NHL, NHLPA close to eight-year deal?

[X0ssbar]

According to industry sources, the NHL and NHLPA have been in talks for the past couple of weeks and are very close to agreeing on an eight-year deal. The first four years of the deal would include a salary rollback and the following four years would see a soft cap with luxury tax in place. The season would get under way February 14.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/hearsay.jsp

Click to read more...

 

[nyr7andcounting]

Hope so.

 

[amazingcrwns]

This sucks, I had heard that the season would start around the 4th, 10 more days without hockey...

But on a more serious note, I hope this is the case, both sides can save face, the owners had previously stated that the rollback would only be a short term solution and this actually sets that up. The rollback becomes a short term solution and the long term solution starts up after that. This also provides time for the larger market teams to work towards lowering their payrolls as the tax approaches. They'll know exactly where they need to be payroll wise at an exact time.

 

[Slats432]

Talk about weak. A little blurb on Hockey Hearsay without any quotes or anything, doesn't incite tons of confidence.

Bob M., you hear anything?

 

[X8oD]

Talk about weak. A little blurb on Hockey Hearsay without any quotes or anything, doesn't incite tons of confidence.

its the first "source" from a major site this entire lock out saying a deal may be close.

Every other source has come from bad blog sites.

I'll hope it has a little bit more weight than the rest.

 

[Randy May]

Perhaps today's meeting is the 2 sides just historically "signing off" on the deal that has been negotiated secretly for weeks...?

 

[Motown Beatdown]

Perhaps today's meeting is the 2 sides just historically "signing off" on the deal that has been negotiated secretly for weeks...?

Man i hope so, but i'm not counting on it.

 

[Motown Beatdown]

Hmmm, the story is no longer there.

 

[Gus Fring]

dont see anything about that on the link but dear god do i hope your right

 

[Old Hickory]

Hmmm, the story is no longer there.

I noticed that

 

[X0ssbar]

I may be jumping the gun but this whole meeting today could fall in line with what Eklund had mentioned in his blog - that this is a strategy by both parties to repair the damage caused by the lockout to the player's image - starting w/ making Linden out to be the hero.

The deal could very well be hammered out and quite frankly - this potential deal makes sense for a lot reasons. First and foremost - it allows both parties to save face.

 

[trahans99]

According to industry sources, the NHL and NHLPA have been in talks for the past couple of weeks and are very close to agreeing on an eight-year deal. The first four years of the deal would include a salary rollback and the following four years would see a soft cap with luxury tax in place. The season would get under way February 14.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/hearsay.jsp

I thought the last 4 years would have a link between salary and revenues and the first 4 years have a lux tax system?

 

[X0ssbar]

Hmmm, the story is no longer there.

Odd - maybe somebody (besides me) did indeed jump the gun.

(I still have the original page up and it was published at Jan 19 @ 11:52 AM)

 

[Motown Beatdown]

Odd - maybe somebody (besides me) did indeed jump the gun.

(I still have the original page up and it was published at Jan 19 @ 11:52 AM)

But i dont know why they would pull because it's in the "hearsay" section. Everyone knows it's jsut a rumor section. Oh well, but damn i hate waiting

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

It is too bad Marty McSorley was blackballed from the game. They could use him to get this settled.

 

[Slats432]

Like I said. Weak... :lol So weak that the staying power was what, a couple hours?

 

[FLYLine27*]

Its not there anymore. Honestly though if this is true....(but im sure its not)...I would consider this the best day of my 19 1/2 year life. Without NHL hockey..my life is not the same.

 

[Sinurgy]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=111787

In the latest article on TSN they mention a blurb that sounds familiar when compared to the link at the start of this thread. Sounds like it's just another proposal from someone within the industry.

 

[struckmatch]

I really hope something gets done, This hybrid agreement sounds like a workable solution.

 

[trahans99]

I really hope something gets done, This hybrid agreement sounds like a workable solution.

only if theres a link between salary and revenues for the last 1/2 of the deal

 

[Lanny MacDonald*]

I really hope something gets done, This hybrid agreement sounds like a workable solution.

Really? I think its four more years of bleeding the sport dry, then four years of trying to recover from the failed franchises or bailing out the ones in serious trouble. I think this is the worst proposal of any I have seen and only plays right into the hands of those teams wheich are already big spenders.

This deal does nothing about cost certainty. I'm not sure how it addresses the core need of the game? Unless it comes with a huge broadcast agreement that pays each team stupid money, I don't know how it is going to work?

 

[Slats432]

Really? I think its four more years of bleeding the sport dry, then four years of trying to recover from the failed franchises or bailing out the ones in serious trouble. I think this is the worst proposal of any I have seen and only plays right into the hands of those teams wheich are already big spenders.

This deal does nothing about cost certainty. I'm not sure how it addresses the core need of the game? Unless it comes with a huge broadcast agreement that pays each team stupid money, I don't know how it is going to work?

I feel that as an owner supporter, that this IS the compromise. I would even go so far to say that they could go soft cap with a hard cap trigger. Even four years of strict luxury tax with option for the league to trigger a hard cap in the final four years if there is a higher than 56% salary to revenue break down.

There are ways to solve this but both sides are stubborn.

 

[Russian Fan]

Really? I think its four more years of bleeding the sport dry, then four years of trying to recover from the failed franchises or bailing out the ones in serious trouble. I think this is the worst proposal of any I have seen and only plays right into the hands of those teams wheich are already big spenders.

This deal does nothing about cost certainty. I'm not sure how it addresses the core need of the game? Unless it comes with a huge broadcast agreement that pays each team stupid money, I don't know how it is going to work?

I understand you have a strong position on your beliefs but if the model is a strong luxury tax, it could work.

A) Even in the NHL last proposal , they never said anything on HOW 50% of the league could go from 40-50-60M$ to 38,6M$ to go under the cap ?

B) People criticize the MLB luxury tax & mostly they are right but there's one thing that the last CBA in the MLB did work & it's stop the salary's to escalate.

The primary example is VLADIMIR GUERRERO ! Everyone in the media thought he was the best thing since Alex Rodriguez & that he would be the NEXT Alex Rodriguez in payroll because he's 27 years old. He refuse 15M$ a year for 5 years in Montreal because his agent was sure he would get at least 20M$ for 7 years !

Free agency period came & no one even offered him 15M$ a year. He had to accept a 65M$ for 5 years deal with ANAHEIM (13M$ a year) ! He just lost 10M$ because of the new economic system in the MLB.

People accuse the MLB system because only 1 to 3 teams pay the tax but the escalating salaries come to an end because of this EVEN WITH A LOW luxury tax.

Carlos Beltran 2 years ago would have got at least 20-25M$ & he only got 17M$. Sure 17M$ is a lot but it's a lot less than what he would have got 2 years ago.

Imagine if the NHL had a STRONGER luxury tax with a 24% rollback, it would be a great achievement in my opinion to stop escalating salaries in the NHL.

That's just my 2 cents.

 

[Morbo]

There is no way the owners will accept 4 more years of losing money.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

There is no way the owners will accept 4 more years of losing money.

The main gripe the most hardcore cap person on the owners side (Betttman) had with the union's proposal was that it was a short term solution. That within 2 to 3 years (exaggerated timeline IMO) the salaries would be back to what they were before. Now, if the owners go with that proposal for 4 years, they'd not be losing much money during that time, if any.

I think they'd definately accept a non-cap proposal for 4 years if it meant they'd get it in the end.

I think this is the best of both world. Both parties make a concession, both parties save face and it gives time to the owners to configure their payroll to accept a salary cap 4 years from now.

I think it makes a lot of sense, maybe too much sense for it to actually work.

EDIT :

Back when the union made it's 24% rollback offer I thought, why don't the owners sign this deal for 3-4 years and keep negotiating for a cap during that time. But then I was thinking, nah, they would have to do the same crap all over again 3 years from now, and they have the leverage so it makes no sense from their perspective. But with that offer, it solves that problem.