NHL CBA Quote Sheet

Don Cherry, co-host of Coaches Corner on HNIC:

"No doubt who won this contest. The Players' Association got a home run in 1994 and they tried to hit a home run now and they should have settled for a double or a single because there was no way they were going to beat the owners this time...They underestimated the owners' resolve and they pay the price now and they pay a big price...They've got to remember the guy who gave them the moon (for player's bashing Goodenow). You've got to cut him some slack for that...For the league to lose $2 billion dollars and be the only professional league in North America to be out for a year, it was Armageddon as far as I am concerned. But I believe it will make the league and the franchises stronger. We had to have Armageddon to get them. Teams like Edmonton and Calgary are going to be all the stronger...To tell you the truth, I think some of them shouldn't be in the league in the first place. I hate to say that because players will lose their jobs, but I really believe the league will be a lot stronger, definitely franchises are going to be stronger and if we lose a couple of those weak sister franchises, then let them go...After a year, I got so much to say I can hardly wait to hear myself (on the next Coach's Corner)."

Colin Campbell, NHL executive vice president and director of hockey operations:

"It's a combination of rule suggestions that were submitted to help the game, change the game to make it better. But none of it has been even close to ratified. It hasn't even been ratified from within yet, the managers haven't ratified it, the players haven't ratified it, and it hasn't been given to the board of governors yet to ratify - which is always the final step. So people are jumping the gun. Sure they are suggestions but none of these things are ready to go...All of our rule recommendations have gone public. They weren't meant to go public. But various media have taken them public either from a management source or a player source. Which is fine, but people should know these are not written in stone."

Bobby Hull, former NHL great:

"I'm not so sure (the players) got proper guidance from the guy running the Players' Association (Bob Goodenow). You can't fight fire with fire when the flame on the other side is a heck of a lot hotter and a heck of a lot bigger. They should've realized hockey couldn't go on the way it was. You can't have 75 per cent of your outlay (going) into salaries and they should've realized that. They milked the old cow until she was dry and there was no more left in her. A lot of guys thought that they could go on and go on and that they were that important but they found out differently...Oh sure. They were a bunch of spoiled millionaires against billionaires and a lot of egos have to be stroked. When that happens you have problems as they did...I think he'll play again but Brett had a chance of becoming the second-leading goal-scorer overall next to (Wayne) Gretzky and overtaking Gordie Howe and I think he has hard feelings about that and I can understand that. If he had had two pretty good years he could've become the second-highest scorer and now it's doubtful."

Darryl Sutter, Flames head coach:

"We don't know what all goes into that number that we're hearing. Is it just salary? Is it performance? Is it signing? I mean there's a lot of things that go into that. Until we see that actual document and see that number we'll - just like you - try and guess where we are...You know we call it a budget but now they're going to call it a cap. What it does is, we've said all along we need a system that brings everybody onto sort of a level playing field and hopefully this will do that...The only thing we're not ready for is where we pick. We already did our sort in terms of where we think we'll pick but until we see the actual positioning that's it...I can't speak for 29 other teams. I can only speak for the Calgary Flames and I know the relationship our players have with our owners and the owners have with our players. To me it's not even a relevant issue. As I said before our players focus and our focus is to try and keep the group together."

Brian Burke, Mighty Ducks GM (TSN video):

"I think jubilation is going to be the reaction all around professional hockey, around the world. This is a huge day for the National Hockey League. We have to temper it with the realization the deal still has to be ratified by the players and approved by the Board of Governors. So it's not time maybe to have a parade, but it's certainly time to start picking out the route. And I do want to salute the people who have worked around the clock the last few weeks on the NHL and NHLPA side for working their tails of to get a deal done...We have not received a term sheet from the NHL...We have not been fully informed as this has gone along. The teams should have been kept in the dark to faciliate this process...If, in fact, there's a cap, this may come as news to some GMs - it's not news to me. I've had a cap for the last six years I was a manager: it's called a budget. And the fact that now some guys are going to have a budget - that might be revolutionary or radical to them, it not to me... I think what you'll see is an increased emphasis on pro scouting. If teams are going to have to get under a cap number, whatever that number is, I think they're gonna have to be right more than they are wrong on trades. You're gonna see teams beef up their staffs on the pro scouting side - because that's gonna be the future of the game. Drafting guys with liberalized free agency is not going to be as critical as being able to sign guys when they do become free agents...Well anyone who's starting to do it today (prepare for post-CBA NHL) hasn't been paying attention. In terms of if there are massive buyouts of guys who are overpaid - you should've been preparing that list a week ago...This will be the first time that GM's are competing on a somewhat equal footing. And I welcome that, I think that's good for our league. I think what Gary Bettman has done here is good for our league...We're all going to be scrambling like madmen for the next 60 days, but thank God that we are because that means we're going back on the ice in September."

J.S. Giguere, Mighty Ducks (TSN video):

Well it's worth it because the league was broken and it needed to be fixed. Honestly, we believe in the strategy at first, and maybe it didn't hold up as good as we thought, but I think at the end of the day, for the better of the game, this deal's going to be good. Now we're going to be a partnership with the owners...I think what they have come up with, with the 11-inch pad and the rest being a little bit more trim (goalie equipment), I think that's the right thing to do. Goalies are becoming bigger and better."

Jason Spezza, Ottawa (TSN video):

"We put trust in the people that were in charge, and that's all you can do. There's no point in doubting their authority. The guys that are on the executive committee are guys that I trust...As young guys that's what we do...it's a natural progress...I'm sure they got the best deal that they could possibly get, and I'm not going to doubt them one bit...We knew that things had to be re-structured...It's reality that we have made money in the last few years, and maybe too much.

Jeremy Roenick, Flyers (TSN video):

"I'm ecstatic. And I'm ecstatic because I don't give a sh*t what the deal is. I'm just happy we're going to get the game back on the ice, and we're gonna have a season and the fans are gonna love coming back to our game and we're gonna make it better for everyone to come watch. And I heard you guys talking about the draft. I think they should just give the New York Rangers the number one pick and let Sidney Crosby play in one of the biggest markets in the United States... I think we were fighting against a losing battle the whole way. The owners had an agenda, and they knew what they could accept and what they couldn't accept. The players have made a lot of money in the last ten years, and they (the owners) needed a forum that was going to make more money for them...the smaller markets are going to make so much money, and it's about time. It's been too lopsided for the last ten years...I think there's going to be a gold statue outside the NHL offices in New York City and Toronto, with Gary Bettman's face on it. He's represented their side extremely well, and I think Bob Goodenow has had the right intensions in mind and the right idea in mind, however we were fighting against a different animal than we were in '94. In my opinion, we were fighting against a losing battle. I have no hard feelings for that, they've worked as hard as they possibly can...now is not the time to start pointing fingers."

Glenn Healy (TSN video):

"Well I think there had to be a correction, and basically it's a money transfer. Money has been transferred from the players to the owners. The players made money for ten years. They stood on principle for a long time, in fact that's what you do in a union...It's a much better deal today, as it sits, than the one in February. These guys have been working tirelessly nonstop, 80 hours a week for six straight weeks. The deal in February could not have got done, history shows that...Bob does not endorse this deal...Bob doesn't endorse the cap, however he has no choice. He works for the players, they're the ones who endorse the cap."

Ian Laperriere, Avs:

"salary cap is the worst thing for players...teams are going to change so fast...you wont see a third or forth liner stay with the same team for ten years"

Ethan Moreau, Edmonton:

"We've been compensated probably better than any professional sport in the world, so if you had the opportunity to play in the NHL for the last ten years, your first call should be to Bob to thank him for the last ten years."

Wayne Gretzky, Coyotes owner/future coach:

"At the end of the day everybody lost. We almost crippled our industry. It was very disappointing what happened."

Jim Rutherford, Hurricanes GM:

"I don't want to get to the relief point yet until everything's finalized. What we went through was necessary. We had to get some controls on our business and certainly I'm hoping that's what this new agreement does."

Brendan Morrison, Canucks:

"I think guys will rise above what happened for the good of the game (but) there's resentment throughout the union. I'll guarantee you half the guys won't be happy."

Head over to Sharkspage or Off Wing for amazing coverage since the story broke early this afternoon.