I thought I’d weight in on the NHL’s current situation. It seems like Trevor Linden realized that if they don’t play hockey this year, and next year is in danger too, he might never see another paycheck. Ok, that’s not fair. Still, it’s interesting that it took a high profile union rep who also happens to fall into that veteran/journeyman role to step up to the plate to get things going again.
What I thought was particularly interesting about the whole thing was the look of pure glee in the eyes of the NHL’s negotiators when mentioning that Trevor had sparked this latest round of talks. It was almost as if you could read their thoughts: “They blinked. We’ve won the battle by outwaiting them. We should be able to get everything we want and more.” It was a giant game of chicken, and Trevor Linden reached over Bob Goodenow’s lap and cranked the wheel to the side. It remains to be seen if Gary Bettman and the boys just plow into the side of the PA’s car, or if they ease up and hit the brakes. At this point though, it’ll take a minor miracle to get a season out of the NHL. Some teams don’t have enough players to ice a lineup at this point (I read somewhere that Washington has 10 players under contract this year.) so it would take a lot of negotiations during a very short training camp just to see if the teams can ice a product for enough games to make the season seem real. The best part about it for the owners would be that the playoffs wouldn’t be abbreviated, and that’s where they make the real money.
Simpson’s quote of the day: “Yarr, it begins. The dolphins are upon us and only this old sea dog knows how to stop — Yarr!” - Captain McAllister just before being torn apart by said dolphins.- 4 comments
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One thing to note about the latest round of NHL talks. The players proposed a 6 year deal, the first 3 years are basically status quo, with the 24% pay cut to the players. The next 3 years would implement a hard salary cap if some conditions were met. If they weren’t met, the contract would resemble the first 3 years. The story I read didn’t give the specifics on what the conditions were that would change the agreement.
The one thing of note is that the NHLPA reps that met in chicago would probably be retired before the 3 years were up. Could linden be sacrificing the paychecks of future players, just so he could make money? probably.
The other funny thing about it, they met in the chicago airport, in the departures lounge. Sportsnet was so anxious to get in, the whole crew bought tickets on the cheapest flights they could, just to get past security.
Comment by Salty Dave — Thursday, January 20,2005 @ 1:12 pm
I thought the league dismissed that contract as an unsubstantiated rumour. It’s all over the web, though.
Comment by Arcanas — Thursday, January 20,2005 @ 1:19 pm
Another thought on that deal (if it is, in fact, real). Wouldn’t the players really be screwing themselves by making that deal? The owners would likely just make sure that the conditions are met to trigger the salary cap anyway, so why even bother with the three year status quo? To let the rich stay rich?
Comment by Arcanas — Thursday, January 20,2005 @ 1:21 pm
I should have put the proposal in italics, because I don’t think it’s true, just interesting. If this was a real proposal the ‘conditions’ to switch to a cap after 3 years would take another year just to iron out between the two sides.
There won’t be hockey this year, and next year will only happen if the union breaks, or scabs play (The Toronto Make Believes indeed)
Comment by Salty Dave — Thursday, January 20,2005 @ 4:06 pm