Rangers' Callahan: It's 'crunch time' in NHL lockout talks
December 4, 2012 | 10:18pm
The Rangers have a lot to look forward to this season, if there is one to play.
"The hard part is coming off such a good year, we're excited about this year, we have some new additions, we're looking good and then you're sitting idle and the season's in limbo now," the Rangers captain said at a Steiner Sports charity event on Tuesday.
The Rangers are coming off a run to the Eastern Conference finals after earning the No. 1 seed and they added Blue Jackets star Rick Nash in an offseason trade. But any optimism is on hold with the lockout hitting its 80th day on Tuesday. All games through Dec. 14 have already been cancelled, along with the Winter Classic and All-Star weekend. A group of about a half-dozen owners and 18 players got together in Midtown on Tuesday without two key figures — Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr.
"After the last lockout, we grow the game to this point, there's so much excitement, people are talking about the NHL again. Our revenues are at record-highs, to have this stop is gonna hurt us," Callahan said. "The sad part is the fans. The casual fan that was just starting to like the game, just starting to fall in love with it, and then we stop. It's down to crunch time and something has to get done here."
With AP
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