The Continuing Chronicles Of Jay Feaster's Incompetence

[Gabriel]

Bettman works for the owners. The owners want to make as much money as possible.

It's ridiculous, but it's how the system works.

Shouldn't the owners be more upset about the teams that operate in the red though? I know that if a big chunk of my paycheque went to someone who didn't perform as well as I do, I would be pretty pissed.

[TGWL]

TORONTO -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said a "wide gap" remains in labor talks between the league and the NHL Players' Association in issuing his first public comments Wednesday, a day after the union presented its offer.

While Bettman said he can understand the proposal the NHLPA made, he cautioned that the two sides see the world differently. He added that he's also "disappointed" that the union failed to provide what he called a full proposal at this late stage in negotiations.

"It takes two sides to make a deal, two sides to negotiate and two sides to make it go bad," Bettman said.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15, and the NHL already has warned that it will lock out its players if a new deal is not reached by then. The NHL regular season is set to open Oct. 11.

Bettman's response to the NHLPA's proposal is regarded as a setback in talks, and further raises fears the NHL could be headed for its fourth labor dispute in 20 years. That includes the 2004-05 season, wiped out entirely by a lockout.

Though talks are set to continue at the union's headquarters in Toronto this week, Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr aren't scheduled to sit down at the bargaining table together until next week.

The union's offer stood in stark contrast to what the NHL made in its initial proposal a month earlier.

The NHLPA proposed a deal in which players would give up as much as $465 million in revenue if the league's overall revenue continues to grow at an average rate over the first three years of the deal. Fehr indicated that number could balloon to $800 million if the league grows at the same rate it has over the past two seasons.

Players then would have the option in the fourth year to revert to the current system, in which they receive between 54 and 57 percent of league revenues.

The union also proposed that the NHL commit money to a revenue-sharing system to help struggling teams.

Fehr described the players' offer as one that could stabilize the industry.

The union also argued that its ability to present a proposal was delayed because the NHL was late in providing the economic information the NHLPA had requested. And when that information was finally received, the union was put in a position to pore over more than 76,000 pieces of paper.

The NHL's initial proposal placed much of the burden on its players. The league is seeking a 24 percent cut in revenue and introducing severe limits to free agency. That includes players waiting 10 years to be eligible to become unrestricted free agents, as opposed to seven in the current deal, and eliminating players' rights to salary arbitration.

[Guest mr. potato head]

The owners are used to getting whatever they want in the end and suffering no penalty for whatever they do to get them there. If Fehr's as effective as he was with the MLBPA, he'll eat the owners for dinner here.

[Plubby]

The players are testing my patience here. I am closer to their side than last time (when they were flagrantly wrong) but they've hung their hat on a lot of the revenue sharing elements of their proposal (which is a really good idea, don't get me wrong) but they've used it as a smokescreen to hide that they're doing NOTHING (at least all the literature i've read suggests they're doing nothing) about the issues with free agency.

[Guest mr. potato head]

The players are testing my patience here. I am closer to their side than last time (when they were flagrantly wrong) but they've hung their hat on a lot of the revenue sharing elements of their proposal (which is a really good idea, don't get me wrong) but they've used it as a smokescreen to hide that they're doing NOTHING (at least all the literature i've read suggests they're doing nothing) about the issues with free agency.

And why should they? It's not the players' responsibility to say "don't give us so much money", it's the owners' responsibility to not give them the money. If the owners are worried about other teams doing that, they shouldn't have let those other teams in.

[Plubby]

We hashed this out before, you were wrong then and you're still wrong now. The issue is with term and front-loaded contracts - not stupid amounts of money. I do not believe and have not stated that teams should not be handing out Gomez or Boogaard ( ) contracts in terms of dollars. In fact I have been consistent in my stance that a players' contract worth shouldn't directly correlate to their performance or even their projected performance - desirability of location and other factors mean that teams may have to overpay to get players.

They claimed their proposal is about stabilizing teams. It isn't. The haves can dish out the money and the have-nots can't. Not addressing term or front-loading contracts maintains the status quo and reduces the overall amount of money in the pool. The league has a finite number of jobs, and with the salary cap a finite total amount of money that the players can access. The current system means that at least a half-dozen teams each year are never going to spend to the cap, which reduces the total money in the pool.

The increased revenue sharing will allow more teams to spend beyond their means, but I think you have to deal with term lengths and front-loaded contracts or players are going to continue to choose not to go these have-not teams because they can front-load to the high heavens. Which means that revenue sharing becomes a bandaid over the symptoms and not healing the underlying problem.

[Guest mr. potato head]

I'm not saying I love everything about the NHLPA's proposal. I don't even know enough about it to have much of an opinion. I am saying that in 2004 we were told by the owners that a lockout was necessary for the good of the game. Since then, there haven't been many signs of a game in trouble, and now the owners are asking for another 24 per cent rollback in salaries, which is indicative that they simply want more money and think they can get away with it. If the owners' proposal was actually about fixing the game, surely they'd have sent out warning signals of the game being in trouble?

And I agree, "money" was a dumb word for me to use there. I can see the argument for front-loaded contracts being a problem. I don't agree with it, but I can see it. But cutting contract term limits doesn't seem like the right answer at all. I can't even understand why the owners suggested it, given two successive five-year contracts will almost always cost more than one ten-year contract.

[Plubby]

I'm not saying I love everything about the NHLPA's proposal. I don't even know enough about it to have much of an opinion. I am saying that in 2004 we were told by the owners that a lockout was necessary for the good of the game. Since then, there haven't been many signs of a game in trouble, and now the owners are asking for another 24 per cent rollback in salaries, which is indicative that they simply want more money and think they can get away with it. If the owners' proposal was actually about fixing the game, surely they'd have sent out warning signals of the game being in trouble?

And I agree, "money" was a dumb word for me to use there. I can see the argument for front-loaded contracts being a problem. I don't agree with it, but I can see it. But cutting contract term limits doesn't seem like the right answer at all. I can't even understand why the owners suggested it, given two successive five-year contracts will almost always cost more than one ten-year contract.

In terms of the 24% rollback - Don't get me wrong, the owners' proposal was a total farce. I wasn't comparing the NHLPA's proposal to the league's and saying that the PA’s is rubbish – I just think it isn’t where we need to be.

If anything I think the league's proposal was an attempt to get the NHLPA to put something down so they could actually start bargaining and negotiating rather than endlessly discussing the ideologies and philosophies of what the CBA *should* look like. And I just found this piece on Puck Daddy which covers the same ground in terms of the point of the league’s proposal.

[Guest Owned by Quickquid]

You know we've entered an odd age when involving Georges Laraque in your crazy endeavor makes it seem even less credible.

[EndOfAnEra]

http://m.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/1245549--taylor-hall-signs-7-year-42-million-extension-with-edmonton-oilers

Taylor Hall signed with the Oilers at $42M for 7 years.

[Ruki]

One of my three fantasy leagues just re-newed. Yay! ^_^

I think we were allowed 8 keepers, and I selected: D. Sedin, Sharp, Zetterberg, Phaneuf, Edler, Carter, Backstrom (goalie) and Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

Also tempted to change my team names (Niemi At The Gates, Live Long And Prospal, and Vanek At The Disco). Anyone have some more hockey related puns?

Although, we might only be able to keep one goalie. Trying to confirm.

Come on guys, get that new CBA done!

[Cactus Drags]

Crosby, Staals and Nash.

Requires some clever drafting.

[Cactus Drags]

I am disappointed at the lack of response to that team name suggestion.

What course of action needs to be set into motion to get Bettman fired...preferably into space, and what can I do to help speed the plan along? I can't believe he's going to get away with a third work stoppage under his watch.

[SeanDMan]

Here's one thing you DON'T want to see hanging in the office of your new orthopedic surgeon... @wyshynski pic.twitter.com/MhGFtap1

— njad (@NJaD4)

August 31, 2012

[Ruki]

I am disappointed at the lack of response to that team name suggestion.

What course of action needs to be set into motion to get Bettman fired...preferably into space, and what can I do to help speed the plan along? I can't believe he's going to get away with a third work stoppage under his watch.

I didn't get it

https://twitter.com/...548570795339776

Bwahaha, amazing!

Also, thinking of starting a keeper fantasy league. Anyone interested?

[TGWL]

Both sides are being ridiculous right now. We'll pick up the phone when we have something to say. Give me a break!

[Cactus Drags]

Crosby, Stills and Nash was a late 70s supergroup, silly Ruki.

[Ruki]

See, I didn't know that

My new team is called Benn There Done That

Also, created a league. Because why not?

13 teams available.

18 player roster, (2C, 2RW, 2LW, 4D and 2G will play. Rest is bench). Keeper (1C, 1RW, 1LW, 1D, 1G).

PM me for the league link/password!

[TGWL]

I'm not fond of keeper leagues, other wise I'd probably play.

[Ruki]

Keeper leagues are the best!

This year (assuming it happens), will be my first year where I've had some keepers.