NHL Lockout Perspective from a Coach

[DeToxRox]

Barry Smith (Detroit Red Wings Assisstant Coach) came to talk at the high school I am a JV coach for today .. he spent a good amount of time talking about the lockout. Here are some things of note ..

- The players association didn't inform the players of their 26 % decrease in salaries when they proposed it. He said Nick Lidstrom lost 3 million dollars on a plane trip to Russia (it happened as he was going to skate in Igor Larionovs retirement game)

- The players are wrong he says.

- The owners must help by slashing ticket prices, because fans are paying the max for a less then good product.

- The players met today, and he thinks from what he's heard they know they are the ones who will have to break. He thinks they will, and they will will play a 28 game regular season, in 42 days.

- He thinks teams like Florida, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and a few others must go because they are bleeding money.

Ways to improve the appeal of games ..

- Make goalies fair game behind the net.

- Nix the redline.

- Add shootout if overtime stays a tie.

- Make current OT 3 on 3 instead of 4 on 4.

- Use Hockey Night in Canada as the standard for broadcasting games. They do it right.

Other things of note ..

- Sidney Crosby will be great ..

- Phill Kessell might be better (in his opinion)

- He said Ninimea (i think it was from Calgary, the guy who runs everyone) is not a tough player. He said he never would go into the corners first and that he plays to run guys but never to take a hit.

If other stuff pops into my head, I will post it, but that's just the gist of it.

[Pyser]

The players association didn't inform the players of their 26 % decrease in salaries when they proposed it. He said Nick Lidstrom lost 3 million dollars on a plane trip to Russia (it happened as he was going to skate in Igor Larionovs retirement game)

i dont understand. if they slashed prices lidstrom wouldve lost 3 mil?

or he physically misplaced 3 million dollars on a plane?

[Blade6119]

i dont understand. if they slashed prices lidstrom wouldve lost 3 mil?

or he physically misplaced 3 million dollars on a plane?

The 26% cut in salaries would cause lidstrom to lose 3 mil in money he would earn before the cut...imagine your contract you have with your job just getting cut 26% by the people supposedly looking out for you without consulting you...and nothing you can do about it...it would suck...now imagine if that 26% = 3 million dollars...thats a lot of cash to lose...

[DeToxRox]

Yeah, Blade got it.

He also said the players he's talked to are having fun playing still overseas, but all the kids there would rather be in the NHL, so it's night and day there, they just can't figure out why there is a strike.

[Suicane75]

i dont understand. if they slashed prices lidstrom wouldve lost 3 mil?

or he physically misplaced 3 million dollars on a plane?


Was D.B. Cooper on the plane?

[DeToxRox]

Oh also...

His reasoning as of now why Kessell might be better then Crosby is his defense. He thinks Crosby in the Q is a mistake because defense doesn't exist there.

Just more I remembered.

[TazFTW]

He said Ninimea (i think it was from Calgary, the guy who runs everyone) is not a tough player. He said he never would go into the corners first and that he plays to run guys but never to take a hit.

Ah, the asshole that is Ville Nieminen.

[DeToxRox]

Ah, the asshole that is Ville Nieminen.

That's the one. Had a brainfart. Yeah Nieminen is someone that Barry Smith doesn't respect, but he said he hears it from a lot of coaches around the NHL.

[Pyser]

i dont think lidstrom was scheduled to make 11.5 mil this year.

also, the more you make, the easier it is to take a 26% pay cut.

think of the players making 300k. theyd be leaving almomst 80k out there. which hurts more?

[Simms]

...now imagine if that 26% = 3 million dollars...thats a lot of cash to lose...
Yes, that would suck. But *somehow*, I imagine he'd find a way to pull up his bootstraps and eek out a meager existence on the $6 million he has left.

THAT, in a nutshell, I think, is why very little of public opinion that I know of is on the players' side. :)

- Make goalies fair game behind the net.
I've ranted about this semi-privately for years. I never quite understood why, if goalies and their creases were such sacred cows, they didn't lose all rights to protection when they ventured outside their force field.

[Blackadar]

Was D.B. Cooper on the plane?

Nice reference from the 70s. I had to think on that for a minute.

[bbor]

That's the one. Had a brainfart. Yeah Nieminen is someone that Barry Smith doesn't respect, but he said he hears it from a lot of coaches around the NHL.

A guy you hate to play against but would love to have on your own team.