According to the Toronto Star, the commissioner told the Board of Governors that if a new CBA is not in place by November, the league will cancel the New Years Day tradition.

Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Apparently Bettman wants to take the bargaining chip off of the table earlier than later, to hinder the leverage of the Union. With many players fleeing to Europe to get paid this season, it seems like the NHLPA is prepared to go to war. It also seems like the NHL is not going to be pushed around by the union from what I’ve seen.

I know personally, I’ve been waiting for HBO to cover the Red Wings in their series “24/7 Road to the Winter Classic” since its inception. I was ecstatic when I heard the Wings would be playing outside on New Years Day.

I know it’s almost a guarantee at this point, that some games will be cancelled, but if they do not come to an agreement to save the Winter Classic, I don’t know what I’ll do.

Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

As the lockout looms over the entire league with less than 40 hours left under the current CBA, Detroit has re-signed Michigan native Justin Abdelkader.

According to capgeek.com, the deal is worth 7.2 million over 4 years for a cap hit of 1.8 million a year. This is about 500K a year too steep for my liking but who knows, the kid is still young. Now that he has some help on the bottom lines with a healthy Danny Cleary and the addition of Jordin Tootoo, he should end up with around 30 points this season.