Social media has the “potential to be a game-changer during NHL CBA negotiations as another lockout closes in,” and public opinion thus far “has been strongly favoring the players,” according to Craig Custance of ESPN.com. Players through social media are “winning the PR battle and fans are starting to organize, but it's hard to tell if it will make any difference at all in the big picture.” Oilers C and NHLPA rep Shawn Horcoff said, "I think it will for sure. Last time, minus Twitter, in a lot of ways [NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman] and the league could control what gets said in the media. Now, it's almost impossible. It's already happened a couple times where Gary has made a statement and, literally three minutes later, it's being rebuffed and proven not to be true." Through it all, the NHL and its teams “have remained quiet on the social media front during CBA negotiations.” The last tweet from Bettman came in April ‘09, while the NHL's official Twitter page “has avoided the labor talks, focusing on environmental initiatives around the league.” There seems to be “a realization in NHL offices that little is gained in publicly alienating the players,” so fans should not “look for the league to wage its PR battle on Twitter any time soon.” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in an e-mail wrote, "We understood going into this that the landscape was going to be different with the prevalence of social media. But that fact has not and will not affect our approach to collective bargaining." Still, Custance wrote there is “certainly risk in the players' online strategy.” Social media has “helped gather the fans in the players' corner now, but it's support that can quickly be lost.” One player tweet “of discontent toward the NHLPA or an opinion about the league or owners that fans find distasteful would unravel today's momentum.” Even something “taken out of context or misconstrued could end up doing damage” (ESPN.com, 9/10).
CEASE PLAYER PROMOTIONS: In Minneapolis, Michael Russo noted NHL teams “will have to cease all player promotion" if the league locks out the players at 11:59pm ET Saturday. That means "Becoming Wild," which the Wild is “using to show off the personalities of its players,” will have to “cease being televised" on FS North. The remaining shows “are supposed to be behind-the-scenes" with D Tom Gilbert, G Niklas Backstrom, LW Dany Heatley and C Mikko Koivu. Player likenesses during a lockout “won't be permitted to be used by teams for marketing and advertising.” That means the Wild's Twitter account and website “can no longer run player contests and promote players for the purpose of marketing the franchise” (STARTRIBUNE.com, 9/10).
