Silver Nuggets: Lamenting on the Lockout

It has been coming for some time. Looming in the distance, the threat of a lockout. As it got closer and closer it seemed more and more likely. Now that it is here, the question is when does it end?

The first lockout of Gary Bettman's tenure still left the fans with a shortened season to watch, 48 games. Of course, 7 years ago while fighting for a salary cap, the entire season was washed away. Without the huge stumbling block of a salary cap (which was a radical change), one hopes that this will end soon. The problem is, the owners held fast last time, and the players eventually gave in. With that precedent, I think the owners feel they can just bully the players again. The problem is, that the players are much more unified this time, and seem unlikely to buckle. This looks pretty bleak.

Training camp was supposed to start in 4 days. We could be here getting excited about the battle for the backup goalie position, or how Jakob Silfverberg looked compared to Mark Stone. We could be talking about how Marc Methot looked lined up next to Erik Karlsson. We could be getting excited to watch pre-season hockey after a long, long off-season. We could be analyzing the cuts from the big club and what that might mean for Bingo.

Instead, here we are. First Silver Nuggets post in the lockout-era. I will do my best, with the help of the rest of our amazing staff to put quality, original content in these posts. My question for you today is, when this is all said and done, what will we be left with?

Links

Sens News:

• Peter gets the lockout discussion going in this post. Join in the comments for some healthy venting and discussion. [SSS]
• BOBBY IS BACK. No, not Bobby Butler, but our very own Bobby Kelly. Here he is with the most unheralded first rounder in recent memory: Matt Puempel. A great prospect looking for a great season. [SSS]
• Kaspars Daugavins to play for Dinamo Riga now that the NHL is locked out. [Riga]
• Nichols looks at an article ESPN wrote about our beloved Senators. [6thSens]
• Jason Spezza, who has been quite involved with the negotiations, isn't fooling himself that a miracle is about to happen. [SensExtra]
• Gary Bettman stayed true to his word about locking out the players, and fans are less than impressed. [SensExtra]

Last but not least, the Senators website has put up the generic "Message to our fans" from the NHL. Hard not to be bitter when reading it. If the fans were a priority, this wouldn't be happening. [Sens]

UPDATE: A few more links that have just come across my (Peter's) desk:

• Bobby's back with a vengeance, as a matter of fact; here he is expressing his dismay about the lockout in La Presse. [La Presse]
• Marc Methot wasn't too pleased to have his Sens jersey taken from him. Considering it's a meaningless, spiteful gesture, I'm not entirely sure why the Senators (who were given the choice of whether or not to seize practice jerseys) chose to do so. [Sun]
• Cody Ceci had some strong pre-season play for the 67s on the weekend, and is emerging as a possible team captain. [Sun]
• Both Rick Nash and Joe Thornton are returning to HC Davos, where they played together during the 2004-05 lockout, as well. [ESPN]
  

When a new CBA is reached, what will we be left with?