Commandant

Sure but only mention games played in the Bell Centre, aka 2002.

Beauchemin was grabbed in 2004, I think that is what teams were scared of.

If its an Ovechkin or a Malkin, where the league and team have marketted them heavily and they are the face of the game in those cities, they can go after them for intentional breach of contract and the damages that result from it. This isn't the same as Radulov where we had a young kid who was just starting to break out and show promise. Ovechkin in particular, there would be a very good argument that the Capitals signed this guy to a very long term deal with the idea of making him their face of the franchise for the length of the contract. If there is any signing bonuses or front loaded money on these contracts, they can absolutely be sued. For a precedent look at where Ricky Williams was sued by the Miami Dolphins and forced to return his signing bonus when he quit football and didn't fulfill the terms of his contract. The players are members of the NHLPA, the NHLPA signed a CBA which allowed the contracts to be reduced. They are not invalid.

Considering we are signing St. Denis to an AHL deal, can we even afford another D St. Denis Nash Stejskal Hagel Tinordi Beaulieu Ellis Pateryn

If they moved him to LW (he's capable of playing both), then he might, but not at RW.

Darche scores at a good pace in the AHL.

If a player has a valid NHL contract, and is a legit star with merchandise opportunities and who drives ticket sales like a Malkin or Ovechkin, watch the lawsuit fly if they dont honour that contract after the lockout.

Happens all the time at every level of hockey. Better players get jobs, worse players get cut. This doesn't irritate me at all because the players are locked out, not on strike. They can go wherever they can find a job. Funny though, we complain about the NHLers who take jobs in the Euro leagues, but we don't complain that guys like Jeff Skinner and Adam Henrique and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are sent to the AHL where they take away jobs from AHLers, who then get less money, but still work in the ECHL, who then see their guys lose jobs. But thats never something fans complain about.

Today I took a look at 7 players who may have played their last NHL game if a lockout lasts a full season. One of those players is a long-time Hab and one of my favorite players. http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/19/lockout-2012-last-stand-for-long-time-nhl-stars/

We've launched a new edition to the website, Last Word Radio. Our first show came out tonight and we talked about the day in the NFL. http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/16/announcement-last-word-on-radio-launch/

And if he gets injured playing in Europe?

Correction: The lockout will start in Quebec. Its legality and whether backpay will be owed will be determined at a later date. Max's look at CBA negotiations and the battle that has begun http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/15/cba-talks-get-tense-nhl-vs-nhlpa-and-fan-vs-fan/# My look at recent NHL contracts signed by teams in the last weeks before the lockout http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/15/nhl-last-minute-signings-hypocrisy-or-smart-business/

A look inside the Strategy of the NHL and the NHLPA in this labor dispute. http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/13/divide-and-conquer-the-strategy-of-the-nhlpa-in-this-labour-dispute/

Absolutely, I was agreeing with you. I just think the discussion will start in Football and Basketball and move on from there.

Absolutely, the pay for play arguments always start in football, and to a lesser extent basketball. I doubt many boosters are paying big money to NCAA hockey players under the table.

It never mattered how well Gretzky or Lemieux could play defence. The puck was on their stick for the majority of their shifts... the best defence is having the puck.

they don't decide who is amateur or not, they decide who is NCAA eligible.

The Olympics abandonned the requirements that athletes be amateur almost 25 years ago. They allowed pro hockey players (including NHLers) into the 1988 games in Calgary. Only the NHL did not shut down and only a few players were released (Jim Peplinski and Brian Bradley were two examples of players released by their NHL clubs to play in the games).

Chasing the Perfect Hockey player, an NHL Happy Hour piece with Max Vasiliev. http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/12/chasing-perfection/

The reason the NCAA calls the CHL semi-pro is because of the NHL contracts. It has nothing to do with the stipend. The CHL has explored the option of their players playing NCAA after junior was finished in the past and that is the answer the NCAA gave.

This is all a divide and conquer strategy by the NHLPA. Get Molson, and the two Alberta owners to not support a lockout. They are already proposing increased revenue sharing to try and get the small market teams on their side. The more division in the ownership group the better for the NHLPA, and vice versa for the players staying united vs the owners.

I don't think there is anything special about Kirill Petrov. Do you mean Kirill Kabanov, the talented player who is a nutbar?

Pittsburgh is debatable but i have them in the same tier as Montreal, so you are right in that there isn't much difference there Ottawa I've got a level ahead because they have prospects at every position, while we are thin at LW and have nothing in terms of goaltending.

I think we stay top 10, but not top 5 if we give the Habs credit for Price. Reason being that we have to give teams like tampa credit for Stamkos, Hedman, Connolly (who are all younger than Price), Islanders get Tavares, Oilers get their youth, etc.... if we add all players say under 25, we are doing well with what we have (Subban, Price, Patches) added to the mix, but of course could use always use a little more.

Organizational rankings part 2, the top 15 featuring the Habs http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/09/09/top-shelf-prospects-nhl-team-rankings-the-top-15/