12, 21, 38, 1 are all numbers that currently relate to *pending 2012-2013 season and Bettman’s NHL. It appears that his ideal season next year is NO season, although NO announcement will be made until the 15th. 12, 21, 38, 1…all seemingly unimportant numbers by themselves…but today together they connect to make up Bettman’s lockout combination. Let’s hope they remain merely numbers that are a countdown to the next season and that is all. Here’s their relation to that lovely word I’ve come to despise a little more each day [lockout].

12 = the number of days until Bettman’s lockout deadline

21= the number of days until the Vancouver Canucks 2012-2013 pre-season is supposed to begin.

38 = the number of days until the NHL’s 2012-2013 regular season is supposed to begin.

1 = a year that all the fans may be forced to wait until the NHL begins again if a full season lockout occurs.

12, 21, 38, 1….Bettman’s lockout combination perhaps? Let’s hope not.

Life is full of numbers that represent just about everything.Life is all about the numbers, but so is hockey. Hockey as a game, is full of numbers in its break down.

60 = the number of minutes in a game [unless of course there’s Over Time or a Shoot Out].

3 = the number of periods in each game. [excluding POST season OT…in the playoffs OT is a full 20 minute period…and if not settled after one extra period will go to another OT and repeated until someone scores].

3 = also equals the number of shooters in the 1st round of a shootout.

20 = the number of minutes in one period

5 = the number of minutes in a regular season OT period.

2, 4, 5,10 = the number of minutes one player can be penalized for each different infraction if caught by the referee.

23 = the number of players on an active NHL roster.

82 = the number of regular season games [unless of course it gets shortened].

28 = the maximum number of games a team could play in the POST season.

16 = the number of POST season games a team must WIN to win the Stanley Cup.

There are also a series of numbers that begin unknown at the start of a season: the number of goals each player will score, the number of assists one player will get, the number of total points each player will get; the number of games each team will WIN or LOSE, the number of points a team will earn in the standings at the end of the year, or the number of games one player will go on a scoring streak for. There is also the unknown number of games a player may be suspended for controversial plays that cause injury to another player [although there is yet to be a consistent precedent reached on this matter] until after the incident occurs. Each player within one team wears a different jersey number although it might be the same as a player on a different team. The numbers help to define the game, but they also help to tell the whole story. Scores differ from every games, sometimes high-scoring and sometimes low scoring games. Some numbers in the game are predictable, some are not but that’s part of what makes the game exciting…the unpredictable and unexpected.

Both sides have presented proposals to one another and ALL of the proposals are centered on the numbers…how much revenue will the owners vs. the players get? where should the salary cap be set? should the team revenue be shared?….etc. It is time to stop this game of tug of war and stop fighting over who is right and wondering who will blink first. Just. Get. The. Deal. Done. As. Soon. As. Possible.

We. The. Fans. DO. NOT. WANT. A. Lockout. At. All.

As always, until next time, nuck said.

Sarah E.L.