Hexy27

Here is my take on the lineup:

Hartnell Giroux Voracek

Schenn Briere Read

Simmonds Couturier Fedotenko

Rinaldo Talbot Sestito

Coburn Timonen

Grossman Gervais

Schenn Manning or anyone of our injured D

I'd really like to see Manning get another shot with this shortened season. I think he showed some promise and with the injuries we have now we can give him that shot. I also think Read needs to be on one of the top two lines.

@sarsippius

I applaud you for what you are doing. I don't have season tickets but typically attend about 10 games per year and a handful of postseason games. I've decided I am not attending a single game this year (on the fence about next year).

I'm really excited about this and really angry at the same time. I hope they go about all this differently in a decade's time.

Ahh, remember the good ol' days when we thought Leighton was overpaid?

Wait...we don't think Leighton is overpaid any more? When did this happen?

I'm no fan of Leighton but I think I would be ok with him as the starter for this season if it meant we can dump Bryz. The season is already shortened (in the best case scenario) or non-existent. If there is a buyout clause or something I hope we dump Bryz.

Oh no could this be the end of Jody Shelley????

Looks like there is a bright side to this lockout! :-p

WTF is with waiting till August to even start talking about talking?

I think both sides are equally to blame in the delay. They were playing a staring contest to see who would blink first. It was quite stupid and both sides have been rather stubborn. Another lost season this year would be more damaging than the one lost 8 years ago (which isn't all that long ago). I'm not so sure the fans in smaller markets will bother to return.

As much as I would like to see Bryz bought out I think we are stuck with him. I can't see Snider forking over that much money for so little in return. If anything buying out Pronger could be a good PR move. They can celebrate him as this tough player and they are easing him into retirement whereas buying out Bryz is publicly eating ALOT of crow.

I don't miss the old forum not one bit. In fact I have not logged in over there since I signed up here. Great job Digi!

He said something similar a few weeks ago (before the owners' 50/50 offer came out). He and Jonesy were convinced that the lockout would be over in less than a week. Hopefully he's more accurate this time around...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=407490

So what does everyone think about the latest offer? A 50/50 split sounds good and according to TSN the only contract restrictions left are a 5 year max on contract length and pushing unrestricted free agency back to age 28. I don't think the 5 year maximum contract length is a deal breaker but I think the latter will potentially stifle competition.

@hf101

Thanks for the report! I'm hoping to make it to some games on weekends. On a side not I looked into AHL streaming. Is it me or is the pricing insane?! I'd love to buy a AHL streaming pass but it is more expensive than similar streaming options for other professional sports (Gamecenter included).

I'm guessing the main factors are being able to dictate how often he plays and where....and the fact his practice schedule and stuff he is working on can be directly altered by the Flyers management, not the case with Portland.

I think this is exactly the reason why they sent him to the ECHL. The Flyers have direct control over his development and he is only about a 45 minute drive away. Looking forward to checking him out amongst others in Trenton.

Granted Hovinen is returning to play after hip surgery, but it's disappointing that he didn't make the Phantoms roster. But hey, congrats to Heeter.

I am most interested in seeing Hovinen in person. I wouldn't have gotten that chance if he went to Glen Falls, but we have a great opportunity to check him out in Trenton.

Looks like I will be getting my hockey fix with the Trenton Titans. They got quite an infusion of Phantoms talent due to the lockout:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/20121009_Flyers_assign_six_players_to_Trenton.html

Premium tickets are only $23 and the most expensive seat in the house is $30. Anyone else planning on checking them out?

@Spinorama

I don't think anyone knows the answers to those questions. I don't know if the answer lies in the CBA or in some IIHF language. It is probably out there for someone that really wants to go digging around.

The BEST way to demonstrate your displeasure is to walk away from the NHL. Hit them where it hurts...their wallet. Don't tune in and don't buy any apparel or tickets. It is the only way. Letters won't do it alone but a drop in revenue would. That being said it is easier said than done because everyone wants their team back on the ice. It is not an easy thing to walk away from (not for me at least). It might be easier if the AHL was regularly televised.

I don't have a link to share but I want to see if anyone else was listening to WIP this morning. I don't often tune in to WIP on my way to work but I was channel surfing and I heard Angelo talking about Donald Fehr. Then Jonesy and Morganti chimed in. Apparently there was a decent amount of progress over the weekend. Jonesy made it sound like the players are willing to concede on most of their issues. Morganti thinks we may even see the lockout end this Thursday or Friday. Jonesy said that he is now optimistic that it will be over soon.

I tuned into the conversation a little late so I wanted to see if anyone else heard this.

Let's hope this lockout ends before Giroux takes the ice in Germany. I don't want to see another player of ours go down with injury overseas.

@hf101

I don't know if players are doing this to put pressure on the owners. I think they are doing it to stay in shape as there aren't many options for them here. As long as their risk is covered (via a team covering insurance) I think most players will jump on opportunities overseas.

@flyerrod

I am no fan of Bettman but how much of this is his fault? Is he actually wielding this power or is he just the puppet of the owners? As much as I dislike Bettman I don't know that a subsequent commissioner would be any different. The league really needs a change in whoever or whatever is the driving force behind the poor decision making.

@jammer2

Couldn't agree more. I can still remember Richie's coronation ceremony. At the time I was ok with Richie as captain but I hated that damn ceremony!

@jammer2

Is this different than it was in 2004? I just seem to remember the AHL being flooded with NHL talent. If Giroux can't play in the A then I understand going oversees. I would just hate to see him get injured playing for some team over in Europe.

Don't know how I would feel about Giroux playing overseas. I understand his need to stay active and maintain his skills but there is so much risk in doing so. During the last lockout many NHLers just played in the AHL. I think I'd rather see that.

I think we'll see alot of NHL level talent in the AHL if there is a lockout. That happened during the last lockout. It won't be the same as playing in the NHL full time but I'm sure it will be more challenging than normal AHL play. They might not develop as quickly as if there wasn't a lockout but I don't think it will be a huge setback.