Strachan at it again

[Mess]

Every time they tried to discuss a new CBA before this season Goodenow said "up yours" so the NHL had to at least know that playing 2004-05 was unlikely.

Once again you have that backwards .. In the summer before the season began the NHL was tossing around Hard Cap numbers in the 32 - 35 Mil range to the NHLPA ..

You remember everyone did a million calculations what a team would look like at that level with current contracts still in effect .. That was the leagues starting point, so when the NHLPA was not interested in negotiating from that, you should really not be surprised, considering to this day they STILL do not support a HARD CAP ..

The NHL never had any intention to play last season .. They started with offers that are well below where we are now and they wanted to get a year off guaranteed contracts off the books saving 1.2 Bil in the process and they needed to make and NHL World where Revenue was declining or their Proposals would make no Sense if the Revenue was 2.1 bil and growing.. and offering 32 mil ceilings in proposals..

When you throw a FINAL OFFER on the table and then send a few emails through the media and cancel the season you would have to be pretty young and naive to believe that the goal was anything else .. You don't put aside a $ 300 Million WAR Chest and then sign a deal last September or January even..

 

[DuklaNation]

What the players fail to understand is that the 24% rollback doesnt address the supply/demand imbalance. This does nothing to resolve the unavoidable inflationary pressures of 30 teams vying for a small number of players. That is the bottom line. If there were 1500 NHL quality players available, there wouldnt be this mess right now.

 

[Slats432]

"The NHLPA's view -- which is widely supported throughout the hockey community -- is that the league at no time intended to play the 2004-05 season."


What?!?!?! I'm not so sure about that.

Of all the statements that I think that Strachan makes which are ridiculous, the assumption that the NHL was playing end game from the start and never really intended to play this year isn't that outlandish.

 

[tantalum]

Of all the statements that I think that Strachan makes which are ridiculous, the assumption that the NHL was playing end game from the start and never really intended to play this year isn't that outlandish.

I don't think the league never intended to play this year. What they intended was to never play this year under a system they didn't think would be a long term solution. Had that solution presented itself (which it almost did that final week) we would be watching the stretch run. The league was/is just not prepared to settle for anything less than what they think is necessary and that was the mandate they set. They were not going to settle for second best this time around as they did last time when they forced Bettman into a deal he didn't want to take. They want to stop the bleeding once and for all and yes they essentially want fool proof assurances that the system will work. They also hold all the cards in this process because they took that mandate.

 

[Mess]

What the players fail to understand is that the 24% rollback doesnt address the supply/demand imbalance. This does nothing to resolve the unavoidable inflationary pressures of 30 teams vying for a small number of players. That is the bottom line. If there were 1500 NHL quality players available, there wouldnt be this mess right now.

The NHL could solve that problem quite easily .. Simply drop UFA age in the new CBA to 27 from 31 currently and you would have lots of UFA on the market each year ..

 

[shayne]

i have been saying that as well but the PA does not want that...

the owners asked that arbitration be eliminated but they would then drop the age to 28 but the PA said no.

everyone knows why, you said it , supply and demand!!

 

[EJsens1]

Of all the statements that I think that Strachan makes which are ridiculous, the assumption that the NHL was playing end game from the start and never really intended to play this year isn't that outlandish.

Maybe. But the NHL could easily say the samething towards the NHLPA could they not??? Takes 2 to tango I guess. I genuinely believe that both parties wanted to play but at what expense??? I wonder what the hockey community term means though. NHLPA? NHL? Media? That was such a vague thing to say and with his track record, it would be ani-NHL IMO.