Flames Coach Wants Up-Tempo Approach

 In just a few days the Calgary Flames will open training camp at the Saddledome and start preparing for the 2012-13 season.  Taking over for the fired Brent Sutter behind the bench is Bob Hartley.

Hartley is no stranger to coaching at the NHL level.  He coached the Colorado Avalanche from 1998-2003.  In each season with the Avs his team made it to the Western Conference Finals and won the Stanley Cup in 2000-2001.  Hartley was fired after 31 games at the start of the 2002-2003 season and landed in Atlanta where he coached until the 2007-08 season.

He takes over a team that hasn't made the playoffs in nearly five seasons.  The past three seasons under former head coach Brent Sutter were marred by inconsistent leadership, sloppy play and the inability to finish games.  

Hartley's coaching style is much different from his predecessor.

Hartley inherits a Flames team that hasn't made the playoffs in five seasons.

"We're going to be a fast-paced, up-tempo hockey team.  One thing that I can promise our fans is that we won't be sitting on the blueline waiting for the other team to attack.  I believe in pressure, I believe in moving the puck smartly and I believe in great puck possession."

He also places great emphasis on conditioning stressing that in order for a team to be successful they must be in peak physical condition.  Some of his favorite drills include Mountain Climbers, which sees players skate blue line to goal line, red line to goal line, blue line to goal line and far end to goal line in 45 seconds and Sweet Sixteens, 16 laps around the rink in four minutes.

"Conditioning is probably the most important factor because we're going to have a really tight schedule.  We're going to play three games in four nights, so the ability to recover from a big game will be crucial.  The only way that you can recover mentally and physically is to be fit."

With only 48 games to play during the regular season, the Flames will have to treat each game like a playoff game.  If the Flames can stay healthy and produce on the offensive end, they have a shot at making the post season.  With Hartley's continued focus on being mentally and physically ready the Flames will be well prepared for a shortened 2012-13 campaign.

Flyers Interested in Canucks Luongo?

The twittersphere was in overdrive today with wild rumors about Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and his future with the team.

Are the Flyers the latest team interested in Roberto Luongo?

It might be the Canucks worst kept secret:  Luongo wants out of Vancouver.  Rumors have flown around blogs since the Kings won the Stanley Cup about a possible trade involving the Canucks goalie.  Florida and Chicago were the first teams rumored to be highly interested in obtaining the veteran, more recently Toronto was the rumored destination.  Now it seems the Flyers are throwing their name in the hat and trying to land the former All-Star.

Luongo, who signed a 12 year, $64M contract in 2009, is a huge contract to unload and with the new salary cap rules under the newly agreed to Collective Bargaining Agreement it will be harder for Vancouver GM Mike Gillies to trade him, especially to the Flyers.  Lets not forget that next season the salary cap drops again down to $64.3M.

According to CapGeek.com, the Flyers are sitting at a cap hit of $67.44M this season, just $2.75M below the agreed cap of $70.2M for the 2012-13 season.  In order to get Luongo to Philly, the Flyers would have to give up Ilya Bryzgalov, who signed a 9 year, $51M contract with the Flyers in 2011.  Luongo and Bryzgalov have nearly identical cap hits this season at $5.33M and $5.66M respectively.

Here's where things get interesting.  Lets assume for arguments sake that the trade happens sometime this season, Luongo is now a Flyer and Brygalov is now a Canuck.  Both teams can choose to terminate their contracts.  How?  Per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement each team is allowed two amnesty buyouts to terminate contracts at the end of this season or next season.

If the Canucks and Flyers chose to terminate Luongo and Bryzgalov's contracts, the teams could choose to renegotiate new contracts with each goalie, possibly at a more reasonable rate and for a shorter term thanks to the limits placed on contracts under the new CBA.

It still remains unclear how teams will choose to use their buyouts, whether they will choose to buy out the outrageous, front loaded, long term contracts that have plagued the league over the last few seasons or choose to use the buyouts in a different way.

NHL, NHLPA Agree To New CBA Framework

The NHL Lockout has finally come to an end.  After 113 days and a marathon 16 hour negotiating session between the National Hockey League and the NHLPA, the two sides have agreed on the framework on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

At 4:40 AM Sunday NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr emerged from the negotiating room to announce the framework of a deal had been reached.  "We have to dot a lot of I's and cross a lot of T's.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but the basic framework has been agreed upon." Bettman told reporters in a brief statement.

Bettman and Fehr did not immediately release any details on what that framework was and said they would not comment on what the new CBA will include, thankfully TSN knows everything about hockey ever...

According to TSN the new CBA will include the following:

/  The CBA will be for ten years with an opt out clause after season eight of the CBA (Summer 2020).  Great news everybody wins here, we won't have to go through this again for a while and making this CBA a long term is better for the League.  Imagine where this League will be in ten years and the NHL has grown in revenue roughly 9% in five seasons.

/  The players' share of hockey related revenue (HRR) will be an equal 50-50 split with the owners,  steep drop from the 57% stake the players laid claim to last season.  Huge win for the owners who've been screwed as NHL profits rose the last five seasons.  The players gave up a lot of money here, but it's only fair they share the HRR with the owners.

/  Year One of the CBA will have a salary cap of $70.2M, Year Two will see the salary cap drop to $64.3M.  Both seasons the salary cap floor will be set at $44M.  The owners gave up a lot here, they wanted Y2 salary cap set at $60M.  It gives the teams flexibility in the first two years of the new CBA to get their payrolls in check and slowly bring their cap down to a reasonable amount.

/  Each team will be allowed two amnesty buy outs which can be used to terminate after this season and next season.  The buyouts will count against the players' overall share in revenues but not the team's salary cap.  Win for the owners who can now terminate these HUGE front loaded contracts *cough* ROBERTO LUONGO *cough* therefore helping themselves meet that salary cap.  If I was a player with one of those outrageous contracts I'd be crapping myself right now.

/  A player contract term limit for free agents will be seven years and eight years for a team signing its own player.  Lets be honest here, there are very few hockey players that have been given ten or fifteen year contracts that will actually fulfill these obligations...thankfully someone realized this during the CBA negotiations.  Huge win for the owners.

/  The salary variance on contracts from year to year can not vary more than 35% and the final year can not vary by more than 50% of the highest year.  Good bye front loaded contracts!  Giant win for the owners here.  Combine this with the term limits on contracts and you have a recipe for success for the owners.

/  The draft lottery selection process will change with all 14 teams fully eligible for the first overall pick.  The weighting system for each team will remain, but the four-spot restriction will be eliminated.  Wow, so all 14 non-playoff teams are eligible for the draft lottery, and any of those 14 teams could possibly get the #1 pick in the draft...now there's even less reason to tank your season because there's 13 other teams that also have a shot at the #1 pick at the draft.

/  Supplemental discipline for players in on-ice incidents will continue to go through NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan first, followed by an appeal process that will go through NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.  For suspensions of six games or more a neutral third party will decide if necessary.  The "Shanaban" returns!  He's done a fine job so far trying to change the game and make it more safe for the players, no need to change things here.

/  Teams can only walk away from a player in salary arbitration if the award is at least $3.5M.

/  No decision was made on NHL participation in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.  The NHL and NHLPA have decided to hold separate negotiations with the IIHF and IOC outside of the CBA.  There's no way NHLers won't be at the games.  They want to play...let them play.  Yes the Olympics are supposed to showcase the best amateur athletes in the world...but try telling that to Kobe and LeBron!  You can either let them participate in the Olympics or create some sort of professional tournament where players can represent their respective countries.

No date has been set as of yet on when the puck will drop on the 2012-13 season, but rumor is a 50 game season could begin on January 15 or a 48 game season could being on January 19.  It all depends on how long it takes to put the framework to paper and how long it takes to get the Board of Governors to approve this new CBA.

NHL Lockout Effecting Local Establishments in Canada

This seasons NHL lockout is affecting more than just fans, it's also affecting small businesses in five Canadian cities.

The cities of Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton have all seen a steep decline in business around their respective arenas on would-be game days.  Those five Canadian cities have seen an overall decrease in business of 11.23% since the lockout.

Local watering holes around hockey arenas have seen a 34.68% decrease in revenue when compared to  a game day in 2011.  Fast food joints have posted a 6.93% decrease and sit down restaurants have shown a 10.54% decrease as well.

The fans aren't the only ones paying the price during the lockout, it's hurting local Canadian businesses who will have to find other ways to bring in more money until the players and owners can resolve their differences and bring this lockout to an end.

You can read the full article here.

NHL Owners and Players Meet Today in NYC

Six NHL owners are expected to take part in CBA negotiations today as the NHL lockout continues.

Ron Burkle (Penguins), Mark Chipman (Jets), Murray Edwards (Flames), Jeremy Jacobs (Bruins), Larry Tanenbaum (Maple Leafs) and Jeff Vinik (Lightning) are all expected to be in attendance along with several key NHL players.

Neither NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman nor NHLPA President Donald Fehr will attend the meeting.

The NHL has canceled regular season games through December 14 as well as the Winter Classic and All-Star Game.

UPDATE 12:25 PM CST:
Walking into hotel all Bettman said to the media was: "I'm hoping we get to where we need to be."...doesn't sound like things will get resolved today.