just control salary raises and pay them in CDN $

In the last couple of years, the salaries of all the players have increased of only 3% per year. Unfortunately, most of the damages have been done in the previous few years. It shows that when they want, owners can control their expenses and spend more intelligently... except for the Rangers and Dallas...

No ordinary workers, whatever your union, are obtaining more than 10-15% raise over a multi-year deal. Why would the hockey players would be able to double or triple their salary overnight when they are signing a new contract ? Good exemples of that - Jose Theodore, JS Giguère and Bobby Holik, to name a few. Theodore was earning 1,8 million the year he won all his trophies and almost 5 million(US $) the following year. Holik was earning about 3 million and signed a 8.5 million per year with the Rangers

Instead of trying to push a salary cap down their throat - which players don't want - or instaure a luxury tax - that most owners don't want - why not establish a fixed scale for salary raises. Let's not forget that most player's contracts will be over at the end of this season. So, teams can start from scratch.

A player should not be able to get more than a maximum raise of 50% over a three year contract (15% for a one year deal-30 % for a two-year deal). I said MAXIMUM because it remains negotiable between the GM and the agent, depending of the player's performance. Ideally, all contracts should be a ONE-YEAR DEAL.
So a player who is making 2 million would not receive more than 3 million (50 %) for a new 3-year contract. No signing bonuses and no individual bonuses would be allowed - just team bonuses. Players would become free agent at 29 or after 10 years with the same organization. All contracts for players under 26 or with less than 300 games in the NHL(100 games for goalies) , would be two-way contracts (minor and NHL clauses)

All actual contracts and all future contracts of players in Canadian based NHL team would be paid in Canadian dollars. So Theodore would not make next year 6 million US $ but 6 million CDN $. Canadian Fans in the stand are paid in CDN $ and buy their tickets in CDN $ too. Canadian based teams would have to lower their tickets price accordingly.

All contracts of players in NHL teams based in USA would be subject to a rollback to equal the Canadian currency (about 20% these days). Players would be paid in US $ of course but their salaries would be alligned to their Canadian counterparts. So Canadian based teams would had a chance to compete to keep and to get top players (like Edmonton).

Ideally, the league should have only 24 teams - 8 in Canada with the return of Winnipeg and Quebec - and the season should not be more than 72 games long (thus reducing even more the salaries). Active rosters should have no more than 20-21 players with 18 playing - eliminating further more the 4th line grinders/goons and the 6th d-men... So two existing team would be moved to Canada (Winnipeg and Quebec) and SIX would be contracted - and their players drafted by the remaining 24. Result: better quality teams in real hockey markets; less games and better overall performances.

 

Players constantly say: "Let the owners pay us what they want to pay us"

The owners have now said that they cannot pay them the way they were, hence the lockout and new economic system.


The players are whining now.

 

Yeah, then no more FA would sign with a Canadian team. Great idea.

 

Great, another poster with no clue as to how the business end of things works in the real world. Perhaps you can simulate this scenario in the next EA Sports NHL game instead.

 

This comment is not necessary. Attack the post not the poster. You have better ideas, then refute his points

 

In the REAL WORLD, no "unionized worker" receives a 200% or 300 % raise from one contract to another. In the REAL WORLD, Canadian hockey fans have to pay big dollars to see their cherished NHL playerb who are paid in US $.

So CAP the raises to start with !

 

You did not understand, I think. Players, whatever they are playing in US or Canada would make the same salaries (comparable players, I mean). The NHL player in Canada would be paid in CDN $ and the one playing in the USA would be paid in US $. The difference is the "rollback" that would be applied. All contracts of NHL players in Canada would be converse in CDN $... and all contracts for players on American based teams would have a rollback equivalent to the curency difference.

Not so long ago... do you remember... players were ready (at least their PA) to give a 24 % rollback of their salaries... So it's about the same.

 

Im just spitballin' here, but why don't we save ourselves a couple of bucks and pay them in Canadian money.

 

And get rid of arbitration altogether.

 

The players could save the NHL teams in Canada even more money if they would also accept Canadian Tire money as payment. I know I always forget to use that stuff and would easily hand over a few bucks of that money at a game to some bin that goes to an NHL team. Just think NHL teams would likely get a few hundred thousand dollars of that stuff a year to pay their players with. And they could then go and buy whatever they wanted at Canadian Tire with that money.

 

You are so funny. It's sickening !

Die with your ignorance, buddy !

 

After you came up with "And get rid of arbitration altogether" which of course is illegal.

So who is ignorant now?

 

:lol I take it you haven't seen Dodgeball then.