ESPN Commentators Hear Final Settlement Push Coming By End of the Week

[Brent Burns Beard]

but its the nhlpa offering the salary give back of nearly 25%.,.

thats right, they offered it and the owners rejected their proposal. it was offered in exchange for the owners coming off of their "linkage" position. what makes you think they will agree to a rollback AND agree to linkage ?

dr

 

[me2]

why don't the players and owners agree to salvage this season based on the 24% rollback and continue to negotiate on an agreement for the long-term? these two sides appear to be close enough to save at least this season.

further, why are both sides trying to hit a home run for a long-term deal? if the owners get what they want, it won't be long until the players strike. if the players win this battle over ideology (which is highly unlikely), you can start the count-down to another lock-out.

therefore, doesn't it make more sense to develop short-running CBAs and continue to negotiate off of them so that both sides can continue to make a deal that's fair to both sides after both have had an opportunity to live under different economic conditions. imo, both sides are being way too inflexible.

The NHLPA wouldn't accept it. The clubs would take the 24% salary reduction for this season then drive for a new CBA in September 05. The players would say lets keep the current system the owners would say, no lets get certainty and lock them out again. What are the players going to do? Offer another 24% reduction? Accept a cap because their current salary is already at cap level?

If you are a player do you want to give 24% of this years money (1/2 gone already) and get locked out again next year if you don't take the cap? I doubt it.

 

[Leafer4Life]

i really wish all of this would stop. i know i only have a few posts but i have been coming to this board for some time now and every time i see a thread such as this one i immediately and stupidly get my hopes up. guys like Ecklund and so on seem to have all this "inside info" which never seems to come true. once again, i do appreciate the optimism and the passion that us fans show who want the game back so dearly. i really want to be optimistic about this but its not an easy thing. i guess i will believe all this stuff when i see it.

ITA! I'm the same way. Every time I see a thread like this one, my hopes go up a bit........

 

[Hockey_Nut99]

It's pretty easy to see. Almost 99% of the people who are in favor of the NHLPA are either people who cheer for the so called "rich clubs" or teams with minumum payrolls of about 45 Million.

 

[Brent Burns Beard]

It's pretty easy to see. Almost 99% of the people who are in favor of the NHLPA are either people who cheer for the so called "rich clubs" or teams with minumum payrolls of about 45 Million.

is 45m not a rich payroll ? if not, why are the owners asking for a 38m payroll TOPS ?

i wouldnt call myself pro cap, would you ? i chear for the Canucks and live in Calgary, so there goes your theory. Or maybe I am just the 1% ?

lol

dr

 

[Hockey_Nut99]

is 45m not a rich payroll ? if not, why are the owners asking for a 38m payroll TOPS ?

i wouldnt call myself pro cap, would you ? i chear for the Canucks and live in Calgary, so there goes your theory. Or maybe I am just the 1% ?

lol

dr

isn't Vancouvers payroll supposed to be around the 45 Million mark?

 

[PecaFan]

isn't Vancouvers payroll supposed to be around the 45 Million mark?

Vancouver has $43.4 million commited to next year.

Call me a pessimist, but I just don't see the players accepting a cap. They've been far too adamant against it to just roll over now. Maybe next year at this time, but not now.

 

[struckmatch]

Vancouver has $43.4 million commited to next year.

Call me a pessimist, but I just don't see the players accepting a cap. They've been far too adamant against it to just roll over now. Maybe next year at this time, but not now.

Thats the crappy thing here, and the one thing thats left me really critiquing Goodenow's strategy, as he's left himself no exit strategy to accept a cap and save face, if he accepts a cap, he'll be going back on everything he's ever said.

 

[Silver]

The players won't take a cap yet. Mabye next year at this time...

Even if they do, how about the 300 other things that need to be negotiated (all the little things like visors, all the restructuring that is going to happen with new draft picks, etc?)

That isn't going away, and it's not going to get done in 2 weeks.

The season is toast. Why would the owners soften up now and meet in the middle? It's not going to happen.

 

[Pepper]

Anything else from PA than accepting the link between salaries & revenues and there won't be a season. If PA does accept this, we will most likely have a season after a marathon negoating session whether it's 54% or 56% of the revenues.

 

[i am dave]

thats right, they offered it and the owners rejected their proposal. it was offered in exchange for the owners coming off of their "linkage" position. what makes you think they will agree to a rollback AND agree to linkage ?

dr

The owners didn't reject the 24% rollback. They restructured it in what, to me, appears to be a much fairer cut across the board.

 

[eye]

Anything else from PA than accepting the link between salaries & revenues and there won't be a season. If PA does accept this, we will most likely have a season after a marathon negoating session whether it's 54% or 56% of the revenues.

Short, simple and accurate. The NHLPA and it's few supporters will be sadly disappointed when they finally figure this out. When this CBA is ratified it will have a cost linkage at approximately 54% of gross revenue and that figure includes player costs like pension fund, dental, bonus money etc. There is lots of room for the NHLPA to negotiate entry level, salary qualification, arbitration and age of Free Agency. The rest has already been decided by the owners who actually do have some rights in how they decide to run their business.

 

[chara]

Not a surprise.

Goodenow and the NHLPA held out as long as they could. They'll swallow cost certainty but will get back their rollback which wasn't very meaningful to the owners as most contracts run out by 2007. Full scale implementation won't really occur for a year or two after a new CBA is signed. The NHLPA should also get less stringent free agency, both UFA and RFA.

As for salary arbritration, the owners should care less as player contracts will be reigned in by a cap. As for capped rookie salaries, the majority of the NHLPA will concede that guys should do their time before getting their spoils.

Tough negotiation points will be penalties for teams over the cap and exceptions to the cap.

Once the NHLPA concedes a cap, there'll be NHL hockey in late January.

 

[tantalum]

Vancouver has $43.4 million commited to next year.

Call me a pessimist, but I just don't see the players accepting a cap. They've been far too adamant against it to just roll over now. Maybe next year at this time, but not now.

That's true but if it's a phased in thing...a high cap this season of 55 mil with no roll back or something they might go for it. If the ESPN folks are right and the union is going to the NHL it just confirms that it is the NHL that is in the drivers seat and perhaps the union recognizes it. The end is a foregone conclusion I think. And instead of losing everything immediately if the season is flushed down the toilet they might be able to make some gains and ease the pain of the membership by phasing something in, saving arbitration, lowering free agency etc.. (i.e. the owners are not likely to negotiate anything this next setpember where they will right now.)

Really that's what the rollback will ultimately be about in the end...the executive of the NHLPA can stand up and say at the end of the day that they saved the players current contracts when the owners let the players take back the rollback in exchange for a cap. It allows the executive to save face a bit.

Short, simple and accurate. The NHLPA and it's few supporters will be sadly disappointed when they finally figure this out. When this CBA is ratified it will have a cost linkage at approximately 54% of gross revenue and that figure includes player costs like pension fund, dental, bonus money etc. There is lots of room for the NHLPA to negotiate entry level, salary qualification, arbitration and age of Free Agency. The rest has already been decided by the owners who actually do have some rights in how they decide to run their business.

I agree. In the end it's the victor who writes history. In CBA agreements the victor is usually the side that was correct all along.