Players these days hate Bettman because he took NHL away from most of them when they were kids ...TWICE!!!! (94-95/04-05)
Their hate is understandable.
1. If you think they hate Betteman because he took hockey away when they where kids then your living in a fantasy land. They hate him because he is taking away checks from them and it has nothing to do with the 94/95 lockout.
2. If you hate Betteman because of the lockouts then I feel sorry for you. Not a reason to hate anyone especially considering Betteman isn't a dictator with supreme power who decided to lockout the players no matter what. It's happened because all sides are at fault, players, owners, everyone.
1. If you think they hate Betteman because he took hockey away when they where kids then your living in a fantasy land. They hate him because he is taking away checks from them and it has nothing to do with the 94/95 lockout.
2. If you hate Betteman because of the lockouts then I feel sorry for you. Not a reason to hate anyone especially considering Betteman isn't a dictator with supreme power who decided to lockout the players no matter what. It's happened because all sides are at fault, players, owners, everyone.
If you think they don't hate him because he is 3 for 3 in locking players out, a couple happening when they were younger, you're in fantasy land. I hate Bettman for it, as does the avg fan (hence the booing everytime he's in public) and the players are fans of the game too, whether you agree or not.
Funny how other leagues (not run by Bettman) don't have lockouts everytime a CBA is up. Also, you know what a lockout is right? Not once have the players refused to play hockey.
Why people continue to waste energy defending either of these sides - both of which care so little about us fans it's actually sort of hilarious - I will never understand.
Toews is or was right the owners are clearly on a schedule they know exactly what they want and how they want it and it comes down to them getting it or not that is not a negotiation. I am so sick of this bickering and I love the NHL and i miss it as much as i like watching the AHL and ECHL and WHL and OHL and QMJHL I am sorry its just not the same. I miss Montreal and Boston and Islanders vs Rangers and all that stuff i wanna see Parise and Suter in Minny i wanna see Rask in Boston and Nash in New York and we are just being robbed. But the moment they drop the puck i will be there. even if thats October 2013. and they have Thank you fans spray painted on the ICE and playing on Outdoor Life Network.
No, Toews was not right. He and his union have done their part into making his words seem true. That's not to say that the owners haven't done their fair share of silly, selfish things either.
You are wasting your time believing one side has the "heroes" here.
Neither care about you. So stop caring about them. No need to give your support to anybody during a lockout, let alone the third in 18 years.
I could get a deal hammered out in 2 days with a willing partner its called give and take not take take take and with the Canadian and American TV rights coming up during this CBA your right the players deserve a far shake because the owners are going to rake in money with the TV money and the Expansion fees for teams in Suburban Toronto and Quebec City. I am sorry but i am pro players and as soon as this lockout ends ill be over it.
"There's definitely some resentment just from the fact there wasn't a whole lot of trust; there wasn't a whole lot of give and take these past couple of months," Toews said after working out with teammates at Johnny's IceHouse West. "Now we don't really want to talk about that type of thing too much.
"I think the thing we can learn from it is that both sides need to have that mutual understanding, that mutual respect where they need to work hard together for the fans and for the good of the game. Not just arguing over who makes more money and who takes this and who takes that.
"There's some things we can take away from that. It's frustrating that not everything is as simple as it should be. But hopefully this is something for now it kind of has hurt our game a little bit, but in the long run and decades from now is going to make it one of the best leagues in the world. We know it's the best sport. Hopefully in the long run, it's going to help everybody."
...
"There's two sides of it," Toews said. "There's the excitement around the fact we haven't played hockey in so long. We're excited to get back in front of our fans. Not only that, but just to be together on a daily basis.
"But the realistic thing that kind of sets in, did it really have to go this far? Did we really have to miss over three months? It's an unfortunate thing. We know we got a long road ahead of us to try and build this thing back and earn the respect back from the fans again."
...
"To be honest with you, I didn't think it would make it into October," Toews said. "And after that, I didn't think the lockout would last until November, then December. It just kept going. Once it got past Christmas time, I was like, 'You know what? I really thought they had so much motivation to do whatever the heck they wanted to they might actually cancel the season.'
"For a little while there, there was despair. Lack of optimism I guess is the word that everyone has been using for so long. But it's over now, and I don't want to think about it too much. Try to take some positives from it and just excited about what we've been doing. That's play hockey and put on a show for our fans."
I gave Toews more than a fair share of disdain and scorn for his comments during the lockout but I don't understand what he said in that article that has people on the main board so upset. Didn't say anything inflammatory or anything particularly notable at all.
It was the first time local reporters have had the opportunity to ask him face-to-face about what has gone on and how he feels about it, and he answered. Some people would prefer that he said 'no comment', but I'm glad he took the chance to say a few things (that aren't controversial at all).
That's it now, though. It's time to draw a line under it and focus on the game itself.
I gave Toews more than a fair share of disdain and scorn for his comments during the lockout but I don't understand what he said in that article that has people on the main board so upset. Didn't say anything inflammatory or anything particularly notable at all.
It was Toews that said it, that's a lot of it (and not say, Campoli). Plus, this is hf boards where being able to take the moral high ground is more important than anything. The Canucks haven't won the cup, but their fans can take solace that the Sedins haven't made any mildly inflammatory comments during the lockout.
Talking about resentment and trust issues is just pointless. It's amazing that he still answers questions with specifics like that. Those answers that do nothing to improve the relationship of the league and players with casual fans and sponsors. I doubt it hurts anything much, but it doesn't help at all. Any regular fan that followed what was going on, already knows the issues between the sides. Nobody else cares or want to know.
At least he acknowledged some of what the players have to do moving forward.
