CBA Encouragement

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Peter

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Mar 1, 2002
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Having been involved in a number of labor related contract negotiations I am actually buoyed by what I am hearing right now in regards to the CBA.

Both sides are continuing to talk.

The NHL has "moved" off an earlier position of not opening their books to now having allowed the NHLPA to look at each of the 30 teams and their financial picture. Why did they do this? One reason is a show of good faith, another reason is to show the Players that the Owners ain't lying about the lack of money in the NHL right now.

Yes the owners having been unwilling to move on the salary cap issue BUT now that the players have gotten a realistic picture of the trouble the NHL is in they will, I am confident, now come back with a proposal that will make sense for both sides.

It won't include a strict salary cap but I believe it will have it in, some sort of mechanism, that will drag down the escalating salaries and include some sort of "protection for the owners from themselves."

Unless the players find, through their study of the finances of the 30 teams, that the NHL has been lying to them....there will be hockey in Octobers.

In fact, I will even go as far to say that an agreement between the two may be reached where the season begins without the CBA actually being hammered out...but that both sides will agree on some major issues and agree to hammer the rest out as the season progresses.

Then again, I also thought the Canucks would win the Stanley Cup. :)
 

ceber

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Apr 28, 2003
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Peter said:
Unless the players find, through their study of the finances of the 30 teams, that the NHL has been lying to them....there will be hockey in Octobers.

Check me if I'm wrong here, but I think the big argument is about what revenue is hockey-related and what isn't. I've never gotten the impression that the NHLPA actually thinks the teams are lying about revenues.
For instance, in St. Paul MS&E runs the arena and the Wild. So the players would argue that all arena revenues should be counted, since without the hockey there wouldn't be anything going on there, while MS&E would argue that only revenues directly related to games should be counted. MS&E makes pretty decent buck putting on concerts.. Should Marian Gaborik expect to get a chunk of the cash that the Metallica concert made? I'd say no. Should Gaborik expect a chunk of the cash that food vending or Wild merchandise generates? I'd say maybe. Seems like a really fuzzy line that could cause all sorts of trouble. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the NHLPA's position on revenues, though.
 

Hire Sather

He Is Our Star
Oct 4, 2002
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Connecticut
Peter said:
Having been involved in a number of labor related contract negotiations I am actually buoyed by what I am hearing right now in regards to the CBA.

Both sides are continuing to talk.

The NHL has "moved" off an earlier position of not opening their books to now having allowed the NHLPA to look at each of the 30 teams and their financial picture. Why did they do this? One reason is a show of good faith, another reason is to show the Players that the Owners ain't lying about the lack of money in the NHL right now.

Yes the owners having been unwilling to move on the salary cap issue BUT now that the players have gotten a realistic picture of the trouble the NHL is in they will, I am confident, now come back with a proposal that will make sense for both sides.

It won't include a strict salary cap but I believe it will have it in, some sort of mechanism, that will drag down the escalating salaries and include some sort of "protection for the owners from themselves."

Unless the players find, through their study of the finances of the 30 teams, that the NHL has been lying to them....there will be hockey in Octobers.

In fact, I will even go as far to say that an agreement between the two may be reached where the season begins without the CBA actually being hammered out...but that both sides will agree on some major issues and agree to hammer the rest out as the season progresses.

Then again, I also thought the Canucks would win the Stanley Cup. :)


I sure hope so Pete. That would be the best thing to do.
 

Oil_slick9416*

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Well, Both sides seem to be extremely stubburn on thier stance, not moving or just veering abit from said stances. However that article does show hope, but will it be enough for the NHLPA to open it's thick skull and realise that muti million contracts are just a wee bit too much considering the money that the leauge is bringing in, also another point which i think will be important come this season is TV contracts, This could potentially be a deal breaker. IN other sports they have huge TV contracts which have undoubtably raised interest and income. The NHL's contract with ESPN and ABC came to end this year, now with the little interest being showed in hockey in the USA and the TV contracts ending spell disaster to the leauge, without a strong TV contract it cannont grow and with a prolonged lock out the game will surely suffer in the states, and maybe in Canada too but, there isn't enough fans in canada to make a US based leauge fly especially if players are being payed in US dollars. regardless of a pro owner/salery cap CBA the game must grow in America to be able to be run comformatably, and they way to do that is through TV contracts.

Now i know that TV contracts don't have a bearing on CBA talks, it is of relation and importance to the leauge. as it is a good source of income, SO it is impartive that the NHL gets a GOOD if not Lucritive TV contract in the states.
 

hockeytown9321

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Jun 18, 2004
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Oil_slick9416 said:
Well, Both sides seem to be extremely stubburn on thier stance, not moving or just veering abit from said stances. However that article does show hope, but will it be enough for the NHLPA to open it's thick skull and realise that muti million contracts are just a wee bit too much considering the money that the leauge is bringing in, also another point which i think will be important come this season is TV contracts, This could potentially be a deal breaker. IN other sports they have huge TV contracts which have undoubtably raised interest and income. The NHL's contract with ESPN and ABC came to end this year, now with the little interest being showed in hockey in the USA and the TV contracts ending spell disaster to the leauge, without a strong TV contract it cannont grow and with a prolonged lock out the game will surely suffer in the states, and maybe in Canada too but, there isn't enough fans in canada to make a US based leauge fly especially if players are being payed in US dollars. regardless of a pro owner/salery cap CBA the game must grow in America to be able to be run comformatably, and they way to do that is through TV contracts.

Now i know that TV contracts don't have a bearing on CBA talks, it is of relation and importance to the leauge. as it is a good source of income, SO it is impartive that the NHL gets a GOOD if not Lucritive TV contract in the states.


They do have a nationa US deal, with NBC. no guaranteed money, but the two sides split whatever revenue the telecasts make.

They will never have a good TV deal in the US. Its a fringe sport here, and part of the problem is Gary Bettman doesn't know that. He thinks Billy Bob Bo Ray in Arkanas is going to be intrigued by a glowing puck.
 

Benji Frank

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Feb 27, 2002
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hockeytown9321 said:
They will never have a good TV deal in the US. Its a fringe sport here, and part of the problem is Gary Bettman doesn't know that. He thinks Billy Bob Bo Ray in Arkanas is going to be intrigued by a glowing puck.

Anyone remember that Saturday Night Live skit way back when when hockey and baseball were both out?? From memory, it was a news commentary with some guy begging the NHL to settle their differences 'cuz he could live without his baseball ... but not without his hockey!!

Nothing's changed. I'm sure well over half of the American population doesn't know that hockey is about to be disrupted....... hopefully the owners & players realize this and will try to retain what little fanbase there is by getting something done......
 
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