Gretzky sums it up perfectly...

[kdb209]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icey
Same with Mario. Even though his Penguins have no money and have had to trade players away season after season as a salary dump, he continues to draw his $5.25M salary and then plays only a handful of games. If Mario was so concerned about a salary cap why is drawing that kind of salary and not a $1M salary?

Sorry I couldn't let this one go, but are you serious that Mario's only in it for the money?

Did I miss something, or didn't Mario defer a boat load of money to keep the franchise afloat. If Mario was as greedy as you say he was, why didn't he fight for all the money he was signed for by Pittsburgh? Why did he defer money, and why did he take over the franchise?

Why hasn't he moved Pittsburgh to a more profitable location?

Why not pay himself $5.25 million a year? He's better than any player in the NHL currently making that amount. At $5.25 million he's a bargain. Plus he's the owner. He's making no money off the penguins in a management sense, why can't he as a player?

Actually, IIRC, when Mario first came back as an owner/player, he first did pay himself the minimum. The PA protested, not without cause - his below market salary did have side effects - it reduced the avg salary used for Group V FA, etc.

I beleive as a result Mario's salary is now set by the league.

 

[LordHelmet]

"Guys are talking now about starting up the World Hockey Association again?" he says. "That's the same WHA with the $10 million salary cap? And some players took jobs in the Eastern League, with a cap of $500 a week? But they don't want one in the NHL? Boggles my mind. If you believe in no cap, then how can you play in a league that has one? Besides, the union already has said it will accept a cap."

The PAers here can't/won't/don't want to deal with that fantastic point so they're resorting to attacking Gretzky over history.

Put it aside, let it lie, and look at the original quote which is accurate and scathing.

It's a simple point to deal with. The other leagues aren't the NHL. The other leagues do not have multi-billionaires as owners..

Answer this question: How can you bemoan the players' choice to participate in alternate leagues, and yet support the owners' likely strategy of using alternate players?

Most of the players in alternate leagues aren't playing for the money. they're playing to stay in shape and keep their skills up. For the record, the PA should have instituted an informal program where groups of players could compete against each other. Several players in Dallas are doing this on their own at local rinks. This would allow them to accomplish thier goals of maintaining their fitness and skill level while avoiding a black-eye in the PR arena..

 

[misterjaggers]

Boys, it's all about drawing money. Guys like Gretzky, Lemieux, LaFontaine, Yzerman drew fans. They made hockey fans out of sports fans. Your salary should be correlated to the amount of revenue you produce. With that group, they deserved what they got...

BTW, all you need to know about the PA is that most of their supporters on this board have resorted to criticizing Lemieux and Gretzky.

Yeah, apparently the NHLPA supporters, bored with demonizing Bettman, have now embarked on a smear campaign against Gretsky and Lemieux.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Yeah, apparently the NHLPA supporters, bored with demonizing Bettman, have now embarked on a smear campaign against Gretsky and Lemieux.

Well, at least they aren't pulling the wings of insects, which is the no doubt the alternative for many who would stoop to bad-mouthing these two icons.

 

[hockeydadx2*]

Actually, the PA complained mightily about Lemieux's initial salary, because they were afraid it would hurt the salaries of others in the arbitration process. His current $5.25 million salary is the result of negotiation with the players union. If he wanted, for God's sake, he could pay himself $10 million.

 

[Wolfpack]

When Gretzky first went to LA, McNall wanted to pay him $2 million per year, and Gretzky was too embarassed to accept it! He accepted $1 million instead - just enough to make him the highest paid player but not enough to upset his teammates. Now, if in the years following, Gretzky signed bigger contracts as other players around the league caught up to his salary, I don't begrudge him that. After all, he WAS the best player in the game.

I'm sure that if a player dominated the NHL the way Gretzky did 20 years ago, Wayne would be more than happy to see that player make $6 million/yr. It's the talentless dime-a-dozen 3rd line grinders that are making $2.5 that are the problem.

I don't have a problem with the best player on each team making $6 million, but there has to be some checks in place to prevent six guys on one team from making that, or prevent the #5 d-man from making $2 million. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[myrocketsgotcracked]

It's a simple point to deal with. The other leagues aren't the NHL. The other leagues do not have multi-billionaires as owners..

so by your logic if we put a bunch of hobos as the owners of nhl teams (forget for a second how they'll pay for the cost) does that mean the players will accept a cap? or if we bring over the owners of europeans teams then the nhlpa will be ok with the capped nhl?

and to the guy who claims gretzky's salary from 20 years ago in todays world will be around $15M after inflation, please proof it. its hard to imagine at a inflation rate of 7% (which is high), that his salary will be $15M nowadays.

 

[Icey]

Actually, IIRC, when Mario first came back as an owner/player, he first did pay himself the minimum. The PA protested, not without cause - his below market salary did have side effects - it reduced the avg salary used for Group V FA, etc.

I beleive as a result Mario's salary is now set by the league.

How can they do that? The league can't say how much to pay a particular player. But if in fact they can like you claim, then why do they not do this for all 700 players? Wouldn't this solve the CBA/cap mess? Let the league set the salaries for each player.

And Mario is not the only player that the PA has balked about. Last summer when Jere Lehtinen signed his contract extension (remember he has WON three selke's and been nominated 5 times) all he asked for was a no-trade clause. Said he made enough money for his family to live very comfortable and he just wanted to ensure that he would stay in Dallas. The Stars gave him the no-trade clause (and a slight raise). When they interviewed other players about the contract the typical comments were 'stunned" and "shocked". But,yes, all players are greedy. If we had a league full of Jere Lehtinen's then we wouldn't be in this mess.

 

[LadyByngJeanRatelle]

How can they do that? The league can't say how much to pay a particular player. But if in fact they can like you claim, then why do they not do this for all 700 players? Wouldn't this solve the CBA/cap mess? Let the league set the salaries for each player.

And Mario is not the only player that the PA has balked about. Last summer when Jere Lehtinen signed his contract extension (remember he has WON three selke's and been nominated 5 times) all he asked for was a no-trade clause. Said he made enough money for his family to live very comfortable and he just wanted to ensure that he would stay in Dallas. The Stars gave him the no-trade clause (and a slight raise). When they interviewed other players about the contract the typical comments were 'stunned" and "shocked". But,yes, all players are greedy. If we had a league full of Jere Lehtinen's then we wouldn't be in this mess.

Can you just admit that you were wrong about Mario.

 

[kdb209]

How can they do that? The league can't say how much to pay a particular player. But if in fact they can like you claim, then why do they not do this for all 700 players? Wouldn't this solve the CBA/cap mess? Let the league set the salaries for each player.

They can do that because Mario is in the unique position of being a player and an owner. I believe the league consulted with the PA to come up with a minimum "market value" for Mario to pay himself without having negative affects on other player salaries.

 

[me2]

and to the guy who claims gretzky's salary from 20 years ago in todays world will be around $15M after inflation, please proof it. its hard to imagine at a inflation rate of 7% (which is high), that his salary will be $15M nowadays.

http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/index.cfm
$1m in 1980 after inflation is $2,370,145 in 2005

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/
$1m in 1980 buys $2.3143m