessing NHL might shut down camps well before then RT @renlavoierds: Meeting on Sept 12 & 13 in New York for NHLPA members
— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) September 1, 2012

Fehr -- if you can get an agreement on big conceptual issues the rest of a deal can be done pretty quickly#NHL #NHLPA
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 31, 2012

Bettman -- we got stonewalled today so we're not in position to move ahead on other issues#NHL #NHLPA
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 31, 2012

agent on NHLPA: “Back in 2004, the NHLPA was synonymous with apathy. That's changed since then. It’s a whole new world right now."
— Tim Panaccio (@tpanotchCSN) August 31, 2012

Fact: NHLPA proposals do more to help small market teams with $100M industry Growth Fund than last NHL offer. @puckinghockey
— Allan Walsh (@walsha) August 31, 2012

Fehr & NHLPA want revenue sharing but have to believe there are numerous NHL owners who oppose that, or at least a few of the big ones
— Ed Frankovic (@EdFrankovic) August 31, 2012

For the rest of us, lager heads in order. RT @sn_nhl: Talks resume, end quickly as NHL, union remain at loggerheads dlvr.it/24wlF3
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) August 31, 2012

NHL players stand their ground, talks break off #NHL #NHLPA #CBA #badnews tinyurl.com/9l3rodo
— Pat Leonard (@NYDNRangers) August 31, 2012

Bettman points out MLB's 8 work stoppages. Mentions player strike before World Series. Mark today as the day it got ugly.
— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) August 31, 2012

Here are some of the tweets that I found today that relate to the NHL CBA Negoiations - as most of you know already, talks broke off today and it appears that there is a huge gap between the NHLPA and the NHL owners. While there is still time to get a new CBA agreement in place it would appear that is not going to happen and the fans should think about making other plans for at least the start of the hockey season. This is beginning to look a like 2004-05 all over again.  

Players indicating NHL 1st CBA proposal looked to reduce player salaries by 24%, 2nd proposal by 19.3%.Reason for NHLPA counter today #tsn
— Aaron Ward (@aaronward_nhl) August 31, 2012

Friday at the Links

Sounds like the NHLPA led by Donald Fehr is less than impressed with Gary Bettman and the NHL Owners response to their proposal that they put forth in good faith.

One casualty of the impending lockout is that the Detroit Redwings have cancelled their prospects tourney that they hold every summer in Traverse City Michigan.

Helene St. James, Freepress.com --- General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press that, "we had a conference call with all the teams involved. Due to the uncertainty of CBA negotiations and teams having to make commitments for hotel rooms and travel plans -- the biggest thing is the hotel rooms. The people Up North needed to know if the rooms would be used or not. So we made the decision to cancel for 2012. We plan to be back next year."

Games among prospects for the Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues were to have run Sept. 15-19 at Centre Ice Arena.

Mike Brohy of Sportsnet.CA says not so fast don’t shoot the messenger. [Sportsnet.CA]

Not Lockout related but former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone is ranked 5th on the Av’s prospects.

5. Brad Malone, C: After he was taken with the 105th pick in the 2007 draft, Malone spent the next four years at the University of North Dakota. There he developed into an NHL-ready power forward. The Miriamichi, New Brunswick native turned pro prior to last season and made an immediate impact. That's not surprising -- Malone's size (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) and fearless attitude make him a valuable lower-line presence for any organization. He's also got some offensive pop, with 11 goals and 25 assists in 67 games for Lake Erie. When the Avalanche forward lines were hampered by injuries in December, Malone performed well in a nine-game tryout, averaging 10 minutes a game and notching two assists. If his development stays on schedule, look for him to make a breakthrough with Colorado sometime next season. "He's just a big strong guy who plays the center and the wing," Billington said. "He's got good hockey sense, and he's not afraid."

The labor impasse and the prospects of an impending lockout is holding up the signing of free agent deals. Phoenix Coyotes unrestricted free agent forward Shane Doan seems to be a casualty of this as well.

Sarah McLellan, Arizona Republic --– The Coyotes have been among the more conservative operators this offseason, waiting for potential buyer Greg Jamison and long-term captain Shane Doan to decide their futures with the team before the front office could further retool the roster.

But in the weeks leading up to the scheduled open of training camps in mid-September, the pulse around the league has copied that of the Coyotes, slowing as uncertainty picks up with the approaching expiration date of the collective bargaining agreement.

"Everybody is in a holding pattern in regards to the deals they can potentially make," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said. "The last number of years, August is a quiet month anyway, but this CBA makes it a little quieter than normal."

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News expects a work stoppage to happen but doesn’t think the lockout will go on very long. I agree as well, because I have a really hard time believing that the NHL would take a chance at losing their money maker the Winter Classic.

The players are thinking globally for the good of the game, allowing the salary cap to stay and proposing ideas like luxury taxes, trading of salary cap space and broader revenue sharing. Bettman and many owners are seemingly thinking only about their pockets. In a rarity for sports labor disputes, most fans are on the players' side.

My sense is we're not going to have an 82-game season but this won't go on too long. I find it hard to believe the league would blow off all the exposure HBO will be again providing with its 24/7 series in advance of the Winter Classic. And let's not forget the expected world record crowd in the 115,000 range likely to pack the Big House at the University of Michigan for the Red Wings and Leafs on New Year's Day.

Still, I wouldn't be making downtown dinner reservations prior to a hockey game thinking you're going to be seeing the Sabres against the Penguins (Oct. 13), Red Wings (Oct. 16) or Rangers (Oct. 19). Under the current schedule, in fact, seven of the Sabres' first 10 games through Nov. 3 are at home. They all seem in jeopardy now.

Jeff Z Klein of the New York’s Slap Shot Blog has two really good blog post this week. How to Share the Revenue Could Be Stumbling Block in N.H.L. Negotiations. [Click to open]

In N.H.L. Negotiation, the Union’s Good Ideas May Not Matter. [Click to open]

NHLers planning a European odyssey in case of a lockout may be in tough. [Winnipeg Sun]

NHL is headed for a lockout but it won't last into 2013, according to a national hockey writer. [Mlive.com]

Friday link around… less than two months till hockey season

There seems to be an uptick of hockey news today after Redwing77’s favorite NHL commissioner laid his big steaming pile of dog excrement at the feet of NHL players and hockey fans. Luckily as a college hockey fan – we know that we don’t’ have to worry about labor disputes and works stoppages. Most of us are also very happy to know that our schools not be faced with the prospects of our favorite team(s) locked out in October.

It’s with a heavy heart that we find out that former Army Black Knight hockey player Major Tom Kennedy was killed in action in action in Afghanistan on Wednesday by a suicide bomber. RIP Major Kennedy - you will be missed. [USCHO.COM]

Greg Boyson of Blackhawk Up had this to say about Garry Bettman and the possibility of having a work stoppage in the NHL this season.

Greg Boysen, Blackhawk Up --- All the wounds from the last lockout that cost us the entire 2004-05 season have all but healed. If Bettman and the owners screw this up the damage will be catastrophic. If there is another work stoppage you can count on contraction not being far behind. There are too many small market teams that are struggling enough as it is and will not survive a lockout. I want to believe that the owners and the players know all of this and will reach an agreement without costing us any playing time, I really do. The problem is, I have no faith in anything that Gary Bettman is in charge of. So my message to Bettman and the owners and Donald Fehr, of the players union, is to do the right thing. No body makes money when there are no games being played. If the momentum of the NHL continues going in the right direction there will be plenty of money to go around for everybody.

Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy has a blog post on who the fans are blaming for the latest dust up in the labor negotiations. Apparently, I am not the only one that thinks that Bettman is a polarizing and unlikable figure.

Ryan Lambert, Puck Daddy --- [Gary] Bettman, of course, would never ever ever ever ever bring up the word "lockout." Never once. History tells us the preferred NHL language is "work stoppage," and while it's a semantical argument, it's easy to see how much Bettman looms over these proceedings. And apparently, it's far harder to see past the bright spotlight he constantly pulls to himself and spot the strings being pulled by warhawk owners like Jeremy Jacobs and Ed Snider, who want to extract a pound of flesh from the players. The latter party's biggest misstep in all this seems to have been simply adhering to the rules and taking the lunatic $100 million contracts now routinely proffered them by, you know, owners, and they must be made to pay for it.

A quick survey conducted around 5:30 p.m. of tweets using the word "lockout" found that fans and media alike were firmly focusing their venom on Bettman himself. More than half the tweets that loaded immediately menioned dastardly, mustache-twirling Bettman by name. Adam Proteau's use of the word "bully" is especially provocative. As though Bettman kicked Donald Fehr's chair out from under him just as he was about to sit down.

Meanwhile, the number of tweets that used the word "owners" were mentioned in just three (here, here, and here, the latter of which still mentions Bettman).

According to the betting site BOVADA.COM, Here are the Odds to win the 2013 Stanley Cup (Current Odds as of 8/2/12) Pittsburgh Penguins 8/1 New York Rangers 9/1 Vancouver Canucks 11/1 Los Angeles Kings 12/1 Philadelphia Flyers 13/1 Chicago Blackhawks 14/1 Detroit Red Wings 15/1 Boston Bruins 16/1 St. Louis Blues 16/1 Minnesota Wild 18/1 San Jose Sharks 20/1 Buffalo... If a guy was smart and had some extra money laying around I would put some money on the Boston Bruins.

According to CBC there are a "limited number" of spots are available after some on the waitlist got season tickets for the 2012-13 season.

It would appear that Philadelphia Flyers forward and player representative Scott Hartnell is less than thrilled with the NHL owners – welcome to the club so am I and thousands of other NHL hockey fans.

James Wrabel, New York Rangers Blog --- “To use Gary [Bettman’s] own words, it’s a systemic issue,” Hartnell said this week. “He doesn’t want to look at the rich teams or the teams that are losing money. He wants to look at them all together which is a total 180 from what it was seven years ago.

“It’s up to us to see if it’s feasible or not. But you look at the rollback and percentage they want and it’s more concessions then we gave up last time around.”