Childish Bargaining, Coach K's "What If?", Habs Prospect Pool And More...

Good Morning Addicts!

As we begin this holiday season I'm not sure what to ask for from ol' St. Nick. While the obvious request would be for the NHL to resume I feel I should be more realistic. The end of this lockout won't happen overnight - as proven by last Wednesday let alone the last three months - but a small part of me still feels a (shortened) season can be salvaged.

Since this feeling lingers inside me, what I would ask for would be some mature tactics when it comes to bargaining for a new deal.

As a daycare teacher I hear a lot of "he said he's not my friend" followed by a "no I didn't!" and plenty of "he called me stupid" which is responded to with "that's not true!". This type of behavior is expected from three and four year olds. Not from grown men who hold the fate of an entire professional sports season in their hands.

Millions of dollars have been lost. Interest in the sport is dropping. Thousands of people are out of jobs. These are the harsh realities that have come from this work stoppage. Yet the most recent talks between the two sides that have made the most progress in weeks came to a halt because of something league deputy commssioner Bill Daly may or may not have said.

In an interview with Adam Proteau of The Hockey News, NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider says how as soon as the players mentioned bringing Donald Fehr into the room they were told that it would be a deal breaker.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period then writes that in an e-mail sent, Daly states "I know for a fact that Don's name was never mentioned".

With both sides showing stubborness and spending too much time trying to win over the fans - whatever's left of them - sympathy, can the two sides broker a deal or will the childish behaviour cost the league another season?

Habs And Hockey News

- Our own Coach K (@HabsCoachK) provides some good points in his latest "What If?" segement, exploring the possibilities that the players may have liked the NHL's latest proposal more than they've let on and an agreement may be closer than we think.

- Hockey's Future put out a top ten list of teams overall prospect pools, with the Canadiens ranked eighth.

- Here's a must see video of Alex Galchenyuk lighting the lamp in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Sagenaw Spirit. The way he moves around the ice knowing exactly where to set up before ripping it is just so encouraging for any Hab fan to watch.

(Photo from http://billrice.com/tag/arguments/)

Posted in: alex galchenyuk,bill daly,donald fehr,montreal canadiens,NHL,NHL Lockout,sarnia sting