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NHL SEASON OFFICIALLY CANCELLED


PeteyNice

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well, let's see how it plays out. I still like the 3/5 agreement with somewhat looser trigger. Perhaps a 2/6 agreement would get accepted. 24% rollback, 2 years under the players plan, if it doesn't work, 6 years under the owners plan. Overall the CBA wouldn't be that long.

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http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=115051

2/15/2005

The following is a letter NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sent to NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow on Tuesday.

Dear Bob:

We attempted to reach out to you with yesterday's offer of a team maximum cap of $42.2MM ($40MM in salary and $2.2MM in benefits) which was not linked to League-wide revenues. As Bill told Ted, "de-linking" a maximum team salary cap from League revenues and total League-wide player compensation has always been problematic for us, especially since we cannot now quantify the damage to the League from the lockout. This presents the risk we will pay out more than we can afford. As you know, if all 30 teams were to spend to the maximum we proposed, and if the damage to our business is as we discussed at our meetings in New York, then the League would continue to lose money.

I know, as do you, that the "deal" we can make will only get worse for the players if we cancel the season - whatever damage we have suffered to date will pale in comparison to the damage from a cancelled season and we will certainly not be able to afford what is presently on the table. Accordingly, I am making one final effort to reach out to make a deal that will let us play this season.

We are increasing our offer of yesterday by increasing the maximum individual team cap to $44.7MM ($42.5MM in salary and $2.2MM in benefits). This offer is not an invitation to begin negotiations - it's too late for that. This is our last effort to make a deal that's fair to the players and one that the Clubs (hopefully) can afford. We have no more flexibility and there is no time for further negotiation.

If this offer is acceptable, please let me know by 11:00 A.M. tomorrow, in advance of my scheduled press conference. Hopefully, the press conference will not be necessary.

Sincerely,

Gary B. Bettman

==

I am assuming this offer still has the soft cap at $34M and then taxes and just changed the total max up $2.5M. It still sucks.

Edited by PeteyNice
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wild theory, perhaps the NHLPA is trying to wait the league out. That way the 4-6 weakest teams contract, the cap could be set fairly high like at 46-47, and rosters could be expanded enough to where there is really no job losses.

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well, if this offer isn't accepted, then I would say yes, the NHLPA is looking for contraction, only if roster expansion for the remaining teams covers the losses.

This whole mess is tough to figure out, but if this is rejected then you know Goodenow is digging in to eliminate Bettman and his southern cronies just like Gary is trying to break the PA.

bettman_gary250.jpg

Edited by '7'
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Roster expansion? When has that ever been discussed? What are you talking about? Even if rosters did expand, players would want less playing time and less ability to get ice time to prove themselves worthy of a big contract? The NHLPA would NEVER look for contraction unless it had some bizarre Laffer curve type of theory. Considering how bizarre their negotiation strategy has been so far, I guess it's not of the realm of possibility.

Teams cannot just 'contract'. These clubs aren't in bankruptcy yet. The league doesn't have the money to buy them out either.

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Roster expansion?  When has that ever been discussed?  What are you talking about?  Even if rosters did expand, players would want less playing time and less ability to get ice time to prove themselves worthy of a big contract?  The NHLPA would NEVER look for contraction unless it had some bizarre Laffer curve type of theory.  Considering how bizarre their negotiation strategy has been so far, I guess it's not of the realm of possibility.

Teams cannot just 'contract'.  These clubs aren't in bankruptcy yet.  The league doesn't have the money to buy them out either.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It hasn't been discussed much, but the players absorbed by other teams wouldn't be playing 30 minutes a night. Kelly Buchberger won't be taking away ice time from Keith Tkachuk. But certain players like Legwand and Ryan Malone would be great additions on somebodys 3rd line.

technically it wouldn't be contraction, probably just merging like with the Barons/North Stars. Only the Predators would merge with every other team.

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You can't just do that, ^7^. The Predators have an owner, his name is Craig Leopold, and he bought the rights to a franchise in 1997. The NHL would have to buy his franchise out or face a legal nightmare. If they buy the franchise out, for probably around $75 million, they'd never see that money again. That's why no league will ever be contracting teams unless there is a very serious change in the professional sports landscape. There is absolutely no way that improving the game by an imperceptible margin is worth $75 million to the league.

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I'm sorry, let me clarify - what would be the benefit to the sport ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

deeper rosters, less teams, higher quality play.

in other news, 2+2 is 4.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Isn't the purpose of contraction & roster reduction aimed at removing deadweight from the league and it's teams.

Is it not where the extra roster spot is taken by a so-called goon ?

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well if they put it to a vote, and a majority wants to take out leopold they can. the remaining 26 can buy him out a 2.8 mil and get a few players a piece for that. or you can have 10 rich teams buy him out at 7.5 a piece. You might say that's alot but thinking ahead, they'd be playing in a smaller league where salaries would naturally be lower, but just in case you could set a high cap at about 47 million though you probably wouldn't get near it.

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$42.5 million is fair enough, the players now have to know this is the highest the so-called 'hawks' among the owners are willing to go and there will NOT be a better deal next year. They got a removal of linkage, they got the cap to go up and that's all they're going to get, if the players can't live with an average salary of around $2 million per season per player on the 20-man roster when a cap will only affect the highest-paid players on a team to begin with then they deserve to have the owners break the union.

The Brookses of the world said the owners only wanted to hear about a $31 million cap, well that number got moved up $11.5 in the end AND there's 'no' tie to linkage. Now we'll see whether the players are willing to destroy the sport for a few extra bucks for its upper class that they'd never see anyway.

Edited by Hasan4978
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I hate this deal. A $42M cap is meaningless when there are buckets of teams that couldn't dream of coming up with $42M/season.

The only way I would support anything over $35M is if there was a VERY strong luxery tax between $35M and $42M, with that money going to the lower revenue teams.

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