Converse said:
The big spending teams all would have a player making $10 million dollars a season, so that franchise player tag is really only for the big spenders. The only benefit of it is that there would be proposed revenue sharing from a tax on those franchise players, but if you only have 10 players with the tag in the league, and they are all making $10 million, you generate (10x$5M) $50 million in revenue to be split 30 different ways. That's $1.67 million per team, just enough to add a player of the average NHL salary. It's a start but not the answer.
Some of you posters really have to take a step back, take a deep breath and think this over first as to what a CBA means and how some of these issues effect the NHL..
A
Franchise Tag is
NOT JUST for
BIG market spenders .. The Franchise tag benefits all teams .. Sure the Big spenders will use it to get a higher Hard Cap however its even more vital to the small market teams ... If UFA drops down low like the 27 age suggested ... It is a tool that the small market teams can use to avoid losing their Franchise young player .. Columbus, Atlanta, Carolina, Washington, Pittsburgh ..would be slapping this Franchise tag on the Rick Nash, Ilya Kovalchuk, Eric Staal, Ovechkin, Malkin, and in the future Crosby and Kessel .. so that their marquee player that sells tickets in their market can't leave for the Bright Lights of the big city when they turn 27.. No matter how small your payroll is you can slap the Franchise tag on any player.
Also I never understand this $$ argument with Franchise players .. If the Avs declare Sakic or the Leafs Sundin or the Red Wings Lidstrom the Franchise player ..
what difference does it matter to anyone if he makes $ 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 mil a season ??
The player is still on the ice with his teammates as a regular player and what he gets paid by his own team does not effect his on ice performance or make him a better player if he is making 10 mil rather then 5 mil ..
HE IS THE SAME PLAYER ... The only team effected is his own team as they are accountable for the number as they pay him and it effects their books and bottom line and profitability ..
It has ZERO effect on the ICE or Accounting Books of any other team .. If he makes $5 mil or 10 mil he doesn't count against a hard cap regardless as a franchise player ..and Franchise contracts are not used for Salary comparisons and if the Team didn't have to disclose the figure to anyone, no one would know or care.
Also what people have to understand is that the only part the NHLPA plays in this whole thing is to work together with the NHL (negotiate) collectively on a CBA.
A CBA is just a set of rules that all 30 teams agree to play and operate within .. Its just the framework ... Once the deal is signed the
NHL OWNERS are the only ones that have a say as to how they budget and what they spend .. If Teams want to operate and work around a $ 35 mil team they can .. Nothing the NHLPA can do or anybody else for that matter .. The GM's become accountable for the contracts they give out within the $
31 floor - $ 38.5 ceiling Cap range as suggested by this proposal .. THE NHLPA has
ZERO say once the CBA is signed .. So all this $50 mil talk is nonsense, sure the NHLPA can hope that all 30 teams are idiots but its not going to happen, but to just a few who will spend every cent of the 38.5 and slap a player with a Franchise tag .. If an owner has a GM that OVERSPENDS his budget then he can fire him and bring in a better person.
The owners get their Hard Cap, they get their On-Ice-Parity and the franchise tag allows all 30 teams to protect
ONE SPECIAL player and insure they keep him even if the UFA drops down real low ...
Lastly .. If both sides are exchanging proposals and the numbers are changing then ...
WE ARE NOT AT IMPASSE ...