Bob's out of paint - Bettman calls his bluff - where does hockey go from here?

[eye]

Goodenow has run out of paint and has painted his players into a corner with only one way out.

Bettman called his 24% bluff today and Goodenow didn't like it one bit. Goodenow won't guarantee his 56% of revenue so where do we go from here?

I was disappointed that not one reporter asked Goodenow if he would consult his players and ask them to have a secret referendum on this issue.

Players now have no choice but to play in Europe, eat humble pie or become replacement players at a much lower % of pay than they were offered today when the new NHL II starts play next September.

How could Bob Goodenow allow this to happen??????????????????

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[chriss_co]

Goodenow has run out of paint and has painted his players into a corner with only one way out.

Bettman called his 24% bluff today and Goodenow didn't like it one bit. Goodenow won't guarantee his 56% of revenue so where do we go from here?

Completely agree with you on the bluff.

But then again the league's counterproposal is as much a move on the PR chess board as Goodenow's was the week before.

The real matter is to have a salary cap or not.

 

[SwisshockeyAcademy]

I am behind the owners for the most part in this fight. I do not like this counter proposal. If you want a cap there has to be revenue sharing. This proposal was counterproductive and a slap in the face to the negotiation process. We are in trouble now.

 

[eye]

All rhetoric aside - there is some middle ground and room to negotiate a deal!

IMO, the NHLPA can salvage many concessions from the NHL in return for agreeing to the soft cap that was offered to them yesterday.

NHL left the door open on many fronts and in a strange way, left Goodenow some room to save face and not take a total hit on his pride.

What the NHLPA can salvage;

Owners/Bettman would agree to 2 way arbitration with % limits both upward/downward.

Owners/Bettman would agree to free agency at age 29

Owners/Bettman would agree to cutting the rollback offer by 50% across the board.

Owners/Bettman would agree to a specified bonus structure on entry level contracts.

Owners/Bettman will agree to a 2 or 3 year phase in period for a new system to take form.

I think owners/Bettman would agree to meet the NHLPA in the middle and increase their soft cap offer to 55.3% of gross revenue. (middle of their current offer and NHLPA's starting offer after their current rollback offer)

owners/Bettman have left the door open a crack and now the NHLPA have to decide if they want to open the door, concede to a salary cap system that works well in the NBA/NFL/CFL or play next year in the WHA or lower paid downsized NHL. The lessor of two evils is to negotiate on all other aspects of Bettman's proposal and concede to the systemic issue that Bettman and the owners want and will get one way or the other.

 

[Digger12]

This has been mentioned before, and I think it has even more validity now:

If I'm an NHLPA member, and after what happened yesterday...I have to phone Bob Goodenow and ask him one simple question: What is the endgame?

If your job is to get the members of this association the best deal possible, are we really going to receive a better deal next season or the season after that than we are in the next 2 weeks?

You tell us to go find alternative places to work, but where?

OSHL? Sad joke.

WHA? Bobby Hull isn't even returning his phone messages.

Europe? Nice for a holiday, but I sure as hell don't feel like playing there the rest of my career. The euphoria's starting to wear off on that option, talk to McCabe if you don't believe me.

Russia? Only a couple of teams are paying good money, and who knows how long that'll last? And even if I did manage to score a paycheck there it's not exactly a very stable environment for my family.

In short, what is your strategy to get us back on the ice? Thanks in advance.

 

[SENSible1*]

This has been mentioned before, and I think it has even more validity now:

If I'm an NHLPA member, and after what happened yesterday...I have to phone Bob Goodenow and ask him one simple question: What is the endgame?

If your job is to get the members of this association the best deal possible, are we really going to receive a better deal next season or the season after that than we are in the next 2 weeks?

You tell us to go find alternative places to work, but where?

OSHL? Sad joke.

WHA? Bobby Hull isn't even returning his phone messages.

Europe? Nice for a holiday, but I sure as hell don't feel like playing there the rest of my career. The euphoria's starting to wear off on that option, talk to McCabe if you don't believe me.

Russia? Only a couple of teams are paying good money, and who knows how long that'll last? And even if I did manage to score a paycheck there it's not exactly a very stable environment for my family.

In short, what is your strategy to get us back on the ice? Thanks in advance.

Great post

 

[GKJ]

Goodenow has run out of paint and has painted his players into a corner with only one way out.

Bettman called his 24% bluff today and Goodenow didn't like it one bit. Goodenow won't guarantee his 56% of revenue so where do we go from here?

I was disappointed that not one reporter asked Goodenow if he would consult his players and ask them to have a secret referendum on this issue.

Players now have no choice but to play in Europe, eat humble pie or become replacement players at a much lower % of pay than they were offered today when the new NHL II starts play next September.

How could Bob Goodenow allow this to happen??????????????????

Why do we need 4 different threads of the same thing?

 

[eye]

Why do we need 4 different threads of the same thing?

We actually have about 50 threads on the same thing. I'm sure I started at least 10 of them. I just wish the NHL and NHLPA were as passionate about fixing this thing as we are.

I'm still waiting for anyone in the NHLPA to explain their ideology or principle they stand for on being against a cap system that works well in other sports. I think Goodenow just wants a free market place where owners can repeat history and fuel salary inflation so that he can say once again that he won. It's all about winning with Bob. He coulc careless about the NHL or his players.