A reminder for the NHLPA

[RLC]

I would like to remind the NHLPA and all the pro-NHLPA posters that,
When it was clear the the NHL was in trouble, some 3 years ago or so the NHL wanted to reopen the CBA to make very nessassary adjustments. WHat was the NHLPA response ? NO WAY ! You signed it you live with it, why should we give up our position of advantage and help stop the inflation, we are making a killing and this is good for our players.

The NHL had to swallow and take it and continue to lose money.
With the CBA in place the only other way to address the losses was to wait it out and play hard ball at the next negotiations.

So guess what !! THe NHL is now playing hard ball also and they have NOT FORGOTTEN the the NHLPA hard ball stance for the last 3 or so years.

If the NHLPA had started to renegotiate the old cba to help the league out all this might just have been averted.

So now its an US against THEM atmosphere and the NHL will press hard for it's side, and then live with the new CBA and I might add will not renegotiate upwards if the revenue grows. The NHL offered a linkage to share the downwards risk and the upwards gains but again the NHLPA only wants the upwards gains but NONE OF THE DOWNWARDS RISK.

The NHL will not fold. It will come back at some time and a new CBA will be adopted. The longer it takes the lower the CBA gets.

What I am afraid of is that by the time the players a forced to sign, the NHLPA will have lost almost all leverage for the next 2-3 CBA'S or perhaps 15 years.
Although the fans are blaiming both sides, the players are being targeted most.

The NHLPA is gambeling with the future earnings of players not even in the NHL yet. In other words, screw the next set of 700 players, we still want the maximum we get before before our ( current 700 ) players retire.

It's the biggest gamble in the history of sport.

Any thoughts out there ?

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[mrs9x]

The players are playing a dangerous game of high-stakes chicken. The problem for them is that virtually all of the owners out there can ride this out. Hockey franchises for the owners are typically just a small portion of their investments. The owners will make money in other places.

The players, though, rely on the league for all of their money. For them, there is nothing left.

So the longer this goes, the more advantage there is for the owners. I think this is why some of the owners were against playing this year. They know that if they ride it out long enough, they will break the NHLPA. Third and fourth line guys can't go two years without playing. At some point, those guys are going to be very frustrated and will cave.

 

[mr gib]

I would like to remind the NHLPA and all the pro-NHLPA posters that,
When it was clear the the NHL was in trouble, some 3 years ago or so the NHL wanted to reopen the CBA to make very nessassary adjustments. WHat was the NHLPA response ? NO WAY ! You signed it you live with it, why should we give up our position of advantage and help stop the inflation, we are making a killing and this is good for our players.

The NHL had to swallow and take it and continue to lose money.
With the CBA in place the only other way to address the losses was to wait it out and play hard ball at the next negotiations.

So guess what !! THe NHL is now playing hard ball also and they have NOT FORGOTTEN the the NHLPA hard ball stance for the last 3 or so years.

If the NHLPA had started to renegotiate the old cba to help the league out all this might just have been averted.

So now its an US against THEM atmosphere and the NHL will press hard for it's side, and then live with the new CBA and I might add will not renegotiate upwards if the revenue grows. The NHL offered a linkage to share the downwards risk and the upwards gains but again the NHLPA only wants the upwards gains but NONE OF THE DOWNWARDS RISK.

The NHL will not fold. It will come back at some time and a new CBA will be adopted. The longer it takes the lower the CBA gets.

What I am afraid of is that by the time the players a forced to sign, the NHLPA will have lost almost all leverage for the next 2-3 CBA'S or perhaps 15 years.
Although the fans are blaiming both sides, the players are being targeted most.

The NHLPA is gambeling with the future earnings of players not even in the NHL yet. In other words, screw the next set of 700 players, we still want the maximum we get before before our ( current 700 ) players retire.

It's the biggest gamble in the history of sport.

Any thoughts out there ?

there is no league without these quality players - it appears however the nhl will run with or without them and let the public decide -

 

[Weary]

The owners twice renewed the CBA bypassing chances to reopen negotations. Then they decide unilaterally that it should be reopened prior to its expiration?

The fact it wasn't reopened was the owners' -- not the players' -- fault.

 

[Backin72]

Let's also not forget that for more years than the players have had their payday, the owners had been taking advantage of the players. I'm not saying two wrongs make a right, but too often everyone forgets about what was.

 

[Mighty Duck]

I would like to remind the NHLPA and all the pro-NHLPA posters that,
When it was clear the the NHL was in trouble, some 3 years ago or so the NHL wanted to reopen the CBA to make very nessassary adjustments. WHat was the NHLPA response ? NO WAY ! You signed it you live with it, why should we give up our position of advantage and help stop the inflation, we are making a killing and this is good for our players.

The NHL had to swallow and take it and continue to lose money.
With the CBA in place the only other way to address the losses was to wait it out and play hard ball at the next negotiations.

So guess what !! THe NHL is now playing hard ball also and they have NOT FORGOTTEN the the NHLPA hard ball stance for the last 3 or so years.

If the NHLPA had started to renegotiate the old cba to help the league out all this might just have been averted.

So now its an US against THEM atmosphere and the NHL will press hard for it's side, and then live with the new CBA and I might add will not renegotiate upwards if the revenue grows. The NHL offered a linkage to share the downwards risk and the upwards gains but again the NHLPA only wants the upwards gains but NONE OF THE DOWNWARDS RISK.

The NHL will not fold. It will come back at some time and a new CBA will be adopted. The longer it takes the lower the CBA gets.

What I am afraid of is that by the time the players a forced to sign, the NHLPA will have lost almost all leverage for the next 2-3 CBA'S or perhaps 15 years.
Although the fans are blaiming both sides, the players are being targeted most.

The NHLPA is gambeling with the future earnings of players not even in the NHL yet. In other words, screw the next set of 700 players, we still want the maximum we get before before our ( current 700 ) players retire.

It's the biggest gamble in the history of sport.

Any thoughts out there ?

This reminds me of a man who keeps telling his wife to quit over spending the credit card, and she says, ah, honey, don't you love me. One day the man cuts up the credit card, only to come home from work one day to find his wife had pulled the plug and left him. He says it was all her fault, I says, about time you woke up. Be responsible 1st, and there wouldn't have been the problem in the 1st place.

All the owners had to do, was be responsible in the 1st place, but no, they are egotists, trying to out do each other. Now, the wife is leaving, and all they will have left is the bills. Ah, but she can be replaced, and a properly placed paper bag, no one will know the difference. If only I could teach her how to cook!!!

 

[Backin72]

This reminds me of a man who keeps telling his wife to quit over spending the credit card, and she says, ah, honey, don't you love me. One day the man cuts up the credit card, only to come home from work one day to find his wife had pulled the plug and left him. He says it was all her fault, I says, about time you woke up. Be responsible 1st, and there wouldn't have been the problem in the 1st place.

All the owners had to do, was be responsible in the 1st place, but no, they are egotists, trying to out do each other. Now, the wife is leaving, and all they will have left is the bills. Ah, but she can be replaced, and a properly placed paper bag, no one will know the difference. If only I could teach her how to cook!!!

:lol

Well done!

 

[RLC]

The owners twice renewed the CBA bypassing chances to reopen negotations. Then they decide unilaterally that it should be reopened prior to its expiration?

The fact it wasn't reopened was the owners' -- not the players' -- fault.

are you assuming that all the owners had to do is reopen the negotiations 5 years ago and the players would have given the owners everything they wanted?

also I never saw the NHLPA offer to reopen 5 years ago because the NHL was overspending and taking a chance on league survival.

The NHLPA has always said that it's not their fault that the owners overspend and now that the NHL wants to stop overspending it's their fault AGAIN !

Please pick one, but you can't pick both.

 

[Lil' Jimmy Norton*]

The bus has gone over the cliff in the PA. Wait until the next offer they get has a 32 million cap !! The cap is now on the table after 3 years and there is a ton of players that are so disgusted that they did not take the 42.5 because they know it will go lower now for sure because the league shut down for a whole year. The players lost all their leverage and this was acknowledged by Luc Robitaille publically. Lets remember the NHLPA is an association and not truly a "union". A union never takes another man's job away regardless of a strike or lockout. These clowns that are playing overseas and in the UHL don't give a rats behind about their "brothers" all they care about is themselves which is fine with me but man If the NHL goes impasse and replacement to bust the association we better not hear one peep from these dopes about "scabs" !!! GOODENOW BLEW IT !!! :lol

 

[bcrt2000]

there is no league without these quality players - it appears however the nhl will run with or without them and let the public decide -

A lot of the NHLers went to europe and got embarassed. McCabe is an example of a player that wasn't up to part and even got cut in Europe.

 

[Weary]

are you assuming that all the owners had to do is reopen the negotiations 5 years ago and the players would have given the owners everything they wanted?

Nope. I didn't say the NHLPA would give the owners everything they wanted five years ago. But you can't blame the players for not reopening the CBA when the owners twice bypassed opportunities to do just that.

The owners' greed led them to choose expansion fees over renegotiating the CBA. Blaming the players for that is absurd.

 

[Lanny'sDaMan]

A lot of the NHLers went to europe and got embarassed. McCabe is an example of a player that wasn't up to part and even got cut in Europe.

Heheheheh that makes me giggle and guffaw very hard!!!! Do you perhaps have a list of NHLers that didn't make the cut over there?

 

[wazee]

Nope. I didn't say the NHLPA would give the owners everything they wanted five years ago. But you can't blame the players for not reopening the CBA when the owners twice bypassed opportunities to do just that.

The owners' greed led them to choose expansion fees over renegotiating the CBA. Blaming the players for that is absurd.

Just operating from memory here so I am open to someone filling in the details...

It seems to me that the first renewal was in the summer of 1997 and was done BEFORE the Ranger's signed Sakic to an offer sheet setting off a major new wave of salary escalation. I do not remember the first renewal being controversial at all because, at that time, the NHL was still on fairly firm financial ground.

The owners probably should have taken the opportunity to open negotiations instead of renewing the 2nd time. I vaguely remember some tie in with getting NHL players in the Olympics but I wouldn't bet the farm on it. Logically, the NHLPA should have been as interested in seeing their players in the Olympics as the owners and fans were, but I don't remember that being the case. Expansion also played into the owner's decision. Since I believe in the owner's goal of making hockey a national rather than a regional sport in the U.S., I do not see that as greed. Besides, the players were the greatest beneficiaries of expansion. New jobs were created and expansion fees were transferred in to the player’s wallets in the form of higher contracts.

I do not think it was ‘greed’ that lead the owners to extend the CBA. I think it was a desire to grow the game.

 

[Other Dave]

Let's also not forget that for more years than the players have had their payday, the owners had been taking advantage of the players.

But this can't be true. In 92-93, the league claimed to have lost $150 MILLION in one season alone!

The league couldn't possibly have been lying about revenues then, and there's no way they could be lying now. Could they?

 

[Levitate]

A lot of the NHLers went to europe and got embarassed. McCabe is an example of a player that wasn't up to part and even got cut in Europe.

players got in trouble for treating it as a vacation and not working hard enough, not because they didn't have the talent to play in those leagues

 

[GKJ]

I would like to remind the NHLPA and all the pro-NHLPA posters that,
When it was clear the the NHL was in trouble, some 3 years ago or so the NHL wanted to reopen the CBA to make very nessassary adjustments. WHat was the NHLPA response ? NO WAY ! You signed it you live with it, why should we give up our position of advantage and help stop the inflation, we are making a killing and this is good for our players.

The NHL had to swallow and take it and continue to lose money.
With the CBA in place the only other way to address the losses was to wait it out and play hard ball at the next negotiations.

So guess what !! THe NHL is now playing hard ball also and they have NOT FORGOTTEN the the NHLPA hard ball stance for the last 3 or so years.

If the NHLPA had started to renegotiate the old cba to help the league out all this might just have been averted.

So now its an US against THEM atmosphere and the NHL will press hard for it's side, and then live with the new CBA and I might add will not renegotiate upwards if the revenue grows. The NHL offered a linkage to share the downwards risk and the upwards gains but again the NHLPA only wants the upwards gains but NONE OF THE DOWNWARDS RISK.

The NHL will not fold. It will come back at some time and a new CBA will be adopted. The longer it takes the lower the CBA gets.

What I am afraid of is that by the time the players a forced to sign, the NHLPA will have lost almost all leverage for the next 2-3 CBA'S or perhaps 15 years.
Although the fans are blaiming both sides, the players are being targeted most.

The NHLPA is gambeling with the future earnings of players not even in the NHL yet. In other words, screw the next set of 700 players, we still want the maximum we get before before our ( current 700 ) players retire.

It's the biggest gamble in the history of sport.

Any thoughts out there ?

Funny, Gary Bettman had the same sentiment. He said in THN a few years ago that if owners were not happy with the CBA, to shut up.

 

[habfan4]

players got in trouble for treating it as a vacation and not working hard enough, not because they didn't have the talent to play in those leagues

Small comfort to HV71 Jonkoping - Instead of SEL fans questioning McCabe's abilities they can question his heart and professionalism.