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The NHL lockout is a fact of life in the United States.
Mainstream American sports fans know that the NHL has locked out its players and that there will not be any games played in NHL arenas or on their televisions.
But the NFL season is in the homestretch, the college bowl season is around the corner and the NBA is in full swing, so that means that American sports fans are coping and surviving.
But in Canada, it's another story. The lockout is impacting hockey fans, the Canadian economy and the overall mood of the nation.
Hockey is Canada. Canada is hockey.
That's not saying our neighbor to the north won't continue to go about its business, but when there is no NHL, Canadian fans are hurting badly.
Here are the six reasons why the NHL lockout is hurting Canada much more than the United States.
6 Reasons Why the NHL Lockout Is Affecting Canada Much More Than the U.S. | Bleacher Report
Mainstream American sports fans know that the NHL has locked out its players and that there will not be any games played in NHL arenas or on their televisions.
But the NFL season is in the homestretch, the college bowl season is around the corner and the NBA is in full swing, so that means that American sports fans are coping and surviving.
But in Canada, it's another story. The lockout is impacting hockey fans, the Canadian economy and the overall mood of the nation.
Hockey is Canada. Canada is hockey.
That's not saying our neighbor to the north won't continue to go about its business, but when there is no NHL, Canadian fans are hurting badly.
Here are the six reasons why the NHL lockout is hurting Canada much more than the United States.
6 Reasons Why the NHL Lockout Is Affecting Canada Much More Than the U.S. | Bleacher Report
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Guiding you through the national hockey league.
NHL Guide, guiding you through the national hockey league
Welcome!!
NHL Guide, guiding you through the national hockey league
Welcome!!
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey is getting antsy. Not only is he anxious to get back to the bargaining table with the NHL, he really wants to be on the ice with his teammates.
Just not at all costs and not without the right deal.
As part of the negotiating committee for the players' association, Hainsey has kept busy during the lockout by taking part in the ongoing talks with the NHL. But ongoing is now a relative term, because nothing has been going on between the sides since talks broke down again last week, despite the presence of a federal mediator for two days in New Jersey.
"We've said it a number of times, but it's worth repeating: It's obviously very difficult to make a deal if you're not meeting or negotiating," Hainsey told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I've yet to see a way we can do it without sitting down across a table from each other."
Two weeks ago, progress was made during several consecutive days of negotiations between players and owners in New York. The sides disagree on how close they might have moved toward a deal, but a major breakdown at the end wrecked any hope for a fast solution. Since then, there's been no collective bargaining agreement in sight and no talks were planned as of Tuesday afternoon.
"Nothing scheduled at this point," Hainsey said. "We've always said we're open to sit down and meet any time, and now we're kind of in a situation where no one wants to make the first move. Maybe there is a way of doing it. Communication the past couple of days has been quiet. Maybe there is some way to get it started with something similar to what we had (in New York)."
Players' association executive director Donald Fehr declared then that an agreement was in reach, a notion that was quickly knocked down by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the union declined to accept three non-negotiable points. When the offer wasn't unconditionally accepted, the league turned down the union's proposal and withdrew any offers it had made.
"We've had a few weeks where we worked all week leading up to Thursday and Friday, and it looks like we're gathering momentum, and then had some setbacks," said Hainsey, 31. "Those things make it a bit more difficult. On both sides you get a feeling that you're making momentum and getting closer, and then you take a step backward. Then things quiet down for a couple of days, and someone has to pick up the phone and re-engage and figure out a forum.
"Personally, I would like to believe that this is not a personal thing or an anger thing. This is the business side of hockey. It's not easy, I've learned that through doing it."
The lockout reached its 94th day Tuesday, and all games have been canceled through Dec. 30. Bettman has said the league doesn't want a season with fewer than 48 games per team, so play would likely have to get under way by mid-January for that to be possible.
"We would prefer that we were done already," Hainsey said. "There is still time to get something done and salvage a reasonable number of games for a season. We're not up against a hard deadline yet, but we are getting short on time."
If the NHL isn't going to play, a member of the Canadian parliament believes the Stanley Cup should be awarded to an amateur team instead. Brent Rathgeber said the Cup could be the prize in a national competition to determine the best non-pro team in Canada.
A group of recreational players made a similar suggestion during the 2004-05 lockout, when they argued in court that Lord Stanley's Cup wasn't the exclusive property of the NHL. An out-of-court settlement back then said the Cup's trustees have the option — but not the obligation — of awarding the prize to another team if there is no NHL champion.
After labor talks ended last week, the focus suddenly shifted toward the courts when the NHL filed a federal class action suit Friday, seeking to establish that its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the NHL filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the players' association has bargained in bad faith.
The NHL says the union's executive board is seeking authorization to give up its collective bargaining rights, a necessary step before players could file an antitrust lawsuit. The union has declined comment, although a vote on the matter will reportedly be completed Thursday.
MORE: Cleary nervous about season
"Unfortunately the league filed suit against the players," Hainsey said. "That's never something you want to get to, obviously. It would be much more difficult to see a quick settlement through the courts than bargaining."
Hainsey maintains his optimism that if the sides can find their way back to the table they can figure out the path to a deal. The outlook is now somewhat cloudy because not only have the sides failed to work out an agreement, they appear to have lost some direction on how to get the process going again.
Federal mediation hasn't helped much in two tries over a combined four days. The most success seemed to come in New York, when six owners joined about 18 players in talks without Bettman and Fehr in the room until the end of that process. Hainsey, who is in the final season of a five-year deal he signed with the former Atlanta Thrashers, is all for trying that again.
"Both (sides) were very respectful of each other," he said. "They were good meetings, they were productive, we did make progress. We were very appreciative of the way we were treated in the meetings by the owners. ... Maybe it's something that is worth revisiting and worthwhile and could possibly bring us closer to a deal."
Ron Hainsey looking for NHL talks to resume soon
Just not at all costs and not without the right deal.
As part of the negotiating committee for the players' association, Hainsey has kept busy during the lockout by taking part in the ongoing talks with the NHL. But ongoing is now a relative term, because nothing has been going on between the sides since talks broke down again last week, despite the presence of a federal mediator for two days in New Jersey.
"We've said it a number of times, but it's worth repeating: It's obviously very difficult to make a deal if you're not meeting or negotiating," Hainsey told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I've yet to see a way we can do it without sitting down across a table from each other."
Two weeks ago, progress was made during several consecutive days of negotiations between players and owners in New York. The sides disagree on how close they might have moved toward a deal, but a major breakdown at the end wrecked any hope for a fast solution. Since then, there's been no collective bargaining agreement in sight and no talks were planned as of Tuesday afternoon.
"Nothing scheduled at this point," Hainsey said. "We've always said we're open to sit down and meet any time, and now we're kind of in a situation where no one wants to make the first move. Maybe there is a way of doing it. Communication the past couple of days has been quiet. Maybe there is some way to get it started with something similar to what we had (in New York)."
Players' association executive director Donald Fehr declared then that an agreement was in reach, a notion that was quickly knocked down by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the union declined to accept three non-negotiable points. When the offer wasn't unconditionally accepted, the league turned down the union's proposal and withdrew any offers it had made.
"We've had a few weeks where we worked all week leading up to Thursday and Friday, and it looks like we're gathering momentum, and then had some setbacks," said Hainsey, 31. "Those things make it a bit more difficult. On both sides you get a feeling that you're making momentum and getting closer, and then you take a step backward. Then things quiet down for a couple of days, and someone has to pick up the phone and re-engage and figure out a forum.
"Personally, I would like to believe that this is not a personal thing or an anger thing. This is the business side of hockey. It's not easy, I've learned that through doing it."
The lockout reached its 94th day Tuesday, and all games have been canceled through Dec. 30. Bettman has said the league doesn't want a season with fewer than 48 games per team, so play would likely have to get under way by mid-January for that to be possible.
"We would prefer that we were done already," Hainsey said. "There is still time to get something done and salvage a reasonable number of games for a season. We're not up against a hard deadline yet, but we are getting short on time."
If the NHL isn't going to play, a member of the Canadian parliament believes the Stanley Cup should be awarded to an amateur team instead. Brent Rathgeber said the Cup could be the prize in a national competition to determine the best non-pro team in Canada.
A group of recreational players made a similar suggestion during the 2004-05 lockout, when they argued in court that Lord Stanley's Cup wasn't the exclusive property of the NHL. An out-of-court settlement back then said the Cup's trustees have the option — but not the obligation — of awarding the prize to another team if there is no NHL champion.
After labor talks ended last week, the focus suddenly shifted toward the courts when the NHL filed a federal class action suit Friday, seeking to establish that its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the NHL filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the players' association has bargained in bad faith.
The NHL says the union's executive board is seeking authorization to give up its collective bargaining rights, a necessary step before players could file an antitrust lawsuit. The union has declined comment, although a vote on the matter will reportedly be completed Thursday.
MORE: Cleary nervous about season
"Unfortunately the league filed suit against the players," Hainsey said. "That's never something you want to get to, obviously. It would be much more difficult to see a quick settlement through the courts than bargaining."
Hainsey maintains his optimism that if the sides can find their way back to the table they can figure out the path to a deal. The outlook is now somewhat cloudy because not only have the sides failed to work out an agreement, they appear to have lost some direction on how to get the process going again.
Federal mediation hasn't helped much in two tries over a combined four days. The most success seemed to come in New York, when six owners joined about 18 players in talks without Bettman and Fehr in the room until the end of that process. Hainsey, who is in the final season of a five-year deal he signed with the former Atlanta Thrashers, is all for trying that again.
"Both (sides) were very respectful of each other," he said. "They were good meetings, they were productive, we did make progress. We were very appreciative of the way we were treated in the meetings by the owners. ... Maybe it's something that is worth revisiting and worthwhile and could possibly bring us closer to a deal."
Ron Hainsey looking for NHL talks to resume soon
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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Wednesday gave hockey fans some optimism in a lockout that has been filled with pessimism.
In a radio interview with Hockey Night in Canada, Daly was asked a simple yes or no question: Will there be a 2012-13 NHL season? His response heartened fans from Nova Scotia to California.
"Yes," is all Daly said.
But almost immediately afterward, the verbiage returned to what it has been since mid-September: lots of posturing and little progress.
The NHL season has been cancelled through at least Dec. 30. The Winter Classic and NHL All-Star games are also history for at least this season.
"I think we're going to have further cancellations this week," Daly said, returning to a pessimistic tone.
No new negotiations are scheduled between the league and its players union. Further, it appears the work stoppage is headed to the courtroom for two different negotiating ploys. First, the NHL Players Association is expected to soon ask its players to vote and authorize the board to dissolve the union, essentially opening up the opportunity for players to sue the NHL.
If that happens, individual players could sue the league -- and potentially reap triple damages if they are successful. One target date mentioned for dissolution already is Jan. 2.
However, the threat of dissolution of the union has been successfully used in the past to quickly end previous lockouts in both Major League Baseball and the NBA.
NHLPA chief Donald Fehr told a Canadian radio station Wednesday that the union is not making an idle threat at potential dissolution and said such a ploy was not necessarily a labor tactic.
"Should the players decide that they don't want to be in a union, there won't be a union, so it will be the end of that," Fehr told Sportsnet 590. "We'll be living in a different world. The owners will have to comply with the antitrust laws. Individual players will have whatever rights they have."
On the flip side, the NHL is also heading to court as part of a class-action lawsuit against the players that would declare the three-month lockout legal.
Daly cast blame for lockout talks between both sides falling apart recently because the players union refused to accept the league's so-called final offer. Daly also blamed the union for the inability to get the stalled negotiation talks back on track.
"We've done as much as we can do and if you have a different idea or a different trade on the issues we talked about two weeks ago, let's hear it," Daly said.
NHL commissioner has repeatedly said he will settle for nothing fewer than a 48-game season. When the league had a similar lockout in the 1994-95 season, both sides finally reached agreement and began a 48-game season on Jan. 20. If history is to repeat itself, talks would not only have to resume, but a resolution would likely have to occur sometime around Jan. 10 or so.
If that were to happen, there would likely only be a one-week training camp, no exhibition games and the season would get underway.
"If you do the math and do what a responsible compression might look like ... you know what the neighborhood is of when we need to be playing hockey in order to be playing hockey this (season)," Daly said. "I don't think setting an absolute date necessarily serves any purpose at this point."
Still, telling NHL fans that there will be a season -- somehow, some way -- has to lift some spirits.
Bill Daly NHL lockout - chicagotribune-com
In a radio interview with Hockey Night in Canada, Daly was asked a simple yes or no question: Will there be a 2012-13 NHL season? His response heartened fans from Nova Scotia to California.
"Yes," is all Daly said.
But almost immediately afterward, the verbiage returned to what it has been since mid-September: lots of posturing and little progress.
The NHL season has been cancelled through at least Dec. 30. The Winter Classic and NHL All-Star games are also history for at least this season.
"I think we're going to have further cancellations this week," Daly said, returning to a pessimistic tone.
No new negotiations are scheduled between the league and its players union. Further, it appears the work stoppage is headed to the courtroom for two different negotiating ploys. First, the NHL Players Association is expected to soon ask its players to vote and authorize the board to dissolve the union, essentially opening up the opportunity for players to sue the NHL.
If that happens, individual players could sue the league -- and potentially reap triple damages if they are successful. One target date mentioned for dissolution already is Jan. 2.
However, the threat of dissolution of the union has been successfully used in the past to quickly end previous lockouts in both Major League Baseball and the NBA.
NHLPA chief Donald Fehr told a Canadian radio station Wednesday that the union is not making an idle threat at potential dissolution and said such a ploy was not necessarily a labor tactic.
"Should the players decide that they don't want to be in a union, there won't be a union, so it will be the end of that," Fehr told Sportsnet 590. "We'll be living in a different world. The owners will have to comply with the antitrust laws. Individual players will have whatever rights they have."
On the flip side, the NHL is also heading to court as part of a class-action lawsuit against the players that would declare the three-month lockout legal.
Daly cast blame for lockout talks between both sides falling apart recently because the players union refused to accept the league's so-called final offer. Daly also blamed the union for the inability to get the stalled negotiation talks back on track.
"We've done as much as we can do and if you have a different idea or a different trade on the issues we talked about two weeks ago, let's hear it," Daly said.
NHL commissioner has repeatedly said he will settle for nothing fewer than a 48-game season. When the league had a similar lockout in the 1994-95 season, both sides finally reached agreement and began a 48-game season on Jan. 20. If history is to repeat itself, talks would not only have to resume, but a resolution would likely have to occur sometime around Jan. 10 or so.
If that were to happen, there would likely only be a one-week training camp, no exhibition games and the season would get underway.
"If you do the math and do what a responsible compression might look like ... you know what the neighborhood is of when we need to be playing hockey in order to be playing hockey this (season)," Daly said. "I don't think setting an absolute date necessarily serves any purpose at this point."
Still, telling NHL fans that there will be a season -- somehow, some way -- has to lift some spirits.
Bill Daly NHL lockout - chicagotribune-com
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2006/12/07
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If the proposed limits on NHL contract lengths would have been in place last Fourth of July, the most talked-about day in Minnesota Wild history would not have had the same sizzle.
Maybe Zach Parise would have still signed in his hometown, but the Wild would not been able to afford his buddy, Ryan Suter. Instead of signing Parise to a back-diving, 13-year, $98 million contract, an average of $7.538 million, the Wild might have had to give Parise $60 million over five years, or $12 million a season.
If you believe the NHL Players' Association is thrilled by a proposal that could raise stars' salaries, you haven't been closely following the last couple of weeks of the contentious collective bargaining negotiations.
The 95-day-old NHL lockout has come down to a few issues, but each is very important to both parties. From a fan standpoint, the issue that will change the game the most is the owners' request for a five-year limit on free agent contracts or seven years from teams re-signing their own players. Although no one can be sure exactly how that would play out, the educated guess is it will mean even fewer stars entering free agency and more sign-and-trade situations.
"You are going to exactly what you see in the NBA," said former NHL general manager Craig Button. "You will sign your player for the longer deal and you will trade for assets."
If a team was planning to try sign Suter last summer as a free agent, and these rules were in place, would it have been willing to give up a first-round pick, or another player, to Nashville to have the Predators sign him for the two extra years and then trade him?
"I think you would do that," Button said. "But what the players really lose here is the ability to go out and really have people compete for their services. This would be a big loss for players."
Essentially, the sign-and-trade would force a player to decide where he might want to sign when his contract expires and then see if his former team could work it a deal. That's not the same as opening up yourself to the highest bidder.
"And the other potential problem is how do you mitigate against tampering," Button said.
If a star goes to free agency, he likely will receive a higher salary because a signing team can't woo him with a long-term deal. Next summer, Anaheim Ducks winger Corey Perry could be the hot unrestricted free agent. If this 5/7 rule was in place, the Ducks can sell him on the idea of a seven-year contract. Maybe they offer him $8.5 million per season over seven years. But what if another team offered him $50 million-plus over five seasons? If he accepted that, he would be 33 when the contract expired and might be able to get another big deal down the road. If he took the seven-year deal, he would be 35 afterward, at the age when teams become skittish about giving term because NHL rules say you must take the full cap hit even if you buy out the player.
But even the strong possibility that stars will be paid more doesn't mean the NHLPA has any desire to accept the owners' proposal. The NHLPA's primary concern is that higher salaries for stars will mean less for the middle class. About 13% of full-time players have contracts of six or more years, but they are primarily the higher-salaried players.
The players have offered an eight-year cap on contracts, and the situation is made more complicated by the fact that owners are also seeking a maximum 5% variance on year-to-year salaries to prevent teams from using back-diving contracts that place low salaries at the end to lower the cap hit.. The NHLPA's proposal has a much wider variance.
"I would say if you get the right variance in between years, I'm not so sure you even need term limits," Button said. Owners also are trying to limit contract lengths is to preserve franchise values and make it easier for the teams to get loans if needed. Lending institutions don't like the current NHL model of having players under contract for a decade into the future.
The contracting issues are complicated, to say the least. But they don't affect owners' bottom line because their share of hockey-related revenue will be established. Whether stars receive more or middle class receives less, the owners' financial picture doesn't change.
But there appears to be some room to negotiate on this issue.
"I've said this dozens of times," Button said. "There is not a CBA that will ever be designed that's fool-proof. … There is no perfect solution. Every situation creates a reaction or something that wasn't anticipated."
NHL contract rules could lead to more sign-and-trades
Maybe Zach Parise would have still signed in his hometown, but the Wild would not been able to afford his buddy, Ryan Suter. Instead of signing Parise to a back-diving, 13-year, $98 million contract, an average of $7.538 million, the Wild might have had to give Parise $60 million over five years, or $12 million a season.
If you believe the NHL Players' Association is thrilled by a proposal that could raise stars' salaries, you haven't been closely following the last couple of weeks of the contentious collective bargaining negotiations.
The 95-day-old NHL lockout has come down to a few issues, but each is very important to both parties. From a fan standpoint, the issue that will change the game the most is the owners' request for a five-year limit on free agent contracts or seven years from teams re-signing their own players. Although no one can be sure exactly how that would play out, the educated guess is it will mean even fewer stars entering free agency and more sign-and-trade situations.
"You are going to exactly what you see in the NBA," said former NHL general manager Craig Button. "You will sign your player for the longer deal and you will trade for assets."
If a team was planning to try sign Suter last summer as a free agent, and these rules were in place, would it have been willing to give up a first-round pick, or another player, to Nashville to have the Predators sign him for the two extra years and then trade him?
"I think you would do that," Button said. "But what the players really lose here is the ability to go out and really have people compete for their services. This would be a big loss for players."
Essentially, the sign-and-trade would force a player to decide where he might want to sign when his contract expires and then see if his former team could work it a deal. That's not the same as opening up yourself to the highest bidder.
"And the other potential problem is how do you mitigate against tampering," Button said.
If a star goes to free agency, he likely will receive a higher salary because a signing team can't woo him with a long-term deal. Next summer, Anaheim Ducks winger Corey Perry could be the hot unrestricted free agent. If this 5/7 rule was in place, the Ducks can sell him on the idea of a seven-year contract. Maybe they offer him $8.5 million per season over seven years. But what if another team offered him $50 million-plus over five seasons? If he accepted that, he would be 33 when the contract expired and might be able to get another big deal down the road. If he took the seven-year deal, he would be 35 afterward, at the age when teams become skittish about giving term because NHL rules say you must take the full cap hit even if you buy out the player.
But even the strong possibility that stars will be paid more doesn't mean the NHLPA has any desire to accept the owners' proposal. The NHLPA's primary concern is that higher salaries for stars will mean less for the middle class. About 13% of full-time players have contracts of six or more years, but they are primarily the higher-salaried players.
The players have offered an eight-year cap on contracts, and the situation is made more complicated by the fact that owners are also seeking a maximum 5% variance on year-to-year salaries to prevent teams from using back-diving contracts that place low salaries at the end to lower the cap hit.. The NHLPA's proposal has a much wider variance.
"I would say if you get the right variance in between years, I'm not so sure you even need term limits," Button said. Owners also are trying to limit contract lengths is to preserve franchise values and make it easier for the teams to get loans if needed. Lending institutions don't like the current NHL model of having players under contract for a decade into the future.
The contracting issues are complicated, to say the least. But they don't affect owners' bottom line because their share of hockey-related revenue will be established. Whether stars receive more or middle class receives less, the owners' financial picture doesn't change.
But there appears to be some room to negotiate on this issue.
"I've said this dozens of times," Button said. "There is not a CBA that will ever be designed that's fool-proof. … There is no perfect solution. Every situation creates a reaction or something that wasn't anticipated."
NHL contract rules could lead to more sign-and-trades
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2006/12/07
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NHL players are a step closer to dissolving their union, which would clear the path for players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL in their protracted labour dispute.
Union members voted this week to give the players' association's executive board the power to file a "disclaimer of interest" until January 2.
A person familiar with the outcome of the vote said the measure passed easily, drawing more than the two-thirds majority that was necessary. However, the executive board hasn't made plans yet to meet to discuss whether to file the disclaimer. If the January 2 deadline passes, another authorisation vote could be held to approve a filing at a later date.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the results of the vote had not been announced.
If the executive board files the disclaimer, the union would dissolve and become a trade association, allowing the players to file lawsuits against the NHL.
Negotiations between the NHL and the union have been at a standstill since talks ended on December 6.
Time is running short to save the season, with all games through January 14 already canceled. A new labour agreement would need to be in place by about that time to salvage a 48-game schedule, the minimum in Commissioner Gary Bettman's opinion for the season to proceed.
The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel an entire season because of a labour dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout.
The NHLPA now appears set to follow the lead set by NFL and NBA players. Both dissolved their unions during lockouts last year.
The NBA's labour dispute ended less than two weeks after the union was disbanded. Jeffrey Kessler, the lead negotiator for the National Basketball Players Association in that dispute, contends the NHLPA would be wise to go ahead with the "disclaimer of interest."
"I think this is much more likely to lead to a settlement sooner," Kessler told The Canadian Press last week. "The players have concluded that they are on the verge of possibly deciding that it is better not to be a union and using the antitrust laws to attack the lockout, which all fans should be happy with because it'll work."
The legality of the lockout is already set to be tried in US federal court after the NHL filed a class-action lawsuit last week against the NHLPA. The NHL also submitted an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
NHL | NHL players move closer to dissolving union | Stuff.co.nz
Union members voted this week to give the players' association's executive board the power to file a "disclaimer of interest" until January 2.
A person familiar with the outcome of the vote said the measure passed easily, drawing more than the two-thirds majority that was necessary. However, the executive board hasn't made plans yet to meet to discuss whether to file the disclaimer. If the January 2 deadline passes, another authorisation vote could be held to approve a filing at a later date.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the results of the vote had not been announced.
If the executive board files the disclaimer, the union would dissolve and become a trade association, allowing the players to file lawsuits against the NHL.
Negotiations between the NHL and the union have been at a standstill since talks ended on December 6.
Time is running short to save the season, with all games through January 14 already canceled. A new labour agreement would need to be in place by about that time to salvage a 48-game schedule, the minimum in Commissioner Gary Bettman's opinion for the season to proceed.
The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel an entire season because of a labour dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout.
The NHLPA now appears set to follow the lead set by NFL and NBA players. Both dissolved their unions during lockouts last year.
The NBA's labour dispute ended less than two weeks after the union was disbanded. Jeffrey Kessler, the lead negotiator for the National Basketball Players Association in that dispute, contends the NHLPA would be wise to go ahead with the "disclaimer of interest."
"I think this is much more likely to lead to a settlement sooner," Kessler told The Canadian Press last week. "The players have concluded that they are on the verge of possibly deciding that it is better not to be a union and using the antitrust laws to attack the lockout, which all fans should be happy with because it'll work."
The legality of the lockout is already set to be tried in US federal court after the NHL filed a class-action lawsuit last week against the NHLPA. The NHL also submitted an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
NHL | NHL players move closer to dissolving union | Stuff.co.nz
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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and players' association special counsel Steve Fehr spoke on the telephone but still haven't made plans to meet face to face.
There has been very little contact this week between the sides. Daly and Fehr held a conversation Saturday, the 98th day of the lockout that is threatening to wipe out the entire hockey season.
All games through Jan. 14 have already been called off, and if a new collective bargaining agreement isn't reached by then, the remainder of the schedule could be cancelled, too.
So far, 625 games — more than 50 per cent of the schedule — have been wiped out, along with the Winter Classic and the All-Star game.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says he doesn't want a season shorter than 48 games per team, the amount played after a lockout ended in 1995. The full 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout.
NHL sides talk by phone, no meetings scheduled
There has been very little contact this week between the sides. Daly and Fehr held a conversation Saturday, the 98th day of the lockout that is threatening to wipe out the entire hockey season.
All games through Jan. 14 have already been called off, and if a new collective bargaining agreement isn't reached by then, the remainder of the schedule could be cancelled, too.
So far, 625 games — more than 50 per cent of the schedule — have been wiped out, along with the Winter Classic and the All-Star game.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says he doesn't want a season shorter than 48 games per team, the amount played after a lockout ended in 1995. The full 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout.
NHL sides talk by phone, no meetings scheduled
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The year before the 2004-05 season was canceled because of a lockout, the NHL was a money-losing enterprise.
According to a league audit, it lost $232 million during the 2003-04 season.
While no audit was made public for 2011-12, the league is known to be in better financial shape than eight years ago, with record revenues of $3.3 billion driven by the increasing popularity of the game.
During the lost season, commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners harbored few worries about killing a golden goose, as they demanded and eventually received the first salary cap in the history of the sport.
This time, the goose may not be exactly golden, but it is more valuable. And the risks are higher.
On Friday, a financial ratings firm, Fitch Ratings, said it would likely assign a "negative outlook" to all NHL arenas, if the season is canceled. The move could affect the cost of borrowing for new construction, including for an arena Mike and Marian Ilitch intend to build in Detroit.
"Professional sports work stoppages risk alienating sports fans, corporate sponsorship and advertising partners in the short-term and may lead to increased revenue volatility," Fitch said in a news release.
As players, owners and Bettman whittle down the time left for tactical maneuvers to the last two weeks, if a 48-game season is to begin in mid-January, both sides will consider whether the cost of losing a season is greater than the cost of making a deal. Saving the season may depend on whether the price tag of not doing so is greater than any financial advantage gained by more bargaining.
Simple arithmetic suggests the NHL will lose an additional $2.75 billion in revenue if it cancels the full season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That sum includes $2.2 billion based on the economic performance of the NHL last year.
The league also would lose $330 million in additional revenue due the owners, now that the players have essentially agreed to a 50-50 split of the pot.
TV deal has huge impact
A considerable source of revenue is the lucrative, record-breaking television contract with NBC. A 10-year, $2 billion deal, now in its second year, helps finance the owners through the lockout, because it requires NBC to pay $200 million annually, regardless of a work stoppage.
But, if the season is canceled, the NHL must provide an additional season at the end of the contract, for free. Considering that the 2022-23 season is scheduled to be the first year of a next broadcasting agreement, the NHL likely risks losing even more than $200 million.
The value of sponsorships also is at risk during a lockout and ever more so if the season is canceled.
Sponsors can not be happy with the second lockout in eight years, but none has announced plans to abandon the NHL.
Molson-Coors, the largest sponsor, did announce last month that its sales have suffered without hockey, and Kraft announced the cancellation of its participation in Kraft Hockeyville — a major portion of the advertising campaign it ties to its sponsorship.
The lockout is currently costing the NHL about 25-30 percent of its sponsorship revenue, experts say. The league will have to write some checks to make sponsors whole. But if the full season is canceled, the dollar amount will increase considerably.
It took the NHL two years to recover sponsorship spending levels after the lost season, observers say.
A second lost season in eight years could have an even greater impact.
"There's a compounding effect to this. Fool me once, fool me twice and all that," said Bruno Delorme, a sports-marketing expert at Concordia University, according to The Globe and Mail in Toronto. "The longer the NHL is out of action, that trust breaks down a little bit more."
Are fans less forgiving?
Another potential cost is the further alienation of fans. While many say they are angry now, they said the same thing last time — only to return to arenas, broadcasts and souvenir shops in such large numbers that it drove record revenues.
Early in the lockout, Bettman said he was not concerned about losing fans. "We recovered well last time because we have the world's greatest fans," he said.
But there are some signs they will be less forgiving this time.
Level5 Strategy Group in Toronto, which specializes in building the brands of businesses, said it surveyed 1,066 Canadians and determined that there has been a long-term drop in the proportion of fans who feel "passionate" about the NHL and, among men, increasing interest in both the NFL and CFL.
The firm also said it discerned emotions associated with the NHL that are more negative than those the firm found with BP during the gulf oil spill.
"Hate to say it, but we could end up like bowling," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told Sportsnet.ca last week. It was a veiled reference to the decline in viewership and attendance the NHL suffered after the lost season, when television ratings were about the same as bowling, before they eventually spiked.
The cost of the lockout to the players has been clear from the start. While the owners reap the revenue from broadcasting rights, the players miss paychecks.
But they are negotiating make-whole arrangements with the NHL, which likely would be lost, along with all of their salaries, if the season is canceled. That is an average of $2.4 million per player, and in the case of some of the highest paid, it is $10 million, and more. And the players' losses could be even more catastrophic.
In a suit pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, in which the NHL seeks to block any impact from a prospective move to disband the NHLPA, the league argues that if the union no longer exists, the court should declare that "all existing contracts between NHL players and NHL teams would be void and unenforceable."
In other words, every contract earned by every NHL player would be erased and subject to renegotiation.
Whether all of the costs on both side
According to a league audit, it lost $232 million during the 2003-04 season.
While no audit was made public for 2011-12, the league is known to be in better financial shape than eight years ago, with record revenues of $3.3 billion driven by the increasing popularity of the game.
During the lost season, commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners harbored few worries about killing a golden goose, as they demanded and eventually received the first salary cap in the history of the sport.
This time, the goose may not be exactly golden, but it is more valuable. And the risks are higher.
On Friday, a financial ratings firm, Fitch Ratings, said it would likely assign a "negative outlook" to all NHL arenas, if the season is canceled. The move could affect the cost of borrowing for new construction, including for an arena Mike and Marian Ilitch intend to build in Detroit.
"Professional sports work stoppages risk alienating sports fans, corporate sponsorship and advertising partners in the short-term and may lead to increased revenue volatility," Fitch said in a news release.
As players, owners and Bettman whittle down the time left for tactical maneuvers to the last two weeks, if a 48-game season is to begin in mid-January, both sides will consider whether the cost of losing a season is greater than the cost of making a deal. Saving the season may depend on whether the price tag of not doing so is greater than any financial advantage gained by more bargaining.
Simple arithmetic suggests the NHL will lose an additional $2.75 billion in revenue if it cancels the full season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That sum includes $2.2 billion based on the economic performance of the NHL last year.
The league also would lose $330 million in additional revenue due the owners, now that the players have essentially agreed to a 50-50 split of the pot.
TV deal has huge impact
A considerable source of revenue is the lucrative, record-breaking television contract with NBC. A 10-year, $2 billion deal, now in its second year, helps finance the owners through the lockout, because it requires NBC to pay $200 million annually, regardless of a work stoppage.
But, if the season is canceled, the NHL must provide an additional season at the end of the contract, for free. Considering that the 2022-23 season is scheduled to be the first year of a next broadcasting agreement, the NHL likely risks losing even more than $200 million.
The value of sponsorships also is at risk during a lockout and ever more so if the season is canceled.
Sponsors can not be happy with the second lockout in eight years, but none has announced plans to abandon the NHL.
Molson-Coors, the largest sponsor, did announce last month that its sales have suffered without hockey, and Kraft announced the cancellation of its participation in Kraft Hockeyville — a major portion of the advertising campaign it ties to its sponsorship.
The lockout is currently costing the NHL about 25-30 percent of its sponsorship revenue, experts say. The league will have to write some checks to make sponsors whole. But if the full season is canceled, the dollar amount will increase considerably.
It took the NHL two years to recover sponsorship spending levels after the lost season, observers say.
A second lost season in eight years could have an even greater impact.
"There's a compounding effect to this. Fool me once, fool me twice and all that," said Bruno Delorme, a sports-marketing expert at Concordia University, according to The Globe and Mail in Toronto. "The longer the NHL is out of action, that trust breaks down a little bit more."
Are fans less forgiving?
Another potential cost is the further alienation of fans. While many say they are angry now, they said the same thing last time — only to return to arenas, broadcasts and souvenir shops in such large numbers that it drove record revenues.
Early in the lockout, Bettman said he was not concerned about losing fans. "We recovered well last time because we have the world's greatest fans," he said.
But there are some signs they will be less forgiving this time.
Level5 Strategy Group in Toronto, which specializes in building the brands of businesses, said it surveyed 1,066 Canadians and determined that there has been a long-term drop in the proportion of fans who feel "passionate" about the NHL and, among men, increasing interest in both the NFL and CFL.
The firm also said it discerned emotions associated with the NHL that are more negative than those the firm found with BP during the gulf oil spill.
"Hate to say it, but we could end up like bowling," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told Sportsnet.ca last week. It was a veiled reference to the decline in viewership and attendance the NHL suffered after the lost season, when television ratings were about the same as bowling, before they eventually spiked.
The cost of the lockout to the players has been clear from the start. While the owners reap the revenue from broadcasting rights, the players miss paychecks.
But they are negotiating make-whole arrangements with the NHL, which likely would be lost, along with all of their salaries, if the season is canceled. That is an average of $2.4 million per player, and in the case of some of the highest paid, it is $10 million, and more. And the players' losses could be even more catastrophic.
In a suit pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, in which the NHL seeks to block any impact from a prospective move to disband the NHLPA, the league argues that if the union no longer exists, the court should declare that "all existing contracts between NHL players and NHL teams would be void and unenforceable."
In other words, every contract earned by every NHL player would be erased and subject to renegotiation.
Whether all of the costs on both side
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2006/12/07
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29893
Unlike the NHL, the KHL is a hockey-first setup, according to at least one voice from what’s considered to be the second best league in the world.
Earlier this week, Alexander Medvedev, the president of the KHL, commented on the NHL’s labour woes and more or less trashed both sides for their handling of the league’s second work stoppage in less than a decade.
Calling both parties “egotistical” as the NHL passed Day 100 of the lockout, the KHL’s equivalent to Gary Bettman offered up his analysis of the ongoing negotiations.
“Financial issues trump the development of the game for them,” Medvedev told the official website of Barys Astana, the only Kazakh club in the KHL. “At the same time, this will all hit their pockets anyway.”
The KHL has already benefited from labour concerns in the world’s top league, snatching up talent and bringing attention to what used to be seen as a second-rate league around the world.
Now, top talent such as Nail Yakupov, Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Malkin are just a few of the close to 40 NHL names skating in the KHL.
“We’re not that kind of league,” Medvedev said in commenting on the financial bickering between the NHL and its players. “While we might have arguments with the players unions, we always think about the hockey first of all, and about everything else later.”
While the general consensus is that NHL players will return from European leagues when the lockout is resolved, multiple KHL clubs have mentioned interest in keeping a number of NHLers post-lockout.
Earlier this week, Alexander Medvedev, the president of the KHL, commented on the NHL’s labour woes and more or less trashed both sides for their handling of the league’s second work stoppage in less than a decade.
Calling both parties “egotistical” as the NHL passed Day 100 of the lockout, the KHL’s equivalent to Gary Bettman offered up his analysis of the ongoing negotiations.
“Financial issues trump the development of the game for them,” Medvedev told the official website of Barys Astana, the only Kazakh club in the KHL. “At the same time, this will all hit their pockets anyway.”
The KHL has already benefited from labour concerns in the world’s top league, snatching up talent and bringing attention to what used to be seen as a second-rate league around the world.
Now, top talent such as Nail Yakupov, Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Malkin are just a few of the close to 40 NHL names skating in the KHL.
“We’re not that kind of league,” Medvedev said in commenting on the financial bickering between the NHL and its players. “While we might have arguments with the players unions, we always think about the hockey first of all, and about everything else later.”
While the general consensus is that NHL players will return from European leagues when the lockout is resolved, multiple KHL clubs have mentioned interest in keeping a number of NHLers post-lockout.
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2006/12/07
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29893
Of all the things weighing on sports fans’ minds this day after Christmas, I assume the ongoing National Hockey League labor crisis is not one of them — at least not in these parts.
While football fans turn their attention to the bowl games involving Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia, the fact that NHL games have been canceled through Jan. 14 is met with shrugs (if met with any reaction at all).
But there are a handful of us in nontraditional hockey areas who enjoy the stick and puck sport. We miss the fact that the best hockey players in the world are either not playing at all or playing outside the NHL.
We know that unless the lockout is settled ASAP (the players’ union and owners are set to meet either today or Thursday), yet another season will be lost. And even if an 11th hour deal is struck, will there be enough of a season left to even matter?
As with all pro sports labor issues the reasons are convoluted and mostly lost on regular folks, who can’t understand squabbling between billionaires and millionaires and don’t care to. But sports fans have already proven they can “survive” without an NHL season.
And since we can, the league needs to realize we can survive without an NHL.
The 2004-05 NHL lockout killed the entire season, marking the first time a major professional sport in North America had canceled an entire season. It was also the first time a team had not hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1919.
For renowned hockey hubs, especially cities like Montreal and Toronto, it was devastating. The NFL inspires a religious fervor in the United States but hockey rinks are houses of sports worship in Canada. The inability to strike a deal was a slap in the face to those who helped make ice hockey a national treasure in the Great White North.
But in the Lower 48 the NHL and the season that wasn’t was quickly forgotten.
I’m sure supporters of the other four members of the “Original Six” — the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks — missed the sight of red lights flashing and sound of horns and sirens blaring when their teams scored, but they weren’t hurting for entertainment.
While the NHL was dormant, they had the Giants, Patriots, Lions and Bears and Knicks, Celtics, Pistons and Bulls to cheer on.
And that’s one of the reasons why there seems to be so little angst among United States sports fans as the lockout drags on.
The NBA is under way so fans who can’t get their sports fix on frozen ponds can get it on the hardwood.
And the NHL’s overexpansion has placed franchises in cities whose citizens don’t seem to care whether they have a team or not. If the Phoenix Coyotes went belly-up, I doubt many Arizonans would attend the funeral.
So the owners and players are headed back to the bargaining table. Maybe they can work out a deal that will result in a mini-season and maybe they won’t.
Either way those of us who buy tickets to sporting events can and will find other sporting events to buy tickets for.
The NHL needs us a lot more than we need it.
While football fans turn their attention to the bowl games involving Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia, the fact that NHL games have been canceled through Jan. 14 is met with shrugs (if met with any reaction at all).
But there are a handful of us in nontraditional hockey areas who enjoy the stick and puck sport. We miss the fact that the best hockey players in the world are either not playing at all or playing outside the NHL.
We know that unless the lockout is settled ASAP (the players’ union and owners are set to meet either today or Thursday), yet another season will be lost. And even if an 11th hour deal is struck, will there be enough of a season left to even matter?
As with all pro sports labor issues the reasons are convoluted and mostly lost on regular folks, who can’t understand squabbling between billionaires and millionaires and don’t care to. But sports fans have already proven they can “survive” without an NHL season.
And since we can, the league needs to realize we can survive without an NHL.
The 2004-05 NHL lockout killed the entire season, marking the first time a major professional sport in North America had canceled an entire season. It was also the first time a team had not hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1919.
For renowned hockey hubs, especially cities like Montreal and Toronto, it was devastating. The NFL inspires a religious fervor in the United States but hockey rinks are houses of sports worship in Canada. The inability to strike a deal was a slap in the face to those who helped make ice hockey a national treasure in the Great White North.
But in the Lower 48 the NHL and the season that wasn’t was quickly forgotten.
I’m sure supporters of the other four members of the “Original Six” — the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks — missed the sight of red lights flashing and sound of horns and sirens blaring when their teams scored, but they weren’t hurting for entertainment.
While the NHL was dormant, they had the Giants, Patriots, Lions and Bears and Knicks, Celtics, Pistons and Bulls to cheer on.
And that’s one of the reasons why there seems to be so little angst among United States sports fans as the lockout drags on.
The NBA is under way so fans who can’t get their sports fix on frozen ponds can get it on the hardwood.
And the NHL’s overexpansion has placed franchises in cities whose citizens don’t seem to care whether they have a team or not. If the Phoenix Coyotes went belly-up, I doubt many Arizonans would attend the funeral.
So the owners and players are headed back to the bargaining table. Maybe they can work out a deal that will result in a mini-season and maybe they won’t.
Either way those of us who buy tickets to sporting events can and will find other sporting events to buy tickets for.
The NHL needs us a lot more than we need it.
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2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
There was good news after 103 days of the first NHL lockout back on Jan. 11, 1995 when a new collective bargaining agreement was reached and a shortened 48-game season began nine days later, on Jan. 20.
But as the current labour stoppage hits Day 103 on Thursday, hockey fans are not expecting a similar announcement.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association have not been in contact for five days since last speaking by phone on Saturday. There are no new talks scheduled between the two sides.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said that in the current labour situation, a 48-game schedule would, at minimum, need to be saved to allow a season to be played.
The NHL players' union voted last week to allow its executive board to file a disclaimer of interest by next Wednesday. Such a move would dissolve the union and allow players to file a class-action anti-trust lawsuit against the league.
The NHL schedule has been cancelled through Jan. 14, and it's believed that mid-January represents an approximate deadline by which a new deal would have to reached to save the 2012-13 campaign.
But as the current labour stoppage hits Day 103 on Thursday, hockey fans are not expecting a similar announcement.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association have not been in contact for five days since last speaking by phone on Saturday. There are no new talks scheduled between the two sides.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said that in the current labour situation, a 48-game schedule would, at minimum, need to be saved to allow a season to be played.
The NHL players' union voted last week to allow its executive board to file a disclaimer of interest by next Wednesday. Such a move would dissolve the union and allow players to file a class-action anti-trust lawsuit against the league.
The NHL schedule has been cancelled through Jan. 14, and it's believed that mid-January represents an approximate deadline by which a new deal would have to reached to save the 2012-13 campaign.
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2006/12/07
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29893
National Hockey League (NHL) and the players union are expected to be back at the bargaining table by Tuesday (NZT) in a bid to end their bitter labour dispute, league deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.
The two sides held what were described as informational meetings earlier on Monday as they worked to reach a new collective bargaining agreement that would salvage a limited season.
"Hopeful that we return for a bargaining meeting either tonight or tomorrow morning," Daly said in an email to Reuters.
NHL Players' Association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon later said there would be no more face-to-face meetings on Sunday.
"The plan is for the sides to meet tomorrow (Monday)," he said via email.
There have been no negotiations since December 13.
The two sides spent the weekend discussing a new proposal by the NHL that reportedly is contingent on a regular season of at least 48 games starting no later than January 19.
The league's offer, made on Thursday, is said to include changes in NHL proposals on term limits for players contracts, salary variance and buyouts.
The offer would extend the limit of player contracts to six years from the NHL's previous offer of five, adjust yearly salary variance to 10 per cent from five per cent and permit one buyout for each team before the 2013-14 season that would not count against the team's salary cap.
Players have been locked out since mid-September and the league has cancelled games through January 14, more than 50 percent of the regular season which was scheduled to start in October.
At stake is how to divide $3.3 billion in annual revenue.
With the talks stalled, the players have given their union's executive board the authority to file a disclaimer of interest, which would essentially dissolve the union and allow individual players to file anti-trust lawsuits against the league. The board has until Wednesday to make a decision.
The dispute is the NHL's fourth work stoppage in 20 years and first since a lockout forced cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season.
The two sides held what were described as informational meetings earlier on Monday as they worked to reach a new collective bargaining agreement that would salvage a limited season.
"Hopeful that we return for a bargaining meeting either tonight or tomorrow morning," Daly said in an email to Reuters.
NHL Players' Association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon later said there would be no more face-to-face meetings on Sunday.
"The plan is for the sides to meet tomorrow (Monday)," he said via email.
There have been no negotiations since December 13.
The two sides spent the weekend discussing a new proposal by the NHL that reportedly is contingent on a regular season of at least 48 games starting no later than January 19.
The league's offer, made on Thursday, is said to include changes in NHL proposals on term limits for players contracts, salary variance and buyouts.
The offer would extend the limit of player contracts to six years from the NHL's previous offer of five, adjust yearly salary variance to 10 per cent from five per cent and permit one buyout for each team before the 2013-14 season that would not count against the team's salary cap.
Players have been locked out since mid-September and the league has cancelled games through January 14, more than 50 percent of the regular season which was scheduled to start in October.
At stake is how to divide $3.3 billion in annual revenue.
With the talks stalled, the players have given their union's executive board the authority to file a disclaimer of interest, which would essentially dissolve the union and allow individual players to file anti-trust lawsuits against the league. The board has until Wednesday to make a decision.
The dispute is the NHL's fourth work stoppage in 20 years and first since a lockout forced cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season.
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2006/12/07
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29893
There were numerous points throughout the winter when Mark Scheifele gobbled up every possible morsel of information about the contract negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA.
But since he slipped into his Canadian team jersey and headed to the world junior hockey championship, he has turned a deaf ear to happenings back home.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whose sophomore season is on hold because of the lockout, isn't any less committed to the team's medal chase, but he admits he's been trying to follow the current bargaining sessions.
"It's kind of tough right now, but I'm trying to keep up to date as much as I possibly can," the Edmonton Oilers centre said before Canada was set to face the U.S. in today's semifinal (4 a.m., TSN). "It's looking as positive as ever. We'll see. Hopefully things will get sorted out."
It is possible some players will get off the plane Sunday and head off to training camp, rather than then their CHL club teams. Or in the case of Nugent-Hopkins, the AHL, as he would be returning to the Oklahoma City Barons if there's no settlement.
"If that does happen, I'd be excited to go back to Edmonton and get things going, but either way it will be a good scenario. I will definitely never regret this," Nugent-Hopkins said.
The Canadian roster is splattered with 2011 and 2012 NHL draft picks but there are a few who would not be Russia were it not for the lockout.
Scheifele would have gotten a long look at the Jets' camp, Jonathan Huberdeau with the Panthers and both Ryan Strome (Islanders) and Dougie Hamilton (Bruins) would likely be playing with their NHL teams.
"Since I've got to this tournament, I've totally shut it out," Scheifele said. "I don't even read tweets about the lockout right now."
Read more: www-windsorstar-com/sports/Juniors+keep+antics/7768759/story-html#ixzz2GumXPKvm
But since he slipped into his Canadian team jersey and headed to the world junior hockey championship, he has turned a deaf ear to happenings back home.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whose sophomore season is on hold because of the lockout, isn't any less committed to the team's medal chase, but he admits he's been trying to follow the current bargaining sessions.
"It's kind of tough right now, but I'm trying to keep up to date as much as I possibly can," the Edmonton Oilers centre said before Canada was set to face the U.S. in today's semifinal (4 a.m., TSN). "It's looking as positive as ever. We'll see. Hopefully things will get sorted out."
It is possible some players will get off the plane Sunday and head off to training camp, rather than then their CHL club teams. Or in the case of Nugent-Hopkins, the AHL, as he would be returning to the Oklahoma City Barons if there's no settlement.
"If that does happen, I'd be excited to go back to Edmonton and get things going, but either way it will be a good scenario. I will definitely never regret this," Nugent-Hopkins said.
The Canadian roster is splattered with 2011 and 2012 NHL draft picks but there are a few who would not be Russia were it not for the lockout.
Scheifele would have gotten a long look at the Jets' camp, Jonathan Huberdeau with the Panthers and both Ryan Strome (Islanders) and Dougie Hamilton (Bruins) would likely be playing with their NHL teams.
"Since I've got to this tournament, I've totally shut it out," Scheifele said. "I don't even read tweets about the lockout right now."
Read more: www-windsorstar-com/sports/Juniors+keep+antics/7768759/story-html#ixzz2GumXPKvm
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2006/12/07
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Any momentum gained from a long night of negotiations between the NHL and the players' association seemed to have been lost Thursday when the sides remained mostly apart.
A meeting that Commissioner Gary Bettman said would begin at 10 a.m. EST didn't start until several hours later, and then ended quickly.
That one hour of talks centered on the reporting of hockey-related revenues by teams, and both sides signing off on the figures at the end of the fiscal year. The problem was resolved.
An NHL spokesman announced shortly before 9 p.m. that federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh was still working with the sides, but they would not get back to the bargaining table before Friday morning.
The players' association didn't immediately comment.
The key issues that are still threatening the hockey season weren't addressed early in the day, but a small group of players and other union staff returned to the NHL office shortly before 6 p.m., to hold another meeting regarding the contentious pension plan. That wrapped up about two hours later.
Union head Donald Fehr didn't take part in either of the two sessions Thursday.
The players' association held a conference call at 5 p.m. to discuss starting another vote among union membership that would give the executive board the power to invoke a disclaimer of interest and dissolve the union. Members gave overwhelmingly approval last month, but the union declined to disclaim before a self-imposed deadline Wednesday night. It wasn't immediately known when a new authorization would expire. Players are expected to have 48 hours to vote, as opposed to the five days they were given the first time.
With the lockout in its 110th day, both sides understand the urgency to save a shortened season. They have several key issues to work out — pensions and salary cap limits, among them.
Bettman has said a deal needs to be in place by next week so a 48-game season can begin Jan. 19. All games through Jan. 14 along with the All-Star game have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.
The sides met in small groups throughout the day Wednesday. They held a full bargaining session with a federal mediator at night that lasted nearly five hours and ended about 1 a.m. Thursday.
The biggest detail to emerge was that Fehr remained as union executive director after players passed on their first chance to declare a disclaimer that would turn the union into a trade association. The disclaimer would allow individual players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.
Fehr wouldn't address the issue Wednesday, calling it an "internal matter," but added that the players were keeping all options open.
"The word disclaimer has yet to be uttered to us by the players' association," Bettman said Wednesday. "It's not that it gets filed anywhere with a court or the NLRB. When you disclaim interest as a union, you notify the other side. We have not been notified and it's never been discussed, so there has been no disclaimer."
It was believed the union wouldn't take action Wednesday if it saw progress being made. Neither side would characterize the talks or say if there was any movement toward common ground.
"There's been some progress but we're still apart on a number of issues," Bettman said. "As long as the process continues I am hopeful."
Read More: No Full Talks in NHL Labor Fight - ABC News
A meeting that Commissioner Gary Bettman said would begin at 10 a.m. EST didn't start until several hours later, and then ended quickly.
That one hour of talks centered on the reporting of hockey-related revenues by teams, and both sides signing off on the figures at the end of the fiscal year. The problem was resolved.
An NHL spokesman announced shortly before 9 p.m. that federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh was still working with the sides, but they would not get back to the bargaining table before Friday morning.
The players' association didn't immediately comment.
The key issues that are still threatening the hockey season weren't addressed early in the day, but a small group of players and other union staff returned to the NHL office shortly before 6 p.m., to hold another meeting regarding the contentious pension plan. That wrapped up about two hours later.
Union head Donald Fehr didn't take part in either of the two sessions Thursday.
The players' association held a conference call at 5 p.m. to discuss starting another vote among union membership that would give the executive board the power to invoke a disclaimer of interest and dissolve the union. Members gave overwhelmingly approval last month, but the union declined to disclaim before a self-imposed deadline Wednesday night. It wasn't immediately known when a new authorization would expire. Players are expected to have 48 hours to vote, as opposed to the five days they were given the first time.
With the lockout in its 110th day, both sides understand the urgency to save a shortened season. They have several key issues to work out — pensions and salary cap limits, among them.
Bettman has said a deal needs to be in place by next week so a 48-game season can begin Jan. 19. All games through Jan. 14 along with the All-Star game have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.
The sides met in small groups throughout the day Wednesday. They held a full bargaining session with a federal mediator at night that lasted nearly five hours and ended about 1 a.m. Thursday.
The biggest detail to emerge was that Fehr remained as union executive director after players passed on their first chance to declare a disclaimer that would turn the union into a trade association. The disclaimer would allow individual players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.
Fehr wouldn't address the issue Wednesday, calling it an "internal matter," but added that the players were keeping all options open.
"The word disclaimer has yet to be uttered to us by the players' association," Bettman said Wednesday. "It's not that it gets filed anywhere with a court or the NLRB. When you disclaim interest as a union, you notify the other side. We have not been notified and it's never been discussed, so there has been no disclaimer."
It was believed the union wouldn't take action Wednesday if it saw progress being made. Neither side would characterize the talks or say if there was any movement toward common ground.
"There's been some progress but we're still apart on a number of issues," Bettman said. "As long as the process continues I am hopeful."
Read More: No Full Talks in NHL Labor Fight - ABC News
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2006/12/07
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Although the NHL and the players’ union have differences remaining and they put off face-to-face negotiations again Friday in favor of separate meetings with mediators, the Blues’ Andy McDonald is confident there will be a deal to save the season.
The saga has reached the point where McDonald, an 11-year veteran and Stanley Cup champion, admitted, “It’s the first time I’ve been embarrassed to say that I’m an NHL hockey player.”
But after close to four months of this lockout, the winger is ready to return to being a hockey player. He said Friday that with the league’s deadline to cancel the season looming Thursday, there should be a new collective bargaining agreement in place by then that would allow training camp to open Jan. 12 and the regular season to start Jan. 19.
“What’s left to agree upon or settle between the two sides is very small in the big scheme of things,” McDonald said. “There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be some middle ground there and a deal be in place by the deadline.
“I’ve heard there’s a schedule with our first game on the 19th. It’s pretty exciting to think about playing a game that soon. I think guys are pretty eager to get back. We had a great run last year and we want to pick up where we left off.”
The key will be the NHL and the players’ association picking up where they left off before a flare-up Thursday stalled progress.
The union accused the NHL of altering the language in the sides’ agreement on penalties involving hockey-related revenue, a change the league said it made over a week ago and highlighted to the union. The matter was reportedly settled, but it did little to improve the lack of trust in the talks.
The real issues left revolve around items such as the salary cap for the 2013-14 season. The NHL has insisted it top out at $60 million, while the players have offered $65 million.
“Five million bucks, I think that’s pretty close,” McDonald said. “Is that really going to stop the season from happening? I realize there’s concerns about what’s going to happen next year when the cap goes down to $60 million (from $70.2 million) and what’s going to happen to the players that are unrestricted free agents. ... Is it going to allow for them to be re-signed? But like I said, (60 vs. 65) is a small difference and hopefully there’s middle ground there to get a deal done.”
Other sticking points continue to include the maximum length on player contracts, but that too has grown closer. The NHL moved from five years to six years and a seventh year if re-signing with the player’s current team; the union is proposing eight years.
Also the length of the next agreement remains unsolved. Both sides recently agreed on a 10-year deal, but the NHL wants a mutual opt-out clause after eight years and the union wants an “out” after seven.
“That’s another thing that’s ‘right there,’” McDonald said. “All these things seem relatively minor compared to blowing the game up and missing a season of hockey and rolling the dice with fans and sponsorship. I’m worried that there’s already been too much damage. It’s been a real shame.”
So if the NHL and the union are as close as McDonald suggests, and delaying a deal only risks more discontent, then why drag out the negotiations another week?
“I don’t know why it’s taking so long,” McDonald said. “I guess it’s a leverage point on both sides, and you want to wait to the end to find out whatever that last proposal is. It’s a scary proposition and it should have been avoided.”
Meanwhile, after the NHLPA declined its option to file a “disclaimer of interest” by Wednesday’s deadline, a step that could have led to dissolving the union and creating potential anti-trust lawsuits against the league, the union is taking another vote to authorize that power again. Some members felt that the NHL’s demeanor changed after the union didn’t use its leverage.
“That’s an internal matter,” McDonald said. “I can’t really comment on that. I don’t know what the league’s tone was. I’m encouraged that they’ve been meeting pretty steady here.
“I’m trying to stay patient with it. There’s a real good chance there’s going to be a season. The best way for that to happen is for the guys to support the union. That’s going to give us the best chance of getting a deal that everyone is happy with. Missing the season would be a travesty. It should be avoided at all costs.”
Perhaps sensing an agreement, more Blues players are expected to arrive in St. Louis on Monday and begin practicing with teammates, such as McDonald, who have been here all along.
“The sooner we can get guys together, it’s going to help us because it’s going to be a real quick turnaround,” McDonald said. “We’re looking at a week (after the NHL deadline) before we have our first game potentially. Everything is going to be condensed and rushed. It’s going to be interesting.”
The saga has reached the point where McDonald, an 11-year veteran and Stanley Cup champion, admitted, “It’s the first time I’ve been embarrassed to say that I’m an NHL hockey player.”
But after close to four months of this lockout, the winger is ready to return to being a hockey player. He said Friday that with the league’s deadline to cancel the season looming Thursday, there should be a new collective bargaining agreement in place by then that would allow training camp to open Jan. 12 and the regular season to start Jan. 19.
“What’s left to agree upon or settle between the two sides is very small in the big scheme of things,” McDonald said. “There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be some middle ground there and a deal be in place by the deadline.
“I’ve heard there’s a schedule with our first game on the 19th. It’s pretty exciting to think about playing a game that soon. I think guys are pretty eager to get back. We had a great run last year and we want to pick up where we left off.”
The key will be the NHL and the players’ association picking up where they left off before a flare-up Thursday stalled progress.
The union accused the NHL of altering the language in the sides’ agreement on penalties involving hockey-related revenue, a change the league said it made over a week ago and highlighted to the union. The matter was reportedly settled, but it did little to improve the lack of trust in the talks.
The real issues left revolve around items such as the salary cap for the 2013-14 season. The NHL has insisted it top out at $60 million, while the players have offered $65 million.
“Five million bucks, I think that’s pretty close,” McDonald said. “Is that really going to stop the season from happening? I realize there’s concerns about what’s going to happen next year when the cap goes down to $60 million (from $70.2 million) and what’s going to happen to the players that are unrestricted free agents. ... Is it going to allow for them to be re-signed? But like I said, (60 vs. 65) is a small difference and hopefully there’s middle ground there to get a deal done.”
Other sticking points continue to include the maximum length on player contracts, but that too has grown closer. The NHL moved from five years to six years and a seventh year if re-signing with the player’s current team; the union is proposing eight years.
Also the length of the next agreement remains unsolved. Both sides recently agreed on a 10-year deal, but the NHL wants a mutual opt-out clause after eight years and the union wants an “out” after seven.
“That’s another thing that’s ‘right there,’” McDonald said. “All these things seem relatively minor compared to blowing the game up and missing a season of hockey and rolling the dice with fans and sponsorship. I’m worried that there’s already been too much damage. It’s been a real shame.”
So if the NHL and the union are as close as McDonald suggests, and delaying a deal only risks more discontent, then why drag out the negotiations another week?
“I don’t know why it’s taking so long,” McDonald said. “I guess it’s a leverage point on both sides, and you want to wait to the end to find out whatever that last proposal is. It’s a scary proposition and it should have been avoided.”
Meanwhile, after the NHLPA declined its option to file a “disclaimer of interest” by Wednesday’s deadline, a step that could have led to dissolving the union and creating potential anti-trust lawsuits against the league, the union is taking another vote to authorize that power again. Some members felt that the NHL’s demeanor changed after the union didn’t use its leverage.
“That’s an internal matter,” McDonald said. “I can’t really comment on that. I don’t know what the league’s tone was. I’m encouraged that they’ve been meeting pretty steady here.
“I’m trying to stay patient with it. There’s a real good chance there’s going to be a season. The best way for that to happen is for the guys to support the union. That’s going to give us the best chance of getting a deal that everyone is happy with. Missing the season would be a travesty. It should be avoided at all costs.”
Perhaps sensing an agreement, more Blues players are expected to arrive in St. Louis on Monday and begin practicing with teammates, such as McDonald, who have been here all along.
“The sooner we can get guys together, it’s going to help us because it’s going to be a real quick turnaround,” McDonald said. “We’re looking at a week (after the NHL deadline) before we have our first game potentially. Everything is going to be condensed and rushed. It’s going to be interesting.”
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2006/12/07
Messages:
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Walked by HP Pavilion this week. Glanced up at the electronic message board. Noticed that Lady Gaga will appear there Jan. 17.
Call me a delusional optimist. (Maybe I was born this way.) But I believe there is a very good chance that we will see NHL action at HP before Gaga shows up. Or perhaps within a week of Gaga. And absolutely by the end of January.
I admit, there is no hard empirical evidence to suggest that I am correct. The NHL lockout is rolling merrily along toward its fifth month. Owners and players remain apart on a few key issues. However, reports out of New York's negotiations suggest progress. Saturday night, the two sides were meeting intensely after a mediator pushed them together. My hunch is we will see a settlement within five or six days. It will validate my contention that even though the NHL has established stupidity records in a league where the bar already was set high in that regard, the owners still aren't stupid enough to cancel another complete season, as occurred in 2004-05.
In fact, my attention already is skating quickly across the red line toward what I think is a far bigger issue: What will the NHL look like -- and how will the return of hockey be received -- when the games begin again?
The last time hockey came back from a lockout, you will recall, the situation was quite different. It happened after that entire lost season. A new contract was signed in July 2005, which meant that the NHL had almost three months to hype hockey's return and romance the fans. Also, the league implemented rules that eliminated clutching and grabbing, creating a faster and more exciting product. Meanwhile, players agreed to new media-friendly policies and fan-outreach efforts. It all worked. The Sharks' average attendance actually went up after the lockout year -- by almost 1,000 fans per game.
Will the same thing happen this time? Probably not. There are a lot of reasons. One
FILE: Phoenix Coyotes' Mike Smith, left, makes a save on a shot by San Jose Sharks' Dominic Moore (18) during the first period in an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 10, 2012, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) ( Ross D. Franklin )
is, rather than three months, the NHL will have just two weeks or so to coax customers back into arenas.
Many season tickets already are sold, of course. So those people surely will show up. But getting disgruntled fans to buy single-game tickets ... and regaining a television audience ... and persuading the Bay Area to start caring again about the Sharks after it has been nine months since their last game and the 49ers and Warriors have been sapping away casual front-running fans' attention ... well, none of that will be easy-peezy.
Also, there must be some concerns about what the product might look like. There won't be any new clean-and-speed-up-the-game rules this time, and last season it seemed that referees already were allowing more interference that slowed the action. A number of players have been going full-bore on European teams. Others have been doing their best to stay in shape here in North America. But the post-lockout "training camps," as such, will last only a few days before the puck is dropped for real.
Under those conditions, how do you integrate new players and regain cohesion? Initially, the hockey could be sloppy and non-fluid and ugly. We could be in for a rash of injuries from players who try to ramp it up too quickly.
On the other hand, at least there will be major league hockey to watch, which is far better than staring at an empty rink -- and better than seeing minor league hockey, with all due respect to the San Francisco Bulls and the Stockton Thunder.
If the NHL wants to create immediate buzz, it might even change its overtime/shootout method of deciding games that are tied at the end of regulation. Instead of five minutes of four-on-four overtime hockey followed by a shootout, perhaps we will see the five minutes of four-on-four followed by five minutes of wild three-on-three hockey before going to the shootout.
It is also quite possible that I am totally wrong and am completely underestimating the enthusiasm of fans. Maybe they will all come back anyway. After all, if a settlement is reached soon, the current lockout will most resemble the work stoppage of 1994-95. That one lasted 104 days and ended Jan. 11. The season was shortened to 48 games and began Jan. 20.
In San Jose, that '94-95 lockout had more impact than it did in most places. The All-Star game was supposed to be played in San Jose that season. Instead, it was canceled and then rescheduled for 1997. Also, the Sharks had won their first playoff series in the spring of 1994 with their big upset of Detroit. Huge local fervor carried over through the summer with great anticipation for the following season -- only to have the plug pulled by the lockout. Fans in the Bay Area had every right to be angry.
But what happened? When the doors finally opened Jan. 20 for the Sharks' first home game, the announced attendance was a full-capacity 17,190. And the team sold out all 24 home dates of the abbreviated season.
The hockey audience in Northern California is more sophisticated and cynical than it was in 1994. It is hard to imagine that crowds will immediately flock back again. Yet I have always compared hockey fans to Deadheads, members of a dedicated tribe devoted to their favorite band. No matter what, they always show up for the next tour. It could be that way for followers of our beloved Los Tiburones. In a couple of weeks, maybe I can ask Lady Gaga for comment.
Purdy: NHL settlement will happen soon - San Jose Mercury News
Call me a delusional optimist. (Maybe I was born this way.) But I believe there is a very good chance that we will see NHL action at HP before Gaga shows up. Or perhaps within a week of Gaga. And absolutely by the end of January.
I admit, there is no hard empirical evidence to suggest that I am correct. The NHL lockout is rolling merrily along toward its fifth month. Owners and players remain apart on a few key issues. However, reports out of New York's negotiations suggest progress. Saturday night, the two sides were meeting intensely after a mediator pushed them together. My hunch is we will see a settlement within five or six days. It will validate my contention that even though the NHL has established stupidity records in a league where the bar already was set high in that regard, the owners still aren't stupid enough to cancel another complete season, as occurred in 2004-05.
In fact, my attention already is skating quickly across the red line toward what I think is a far bigger issue: What will the NHL look like -- and how will the return of hockey be received -- when the games begin again?
The last time hockey came back from a lockout, you will recall, the situation was quite different. It happened after that entire lost season. A new contract was signed in July 2005, which meant that the NHL had almost three months to hype hockey's return and romance the fans. Also, the league implemented rules that eliminated clutching and grabbing, creating a faster and more exciting product. Meanwhile, players agreed to new media-friendly policies and fan-outreach efforts. It all worked. The Sharks' average attendance actually went up after the lockout year -- by almost 1,000 fans per game.
Will the same thing happen this time? Probably not. There are a lot of reasons. One
FILE: Phoenix Coyotes' Mike Smith, left, makes a save on a shot by San Jose Sharks' Dominic Moore (18) during the first period in an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 10, 2012, in Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) ( Ross D. Franklin )
is, rather than three months, the NHL will have just two weeks or so to coax customers back into arenas.
Many season tickets already are sold, of course. So those people surely will show up. But getting disgruntled fans to buy single-game tickets ... and regaining a television audience ... and persuading the Bay Area to start caring again about the Sharks after it has been nine months since their last game and the 49ers and Warriors have been sapping away casual front-running fans' attention ... well, none of that will be easy-peezy.
Also, there must be some concerns about what the product might look like. There won't be any new clean-and-speed-up-the-game rules this time, and last season it seemed that referees already were allowing more interference that slowed the action. A number of players have been going full-bore on European teams. Others have been doing their best to stay in shape here in North America. But the post-lockout "training camps," as such, will last only a few days before the puck is dropped for real.
Under those conditions, how do you integrate new players and regain cohesion? Initially, the hockey could be sloppy and non-fluid and ugly. We could be in for a rash of injuries from players who try to ramp it up too quickly.
On the other hand, at least there will be major league hockey to watch, which is far better than staring at an empty rink -- and better than seeing minor league hockey, with all due respect to the San Francisco Bulls and the Stockton Thunder.
If the NHL wants to create immediate buzz, it might even change its overtime/shootout method of deciding games that are tied at the end of regulation. Instead of five minutes of four-on-four overtime hockey followed by a shootout, perhaps we will see the five minutes of four-on-four followed by five minutes of wild three-on-three hockey before going to the shootout.
It is also quite possible that I am totally wrong and am completely underestimating the enthusiasm of fans. Maybe they will all come back anyway. After all, if a settlement is reached soon, the current lockout will most resemble the work stoppage of 1994-95. That one lasted 104 days and ended Jan. 11. The season was shortened to 48 games and began Jan. 20.
In San Jose, that '94-95 lockout had more impact than it did in most places. The All-Star game was supposed to be played in San Jose that season. Instead, it was canceled and then rescheduled for 1997. Also, the Sharks had won their first playoff series in the spring of 1994 with their big upset of Detroit. Huge local fervor carried over through the summer with great anticipation for the following season -- only to have the plug pulled by the lockout. Fans in the Bay Area had every right to be angry.
But what happened? When the doors finally opened Jan. 20 for the Sharks' first home game, the announced attendance was a full-capacity 17,190. And the team sold out all 24 home dates of the abbreviated season.
The hockey audience in Northern California is more sophisticated and cynical than it was in 1994. It is hard to imagine that crowds will immediately flock back again. Yet I have always compared hockey fans to Deadheads, members of a dedicated tribe devoted to their favorite band. No matter what, they always show up for the next tour. It could be that way for followers of our beloved Los Tiburones. In a couple of weeks, maybe I can ask Lady Gaga for comment.
Purdy: NHL settlement will happen soon - San Jose Mercury News
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2006/12/07
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It's why our games have shootouts, extra innings, overtime or penalty kicks.
Sports fans like to have a clearly defined winner and loser, and they want to pass judgment quickly. Ties have become unacceptable even if a deadlock accurately reflects the performance of both teams on a given day.
The compulsion to declare who won and who lost the labor dispute that led the NHL to cancel the 2004-05 season drove most observers to decree the league had won, a conclusion that made sense at first glance. The NHL got a salary cap for the first time, entry-level salary restrictions and an array of provisions intended to create "cost certainty." That imploded when teams realized they could dipsy-doodle around the cap by signing players to absurdly long deals that tailed off dramatically in the later years. Unable to control their own spending, teams asked players to save them from themselves in the latest dispute, which ground to a halt early Sunday when the league and the NHL Players' Assn. reached a tentative accord on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The urge to designate a winner has already gone viral, with early returns favoring Commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL as the victors over Donald Fehr and the NHLPA.
"Like most of the recent labor disputes in professional sports, the owners won this tussle," Patrick Rishe, a professor of economics at Webster University in St. Louis said in a blog post for Forbes-com. "That said, Mr. Fehr showed his mettle as a tough negotiator in that the players ended up retaining far more perks than I ever believed they would."
Strictly in economic terms, Rishe could be right. But before we start crunching numbers, it's worth noting the many reasons to say there's really no winner here.
The team, arena and league employees whose hours and pay were slashed while owners and players argued over billions of dollars aren't winners. Nor are fans who rightfully became enraged when the NHL locked players out for a third time in 18 years. Will those fans return? Soothing their anger will take much more than painting the treacly words "Thank You Fans" onto the ice, as teams were required to do after the 2004-05 season was lost.
Will the NHL gain more during this deal, financially or otherwise, than it lost through its failure to negotiate a deal that would have preserved a full season and allowed revenue to grow beyond last season's record $3.3 billion? Was this worth the cost of potentially driving away fans and sponsors?
"Upon review of the key terms of the NHL-NHLPA tentative agreement on a new CBA, one is left to wonder why we lost half a season for this deal," said Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, a prominent agent based in Los Angeles.
"The inescapable conclusion is that Gary Bettman, [counsel] Bob Batterman and some NHL owners were under the mistaken belief that players would crumble under the pressure of another lockout. This miscalculation ultimately cost teams and players hundreds of millions of dollars. The lesson here is simple. When under attack by ownership, players have no choice but to stick together."
They didn't fracture even when told by NHL negotiators that a deal couldn't be made if Fehr was in the room and when they were warned the NHL's offers would only get worse as time passed, statements that proved false.
The union didn't want the new labor deal to last 10 years (with an opt-out clause after eight), but sanity prevailed when both sides realized they needed long-term stability. The NHL got players to go from 57% of hockey-related revenue last season to a more realistic 50-50 split, a key triumph.
The NHL backed off capping individual contracts at five years — a point Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly called "the hill we will die on" in early December — and agreed to seven-year limits with an exception of eight years for teams to re-sign their free agents. Each side compromised there, and on the 2013-14 salary cap of $64.3 million.
Players got the solid pension plan they battled for, as well as a maximum 35% variance in the year-to-year value of contracts with a stipulation that the final year can't be more than 50% less than the highest year. That should eliminate those destructive, front-loaded deals. Players will get $300 million in "make whole" transitional payments, up from the NHL's first offers. Everyone benefits from the increased $200-million revenue-sharing pool and $60-million growth fund.
"After the 1995 and 2005 CBAs were agreed upon between the parties, most people believed that the NHL scored major concessions from the players. Again, I'm hearing some people declare the NHL the early winner here," Walsh said.
"I would caution everyone that there are no winners in the short term. However, by Year 4 or 5, I suspect the deal will be considered in a much different light. I have said previously it is not who wins the war that counts so much as who best manages the peace. Don't underestimate the players in this regard."
What's most important now isn't who won or lost but how well they can coexist.
Helene Elliott: There's no real winner in NHL, players' labor settlement - latimes-com
Sports fans like to have a clearly defined winner and loser, and they want to pass judgment quickly. Ties have become unacceptable even if a deadlock accurately reflects the performance of both teams on a given day.
The compulsion to declare who won and who lost the labor dispute that led the NHL to cancel the 2004-05 season drove most observers to decree the league had won, a conclusion that made sense at first glance. The NHL got a salary cap for the first time, entry-level salary restrictions and an array of provisions intended to create "cost certainty." That imploded when teams realized they could dipsy-doodle around the cap by signing players to absurdly long deals that tailed off dramatically in the later years. Unable to control their own spending, teams asked players to save them from themselves in the latest dispute, which ground to a halt early Sunday when the league and the NHL Players' Assn. reached a tentative accord on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The urge to designate a winner has already gone viral, with early returns favoring Commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL as the victors over Donald Fehr and the NHLPA.
"Like most of the recent labor disputes in professional sports, the owners won this tussle," Patrick Rishe, a professor of economics at Webster University in St. Louis said in a blog post for Forbes-com. "That said, Mr. Fehr showed his mettle as a tough negotiator in that the players ended up retaining far more perks than I ever believed they would."
Strictly in economic terms, Rishe could be right. But before we start crunching numbers, it's worth noting the many reasons to say there's really no winner here.
The team, arena and league employees whose hours and pay were slashed while owners and players argued over billions of dollars aren't winners. Nor are fans who rightfully became enraged when the NHL locked players out for a third time in 18 years. Will those fans return? Soothing their anger will take much more than painting the treacly words "Thank You Fans" onto the ice, as teams were required to do after the 2004-05 season was lost.
Will the NHL gain more during this deal, financially or otherwise, than it lost through its failure to negotiate a deal that would have preserved a full season and allowed revenue to grow beyond last season's record $3.3 billion? Was this worth the cost of potentially driving away fans and sponsors?
"Upon review of the key terms of the NHL-NHLPA tentative agreement on a new CBA, one is left to wonder why we lost half a season for this deal," said Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, a prominent agent based in Los Angeles.
"The inescapable conclusion is that Gary Bettman, [counsel] Bob Batterman and some NHL owners were under the mistaken belief that players would crumble under the pressure of another lockout. This miscalculation ultimately cost teams and players hundreds of millions of dollars. The lesson here is simple. When under attack by ownership, players have no choice but to stick together."
They didn't fracture even when told by NHL negotiators that a deal couldn't be made if Fehr was in the room and when they were warned the NHL's offers would only get worse as time passed, statements that proved false.
The union didn't want the new labor deal to last 10 years (with an opt-out clause after eight), but sanity prevailed when both sides realized they needed long-term stability. The NHL got players to go from 57% of hockey-related revenue last season to a more realistic 50-50 split, a key triumph.
The NHL backed off capping individual contracts at five years — a point Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly called "the hill we will die on" in early December — and agreed to seven-year limits with an exception of eight years for teams to re-sign their free agents. Each side compromised there, and on the 2013-14 salary cap of $64.3 million.
Players got the solid pension plan they battled for, as well as a maximum 35% variance in the year-to-year value of contracts with a stipulation that the final year can't be more than 50% less than the highest year. That should eliminate those destructive, front-loaded deals. Players will get $300 million in "make whole" transitional payments, up from the NHL's first offers. Everyone benefits from the increased $200-million revenue-sharing pool and $60-million growth fund.
"After the 1995 and 2005 CBAs were agreed upon between the parties, most people believed that the NHL scored major concessions from the players. Again, I'm hearing some people declare the NHL the early winner here," Walsh said.
"I would caution everyone that there are no winners in the short term. However, by Year 4 or 5, I suspect the deal will be considered in a much different light. I have said previously it is not who wins the war that counts so much as who best manages the peace. Don't underestimate the players in this regard."
What's most important now isn't who won or lost but how well they can coexist.
Helene Elliott: There's no real winner in NHL, players' labor settlement - latimes-com
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2006/12/07
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In less than a week, the National Hockey League would have declared the 2012-13 season nonexistent. That deadline proved too dangerous to approach.
Early Sunday morning, the NHL and the NHL Players Association declared the 113-day lockout over. The sides, which had been meeting in New York, announced they had come to a preliminary settlement on a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement. The NHL would have canceled the season Friday had an agreement not been in place.
“We’ve got to dot a lot of I’s and cross a lot of T’s. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at the Sofitel Hotel, where the players had been staying during negotiations. “But the basic framework of the deal has been agreed upon. We have to go through a ratification process. The board of governors has to approve it from the league’s side. Obviously, the players have to approve it as well.”
The NHL’s board of governors and the NHLPA’s executive board must ratify the agreement, which is considered a formality.
“Hopefully we’re at a place where all those things will proceed fairly rapidly and with some dispatch,” said Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director. “We’ll get back to what we called business as usual just as fast as we can.”
The league has yet to determine when training camps will open or when the season will begin. In one scenario, a 48-game schedule for the Bruins would begin Jan. 19. The Bruins were scheduled to play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre that night. Nonconference games will not be played.
The sides have been tangling since well before Sept. 15, when the lockout officially started. There were thaws and blowups in the dispute. The most dramatic peaks and valleys took place in New York in early December during owner-player meetings, which occurred without Bettman or Fehr at the bargaining table. The sides reported progress, but talks blew up Dec. 6, when Bettman denounced Fehr for declaring an agreement was near.
The lockout-busting breakthrough took place over the last few days with the help of mediation. Scot Beckenbaugh, deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, participated in internal meetings with the NHL and NHLPA Friday and Saturday. Under Beckenbaugh’s guidance, the NHL and NHLPA reconvened Saturday for the bargaining session that ultimately resulted in the agreement.
Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan used the term “concessionary bargaining” to describe the nature of negotiations. From the start of talks, the players recognized the NHL would be seeking givebacks. Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, as the chairman of the NHL’s board of governors, was critical in spearheading the league’s hard-line approach.
The centerpiece of the new collective bargaining agreement is the 50-50 split of revenue, which totaled $3.3 billion in 2011-12. Under the previous agreement, players — whose average annual salary was $2.4 million — had received 57 percent of hockey-related revenue. In its initial proposal, which it filed in July, the NHL flipped the percentages by reducing player share to 43 percent.
To offset the dip in revenue share, the players will receive $300 million in make-whole money. The make-whole provision lessens the revenue reduction for players under contract.
The players also ceded term limits on contracts. A player’s maximum contract is now seven years, eight if re-signing with his current team. There had been no term limits under the previous agreement.
The NHL pursued contract limits to negate the cap-circumventing practice of “backdiving,’’ which became popular in the previous agreement. Teams lowered a player’s annual average value by tacking bonus years at minimal salaries at the end of his contract. For example, the Vancouver Canucks signed goalie Roberto Luongo to a 12-year, $64 million deal. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the last two years of the contract, Luongo will earn $1 million annually. At the end of his contract, Luongo will be 43 years old, well past the playing age of a typical goalie.
Last month, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said contract limits, specifically a five-year maximum, would be the “hill we will die on.”
Within the contracts, there will be a 35 percent variance maximum from year to year. The NHL originally had proposed a 5 percent annual variance limit, which drew the players’ disapproval. The variance rule is another step toward eliminating backdiving. There were no variance limits previously.
This season, the salary cap will remain at $70.2 million (prorated), the ceiling under the previous deal. The cap will dip to $64.3 million in 2013-14. The NHL had pushed for $60 million, but the NHLPA, fearing the hit on escrow payments, insisted on a higher ceiling. Each club will be allowed two buyouts, which will not count against the cap, to dip under the 2013-14 ceiling.
The Bruins have approximately $67 million committed to 12 forwards, six defensemen, and three goalies. That sum includes the injured Marc Savard ($4,007,143) and goaltender Tim Thomas ($5 million). If necessary, the Bruins can place Savard (concussion-related issues) on long-term injured reserve, then exceed the cap by his average annual value. Even if Thomas changes his mind about sitting out 2012-13, the Bruins would not welcome back the goalie. The Bruins will classify Thomas a suspended player and be responsible for his cap hit unless they can find a taker via trade or waivers.
One concession the players received was a defined benefit pension plan. Details of the plan have yet to be finalized. But Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, one of the players most involved in negotiations, termed the pension plan as the agreement’s centerpiece.
The teams’ first task is to recall players to their respective home bases. At one point during the lockout, there were 12 Bruins playing in Europe. Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid, Tuukka Rask, and Shawn Thornton most recently have be
Early Sunday morning, the NHL and the NHL Players Association declared the 113-day lockout over. The sides, which had been meeting in New York, announced they had come to a preliminary settlement on a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement. The NHL would have canceled the season Friday had an agreement not been in place.
“We’ve got to dot a lot of I’s and cross a lot of T’s. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at the Sofitel Hotel, where the players had been staying during negotiations. “But the basic framework of the deal has been agreed upon. We have to go through a ratification process. The board of governors has to approve it from the league’s side. Obviously, the players have to approve it as well.”
The NHL’s board of governors and the NHLPA’s executive board must ratify the agreement, which is considered a formality.
“Hopefully we’re at a place where all those things will proceed fairly rapidly and with some dispatch,” said Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director. “We’ll get back to what we called business as usual just as fast as we can.”
The league has yet to determine when training camps will open or when the season will begin. In one scenario, a 48-game schedule for the Bruins would begin Jan. 19. The Bruins were scheduled to play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre that night. Nonconference games will not be played.
The sides have been tangling since well before Sept. 15, when the lockout officially started. There were thaws and blowups in the dispute. The most dramatic peaks and valleys took place in New York in early December during owner-player meetings, which occurred without Bettman or Fehr at the bargaining table. The sides reported progress, but talks blew up Dec. 6, when Bettman denounced Fehr for declaring an agreement was near.
The lockout-busting breakthrough took place over the last few days with the help of mediation. Scot Beckenbaugh, deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, participated in internal meetings with the NHL and NHLPA Friday and Saturday. Under Beckenbaugh’s guidance, the NHL and NHLPA reconvened Saturday for the bargaining session that ultimately resulted in the agreement.
Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan used the term “concessionary bargaining” to describe the nature of negotiations. From the start of talks, the players recognized the NHL would be seeking givebacks. Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, as the chairman of the NHL’s board of governors, was critical in spearheading the league’s hard-line approach.
The centerpiece of the new collective bargaining agreement is the 50-50 split of revenue, which totaled $3.3 billion in 2011-12. Under the previous agreement, players — whose average annual salary was $2.4 million — had received 57 percent of hockey-related revenue. In its initial proposal, which it filed in July, the NHL flipped the percentages by reducing player share to 43 percent.
To offset the dip in revenue share, the players will receive $300 million in make-whole money. The make-whole provision lessens the revenue reduction for players under contract.
The players also ceded term limits on contracts. A player’s maximum contract is now seven years, eight if re-signing with his current team. There had been no term limits under the previous agreement.
The NHL pursued contract limits to negate the cap-circumventing practice of “backdiving,’’ which became popular in the previous agreement. Teams lowered a player’s annual average value by tacking bonus years at minimal salaries at the end of his contract. For example, the Vancouver Canucks signed goalie Roberto Luongo to a 12-year, $64 million deal. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the last two years of the contract, Luongo will earn $1 million annually. At the end of his contract, Luongo will be 43 years old, well past the playing age of a typical goalie.
Last month, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said contract limits, specifically a five-year maximum, would be the “hill we will die on.”
Within the contracts, there will be a 35 percent variance maximum from year to year. The NHL originally had proposed a 5 percent annual variance limit, which drew the players’ disapproval. The variance rule is another step toward eliminating backdiving. There were no variance limits previously.
This season, the salary cap will remain at $70.2 million (prorated), the ceiling under the previous deal. The cap will dip to $64.3 million in 2013-14. The NHL had pushed for $60 million, but the NHLPA, fearing the hit on escrow payments, insisted on a higher ceiling. Each club will be allowed two buyouts, which will not count against the cap, to dip under the 2013-14 ceiling.
The Bruins have approximately $67 million committed to 12 forwards, six defensemen, and three goalies. That sum includes the injured Marc Savard ($4,007,143) and goaltender Tim Thomas ($5 million). If necessary, the Bruins can place Savard (concussion-related issues) on long-term injured reserve, then exceed the cap by his average annual value. Even if Thomas changes his mind about sitting out 2012-13, the Bruins would not welcome back the goalie. The Bruins will classify Thomas a suspended player and be responsible for his cap hit unless they can find a taker via trade or waivers.
One concession the players received was a defined benefit pension plan. Details of the plan have yet to be finalized. But Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, one of the players most involved in negotiations, termed the pension plan as the agreement’s centerpiece.
The teams’ first task is to recall players to their respective home bases. At one point during the lockout, there were 12 Bruins playing in Europe. Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid, Tuukka Rask, and Shawn Thornton most recently have be
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The NHL appears headed toward a 48-game season for the second time in two decades.
"I think 48 is most likely at this point, unless the players can expedite their ratification process,'' NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email Monday to The Associated Press.
The NHL shortened its 82-game slate to 48 games for the 1994-95 season after a 103-day lockout. A 301-day lockout in 2004-05 made the NHL the first major North American professional sports league to lose an entire season.
HACKEL: NHL has big damage control job ahead
When the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to Sunday morning -- after 16 hours of negotiations -- there was some talk of having a 50-game season start later this month.
The NHL and the players' association are working on a memorandum of understanding, which could be completed soon, then voted on by owners and players. The league has circulated a memo to teams telling them to be ready to play by Jan. 19, the date the shortened season is expected to start.
"As we prepare for the season opener, I want to apologize to all Blues fans, especially our season ticket holders, suite holders, and sponsors,'' St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman said in a statement released by the team. "We share in your disappointment and frustration about the lockout.''
Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Westgarth, who was part of the union negotiating team for much of the long work stoppage, expects the NHLPA to conduct a conference call to explain and answer questions about the new CBA before players vote on it online.
"Of course the league will say if the players hurry up, we can play more games, but there's a reality to consider as well,'' Westgarth said in a telephone interview Monday from Raleigh, N.C., where he skated informally with some Carolina Hurricanes. "But the first step is for the people who are good with words to get on paper what both sides agreed to.
"Then, we have to get guys -- who are scattered all over the world -- to understand the agreement before we can start voting.''
Some NHL players -- including Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin -- went overseas during the lockout. Ovechkin, who played for his hometown Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League, was welcomed back to Washington by the Capitals, who posted a picture of him on their Twitter account arriving at a local airport.
Players -- teammates and opponents -- who stayed in North America have been getting together for months to skate, conduct on-ice drills and work out on their own to stay in relatively good shape.
Penguins star Sidney Crosby and nearly a dozen teammates worked out at a suburban Pittsburgh ice rink Monday.
For a change, Crosby and the rest of the NHL players knew games will be played after negotiators for both sides -- and an outside mediator -- found a way to revive a sport desperate to regain momentum and boost its prominence.
The league and the union agreed to the framework of a 10-year labor contract, ending a bitter dispute that wiped out a large part of the hockey season for the third time in less than two decades. On the 113th day of the lockout and five days before the league's deadline for a deal, the bleary-eyed sides held a 6 a.m. Sunday news conference to announce there would be a season after all.
The lockout could wipe out perhaps $1 billion in revenue this season because about 40 percent of the regular-season schedule won't be played.
The NHL's revenue of $3.3 billion last season lagged well behind the NFL ($9 billion), Major League Baseball ($7.5 billion) and the NBA ($5 billion). The new deal will lower the players' percentage from 57 to 50 after owners originally had proposed the players get 46 percent.
This was the third lockout among the major U.S. sports in a period of just over a year. A four-month NFL lockout ended in July 2011 with the loss of only one exhibition game, and an NBA lockout caused each team's schedule to be cut from 82 games to 66 last season.
Read More: NHL targets 48-game season starting Jan. 19 - NHL - SI-com
"I think 48 is most likely at this point, unless the players can expedite their ratification process,'' NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email Monday to The Associated Press.
The NHL shortened its 82-game slate to 48 games for the 1994-95 season after a 103-day lockout. A 301-day lockout in 2004-05 made the NHL the first major North American professional sports league to lose an entire season.
HACKEL: NHL has big damage control job ahead
When the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to Sunday morning -- after 16 hours of negotiations -- there was some talk of having a 50-game season start later this month.
The NHL and the players' association are working on a memorandum of understanding, which could be completed soon, then voted on by owners and players. The league has circulated a memo to teams telling them to be ready to play by Jan. 19, the date the shortened season is expected to start.
"As we prepare for the season opener, I want to apologize to all Blues fans, especially our season ticket holders, suite holders, and sponsors,'' St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman said in a statement released by the team. "We share in your disappointment and frustration about the lockout.''
Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Westgarth, who was part of the union negotiating team for much of the long work stoppage, expects the NHLPA to conduct a conference call to explain and answer questions about the new CBA before players vote on it online.
"Of course the league will say if the players hurry up, we can play more games, but there's a reality to consider as well,'' Westgarth said in a telephone interview Monday from Raleigh, N.C., where he skated informally with some Carolina Hurricanes. "But the first step is for the people who are good with words to get on paper what both sides agreed to.
"Then, we have to get guys -- who are scattered all over the world -- to understand the agreement before we can start voting.''
Some NHL players -- including Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin -- went overseas during the lockout. Ovechkin, who played for his hometown Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League, was welcomed back to Washington by the Capitals, who posted a picture of him on their Twitter account arriving at a local airport.
Players -- teammates and opponents -- who stayed in North America have been getting together for months to skate, conduct on-ice drills and work out on their own to stay in relatively good shape.
Penguins star Sidney Crosby and nearly a dozen teammates worked out at a suburban Pittsburgh ice rink Monday.
For a change, Crosby and the rest of the NHL players knew games will be played after negotiators for both sides -- and an outside mediator -- found a way to revive a sport desperate to regain momentum and boost its prominence.
The league and the union agreed to the framework of a 10-year labor contract, ending a bitter dispute that wiped out a large part of the hockey season for the third time in less than two decades. On the 113th day of the lockout and five days before the league's deadline for a deal, the bleary-eyed sides held a 6 a.m. Sunday news conference to announce there would be a season after all.
The lockout could wipe out perhaps $1 billion in revenue this season because about 40 percent of the regular-season schedule won't be played.
The NHL's revenue of $3.3 billion last season lagged well behind the NFL ($9 billion), Major League Baseball ($7.5 billion) and the NBA ($5 billion). The new deal will lower the players' percentage from 57 to 50 after owners originally had proposed the players get 46 percent.
This was the third lockout among the major U.S. sports in a period of just over a year. A four-month NFL lockout ended in July 2011 with the loss of only one exhibition game, and an NBA lockout caused each team's schedule to be cut from 82 games to 66 last season.
Read More: NHL targets 48-game season starting Jan. 19 - NHL - SI-com
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
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Two-thirds of the union's membership must vote in favor of allowing the executive board to file a ''disclaimer of interest,'' a source told The Canadian Press on Saturday. Votes will be cast electronically over a five-day period that ends Thursday. If the measure passes, the 30-member executive board would have until Jan. 2 to file the disclaimer.
The union is taking steps toward breaking up even after the NHL started mounting a legal challenge against it.
On Friday, the NHL filed a class-action complaint which asked a federal court in New York to make a declaration on the legality of the lockout.
In the 43-page complaint, the league argued the players' association was only considering the ''disclaimer of interest'' to ''extract more favorable terms and conditions of employment.''
''The union has threatened to pursue this course not because it is defunct or otherwise incapable of representing NHL players for purposes of collective bargaining, nor because NHL players are dissatisfied with the representation they have been provided by the NHLPA,'' the NHL complaint said. ''The NHLPA's threatened decertification or disclaimer is nothing more than an impermissible negotiating tactic, which the union incorrectly believes would enable it to commence an antitrust challenge to the NHL's lockout.''
The NHL also filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union issued a statement on Friday night that claimed the league overstepped its bounds.
''The NHL appears to be arguing that players should be stopped from even considering their right to decide whether or not to be represented by a union,'' the statement said. ''We believe that their position is completely without merit.''
By filing the class-action complaint in New York, the league guaranteed that the legality of the lockout would be decided in a court known to be sympathetic toward management. If the NHLPA dissolves it will seek to have the lockout deemed illegal - something that could result in players being paid triple their lost salary in damages if successful.
Despite the focus of the lockout shifting from the board room to the courtroom, there is nothing preventing the sides from continuing to try to negotiate with each another. They met separately over two days with a U.S. federal mediator this week in New Jersey but failed to make any progress. No further talks are currently scheduled
Just eight years after becoming the first North American professional sports league to lose an entire season to a labor dispute, the NHL is in danger of repeating it.
Players have already missed five paychecks during the lockout that will enter its 14th week on Sunday. More than 500 regular-season games through Dec. 30 have been wiped off the schedule.
NHL players to decide if board can file disclaimer - Yahoo! Sports