Gary Bettman: ‘This is very hard and I feel terrible about it’

13 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

There were two occasions during his Thursday press conference in New York where Gary Bettman pushed aside lockout jargon for an attempt at emotion, like some Washington policy wonk ignoring his bar graphs long enough to ask, "what about the children?"

The first instance was a personal admission from the man that's overseen two work stoppages and will complete the hat trick on Saturday night.

"This is really hard. You only get involved in this situation when you understand what the issues are and you know you're doing the right thing for the long-term stability of the sport," he said.

"This is very hard and I feel terrible about it."

As he should. As the owners should. As Donald Fehr should. As the players should. That it got to this point, and that the realistic compromises, that both sides will eventually reach after months of the season are sacrificed, can't be bridged before the preseason starts.

The abject frustration for fans shouldn't be that there's a lockout, because all know this was the NHL's endgame. It's that the players and owners are this far down the rabbit hole and are still defining terms and arguing the fundamentals.

For example, the fundamental difference between the NHL and the NHLPA offers is that the players' projections are "assumptions and speculation based on their projections of league growth based on dollars, and not percentages," according to Bettman.

In other words, Bettman feels the NHLPA isn't coming down from 57 percent of the revenue when you take into account how their proposal is structured based on the current rate of growth for the league. While the official number for Year 1 of the NHLPA proposal has been 52 percent of revenue, Bettman feels that's deceiving.

[Related: League will suffer if NHL, NHLPA don't embrace compromise and common sense as lockout looms]

"If you fully understand the proposal, it's not 52 percent or anything close to it. You have to look at the dollars they want guaranteed. The dollars are an actual increase. They're projecting that down the road, at 7 percent-plus revenue growth, which is a very high assumption, you might get to 52 percent. Their proposal is not a percent proposal; it's a guaranteed dollar proposal," he said.

"They did not make a percentage of the growth offer."

This was Mirtle's take on that issue in his Globe and Mail piece on the proposal:

Despite what has been written in some circles, the players have offered some givebacks here. Even if league revenues grow at just 5 per cent (which they have exceeded in all but one of the last six years), the players will be offering back about $340-million (or $70-million a season) from where they are now at 57 per cent.

If there's big-time growth (8.5 per cent or more), the PA gives up $250-million or more a year. That's not nothing.

The key difference between the two deals is that the union is trying to stay at or above that $1.87-billion figure earned last season in order to avoid big-time escrow payments by its players right away. That's one of the things players have asked Fehr for, and he is listening and trying to deliver.

Again, they're still not speaking the same language. The players see the NHL's rate of growth remaining steady; the league believes that rate could be unsustainable.

The players see the league's use of escrow in the new CBA as a de facto salary rollback; the league see it as "in line with what they're used to in this agreement."

The players feel it's unfair to cap and reduce their wages when other costs for teams don't have similar controls; the league believes many of those ancillary costs are linked to the players anyway, and have risen over the life of the CBA.

"I don't think it makes sense on how the clubs run their businesses," said Bettman. "Those costs have increased dramatically."

(Incidentally, this topic brought forth what might be the first in recorded human history that there were references to both massage therapists and the price of charter jet fuel in the same sentence. Kudos, Mr. Bettman.)

Where does this leave us? Bettman said there's no lockout yet because there's still time for a deal to be made, but his words were about as hollow as an invisible Kevin Bacon.

The lockout's happening, much to Gary Bettman's chagrin. Which brings us to Emotional Moment No. 2, which came at the end of his press conference on Thursday.

"I hope to see you all soon," he said, solemnly.

"And I hope it's with better news."

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Tags: cent, Donald Fehr, , , , , NHLPA, ,
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Blue Jackets send Murray, Jenner to amateur teams (Yahoo! Sports)

13 Sep
2012
by in General
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned defenseman and No. 2 overall pick this summer Ryan Murray to the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips and center Boone Jenner to the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals.
Tags: , , , Boone Jenner, , , , Generals, Jenner, , , Ryan Murray, Western Hockey League
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Sidney Crosby and the great NHL players’ sacrifice

13 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

Sidney Crosby was put before the media after Donald Fehr's grim CBA negotiation update on Thursday because Sidney Crosby is symbolic of a great many things.

He's the biggest hockey star in the world, front and center for his union, which isn't exactly commonplace when it comes to sports labor disputes. It's also a position many never believed Crosby would be in earlier in his career — perhaps expecting him to be above it all or disinterested in the process — and yet there he was.

He's a reminder that, in some cases, the name on the back can be more valuable to fans than the logo on the front — essential when the owners are acting like they're herding cattle in dealing with the labor force.

Most of all, he's symbolic of what this lockout garbage robs from all of us, which is NHL hockey and having players like Sid on the ice.

Consider this, courtesy of reader Thomas Bink: "If there's no hockey this season, over his sixth, seventh and eighth NHL seasons Sidney Crosby will have amassed a total of 40 goals and 103 points due to injury and labour strife. Over the same three seasons of his career, Wayne Gretzky recorded 212 goals and a startling 628 points."

If Crosby has a stake in this fight, that's it: There's extra weight to the "we just want to play" cliché when he says it, because he's had so much time taken from him already. Hence, when he talks about this CBA process, you can sense his exasperation that the lockout was seemingly predestined based on how the NHL has negotiated.

"You don't want to say this, but it seems like it's been kinda in the works anyway," he said.

Here's Crosby at the NHLPA presser Thursday:

"We're showing we're willing to move and we're willing to sacrifice things with our proposal. With that, both sides have room to grow and continue to have success. I think if we're to look at their proposal it isn't the same kind of thing," said Crosby. "You look at hard numbers, and there aren't a lot of incentives for players. It doesn't seem to address the key issues that we hear are issues."

That's the thesis from the NHLPA two days before the CBA ends: That there's no sacrifice from the NHL in its offers, which ask plenty from the rank and file without suitably addressing systemic problems with the system.

"What's in it for the players?" NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr asked, echoing what he said was the players' most frequent question in their New York meetings.

"We have to have the salary concessions all over again, plus we have to go in the owners' direction on all contracting issues," he said.

"Less money, fewer rights. I think everybody understands why the owners would like that. Every employer would like that. I have a difficult time understanding why anyone would expect the players would make an agreement on that basis."

Fehr was clear: The NHL asks the players to give up money and contractual rights, but has yet to seem interested in controlling other costs.

[Related: League will suffer if NHL, NHLPA don't embrace compromise and common sense as lockout looms]

"What you might call 'shared sacrifice.' If there is going to be sacrifice here, and the players are going to take less money than the current agreement provides them, then the question is are they the only ones whose compensation and circumstances are to be limited or reduced. Is there any other cost or expense — anywhere in the NHL, National Hockey League enterprises, any team or anywhere — where the owners are willing to say they are willing to constrain those costs as well. So far, the answer is 'no,'" he said.

Of course, player salaries are the primary expenditure for NHL teams. Capping executive bonuses is a nice, populist request, but it's not fixing flaws in the NHL's economic system.

So far, the NHLPA hasn't attacked that system with the ferocity one assumed it would, given Donald Fehr's antagonistic history with the salary cap.

But if there is a lockout … would he consider going after the salary cap?

"If we get past that point, then the players are as free to reconsider their positions as the owners are," said Fehr.

Oh good. Here we were worried that there might be NHL hockey played sometime in the next year …
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Tags: , , Donald Fehr, , , , NHL HOCKEY, ,
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Donald Fehr talks lockout; Coyotes lease news; Ovechkin vs. RGIII (Puck Headlines)

13 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Henrik Zetterberg and the Quest For Peace at the NHLPA presser today. (@bruce_arthur)

• Donald Fehr reports that there have been no new developments for the NHLPA and the NHL during his media time today.

• Scott Burnside says it's time for Fehr to step up and lead to an agreement: "If Donald Fehr is doing his job properly and not just looking to mix it up with Bettman for the pure sport of seeing who's got the biggest labor stones, the veteran union leader will lay out all of the possibilities and probabilities for his players. Those options including asking for more and then deciding that maybe it's enough." [ESPN]

• Stephen Brunt on the fans in this lockout mess: "You have no dog in this fight. There's no relationship between ticket prices and players salaries, nor has there ever been. The owners will continue to charge whatever the market will bear, and not a penny less. Some of you can afford that, some of you can't, and it has always been thus." [Sportsnet]

• Bourne believes solidarity among players is B.S. and think a good number want to play right now. "The old guys are worried about losing years, shots at the Cup, and not making back the money they'd forfeit even if the players did get a better deal. The younger guys want to get that first year of paychecks, to eat up their entry level contracts, and move closer to their big payday. Hey, you only have so many hockey playing years in your body, you gotta cash in while you can." [Backhand Shelf]

• Interesting look at the winners and losers under the previous CBA. [NHL Network]

• With Rick Nash gone, the Columbus Blue Jackets need a captain. Four letters: JMFJ. [Jackets Cannon]

• Meanwhile, in Glendale, the city wants to redo the lease with Greg Jamison, who still doesn't own the team. [Five For Howling]

• Alex Ovechkin? Old and busted. RGIII? New hotness. [Sick, Unbelievable]

• Reports indicate that the Carlo Colaiacovo is a Detroit Red Wing, with a 2-year, $5-million deal. [Red Wings]

• Joel Ward talks more about his groin. [Capitals Insider]

• Chris Phillips and Dany Heatley are suing their former agent. [Malik]

• There's an OHL referee who's closing in on a spot at The Masters. Which is an incredible feat for someone who, based on occupation, is visually impaired. [SLAM]

• If Buffalo Sabres fans are locked out, what are the options for them to still experience hockey? [Die By The Blade]

• Another funny assessment of San Jose Sharks tweeters, this time with Brent Burns in the spotlight. [BoC]

• The Vancouver coach that is accused of tripping a youth player in the handshake line is in court today. [Province]

• A few more thoughts on private equity and the NHL. [On The Forecheck]

• If you're a Ryan Lambert fan, give our boy some help in his charity drive. [Two Line Pass]

• Finally, a bit on the EG Games midnight release of NHL 13 in B.C.

Tags: Coyotes, Donald Fehr, Henrik Zetterberg, , , mainstream, , , , Scott Burnside,
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Watch Brendan Shanahan’s 1994 take on NHL lockout and ‘his’ CBA suspensions in 2012 (VIDEO)

13 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

In looking back at previous NHL work stoppages, one finds the depressing redundancy of a political campaign: The same language to vilify both sides and outrage over millionaires and billionaires squabbling over a treasure chest. All of this has happened before and will happen again. (You're allowed to sigh deeply now.)

I stumbled on this Brendan Shanahan interview (with Bruce Dowbiggin of the Globe & Mail) from Nov. 1994 that echoes a lot of what we're hearing today (CBA stuff runs during the first 8 or so minutes):

It's an interesting artifact — both because Shanahan is now on the other side of the negotiating table as NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety, and because it provides a snapshot of the NHL during Gary Bettman's first work stoppage as commissioner. For example:

• The first issue mentioned is meaningful revenue sharing. And 18 years later, you have the NHLPA making it a primary issue and the NHL calling it practically a non-issue.

• Wayne Gretzky's "market value" in 1994 was $3 million a year, which makes me think he would be worth roughly the gross national product of Belize in this NHL economy.

• Interesting take on the "Americanization" of hockey, which broke down the tribal nature of Canadians and instilling a "don't tread on me" sense of civil liberties of individuals. Shanahan believes it's at the heart of salary escalation, and that the players were down with it.

Meanwhile, back in 2012, here's a NHL Dept. of Player Safety video in which Shanahan "suspends" the negotiating teams for their greedy nonsense … OK, it's a fan-created video that hits all the DoPS explanation video beats while offering the earnest, helpless vibe that we're all feeling right about now:

Alas, all suspension appeals go directly to Gary Bettman, so …

Tags: brendan shanahan, Bruce Dowbiggin, , , , , , squabbling, vilify, wayne gretzky,
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In salary cut battle between NHL and players, it’s the fans that will bleed

13 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

Whenever NHL owners start handing out bloated contracts like toothpick-stabbed samples of Chinese pork at a mall food court, they're lambasted for being irresponsible or negligent in respecting the economic limits they, themselves, established.

As this CBA term comes to an end and the lockout likely begins, the reckless millions they've spent on players in the last few years are cast in a new light: The twisted genius of causing your own problem, bitching about it and then already knowing what the likely solution is going to be.

So they'd sign a player to a huge contract, call the current players' percentage of revenue unsustainable and then wait until Gary Bettman and the NHL got them their salary rollback in the next CBA negotiation, either in the traditional sense or through increased escrow payments.

From Nick Cotsonika of Yahoo! Sports:

Though the sides have inched closer, they remain entrenched in their core economic positions — the owners demanding the players accept that pay cut immediately and shrink their share of hockey-related revenue from 57 percent to less than 50; the players offering to limit their raises and keep their share of HRR above 50 percent.

The dance has gone like this for months: The players fighting to keep their share of the revenue well above 50 percent, and allowing for a deadening of salary escalation in subsequent years; the NHL asking for immediate salary relief, more decline in wages and for mechanisms like arbitration to be gutted or eliminated to help them from climbing again.

Michael Grange from Sportsnet breaks it down:

The nut of the matter is the players would still be guaranteed more money each of the next four years -- a pay increase when the owners want them to take a pay cut. The gap between what the owners are offering and the players are willing to take is about $210 million next season alone.

To put it another way, if there is a lockout -- and it seems like there will be one -- it will be because the owners and the players have agreed on one essential issue: Neither wants to leave the money they get out of this deal to chance. Neither wants to assume the risk of not making more money in the years to come.

The owners want their savings on player salaries immediately and they want it guaranteed.  The players want all the money they're making now as well as raises of two, four and six per cent, compounded, over the next three years.

Now that we're all staring into the abyss of a work stoppage, the pay cut is at the heart of the stalemate. And as games are cancelled and fans grow bitter, one can already see the seeds taking root for animosity towards the players.

Like how one of the most popular players in the League was given the Dan Ellis treatment on Twitter last night.

Ellis, you'll recall, had an ill conceived Twitter rant two years ago in which he compared hockey players to brain surgeons and cried poverty as a professional athlete.

Phoenix Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette has over 323,000 followers on Twitter and is, by far, one of the most popular "normal dudes" in the League thanks to social media. Last night, he spelled out the players' frustration with the salary cut, and his readers responded with some vitriol and some support:

And …

As BizNasty discovered, it's a balancing act.

For most of the summer, the players have gotten the goodwill because the owners were seen as greedy bastards that got what they wanted last time and still want more. But now that the lockout's practically here, I feel a shift; it's not as if the players have lost support, but there's a steady impatience in watching the NHL move on its offer, while the players and Donald Fehr steadfastly hold the line above the owners' asking price.

They haven't exactly held the line, mind you. Check out Mirtle's outstanding breakdown of the two offers in the Globe & Mail today, in which he summarizes:

It's about a $1-billion difference over five years, or $210-million a season. That's down from the previous difference of about $320-million a season, so they are getting closer. Now the thing to remember is that's all based off of 7.1 per cent growth. No one truly knows if the NHL makes more or less than that going forward.

The players are asking for 54 percent of revenues in Year 1. The owners are want to give them 49 percent. It's a chasm as the stating point for the rest of the deal to be cut.

But both sides know what's coming. The owners have been handing out contracts with the knowledge that their value would decline in the next CBA. The players have been signing these contracts with that knowledge, too: Why do you think Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were seeking so much bonus money in the first three years of their deals?

For all of us that hope in our pathetic frozen hockey hearts that the Winter Classic/ATM Machine between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs is money the owners don't want to lose out on, a demoralizing reality: Who's to say these guys won't sacrifice the outdoor game if it means not sharing 54 percent of its windfall with the players?

Tags: , cent, , hockey players, , , , , The players
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KHL goalie Kevin Lalande gives up most embarrassing goal of new season (VIDEO)

13 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

There are certain things you expect to see while watching a Kontinental Hockey League game. Like several guys named "Alexei", or line brawls involving exiled AHL goons. But most of all, you expect to witness at least one or two terrible, deplorable fluke goals scored from center ice or the other end of the rink or by the goaltender himself in Karri Ramo's case.

Like, for example, this beauty surrendered by Kevin Lalande of Dynamo Minsk on what technically can be called a shot but realistically was a swat at a bouncing puck … from the neutral zone:

Denis Khlystov was credited with the goal in Salavat Yuleav Ufa's 6-3 victory over Minsk on Monday.

In fairness to Lalande, a former Calgary Flames draft pick (2005) who played two seasons with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, the puck was bouncing around like a Super Happy Fun Ball. Not an easy one to handle by any means. I'd rather be Lalande than, say, Emil Garipov, who is still looking for this puck.

So, yeah … KHL goaltending. We don't want to say it's slightly inferior, but a quick FYI to any NHL players thinking about heading there during the lockout: Sergei Mozyakin is the League's all-time goals leader with 109.

Sid matches that in, what, six weeks?

Tags: , Denis Khlystov, Dynamo Minsk, , goalie, Kevin Lalande, , Kontinental, Kontinental Hockey League game, Lalande, , ,
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NHL, NHLPA exchange offers as talks resume in NYC (Yahoo! Sports)

12 Sep
2012
by in General

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks to reporters after meeting with the NHL Players' Association representatives during a news conference at NHL headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in New York. The NHL and the players' association exchanged proposals on Wednesday as negotiations resumed in an effort to avoid a lockout this weekend. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NEW YORK (AP) -- While the NHL and its players now agree on what qualifies as hockey-related revenue, the two sides still haven't figured out how to split up the money the sport generates.


Tags: , , NHLPA, , , ,
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NHL 2012-13 Campaign Preview: Buffalo Sabres

12 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

Yes, indeed, despite the promise of impending labor Armageddon and a prolonged work-stoppage, your friends at Puck Daddy are previewing the 2012-13 NHL season (whenever the heck it starts). Why? Because this is the most important election in the history of all-time ever, and you need to know the candidates — starting with the Buffalo Sabres.

"Welcome to Pegulaville", Sabres fans said and were told last season when owner Terry Pegula broke open the chequebook and declared an end to the miserly ways of the past. Never has a one-percenter been so beloved by the middle class as during Pegula's first summer. Finally, the Sabres had the money to contend. Pegula went out and made up for the wrongs of July 2007, when Danny Briere and Chris Drury walked, signing skill guys like it was going out of style.

Unfortunately, it was out of style -- the game had changed since 2007. The league was tougher, clutchier, and grabbier, and the Sabres discovered they had spent a lot of money getting more skill while failing to account for the grit factor.

Granted, it didn't help that highly-paid acquisitions Christian Ehrhoff, Robyn Regehr and Ville Leino struggled to adjust to their new team, and the revamped roster struggled to find an identity as a result. Soon, the Sabres' identity was as an underachieving team at the bottom of the league, though a late-season turnaround provided some hope.

A summer later, the Sabres opted not to spend to oblivion, instead deeming Derek Roy the expendable piece in their corps of tiny skill guys and using him to gritty up the roster. Furthermore, they left the rest of the team mostly intact, hoping the group that came together and made a run towards the playoffs last spring could continue that momentum.

Can a tougher, more together Sabres get back to the postseason?

"Get Fought by Ott and Scott"

The Sabres opted to curb spending in 2012. I mean, you could argue that they just had no one to spend money on, but Ville Leino can attest to the fact that this didn't stop them last year.

Instead of throwing money around, the Sabres made a concerted effort to get tougher, a major issue even before Paul Gaustad -- the go-to anytime someone needed to be fought -- moved to Nashville at last year's trade deadline. Gone to Dallas is smallish centre Derek Roy, and in exchange come gritty centre Steve Ott and 6-4 defenceman Adam Pardy.

But the Sabres didn't stop there. Still in search of grit, Pegula offered a front-loaded deal to Rooster Cogburn, only to be told he wasn't real, so instead, the Sabres added 6'8" John Scott on the first day of free agency. The next time someone tries to run over Ryan Miller, John Scott will be there. The next time someone tries to take a run at Thomas Vanek along the boards, John Scott will be there.

The next time there's a brawl between the Sabres and the Bruins and someone has to square off with Zdeno Chara, John Scott will be there.

By "there", I mean the bench. But still. There's no missing him -- he's quite tall.

Also gone is Brad Boyes, who didn't do too much anyway, so that's okay.

At forward … the Sabres will continue to rely on the scoring touch and chemistry of wingers Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, as well as a platoon of depth wingers that includes Drew Stafford, Nathan Gerbe, Ville Leino, and Marcus Foligno. Their issue will be up the middle, where tiny converted winger Tyler Ennis, sophomore Cody Hodgson and checker Steve Ott will centre the top three lines.

Luke Adam will likely get a look as well, but even with him in the fold, this is hardly a formidable group. Worse, there's little wiggle room. If anyone struggles or is injured, the team could be in trouble.

On defense … Tyler Myers leads a defence corps that also includes Christian Ehrhoff, Robyn Regehr and the seriously underrated Jordan Leopold. It's an imposing top-4 if everyone is in the lineup and on their game, but injuries and middling performances left Alexander Sulzer looking like a top pairing option on Buffalo late last year. That can't happen again.

The Sabres need bounceback years from Regehr and Ehrhoff especially. Regehr looked old and slow in his first year in Buffalo, but some of that might just have been adjustment. The Eastern Conference is a little more free-flowing than the West, and Buffalo is a lot more free-flowing than Calgary. He needs to find his game again in a hurry.

Ehrhoff will never be confused for a shutdown guy, but he didn't outscore his defensive lapses in 2011-12 like he has in years past. The Sabres need more out of him, especially on the powerplay.

In goal … Ryan Miller looks to return to form after a season that had some questioning if rookie Jhonas Enroth should be the new number one. Enroth was viewed as a pleasant surprise, but if we're being fair, a team with Ryan Miller on it should never be questioning if the rookie behind him is better. Miller needs to re-find his form.

"Injured Sabres" is a moving tribute to the men that have sacrificed their bodies in the Sabres' pursuit of victory.

Same as it ever was. Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier enter their 15th year as coach and GM, respectively. It's no doubt a cushy gig, but with Terry Pegula desperate for a winner, one has to wonder if the other end of their leash might actually be tied to something now. Would a second straight year without making the playoffs be enough for either of them to actually reach the end of it?

Ruff especially has to consider himself on the hot seat. Buffalo won't have success unless Ryan Miller is on his game, and tweaking his system to give Miller a bit more support couldn't hurt. If he doesn't, the Sabres might have to find someone who will.

Tyler Myers. After a 48-point rookie season, Myers had 60 points in the following two seasons combined. Last November, he even suffered the ignominy of a healthy scratch.

The hulking Sabres blueliner is one of only three defencemen with massive signing bonuses unaffected by the impending lockout. The other two are cornerstones Ryan Suter and Shea Weber. It's time for Myers to begin showing he belongs in that group.

Cody Hodgson was never going to crack the top six as a centre in Vancouver, but in Buffalo, he's practically all there is, especially with Derek Roy gone. Tiny Tyler Ennis will likely open the season as the first line centre, but the Sabres are counting on Hodgson to push him for that job and, ideally, take it. If he can't meet their expectations, Buffalo's going to struggle to score all year.

Ville Leino. It's hardly a nervy pick after Leino collected $4.5 million last year to score 25 points, but he can still bust harder. Another year with numbers like that and fans are going to hate his guts, especially if Buffalo's weakness at centre -- Leino's listed position -- begins to show.

Narrator: "The Buffalo Sabres want you to believe they're willing to spend to win. They think offering $28 million for Shane Doan is proof. But they spent $27 million on Ville Leino last year. Do they really think Shane Doan is only worth $1 million more than Ville Leino? The only thing this proves is that they're returning to their cheapskate ways after just one year. Been there, done that. Pegulaville? More like No-moolah-ville. Write a cheque, Scrooge."

"Paid for by the Friends of Terry Bross Foundation."

Another year on the bubble. The Sabres could very well make the playoffs, but everything's going to have to go right for them. Tyler Ennis and Cody Hodgson are going to have to play like top-six centres. Tyler Myers is going to have to become a true number one guy. Ryan Miller is going to have to be one of the best goalies in the league again. Every one of these things is possible, but all of these things happening is less so. Expect the Sabres to be in contention right up until the final week of the season.

Tags: buffalo sabres, centre, , Grit, , Ryan Miller, , The Sabres, Ville
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NHL saves face, but CBA offer to players can’t save start of season

12 Sep
2012
by in Fantasy Hockey, General

After two lockouts, Gary Bettman isn't going to enter a room to collectively bargain without knowing what chips he's willing to push into the middle of the table. On Wednesday, days away from when the CBA expires and the lockout presumably begins, Donald Fehr and the players gave the NHL an offer and Gary Bettman presented a preconceived counteroffer.

The ante from the NHL: a willingness to stick with the current definition of hockey-related revenue rather than the redefinition in its previous proposals.

"It seems to me that having a work stoppage and damaging HRR long-term doesn't make sense," said Bettman.

Along with it, another caveat: Instead of grabbing an "extraordinary" amount of the revenue from the players, the league would instead grab a "very big" amount — giving the players between $250 million to $300 million of the money they currently have, that the owners intended to take, back to them.

How altruistic.

[Nicholas J. Cotsonika: NHL, NHLPA need spirit of compromise]

All of this is being hailed as a reasonable offer from the league after months of empty cash-grabs and salary suppression schemes, which is why Bettman's one of the best in the business at the negotiation table: The league was always willing to arrive at this point with this offer, and now have the players by the how-do-you-do with a take it or leave it "concession" before the lockout.

If they leave it … well, then clearly all that "we just want to play" verbiage was just B.S. The owners were vilified for standing for nothing beyond greed; the players had the high ground as victims who just want to get back to entertaining the fans. Now the owners are the ones moving to the middle, and the players are being stubborn. Perception is a cruel mistress.

Who says the NHL doesn't want to win the PR battle?

From Kevin Allen of USA Today, the specifics of the NHL's offer:

Under the owners' new six-year phase-in proposal, players would receive 49% next season, and end up with 47% in the sixth year. In immediate terms, players would receive a roughly 9% decrease in salary next season. In the league's previous proposal, the first year loss was pegged at 19%. According to the league's numbers, this proposal is asking for $275 million less in concessions than owners asked for in their last proposal.

Is the endgame still a 50/50 split of revenue, with a decline in the players' share over the life of the deal? Probably. Will the players bargain up to 50/50 in the framework of this deal, knowing that it comes off the table the minute the CBA expires? Based on Fehr's tone Wednesday, that'd be a "no."

That said, there's still some common ground. The NHL and NHLPA are on the same page in defining hockey-related revenue — at least in this proposal. The NHLPA went up to a five-year term, as the NHL wants six years.

But you still have the NHLPA saying it has a revenue-sharing plan, the NHL saying that's not an important facet of the negotiation, and the players countering with "so far we have not seen one dollar of revenue sharing come from anywhere but players wages."

You have the NHL offering what it feels is a fair framework for percentage of revenue to the players, and the NHLPA claiming its deal "would save owners $900 million over life of CBA."

It's still "my kung-fu is the strongest" with little middle ground or compelling reason to settle.

It's still two sides preparing for the inevitable.

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