The Mighty Duck Man
R-E-L-A-X
This isn't my solution for the CBA mess, but it is IMO a proposal that the owner's can't lose on, and is something that could benefit them in the long run.
Gary should offer Bobby a deal which is like the NHLPA's last proposal, but with one big difference: Use the same system the NFL has with players. That means if you want to get rid of a high-priced contract, you just cut him. There's no way Pavel Bure should've gotten paid last season. Ditto Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh. The Detroit-mess with Cujo never would've happened, and alot of contracts teams wanted gone but couldn't because they didn't have the resources to buy them out would be gone. Cost-certainty doesn't get much better than that. If accepted, it could force players to take lesser-paid deals so if they don't play well, they're kept on because their salary isn't that much of a bother. Bobby might not like it one bit because just like that a contract can get eliminated, but this way, Gary can say that he not only considered, but offered Goodenow a deal where there's no hard cap, and even if Bobby says that there's no guarantees, media in the states, which would be familiar with the NFL system, wouldn't buy it, and no one in Canada probably wouldn't either, thus more pressure put on the PA to get a deal done, which may lead to them caving a bit.
Either way, the owner's couldn't lose. If Bobby bites, they get cost-certainty at it's finest. If he doesn't, worst he can do is turn the proposal down, and that could lead to media pressure put on Goodenow to get a deal done because he turned down one that had no salary cap, which is what he wants.
So, what do you think?
Gary should offer Bobby a deal which is like the NHLPA's last proposal, but with one big difference: Use the same system the NFL has with players. That means if you want to get rid of a high-priced contract, you just cut him. There's no way Pavel Bure should've gotten paid last season. Ditto Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh. The Detroit-mess with Cujo never would've happened, and alot of contracts teams wanted gone but couldn't because they didn't have the resources to buy them out would be gone. Cost-certainty doesn't get much better than that. If accepted, it could force players to take lesser-paid deals so if they don't play well, they're kept on because their salary isn't that much of a bother. Bobby might not like it one bit because just like that a contract can get eliminated, but this way, Gary can say that he not only considered, but offered Goodenow a deal where there's no hard cap, and even if Bobby says that there's no guarantees, media in the states, which would be familiar with the NFL system, wouldn't buy it, and no one in Canada probably wouldn't either, thus more pressure put on the PA to get a deal done, which may lead to them caving a bit.
Either way, the owner's couldn't lose. If Bobby bites, they get cost-certainty at it's finest. If he doesn't, worst he can do is turn the proposal down, and that could lead to media pressure put on Goodenow to get a deal done because he turned down one that had no salary cap, which is what he wants.
So, what do you think?