1. Sidney Crosby. Some people love him. Some people love to hate him. People who fall into the former category laud his style of play because he reminds them of Wayne Gretzky. They may also be Penguins fans. People who hate him do so because he often puts up a lot of points while his penguins win the game. Now that he is fully recovered from his concussion injury, he is back to being dominant on the ice. He is just as popular as ever.

2. Alexander Ovechkin. The rivalry between “The Great Eight” and Sidney Crosby has fizzled over the past few years. Ovechkin isn’t quite as good of a player as he sued to be, but he’s still one of the most recognized figures in the sport of hockey. He could go on a torrid scoring run any time, and nobody would be surprised. He’s also quite charismatic with the fans as he has appeared in many commercials for NHL advertising.

3. Patrick Kane. He’s the best American-born hockey player to come along in quite some time. Fans are often dazzled by his stunning maneuvers as he makes his way toward the net with the puck. He gave an admirable effort for the United States in the 2010 Olympic winter games. He is a huge reason for the Blackhawks being undefeated right now.

4. Pavel Datsyuk. He’s the best player on the most storied franchise in the NHL. People in Detroit treat Datsyuk as a celebrity, and he has earned every bit of the attention. He’s likely the best all-around player in the NHL. He is a fluid scorer, skater, passer, and defender. Other teams hate playing against him because he’s so good.

It is not the multimillionaire Sydney Crosbys of the league that are suffering. It is the marginal players who often make great personal sacrifices in order to get a few minutes of garbage time or a little time on a fourth line that are in the worst position. These players divide playing time between the NHL and the satellite leagues. Many of them are in financial positions not all that different from the people that wonder from week to week if they will have a paycheck beyond the first of the year.

Even Crosby, however, is on record saying that he would prefer playing to holding out, expressing frustration that the latest round of talks had not only failed to make much progress, but had actually resulted in the NHL retracting previous offers.

The main issues are still the division of revenue, how long a new agreement will last, the maximum length of player contracts and the players’ association desire to implement compliance buyouts in order to help teams meet salary cap limits.

Until one side or the other is willing to make serious concessions on one or more of these issues, it appears that no icing will be taking place in the near future.

The ice is melting swiftly. If a deal isn’t reached within a month, plan on no NHL for this season. Twenty-nine games and the All Star weekend have been cancelled. As of Thursday we were at day eighty-nine of the lockout.

The owners want a ten year CBA contract and the players are asking for five years. The Make Whole provision was raised from an offer of 211 million to 300 million. Other items that the league offered to make concessions on were contracting-rights, free agency status, and salary arbitration.

The opinion from many is the major gap between the owners and the players is the ten year CBA contract length. As we wait, we have to wonder if the amount of money being lost on both sides during this time is worth prolonging this lockout. It would seem both sides are skating on thin ice, and the time has come to get serious about settling this dispute. Failure to do so will leave the fans, owners, and players felling like they have traveled back in time to 2005.
Take a look here to learn more: Bettman and Fehr return as CBA negotiations continue

It would be something of an understatement to say that negotiations are at a standstill. The two sides in the dispute seem to have drifted apart even further. Donald Fehr, the top man in the players’ union, recently was heard to say that the NHL owners had withdrawn agreements that had been reached in earlier meetings.

Club owners had agreed to players’ demands that they be compensated for the entire season, only to withdraw the offer as of this past Thursday night. According to Commissioner Gary Bettman, that offer, along with every other concession the league had offered during previous talks is now, “off the table.”

The two sides are not scheduled to meet again before Saturday at the earliest. The lockout has lasted since early October, when the regular season was scheduled to begin. Many people are left to wonder whether the fans will come back as they did after the lockout of 2004-05 that cost an entire season.

It appears that it will take some sort of monumental miracle to salvage what remains of the current season.

More than a handful of players are getting their sticks on in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Coyotes practice facility. Some high-profile names are in attendance, including Penguins star Sidney Crosby and Sharks sharpshooter Patrick Marleau. Net-minders Mike Smith and Ryan Miller are guarding their posts during these minicamp workouts, as 30 other players from around the league are joining in on the fun. Aside from honing their skills while awaiting the green light, the players are gaining a sense of newfound camaraderie with their colleagues. As it stands, these and other scrimmages around the country are all the players have right now, and they seriously can’t wait to resume their roles on the ice as the fans cheer them on. But for now, they’re simply doing it in the spirit of competition, and of course, for the love of the game.

With no new scheduled labor talks on the table, fans can only speculate and vehemently complain about a season in jeopardy. Season ticket holders for a few teams are studying their available options, one of which includes a full refund. Not only does the lockout have a tremendous impact on the fans, but the local businesses around every NHL arena are taking a hit as well. The ripple effect is being felt all across Canada and the US, yet the owners don’t seem to care much about anything else but their own profit margins. Meanwhile, millions of hockey fans everywhere are turning to their satellite dishes in hopes of catching a glimpse of their favorite players as they skate to keep in game shape. Keep your fingers crossed; a shred of hope to save the season is still alive!
Take a look here to learn more: NHL, NHLPA scheduled to resume talks