Not really...
Top Shelf said:
I thinks its more of a PR tactic to combat the NHLPA's recent cheer leading sessions.
Bettman knows that the PA sometime in the middle of December will put forth another proposal to "TRY" to save the season in the eyes of the fans. That will probably include a higher salary rollback than the 5% offered and perhaps a reduction in the payroll threshold and/or increase in the Tax for going over the threshold. Basically the same proposal they made in September except with numbers slightly more favorable to the owners than the last offer.
Bettman probably wants to get the GMs together to talk about what to expect from the PA offer and where that would line them up. He wants to rally them to hold the line.
On a side note, does the PA not realize that the "givebacks" they have made don't amount to too much given the major reduction in National US TV the league has sustained. ESPN money is cut in half and that new deal with NBC, how much of the 125 million/year they got from ABC in the last deal will they get from NBC in this new deal? Half maybe? So, automatically, the league is down about 100 million in US TV money.
So, a 5% rollback on salarys, if you take 2 billion of revenue and the league's contention that the players eat up 74% of that, that means that 5% of 1.5 billion is 75 million. That's less than what the league loses due to the poor tv contract. Throw in the money from cutting the rookies, and the PA's offer is not much more than what the league has lost in TV money. So, in essence a dent in the old system or losses for the league hasn't really taken place.