Matchsticks and Gasoline, a Calgary Flames community

Take a look at Stadium Journey's 2013 NHL Arena Rankings! Jobing comes in at No. 8

According to Elliiotte Friedman of CBC, the NHL notified teams today that the idea of 4 conferences has been dropped, replaced by two conferences, each with two divisions. The teams in the divisions are the same as the conferences, so nothing changes there, although it's safe to assume that it impacts the schedule, reducing travel from the West to East and the other way around. More details at Friedman's blog

The NHL Board of Governors has ratified the CBA, announcement coming soon. Gary Bettman will be holding his billionth press conference of the season live on TSN 690 in a few moments.

So I think we can all assume that this is no longer worth a full article, but a writeup must be done. We're used to the NHL canceling games by now, but this time it comes with an assumed drop date for the league. What does that mean? Well it means that if no CBA is reached by January 15th, the NHL is going nuclear and taking out the season. All the legal stuff that's been going on the past couple weeks seems to make that deadline a hell of a challenge to meet, so the doomsday sayers can begin their chanting now. Well, the doomsday sayers in regards to the NHL. People who think the world is going to end tomorrow (today in Australia and New Zealand) are still really, really stupid. 625 games have been canceled thus far, over 50% of the NHL schedule.

After news broke that not all Flames players would be attending the team's annual charity golf tournament, NHLPA player rep Matt Stajan has said that a number his teammates will instead be traveling to New York in a final effort to influence CBA negotiations before Saturday's deadline. "It is unfortunate we all can't go, but, obviously, getting a new CBA is our No. 1 focus because we want to play hockey. We don't want to be locked out and have a bunch of other charity events cancelled . . . or can't attend because we're locked out," Stajan told the Calgary Herald.

That's the title of a new opinion piece of mine at The Daily Caller, in which I argue that fans should harness the power of the Internet to make our voices heard in the current CBA negotiations. Media outlets too often focus solely on the struggle between labor and management in these disputes, and we fans get overlooked. So it's up to us to make sure people know what we think. Click the link above to read, and feel free to share with friends!

Best line in Lance Hornby's report. "Bettman and union executive director Donald Fehr couldn't even agree on who decided to end the talks Friday, Bettman insisting he was free to chat and Fehr offering to talk about minor CBA points." Coming Soon: "Bulldogs and Nailers Eyes on The Prize"

The Reddit hockey community is trying to create a new NHL fan census map. I link here to the Lightning Reddit group post about the subject, which links to both the survey and the original fan census map they are trying to replicate. The census survey only asks a bare minimum of questions (your zip code, your team). lets try to get more than a handful of Lightning fan responses on this, shall we?

So we can silence the Scott Gomez to Columbus thoughts, as the Rick Nash saga appears to be over. This afternoon, the Columbus Blue Jackets traded their captain to the New York Rangers. Minor league rearguard Steven Delisle and a conditional third-round selection in the 2013 NHL Draft also go to New York. In exchange, Columbus gets forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, defenseman Tim Erixon and the Rangers' first-round selection in the 2013 draft. Columbus will regain its third-round pick if the Rangers make it to the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. Nash waived his no-movement clause prior to the trade, which is conditional on all players passing a physical by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Barring injuries, or further transactions, the Rangers forward lines should look something like this. Carl Hagelin - Brad Richards - Rick Nash Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik Taylor Pyatt - Brian Boyle - Ryan Callahan Mike Rupp - Jeff Halpern - Arron Asham More foillow-up from our SBN counterparts at Blueshirt Banter and The Cannon For those asking, BJ's GM Scott Howson has said nothing on Twitter over the deal. For that matter, he's tweeted nothing since February, the same time Nash made it clear he wanted out of the Buckeye State.

These festivities are brought to you by, come on you all know his name- Mark Gandler! Wow... has it been a year already? Well, look at your calendar- its the third week of July! That, as Im sure you all know, is the traditional "Yashin back to the NHL" week. ♫♪ ♫ Its the most... predictable tiiiime of the year! ♪ ♫ For those of you interested in taking a trip down memory lane to "Yashin back to the NHL" rumors of years past while we get ready to play again this year, check the link in the title to find some previous "Yashin back to the NHL" stories that are sure to get you into the holiday spirit. Like any other traditional holiday week, "Yashin back to the NHL" always goes the same way- Yashin has a super-cool, concrete/solid/etc offer from an NHL team (usually hinted to be the Islanders, but any team will do) for (lots of?) money, comparisons are made to Jagr or some other older (preferably Russian or former eastern bloc) player(s), but then Yash ultimately decides not to take it. Sure, you know EXACTLY how its gonna go... but you know how St Patricks Day is gonna go too- and that doesnt stop you! Dont let the complete and utter predictibility of this annual holiday take away from the tradition and deep, profound meaning that is behind the "Yashin coming back" spirit. So... get out those turtlenecks and old CMC Yash jerseys, everyone! Celebrate like its 2007!