Canucker
Go Hawks!
What a damned mess. If you can find a way to split a $2.1 (or so)billion pot, thats shrinking daily, you've got some serious issues. Personally i blame both sides here for a lot of disingenuous bargaining and a serious lack of effort.
The NHLPA should have its membership vote, not on the deal offered by the owners, but to find out if a cap/linkage is something thats negotiable from the players instead of just a blanket "no, its a non-starter for us". If its deemed acceptable by a majority of the players it allows the executive to draft an agreement that includes a cap, if its not acceptable to a majority of the membership then at least it shows all involved that something else needs to be found before they can move forward.
The owners if they were really serious about getting a deal done they would have sweetened the deal instead of making it worse everytime around. And they haven't even subtle about it. They weren't even suggesting a wage rollback until the union offered it in their last offer, now its in every one of their offers in some form or another along with the dreaded cap thats turned into 3 separate caps. Who can blame the players for not wanting to sign on that dotted line?
And the most annoying fact is that Bettman and Goodenow have been such stubborn egomaniacs that they've had the entire off-season to work on this deal but have left it until the very last second to try and pull something off in order for us to have a joke of a 28 game season. When this is overwith they need to implement something into the CBA that after the CBA has expired if they don't have a deal by the time the first game of the next season is played then the season is cancelled outright. This should force them to work in the offseasons instead of putting in time at the golf course or whatever they do.
What unrealistically i would like to see now is have Bettman and Goodenow fired immediately after the season is cancelled and have Trevor Linden and Harley Hodgekiss meet and agree to binding arbitration through an independent arbitrator who will spend however much time is necessary, reviewing the details of the business itself, hearing the issues and concerns of each side and make his ruling. It will never happen but i can dream. Anyhow, thats my 2 cents. Go Canu.....oops Go Modo!!! (How sad is that?)
The NHLPA should have its membership vote, not on the deal offered by the owners, but to find out if a cap/linkage is something thats negotiable from the players instead of just a blanket "no, its a non-starter for us". If its deemed acceptable by a majority of the players it allows the executive to draft an agreement that includes a cap, if its not acceptable to a majority of the membership then at least it shows all involved that something else needs to be found before they can move forward.
The owners if they were really serious about getting a deal done they would have sweetened the deal instead of making it worse everytime around. And they haven't even subtle about it. They weren't even suggesting a wage rollback until the union offered it in their last offer, now its in every one of their offers in some form or another along with the dreaded cap thats turned into 3 separate caps. Who can blame the players for not wanting to sign on that dotted line?
And the most annoying fact is that Bettman and Goodenow have been such stubborn egomaniacs that they've had the entire off-season to work on this deal but have left it until the very last second to try and pull something off in order for us to have a joke of a 28 game season. When this is overwith they need to implement something into the CBA that after the CBA has expired if they don't have a deal by the time the first game of the next season is played then the season is cancelled outright. This should force them to work in the offseasons instead of putting in time at the golf course or whatever they do.
What unrealistically i would like to see now is have Bettman and Goodenow fired immediately after the season is cancelled and have Trevor Linden and Harley Hodgekiss meet and agree to binding arbitration through an independent arbitrator who will spend however much time is necessary, reviewing the details of the business itself, hearing the issues and concerns of each side and make his ruling. It will never happen but i can dream. Anyhow, thats my 2 cents. Go Canu.....oops Go Modo!!! (How sad is that?)
