You know things are getting bad on the CBA negotiating front when Bobby Ryan starts thinking about playing in Europe. Before the lockout started, he said he didn't want to take anybody's job overseas. As it dragged on, he made it clear he'd rather be part of the solution here in North American than bolt for playing time in Europe.
Now? Well, playing in Europe is at least on the table for Ryan.
"If we get to the point where they call the full season, I would probably look at it," Ryan said. "I just wanted to take my time with it and be a part of the whole process."
The process is reaching another critical point this week. NHL games have been canceled through November after talks stalled last week, but many of those can be rescheduled.
This week, the Winter Classic could get the ax. It's expected that the league will pull the plug on its midseason Super Bowl if progress isn't made in CBA talks before the end of the week. And multiple sources told ESPN.com's Scott Burnside that once that game is canceled, there's no putting it back on.
To see how the players prepared for the lockout, you must be an ESPN Insider.
- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
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