NHL

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

NHL lockout Day 10

By: Ed Tait

Posted: 09/24/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Enlarge Image

Rick Nash (CP)

TIDBITS of info surrounding NHL labour impasse:

NUMBERS GAME

OVER 40 players have left to play overseas. During the 2004-05 lockout, that total reached 380.

SOLID DEBUT

RICK Nash and Joe Thornton served up impressive debuts with HC Davos of the Swiss League on Saturday and lit up former St. John's IceCaps goaltender David Aebischer in the process. Nash had a natural hat trick and picked up a helper while Thornton assisted on all of Nash's goals and added a fourth assist in a 9-2 win over Rapperswil-Jona.

Davos is also cashing in on the Nash and Thornton merch front: Davos scarves with the two NHL stars are going for US$37.55, T-shirts at $48.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND

FROM Anthony Stewart of the Carolina Hurricanes (@EhStew13) in response to the comments made by Detroit senior vice-president Jimmy Devellano, who was fined by the NHL after characterizing the owners as ranchers and the players as cattle.

Tweeted Stewart: 'Moooooo.'

QUOTABLE

"The pressure is clearly not to repeat the past. No matter what you gain in a settlement, the question for the owners is, how much more do you lose by cancelling a season again? The harm that is done to a sport by virtue of not playing can be huge." -- Ken Shropshire, a professor of sports business at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, in an interview with The New York Times.

BLINDERS OFF

UFC president Dana White, who was in Toronto on Saturday for UFC 152, had no idea of the NHL lockout until he was asked about it by a reporter. That didn't stop him from having an opinion on the matter.

"It's one of those things I never like to see," said White "Everybody needs to keep the business rolling -- the athletes need to make money, the owners need to keep the stadiums filled.

"It's a partnership, the same thing that it is with us. And I hate to see it. I think it always sucks. It always ends up hurting the teams and the players because it pisses fans off.

"But I think hockey is such a crazy-ass sport up here, nothing can hurt it. Nothing."

NO AHL FOR HALL?

The Edmonton Journal is reporting that because Oilers star Taylor Hall was on the injured reserve list when the lockout started, he will not be eligible to join the team's other young stars in Oklahoma City, their AHL affiliate.

If Hall wants game action after recovering from his shoulder injury, he'll have to take his act overseas.

COACH ANGST: NHL bosses, just like players, have their routines. And this is the time of year they should be back on the ice putting their squads together. Not being able to do so is eating up many of them.

"It's just unsettling because you don't know your timeline," L.A. Kings head coach Darryl Sutter told The Los Angeles Times. "The worst part, quite honestly, from a coaching standpoint about all of this is you're not allowed contact with your players. That's just something that for me is important because you know what, the relationships that you have with them, you want to be able to talk to them."

-- Compiled by Ed Tait

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 24, 2012 C1

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More NHL

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.