The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
NHL arenas remain dark, but that doesn't mean hockey can't still make headlines. Here is a look at some recent stories amid the league's historic lockout. The outspoken Don Cherry lashed out at players who have signed with teams in Europe during the lockout. "Talk about hypocrites. They go over to Europe, 400 of them, and take those jobs. As far as I'm concerned all those guys over there are scabs," Grapes told reporters in Edmonton. Legendary netminder Dominik Hasek has announced plans to hang up his pads if the labour dispute isn't resolved this summer. "There is too much uncertainty, and I don't know what is going to happen," he told the Associated Press. "I'm eager to get back on the ice and play great hockey for one more year. That's my goal. But if [the lockout] lingers, and the agreement is not signed by the summer, my kids will go back to school in the Czech Republic and I won't play hockey any more." Hasek signed with Ottawa in the off-season. Two U.S. firms that offered $3.5 billion to buy the entire NHL are reportedly ready to increase their offer. The Toronto Star reported Friday that Capital Partners and Game Plan International, both based in Boston, are prepared to "substantially increase" the amount. Hockey Night in Canada anchor Ron McLean suggested that whenever the NHL does resume, a players' union may not be in the cards. "I think the league will reinvent itself," he was quoted as saying. "I think it will come as a model not unlike major league soccer where they don't have a union at all. When you have 10 billionaires in the ownership loop, I mean, they could wait three years for this."
