Explaining the 2005 CBA and the 2012 Lockout

Being a grad student means that I have to write my fair share of papers. Being a grad student in a Sports Administration program means that I sometimes get to write my papers on hockey.

Such was the case last quarter, when I had to write a final paper for my Sports Finance and Accounting class. The assignment our professor gave us was ridiculously broad. Basically, the assignment was "write a 6-8 page paper on a subject having some small relation to sports finance and accounting." As this was mid-December, I of course opted to write an assessment of the NHL lockout, what each side was asking for, and how the lockout might be resolved.

With the topic, I bit off way more than I could chew. I realized that in order to write the paper, I had to read several portions of the actual CBA, which is like reading a very complicated book of laws and statutes in terms of ridiculously mind-numbing jargon.

Even though the lockout is now over, I figured my paper might make a nice post for the blog for people who are still confused over what the whole fight was actually about.

Full text appears after the jump. It's not Shakespeare, as I was panicking and majorly scrambling to finish this on time. I should hope this would go without saying, but this is my own work and research and you cannot reproduce or use it for your own purposes without my express permission. Bibliography is available but too much of a pain to reproduce on Blogger.

Happy Caps Year in Columbus

I'd previously blogged about my other hockey trips, so I thought I'd do the same for my little trip to Columbus for New Year's Eve.

I moved away from DC on November 2, 2011, the day after an overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks, a win that was almost a singlehanded effort from Nicklas Backstrom (scoring the game-tying goal in the last 30 seconds, and then the overtime winner). It was also the beginning of the end for Bruce Boudreau -- the game that stirred controversy when he did not put Alex Ovechkin out on the ice in the last minute of the third period to try to tie the game.

It was my last Capitals game at Verizon Center, at least for the foreseeable future. I went to every single game of the season until my move, preseason included, and the Capitals were still undefeated at home at that time.

After I left is when the team spiraled downhill, and it was difficult to watch from so far away. And I thought the next time I would see the team is when they come to Chicago to play the Blackhawks in March. After attending about 30 games in 2010-2011 and every game until November 1 in 2011-2012, four months without seeing my team in person was going to be tough.

On Friday night, I still didn't have any plans for New Year's Eve. Sam (Caps fans may know him as The Horn Guy) mentioned to me the Caps Road Crew trip to Columbus, but I thought the Road Crew seats were sold out. But another friend, Karen, also had a group going, and had a last-minute cancellation, and thus a ticket.

So I made the decision. Just 8 hours before I got in the car, I paid for a ticket, got a hotel in Columbus, and packed up my Nicklas Backstrom jersey to be worn to a game for the first time in two months.

It's only about six hours from Chicago to Columbus, and it was smooth sailing through Indiana and Ohio. My hotel was about four blocks from the Arena, and after a quick change, I went to meet up with the Road Crew near the arena. At the bar, I met Caps fans from London (Ontario), Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and obviously DC. Caps fans really came from all over.

 

After getting into the arena, it was almost like being at a Verizon Center game -- Caps fans were absolutely everywhere. Nationwide Arena is beautiful. Being one of the newer arenas in the NHL, I enjoyed the design and features. The concourses are wide, and the seating arrangement is unique and also functional.

We headed down to rinkside for warm-ups, and I practically started crying when the Caps hit the ice. It was so great to see them, and it just made me incredibly happy. Dmitri Orlov was called up after I'd left DC, and as I was at his first-ever AHL game, I was so proud to see him in an NHL jersey in person for the first time.

As for the game, it wasn't looking so good after the first two periods. But thankfully, the Caps picked it up in the third period and scored four goals in less than seven minutes, including two Ovechkin markers. After a New Year's Eve fireworks display on the ice, we left the arena happy and went back to a nearby bar to watch the ball drop.

It was no Verizon Center, but it was absolutely worth the trip and there's no other way I would rather have spent New Year's Eve. And the experience will at least hold me over until two months from now, when the Caps come into my hometown of Chicago.

Pictures from the trip (including a bunch of warm-up photos) are here.

Second period mistakes cost Express

 Players look on as Devin DiDiomete (28) and Phil Rauch (20) fight at the end of the second period (photo by Chicago Express)

Coming into Wednesday night's game, the Toledo Walleye (DET/CHI) and the Chicago Express (CBJ) had already met six times this season, splitting wins evenly between them at three a piece. Chicago took the first three decisions, and the Walleye took the last three. After Wednesday's final decision, the Walleye have now won four, claiming a 4-3 victory over the Express.

The game didn't start out so bad for the Express. Mike Embach scored a beauty in the first period, taking advantage of a turnover at the opposite blue line to fly through the neutral zone, deke around three defenders, and put the puck top shelf. The goal sent the Express into the locker room with a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. But when the team stepped onto the ice in the second, things turned disastrous.

Walleye forward Christopher DiDomenico scored twice less than four minutes into the second period, first on a power play, then at even strength, making it 2-1 in favor of Toledo. After the Express began trailing for the first time in the game, everything went wrong. Pucks were continuously turned over, the defense was sloppy, and Express had significant trouble putting passes on their teammates' tape.

The Walleye took advantage, and struck again. Allen York misplayed the puck 10 feet in front of his own net, and suddenly Kyle Rogers had his sixth goal of the year. Just seconds later, Joey Martin got another puck past York, and it was 4-1 Walleye.

Instead of getting inspired, the Express got angry. A lot of chirping began. During a faceoff, Bobby Robins clearly asked Nick Oslund if he wanted to fight. Oslund shook his head no. Net mouth scrums got more and more frequent as the Express tried to get some kind of spark going. After putting only five shots on goal in the second period, the Express' frustration finally spilled into a full-fledged fight just after the horn indicating the end of the period.

Devin DiDiomete, fresh off injured reserve, went up against Phil Rauch. Though smaller, DiDiomete looked to get the better of Rauch, knocking Rauch's helmet off and eventually taking him down to the ice. The only punches Rauch landed were right on DiDiomete's helmet, resulting in a bloody hand for Rauch. DiDiomete was assessed a two-minute roughing minor, a five-minute fighting major, and a ten-minute misconduct, and as a result, missed most of the third period. Rauch received just a five-minute major.

But the fight appeared to serve its purpose. The Express came out in the third period ready to battle for goals. Five minutes in, several Express players crashed the net and ended up scoring, with Kyle Ostrow getting credit for the marker. Ten minutes later, Chaz Johnson scored a rocket of a one-timer from the dot on a power play.

It was 4-3 Walleye with five minutes to go, and the Express were not going to give up. With one minute remaining, Allen York sprinted to the bench to get an extra man on to try for an equalizer. Walleye goaltender Thomas McCollum faced a flurry of shots, but nothing got through, and the Express fell short in their comeback.

Though there were at least two goals that Allen York would no doubt like to have back, he made 29 saves on 33 shots as the Walleye outshot the Express 33-20.

Just after the final horn, there was an altercation between Chaz Johnson and Matt Krug of the Walleye. Something Krug said or did very obviously set Johnson off, sending him into hysterics as a referee struggled to hold him back. Johnson smashed his stick on the ice before finally heading down the tunnel, leaving the Walleye to celebrate their victory.

Given the nature of the scene, I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson faces any supplemental discipline from the league for unsportsmanlike conduct. It's fitting, as that capped off a game in which Johnson surpassed his 1,000th pro career penalty minute (he had four penalty minutes in total on the night).

Friday night, the Express face the Elmira Jackals (OTT/ANA). Tyler Donati, named the second star of the game with two assists, said the game plan against the Jackals is pretty obvious: "Play like we played in the third."

Express down Wings in a shootout thriller

 Kyle Ostrow scores the game-winning shootout goal (photo by Chicago Express)

It wasn't looking so good for the Chicago Express as they headed into the third period Friday night, down 4-2 to the Kalamazoo Wings. A few minutes into the third period, Eric Kattelus made it 5-2. The clock was ticking.

After two power play goals in the first 20 minutes, the Express looked to have stalled out in the latter half of the second period. They were finding it tough to carry pucks through the offensive zone, and shots from the blue line were immediately blocked by Wings players on the defensive. Worst of all, Express goaltender Allen York wasn't getting a lot of help.

But the crowd of 3,090 in the Sears Centre Arena got loud in the third, and the Express seemed to respond in turn. "Nothing out of the ordinary was said during the second intermission, we just knew that we had to step it up for the final 20," Express defenseman Scott Wietecha said after the game. "We were confident that if we went out, played hard and stuck to our style of play, we'd have a chance to climb back into it."

Wietecha (a Capitals development and rookie camp attendee) started it off for the Express in the third, getting a fluky goal from nearly center ice. He blasted the puck to the net, and goaltender Maxime Clermont got just a piece of it, sending the puck tipping off the top of his glove and into the net.

It was Wietecha's first professional goal, and judging by his delayed jubilant reaction, he didn't immediately know that he'd scored. "I didn't know it went in at first, but was pretty pumped when I realized I finally got my first one out of the way," Wietecha said.

The goal also set off the Express comeback.

By the time Wietecha scored, the Express had been down 5-2, and with Wietecha making it 5-3, the Express had about 16 minutes to make it a game.

They did. Wietecha's goal included, the Express scored three unanswered goals to tie the game and send it to overtime. Two goals were against starter Maxime Clermont, but just after Mike Embach made the score 5-4, Clermont lost his mask in a scrum and appeared to be cut in the face. Bleeding from his forehead, Clermont left the game and watched the rest of the action from the bench while back-up Riley Gill took over in the Kalamazoo crease.

Gill surrendered a goal to Chad Painchaud, his second of the night, and the Express had the game tied at 5-5, sending it to overtime.

Overtime was largely uneventful until 1:46 to go, when Painchaud took a costly hooking penalty to put the Express shorthanded for the remainder of overtime.

Your best penalty killer is often your goaltender, and Allen York was brilliant while the Wings had several quality scoring chances during their power play.

Scoreless through five minutes of extra time, the game went to a shootout. Kyle Ostrow scored in the fifth round of the shootout to finally get the Express the 6-5 victory.

One to watch: Mike Embach

I could barely take my eyes off Embach whenever he got on the ice. He had very fancy footwork and deked like Datsyuk, but a lot of times when he was carrying the puck, his moves were too fancy for his own teammates, and he'd end up sending a blind pass to no one. While he was busy dancing into the offensive zone, it seemed like he lost track of where his teammates were, and even where he was, and several times, he'd turn it over to the opposing defense by the time he got to the top of the circles.

Even so, watching his moves through two periods, I knew it was a matter of time before Embach put one in the net, and he did about seven minutes into the third. Embach needs some time in the pro leagues (he comes from four years at Ferris State) to really get his hockey sense under control while he's weaving around the D so that his passes can be on point and he can get farther into the zone. But the 23-year-old undrafted forward is a fun player to watch and might end up getting somewhere, even if it's only as far as the AHL.

Development camps and preparing for a pro career

Since I got to ask Scott Wietecha some questions, I had to ask about his experience at  Capitals camps this summer and how they helped him start his pro career. He had very positive things to say about his time in Washington.

"I definitely think that being at the Caps camps better prepared me for my first year pro. It has given me confidence coming into the season. I learned a lot from the coaches and the players that were there. Skating with Caps players and seeing how they prepared for the season was definitely beneficial. In Washington, I better learned from the coaches and staff what it takes to make a professional hockey player and picked up things on the ice too. It was a great experience."

Graham Mink comes home

 He's already got the playoff beard down (photo by JustSports Photography)

Early in training camp, I was watching Group B practice. A friend asked me, "Is Graham Mink a career AHLer?" Without even thinking, I said, "Yes." Then I paused for a minute and said, "But he's the kind of guy that knows it and accepts it. Like, 'This is my role, so I'm going to be damn good at it.'"

Even in interviews, he refers to Washington as "they," not "we."

It's an attitude that is evident just talking to Mink about his return to the Washington organization. He's played just seven NHL games (all with the Capitals), but consistently puts up big numbers with his AHL clubs. The 32-year-old winger has had only one season scoring under 40 points since 2005-2006, and he's won two Calder Cups with Hershey (2006 and 2009).

It's Mink's first time back in Hershey since that 2009 Calder Cup win (and third time back overall), and he's ecstatic to return. "It kind of feels like family here. I missed being part of Washington," he said during training camp. "I'm going to be in Hershey, and I'm excited to be back there, I love playing there, it's a great city."

Mink doesn't put on airs about his role with the organization. He knows that with all the young talent joining the Bears this year, he may not enjoy any call-ups at all. But at this point in his career, Mink knows exactly what he's supposed to be doing in Hershey: be a mentor.

"There's going to be a lot of players that are in Hershey this year that are going to come up and help the Caps. My goal is to help teach them and have them learn the game, learn what it's like to be on a successful team and what's expected to be a professional," Mink said.

"I kind of look at it as an extension of the coaching staff as the veteran player. I think most veterans do. You want to bring these 22-, 23-, 24-year-olds and make their learning curve as steep as possible to get to the next level as quickly as possible."

As for the new kids in Hershey like Cody Eakin and Dmitri Orlov, Mink is looking forward to being a leader for them. "They're very smart kids, they're very mature for their age and they pick up fast," Mink said. "It'll be good for Orlov to learn some more English and grow. It's got to be tough being as young as you are and all that ways from home, so you want to make them feel as comfortable as you can and allow them a coming out process of growing up, maturing a little bit."

With Mink's work ethic and drive, he's the perfect candidate to teach the new blood. He thrives on the pressure of being with a winning organization, and brings a good attitude to the locker room. "(The pressure environment) meshes well with my personality," he said. "I want to win every game, every night."

Hopefully that attitude will rub off on the Hershey rookies. It's why Mink is returning to Hershey for what he hopes is a long stay. "Hopefully I can stay for a while this time. It's something I'm looking forward to."

Joel Ward, Teacher?

Ward with the UPEI Panthers (photo by UPEI.ca)

Joel Ward definitely has not taken the conventional path to the NHL. Undrafted, he spent four seasons in the OHL before then going to college in Canada, completing four years at University of Prince Edward Island and earning his BA in sociology.

His choice of a sociology major is interesting in itself. Most college hockey players opt to major in business, coaching, or sports management. Very few choose to go the social science route, but Ward did.

"I just liked (sociology) from day one. I had a good (professor) my first couple of years. I just liked it, just kind of kept going with it, and enjoying the classes. Sure enough, I was close to graduating with my major in it," Ward said. "Now after hockey I can maybe finish up and see if I want to do something with it."

If Ward ended up going back to school for another degree after hockey, what would he do?

"I was going to minor in teaching and become a teacher," Ward said. "Something to do with kids I'll be in the field of."

But for now, Ward uses what he learned in sociology classes to interact with his teammates in the locker room. "I can bring it into this room and dissect this room a little bit."

How the Caps can reach out to women

 Some of my high school girls' hockey team during a practice. I'm 7th from right.

As we all know, I'm on Twitter quite often. Earlier this evening, I saw a tweet from the Anaheim Ducks advertising a girls' hockey clinic in partnership with USA Hockey.

After I had a little rant Wednesday night about the still-controversial Scarlet Caps, the wheels started turning.

Why don't the Scarlet Caps take a page from the Ducks and host a hockey clinic?

I know that some women enjoy the Hockey 'N Heels event, and that's just fine, but personally, it's not for me. As someone who played hockey for my high school girls' team, I don't need to pay money to stand on a carpet in the middle of Kettler's ice having a current Capital teaching me how to shoot a puck. I already know how to shoot a puck. I did it several times a week in high school.

What Scarlet Caps needs to do is reach out to the women who already know how to play hockey, or even participate in local women's leagues. This is an area of the market that Scarlet Caps has missed out on while focusing on women who are just beginning to learn about hockey and want to learn the basics.

So why not host clinics for women and girls? I, for one, would enjoy that type of event. Sweeten the deal by having clinics led by Capitals/Bears coaches (players would be great but not necessary), and I'd be willing to shill out money to be learning from some of the best coaches in the world while actually playing the game on my skates and learning how to become a better player.

After I retweeted the link from Anaheim and brought up the idea of having women's and girls' clinics sponsored by the Capitals and Scarlet Caps, I got a lot of responses from women who thought it was a great idea. A selection of the responses appear below:

"That would be so much fun."

"Completely agree. A clinic for the girls, a clinic for the ladies who DO play, and one for the wannabes. There's some perspective."

"Get a bunch of people and email Ted about it."

Well, the last response is sort of what I'm doing by bringing attention to it. I think it would be a great outreach for the Capitals, and a smart way to market to women. The idea of a clinic treats women as equals, as opposed to the sort of mentality that says, "Here, put on some heels, and stand on this carpet in the middle of the ice while a man teaches you to shoot a puck into a net, because you wouldn't know how to do it otherwise." 

A women's hockey clinic would truly bring women into the action instead of sitting on the sidelines. It's an approach with which I hope the Capitals would agree.