CBA negotiations and related stuff

[GordonGraham]

Yvon Pedneault from journal de Montreal wrote today that owners want

No arbitration unless it a choice between team offer or player ask no in between numbers.
Free agency at 30
Maximum 5 years contract

 

[gstommylee]

Yvon Pedneault from journal de Montreal wrote today that owners want

No arbitration unless it a choice between team offer or player ask no in between numbers.
Free agency at 30
Maximum 5 years contract

No way NHLPA would accept years max contracts

 

[mouser]

No way NHLPA would accept years max contracts

Oddly that change probably doesn’t really hurt the players—they’re getting 50% of revenue every season regardless of contract length. Many players could cash in on two+ big contracts, instead of the current system with more frequent one+ big contracts.

The increase of UFA to 30 would be a nonstarter, and I can’t imagine the owners would ever expect to get it.

 

[LeHab]

No way NHLPA would accept years max contracts

You don't come to a negotiation table with your best offer.

 

[LadyStanley]

31 Thoughts: Fun week, but high hurdles remain for NHL resumption - Sportsnet.ca

Friedman reports that league and union might start soon putting together negotiating committees.

 

[boredmale]

From the Athletic (paywall):

Seven CBA changes NHL team executives have discussed (and...

1. Signing bonus limits (limiting the amount of a contract that can be paid out in signing bonuses)
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On the subject of this. I just thought how some teams can get around the cap this year assuming we have a reduced season in 20/21. Basically if a player is willing to sign a 1 year deal you can sign him to a league min contract with a guaranteed signing bonus. So using my example say we have a 50 game season, maybe the Islanders can get Barzal to sign a contract for like league min with a 4.3M signing bonus. That is pretty decent cash for 50 games

 

[LadyStanley]

Some progress

 

[mouser]

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On the subject of this. I just thought how some teams can get around the cap this year assuming we have a reduced season in 20/21. Basically if a player is willing to sign a 1 year deal you can sign him to a league min contract with a guaranteed signing bonus. So using my example say we have a 50 game season, maybe the Islanders can get Barzal to sign a contract for like league min with a 4.3M signing bonus. That is pretty decent cash for 50 games

How does that get around the cap? Signing bonuses are included in cap calculations.

Also there's nothing in the CBA that says players automatically get paid less then 100% of their contracts if the # of scheduled games is less then 82. All that has to be negotiated between the league and PA.

 

[boredmale]

How does that get around the cap? Signing bonuses are included in cap calculations.

So if we play 50 games how does Mitch Marners contract work. I believe he gets paid a 14.3M bonus on July 1 and then 700k for the season(although 10.9 caphit). Both Tavares and Matthews I also believe have these front loaded bonus laiden contracts where they only make 700k during the season. If the league only has 50 games this season that would really screw with the cap if the Leafs have to fit all 3 of those contracts in at full value(in the case or Marner 10.9M over 50 games)

My basic point to be clear is MArner will make 14.3M no matter what in 20/21 even if he plays 50 games. He won't get 50/82nds of what his contract would pay him only 50/82nds of 700k

In my Barzal example, they might be able to get him to sign for less then he would for an 82 game season(ie if he is guaranteed 4.3M + a percentage of a league min salary = roughly 5M caphit) thus driving down a caphit of say 6.5M(which if it was paid out during the season would be 50/82 * 6.5 or 4M dollars)

 

[mouser]

So if we play 50 games how does Mitch Marners contract work. I believe he gets paid a 14.3M bonus on July 1 and then 700k for the season(although 10.9 caphit). Both Tavares and Matthews I also believe have these front loaded bonus laiden contracts where they only make 700k during the season. If the league only has 50 games this season that would really screw with the cap if the Leafs have to fit all 3 of those contracts in at full value(in the case or Marner 10.9M over 50 games)

My basic point to be clear is MArner will make 14.3M no matter what in 20/21 even if he plays 50 games. He won't get 50/82nds of what his contract would pay him only 50/82nds of 700k

In my Barzal example, they might be able to get him to sign for less then he would for an 82 game season(ie if he is guaranteed 4.3M + a percentage of a league min salary = roughly 5M caphit) thus driving down a caphit of say 6.5M(which if it was paid out during the season would be 50/82 * 6.5 or 4M dollars)

If we only play 50 games most likely Marner gets his full bonus, but that's all subject to negotiation.

There's nothing in the CBA that says 50/82 games means players are paid 50/82nds of their salaries. The contracts and CBA say the players are paid their full salaries in equal amounts every two weeks over the course of the regular season. Any change to that must be negotiated between the NHL and PA. Given a major chunk of revenue is earned in the post-season, even if the league played a 50 game schedule it wouldn't necessarily make sense to decrease player salaries by that same factor.

One other thing to consider is if the NHL and PA do agree to pro-rate salaries that doesn't require them to ignore the potential impacts of signing bonuses.

 

[boredmale]

One other thing to consider is if the NHL and PA do agree to pro-rate salaries that doesn't require them to ignore the potential impacts of signing bonuses.

Fair enough, I do believe these high signing bonus/low reg season salary are put in place to avoid a lockout(for the player) I figured the same rules would apply if they shorten this season

 

[LadyStanley]

4-5 year extension being negotiated. New rules would go into effect immediately (i.e., escrow, etc.).

Toronto and Vegas seem to be frontrunners for hub cities. Dates for phase 4 being negotiated; play restarts around August 1st or so.

 

[LadyStanley]

NHL/NHLPA talks on CBA include escrow cap, salary deferral for players - Sportsnet.ca

According to multiple sources, the potential agreement between the NHL and NHLPA caps escrow at 20 per cent for the 2020-21 season. Original guesstimates were escrow at 35 per cent if this year did not finish, 27-28 even if it did.

But there is a second layer: a one-season-only 10 per cent salary deferral by every player. I’m told this is not a rollback. Players will be returned that money in the future. The benefit to them is the escrow on it would be lower.

These are elements of a much more complicated puzzle. One source compared it to a “payment plan you might negotiate with your credit card company.” From an ownership perspective, every dollar owed the teams on the 50-50 revenue split will be repaid over the balance of the CBA.

As part of the agreement, the salary cap will be kept close to the current $81.5 million for the next three seasons. There is potential for it to go up $1 million in 2022-23.

Since it is a CBA, the NHLPA’s constitution mandates that every player gets a vote. It is expected, as The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reported Thursday, that Return to Play will be intertwined with the CBA, meaning players will be voting on both safety and financial protocols at the same time. A simple majority is enough for a “yes.”

So the whole return to play is depending on some tweaks to CBA and extension.

 

[Tawnos]

It'd really be something if, after all the instances of labor strife, they managed to extend the CBA for 4-5 years under these circumstances.