Unfollow NHL September 15

Ten ways for fans to send a message

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:46:00 -0400

In the past two weeks, we’ve received many great suggestions and ideas in addition to our own on how fans can voice their dissatisfaction and send a message to the NHL/NHLPA.

Unfollow and unlike the NHL on all social networking sites on September 15^th, the CBA decision deadline. (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc…)
Unfollow and unlike NHL players on all social networking sites on September 15^th, the CBA decision deadline. (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc…)
Don’t visit NHL.com, any of the teams’ homepages, or the NHL Shop.
Resist the urge to buy merchandise sold by the NHL or any of its teams.
Write/email the NHL or any of its thirty teams, voicing your dissatisfaction.
Don’t buy tickets to any games.
Refuse payment of season tickets if there is in fact a lockout.
Cancel your subscription to NHL Center Ice if you have one, or any other NHL-affiliated subscriptions.
Support teams from other leagues such as the AHL, WHL, KHL, etc…
Spread the word about this movement! It’s a fan movement and every voice counts!

New ideas and suggestions, such as letter-writing or staging peaceful protests, are welcome! You can email us at unfollownhlsept15@yahoo.com, write on our Facebook wall, send us a tweet on Twitter or even drop a message in our Tumblr ask box.

NHL labour talks cancelled for day; League, union bosses meet informally

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:16:57 -0400

Via the Canadian Press, CBC Sports

The NHL’s latest round of collective bargaining talks ended before they began.

A scheduled bargaining session was cancelled Wednesday afternoon after top executives from the league and players’ union held a secret morning meeting to discuss the best way to move forward in the discussions.

They mutually decided to reconvene with their negotiating teams on Thursday morning, when key economic issues are slated to be back on the table.

“I think system-related proposals and economical proposals are the most critical issues and probably the issues where we have the widest divergence of views currently,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press in an interview. “I’m all in favour of spending as much time as possible trying to bridge those gaps.”

The clock is ticking. The current collective agreement is set to expire Sept. 15 and the NHL says it will lock out the players if a new deal hasn’t been reached.

The atmosphere around the talks is a mix of uncertainty and growing frustration — with NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr acknowledging he didn’t “know what’s going to happen for sure” when the sides met again Thursday.

“You get up in the morning and you try and work that day to see if you can make progress,” he added. “If you don’t find an agreement that way you do it again the next day and you keep doing it until you find a way.”

On Thursday, the NHLPA will expand on its proposal as it pertains to rules governing player contracts, according to two sources. Those details weren’t previously included when the players presented their offer last week.

The sides have put two very different offers on the table and are still grappling with a wide financial gap.

They attempted to start moving toward a more formal negotiation with only the four main players in the room — Daly joined NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for Wednesday morning’s two-hour sitdown with Fehr and his brother Steve Fehr, the union’s No. 2 man.

“I think more than anything else it was to review where we are in the process, where we’ve come from, where we are with the various proposals and to determine how to move the process forward in the best way possible — hoping and understanding that both sides are committed to using the time left to making a deal as quickly as possible,” said Daly.

Very little progress seemed to be made. However, Donald Fehr cautioned against viewing the subsequent cancellation of an afternoon bargaining session as a bad sign.

“This is one of the normal things that happen,” he said. “Sometimes you schedule things and they don’t come off, sometimes you don’t schedule things and you end up with much longer or more involved meetings, sometimes you change the format. This is an ordinary part of the process.”

The union put forth an offer that includes a smaller percentage of revenues for players over the next three seasons in exchange for an expanded revenue sharing program to help struggling teams. The NHLPA estimated that players would be giving up US$465 million in salaries if the league continued on its pace of 7.1 per cent growth each season.

The league’s proposal called for a major drag on salaries — accomplished by lowering the players’ share of revenue from 57 per cent to 43 per cent — while introducing new contract restrictions, including a five-year cap on contracts.

Beyond the monetary issue at the heart of talks, each side has prioritized a secondary cause.

The NHLPA would like to see revenue sharing between teams expanded and proposed the creation of an industry growth fund that would see $100 million contributed each year for struggling franchises. It would be part of a wider plan totalling $250 million in annual redistributed funds and Bettman would be given the discretion to decide how the money from the industry growth fund is spread around.

The NHL is largely happy with the current economic system, but has made no secret of the fact it would like to see the end to heavily front-loaded, long-term contacts. As part of its proposal, deals would be required to pay the same amount each season.

Fehr paused when asked if Wednesday’s meeting of key executives included a shift in position from either side.

“I’m not going to try and characterize it,” said Fehr. “I think it would be not conducive to the process for me to try and do that. So, you just [have to] bear with me on it.”

"NHL is Counting on Forgetful Fans"

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:24:32 -0400

Good read from @LukeDeCock of the News & Observer:

They haven’t canceled an NHL game yet, but the rookie tournament the Carolina Hurricanes have attended in recent years was wiped off the schedule Thursday. The Detroit Red Wings, who host the annual event in Traverse City, Mich., pulled the plug with less than a month left to run on the NHL’s labor agreement.

That agreement, for which the NHL’s owners were willing to give up an entire season eight years ago, one they essentially dictated to the capitulating players, one that kicked off eight years of skyrocketing revenue for the league, has been deemed faulty by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, its architect.

In short: The NHL got everything it wanted in the last lockout. And now, after eight years of unprecedented success, it wants more.

If the last lockout was a necessary alteration in the game’s basic financial structure – and everyone from fans to the players were willing to acknowledge some kind of change was needed – the lockout that’s a month away from kicking off is about pure greed.

Fans came flocking back to hockey in the fall of 2005, and they’ve kept streaming through the doors since. Apparently, the NHL considers them gullible sheep instead of valued customers, because the league already took them for suckers once.

In 2004, Bettman promised ticket prices would go down if the league got the labor agreement it wanted. He even scoffed at the “abstract theory” of supply and demand.

“The fact of the matter is, more than a majority of our teams would use the opportunity of economic stability to lower their ticket prices,” Bettman said.

The fact of the matter is, the average NHL ticket went up almost 25 percent in the five years following the lockout, according to Team Marketing Report. (The average Hurricanes ticket went from $31.77 in 2004 to $41.58 in 2010.)

With lower-revenue franchises like the Hurricanes having a hard time keeping pace with their big-market brethren, the game’s economic system still needs fixing. Still, the circumstances call for tweaks, not a massive overhaul. Increase revenue sharing, close the loopholes allowing decade-long, front-loaded contracts, and, sure, haggle over the players’ share of the pot. It would be easy to get that deal done before training camp opens.

But the NHL owners – and 11 of them weren’t around for the last lockout – want more. Rather than share the wealth with each other, they want to lower salaries to the point where even the poorest clubs can pay the bills, with the rich getting even richer. At the moment, players get 57 percent of revenue. The NHL’s first proposal would crank that down to about 43 percent while imposing all kinds of draconian restrictions on contracts and free agency.

The NHL points out, correctly, that NFL and NBA players have agreed to take a smaller share while failing to point out it has offered few of the compromises those leagues offered to get those deals. (Most notably: the NFL’s across-the-board revenue-sharing plan that allows the Green Bay Packers to compete on equal footing with the New York franchises.)

There’s an agreement to be made, one that addresses the problems facing the game and helps franchises like the Hurricanes. At this point, the NHL has made it clear it isn’t interested in making that agreement.

Eight years ago, NHL owners wanted “cost certainty.” Fans could buy into that. Now, they just want more money – at the expense of the players, fans and people whose livings depend on the games being played – and they appear willing to pull the plug on part or all of the season to get it. Will fans buy into that?

"Call Us When NHL Labour Deal is Done"

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:01:50 -0400

Another voice of frustration- @Michael_Traikos of the National Post:

Wake me when it’s over.

That’s how most fans probably feel about the latest squabble between the NHL and the players’ union. They’re fed up.

Don’t talk to them about revenue sharing or salary rollbacks. Don’t tell them one side is being greedy and the other unreasonable. They don’t want to hear it. Not after what happened last time.

In 2004-05, a full season of a hockey was wiped out because of an unwillingness to introduce the salary cap. Eight years later, the existence of the salary cap is not even an issue anymore. Instead, a debate over relative shares of hockey-related revenues could threaten the season from starting. It could be about midi-chlorian counts and magic beans, for all fans care.

All that matters is that it appears we are going to lose more games. How many? It’s hard to say yet, but the doomsday preppers are already planning for the worst.

Joe Thornton and Rick Nash, who spent the previous lockout in Switzerland, are reportedly making arrangements to head back for a second tour.

Teemu Selanne is in talks to return to his old team in Finland. And the once-ignored American Hockey League, which releases its now highly anticipated schedule on Friday, is about to become the hottest ticket in town.

All because Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr would rather come up with inventive ways to say “far apart” than lock themselves in a room and actually work on bridging the so-called gap that exists between the two sides.

Who knows? Maybe this is all just posturing. Maybe a deal will be worked out just in time for the season opener on Oct. 13. Maybe we just need to sit back, relax and let the negotiation process work itself out.

But with the current collective bargaining agreement due to expire on Sept. 15, it seems likely that the season will not start on time and that a month or more will be lost, which is sad and depressing and really kind of stupid.

Remember the last time that the doors locked on the NHL? NBC was forced to show The Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. Instead of hockey, people sat around and watched puppies jumping through hoops. The drama!

That cannot happen. Not again.

And yet, someone is going to have to compromise. That “monetary gulf,” as described by Fehr, has to be bridged by both sides.

We are talking billions of dollars and big egos, so it will not be easy. The owners want the players to take a smaller piece of the pie, by cutting player salaries by 24% and decreasing their share of league revenue to 43% from 57%.

The players are willing to keep what they have but give up a claim on additional revenues earned for the next three years. But they also want the league’s wealthier owners to be responsible for propping up the have-nots of the league.

Which side is right? Neither, if another lockout occurs.

And yet, we appear to be heading that way. Bettman has already stated that if the CBA expires on Sept. 15 without a new one in place, hockey will not be played. Fehr has warned union members to be prepared for that.

It could just be a bluff. Then again, what if it is not? Canadian hockey fans are a loyal bunch. But how many fringe fans were lost from the previous lockout? How many more are at risk this time around?

How many players will hang up the skates if a month or more is lost? How many franchises can survive when the only tenants in their arenas are rock bands and ice capades? How can the NHL, which signed a US$200-million agreement with NBC in 2011, go back to blackouts?

How could a sport that is still considered a distant fourth among North American team sports, risk losing more popularity?

I don’t want to think about it. So, I am going to close my eyes. And when I open them up again, I just want handshakes and for hockey to start on time.

Red Wings cancel prospects tournament in Traverse City

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:15:36 -0400

By Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Sports

The collateral damage of a possible labor dispute in the NHL has begun to set in, as the Detroit Red Wings today canceled the annual prospects camp they host in Traverse City.

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.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the players’ association expires Sept. 15. The sides held talks again this week, but most people in hockey believe there’ll be a lockout that will shorten the 2012-13 season to around 60 games.
For now, though, training camp for the main Wings group remains on schedule to start Sept. 20.

“We’ve got our training booked in Traverse City, and we’ll leave it as is,” Holland said. “But we’ll be in touch with the hotels up there, and at some point in time, we’ll have to make a decision.”

NHL Studying NHLPA's "Alternative View"

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:35:56 -0400

By Kevin Allen at USA Today:

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and his negotiating team are huddled Tuesday afternoon to discuss an NHL Players’ Association proposal that would reduce players’ share of revenue by as much as $465 million while preserving the salary cap system.

“It’s clear to me that they didn’t put it together in an hour or two,” Bettman told reporters as he left the negotiating session where the NHLPA proposal was presented. “As a result, we’re going to need a little time to evaluate it, understand it and we told them that we’d go back to our offices and do that and that we would be prepared to meet again (Wednesday).”

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr provided the $465 million figure and said the proposal calls for expanded revenue sharing to help financially distressed teams. He said the players’ proposal could “stabilize the industry.”

The Canadian Press is reporting that there is a luxury tax included in the proposal that would allow some teams to go above the cap, and some to stay below.

The NHLPA proposal would call for a three years of players accepting a lower percentage of the revenue and then players have the option to revert back to their current share (57%) in the fourth year.

A large contingent of players, including Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, were present for the presentation of the NHLPA proposal.

The two sides are scheduled to meet four days this week in an effort to avoid the lockout of players on Sept. 15. Bettman has already informed the players they will be locked out if the old agreement expires without any resolution.

“I’m not going to characterize (the NHLPA proposal),” Bettman said. “I’m not going to tell you what it means because we need time to evaluate it and make sure we fully understand it.”

The NHLPA proposal was characterized by Fehr as an “alternative view” to a league proposal that called for player givebacks, plus some changes in revenue sharing. Owners want to reduce players’ share of revenue from 57% to 46% (the NHLPA says the figure is 43%), plus they would eliminate salary arbitration, limit contract lengths and keep players longer in entry-level deals and restricted free agency.

Fan View: Are the NHL Owners and Players Really This Dumb?

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:25:22 -0400

From @JenConnic at Ranger Nation:

Dear NHL owners and players,

Hope your summer has been going well. It’s been a pretty exciting offseason so far with a great draft and lots of big-name player moves. And the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup was a lot of fun. Here in New York we’re still basking in the glow of one of the most successful seasons the Rangers have played since 1994 and hopeful for next season to be just as exciting.

But here’s the thing: We’re worried that there might not be a season this fall. This whole collective bargaining agreement negotiations thing seems to not be going well. You players have dragged out counter offering the owners. And you owners, especially your leader, are throwing the word “lockout” around again. We don’t like that word.

See, here’s the thing, we all remember the last lockout. It was pretty awful. We had football to watch, but then when the season was over we had to watch things like basketball. Yuck. And AHL hockey? It’s just not the same.

I know you both want to get as much money as you can in this new deal. We know you want to have something that you both deem “fair” (though none of us fans will think any of it is fair since we will never see the kind of money you guys earn). But you do realize the repercussions of what will happen if there’s another lockout, right?

IT MEANS LESS MONEY.

Not only will you owners not be generating revenue in ticket sales, you players won’t be earning anything because you won’t be playing. And, oh, you’re going to piss off a lot of fans, especially at a time when the league has become quite popular again. I can guarantee a lot of people won’t be rushing back to buy tickets and merchandise when you get your act together and actually have games again.

Remember how you guys had to rebuild the league in 1995 and again in 2005? You’re going to have to do that all over again. All the momentum and goodwill you’ve built in the years since thelast lockout will be gone. Any sort of work stoppage is going to be a public relations nightmare for both of you.

I keep asking myself: ARE THESE GUYS REALLY THIS DUMB?!

Seriously, are you guys this dumb? Can’t you stop being selfish for a month or two and think of us fans to get this thing done? We know it’s not easy, but we just landed a rover on Mars. Hammering out a new CBA is nothing in comparison.

Hoping to see camp open in September,

Jen

Discipline another issue in labor talks

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:22:34 -0400

By Detroit Free Press (via USA Today)

One day after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman promised the league would lock out its players if a new collective bargaining agreement was not in place by Sept. 15, the league and the NHLPA met for nearly three hours Friday at the NHL offices in New York.

The session centered on hockey issues, specifically an appeals process for supplemental discipline and the lengths of training camps.

The lack of an independent appellate process for supplemental discipline is a point of contention for the players. Under the current CBA, only Bettman hears appeals of NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan’s rulings.

Discipline rose to the surface in discussions, and in particular, the case of Phoenix left wing Raffi Torres, who was suspended 25 games for elbowing Chicago right wing Marian Hossa under the chin in the playoffs. Torres appealed the suspension May 17, and the league announced July 2 that the suspension had been cut to 21 games.

“Raffi has come up in conversation,” said Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, who spoke for the NHLPA after the session. “(The players are) very interested in the whole process.”

Of course, all of this is secondary to the NHLPA finally submitting a counterproposal to the league’s first offer. That is expected to come early next week in Toronto. The two sides will meet at the NHLPA’s offices there the next two weeks, starting Tuesday.

The NHL presented its proposal on July 13. It asked for the players to accept a reduction in hockey-related revenue from 57% to 46%. The NHLPA says that the mathematics involved means the final number is closer to 43%.

Spread the word hockey fans!

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 13:06:34 -0400

Spread the word hockey fans!:

The more fans we have on board with #UnfollowNHLSept15, the bigger the message we send to the NHL and the bigger the impact we can make! Tell your friends, tell other fans, tell your teammates! Talk about it, write about it, tweet about it, blog about it, design about it! Get the word out about this social media initiative to help prevent a possible 2012-13 NHL lockout! Show the league just how much we hockey fans care about our sport!

Rangers Nation: Letters

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 12:35:00 -0400

Rangers Nation: Letters:

nyrangersnation:

Dear NHL Fans,

I urge, no implore you, to write to the NHL Offices. Spread the word, find ways to take a stand. We can’t let Gary Bettman treat us like this. Gary Bettman was hired to get the Owners more money. That’s led to 2 lockouts and a 3rd if it gets to one this year. That would mean two…

We support letter writing and any other way to publicize your dissent. Thank you for the ideas!

UnfollowNHLSept15 Updates

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 09:23:00 -0400

On September 15^th, 2012, we are organizing a social media protest and merchandise boycott of the National Hockey League, secondary to the inability of the NHL and the NHL Players Union to develop a Collective Bargaining Agreement. Gary Bettman has set his deadline day for September 15^th; now we have set ours.

#UnfollowNHLSept15 is taking a neutral position on the CBA negotiations. Neither side is desperate for money in their pockets, and ultimately, their inability to compromise results in hurting the fans more than anyone else.
#UnfollowNHLSept15 does not have the delusion that by unfollowing the NHL and NHL players on Twitter and unliking them on Facebook, we can prevent a 2012 NHL lockout. Rather, this is one way for fans to show unity and to send a message to the NHL, its franchises and its players that we are unhappy their inability to compromise.
#UnfollowNHLSept15 needs people- and a lot of people. This will only make an impact if we get enough people on board. We are also looking for people to actively help promote and expand the movement. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome.

SUGGESTION LIST FOR TAKING PART IN #UNFOLLOWNHLSEPT15

Spread the movement. Hashtag #UnfollowNHLSept15 on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and all other social media sites. Make it your Facebook status, blog about it, talk to other hockey fans about it. This is a grassroots movement that needs your help.
Stop purchasing official NHL merchandise, effective immediately. I know you want to show off a new Parise or Nash jersey, but it can wait. The hardest place to hit the NHL is in its wallet.
Avoid NHL.com and the franchise sites to reduce website traffic. However, we strongly encourage you to keep supporting your local media outlets and beat writers for hockey news!
If you are a season ticket holder, consider withholding your payments until a CBA agreement is worked out.
If there is still no CBA as of September 15^th, 2012, we are calling on all hockey fans to stage a social media protest by “unfollowing” and “unliking” official NHL-related Twitter accounts and players. On that day, we want to see the numbers drastically drop to show a unified statement that we do not support their inability to compromise, and we want our hockey back.

Please find us throughout the internet:

Twitter: @UnfollowNHLSept15 (and remember to hashtag #UnfollowNHLSept15)

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UnfollowNHLSeptember15

Tumblr: http://unfollownhlsept15.tumblr.com/

Or contact us via email at UnfollowNHLSept15@yahoo.com.

Unfollow NHL September 15!

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:34:00 -0400

Welcome to the Tumblr for #UnfollowNHLSept15!

Let the NHL know how we, the fans, are ANGRY! We are disgruntled with how they are currently handling the CBA proceedings and are attempting to send a message.

Our plan is simple; unfollow the NHL, all NHL organizations and players on Twitter on September 15th if there is no updated CBA. Unlike them on Facebook and any other social networking sites as well.

Don’t visit NHL.com or contribute to how much traffic their sites, including franchise sites, receive until there is an updated CBA. Find your information elsewhere- possibly here, if we can organize this well enough.

And until there is an updated CBA, don’t buy any NHL merchandise or even visit the NHL shop. Spread the word hockey fans! Let the NHL know how upset we are with how they’re handling our beloved sport! We will not quietly follow them into ANOTHER lockout!

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UnfollowNHLSeptember15.

Find us on Twitter using the hashtag #UnfollowNHLSept15.

Updates will follow.