WHAT IF question

[eye]

What would have happened the last Saturday of negotiations if Linden said "we will accept the owners 42.5 hard cap offer IF you agree to FA at age 29, qualifying offers at 100%, 2 way arbitration without conditions, improved rookie entry level contracts and bonus money and a salary floor of 25 million?

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[Snap Wilson]

The owners would have rejected it, as the 42.5 million offer came with significantly less union-friendly considerations in those areas.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

The owners would have rejected it, as the 42.5 million offer came with significantly less union-friendly considerations in those areas.

But it would have kept negotiations going, wouldn't it? I think had the players seriously moved I think a deal could have been had. Some of the owners would have balked, but Bettman could have powered it through with the powers he had been granted. And yes, there may have been slight wiggle room that wednesday. But the players made it very easy for the owners to walk away. Which played right into the hardest line of the owners who want, and now likely will eventually get, a much lower linked Cap. Agreed?

 

[Tinordi24*]

The owners would have rejected it, as the 42.5 million offer came with significantly less union-friendly considerations in those areas.

The question is will the NHL now reject the 30 million dollar cap the union will offer after the Boys of Europe will come back pleading with tails between their legs.

If I were the owners I would do so. "Sorry Trev and Dumbfool...we're giving you all a 25 mil cap and taking out guaranteed contracts." Then these two Dynamic Star players will head over to SEL to play and be big ticket draws and earn whopping salaries of 200K!

Good move NHLPA!

 

[AlexGodynyuk]

The question is will the NHL now reject the 30 million dollar cap the union will offer after the Boys of Europe will come back pleading with tails between their legs.

If I were the owners I would do so. "Sorry Trev and Dumbfool...we're giving you all a 25 mil cap and taking out guaranteed contracts." Then these two Dynamic Star players will head over to SEL to play and be big ticket draws and earn whopping salaries of 200K!

Good move NHLPA!

The PA did not turn down the latest offer from the owners just to accept a worse one next year.
I have no idea how this whole thing will end, it's going to be very interesting when both sides get back to the table and the league offers a linked cap at $37, while the players take away their 24% roll back and all offers of a cap.
I guess the impasse route is a possiblity, but should the owner's lose (which is entirely possible), they have shot themselves in the foot.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

The PA did not turn down the latest offer from the owners just to accept a worse one next year.
I have no idea how this whole thing will end, it's going to be very interesting when both sides get back to the table and the league offers a linked cap at $37, while the players take away their 24% roll back and all offers of a cap.
I guess the impasse route is a possiblity, but should the owner's lose (which is entirely possible), they have shot themselves in the foot.

Again, why declare an impass? If it becomes apparent to the players that the owners, though hurting, are perfectly willing to stay closed down another year, how long will the NHLPA keep together? They are counting on the NLRB, if that card is gone from their hands, bye bye PA.

 

[djhn579]

The PA did not turn down the latest offer from the owners just to accept a worse one next year.
I have no idea how this whole thing will end, it's going to be very interesting when both sides get back to the table and the league offers a linked cap at $37, while the players take away their 24% roll back and all offers of a cap.
I guess the impasse route is a possiblity, but should the owner's lose (which is entirely possible), they have shot themselves in the foot.

Maybe they will keep the cap at the same percentage of league revenues, but since no one knows what revenues will be next season, the NHL will insist that 35%-50% of player salaries go to an escrow account or will be paid out at the end of the season. If revenues are near $2.1B, the players get whatever the cap was estimated at, if revenues go down, the money goe back to th owners to ensure that player salaries are under the set % of revenue.

That is still worse than the previous offer but maintains the same cap as a percentage of revenues.

 

[AlexGodynyuk]

Again, why declare an impass? If it becomes apparent to the players that the owners, though hurting, are perfectly willing to stay closed down another year, how long will the NHLPA keep together? They are counting on the NLRB, if that card is gone from their hands, bye bye PA.

But how long are the owners willing to wait?
The longer this goes on the more damage it does to the teams that need it the most. These teams that were struggling before will be even worse when this ends. Any hope of a national TV deal gets smaller and smaller as each day goes by.
The owners can't afford to just sit and wait forever...
It's a VERY, VERY high stakes game of chicken going on.

 

[chiavsfan]

It's a VERY, VERY high stakes game of chicken going on.

I think that's the worst part of this whole process. There has been no "negotiation" from each side. Both sides came in entrenched, and each side was going to stare at the truck until it comes close enough...sonne or later, someone is going to have to get out of the way, or else the truck hits, and the NHL dies

Sorry...bad use of an analogy

 

[Jaded-Fan]

But how long are the owners willing to wait?
The longer this goes on the more damage it does to the teams that need it the most. These teams that were struggling before will be even worse when this ends. Any hope of a national TV deal gets smaller and smaller as each day goes by.
The owners can't afford to just sit and wait forever...
It's a VERY, VERY high stakes game of chicken going on.

I think that the owners came prepared to lose two seasons if that is what it would take to get the game where they want it. I really do. Cold hard calculation that the outcome would be worth the loss, and that they could afford it far more than the players. They prepared for at least five years building up a war chest for just that purpose. Love the owners or hate them, you have to admire their very business like approach toward this problem and the attitude that it is far better to maybe go through more pain one time and fix the problem than to die a cut of a thousand deaths (baseball for instance has had something like 8 work stoppages in the last 20 years and is heading for another in 2006, likely many many more after that). Who can say that the owners are wrong in that thinking? I certainly can not.