Official NHL 2012 Off-Season & Lockout Thread

[nino33]

Yeah, the players hitherto got 57%... owners wanted to reduce that, the NHLPA offered to drop back to 49%, and the owners' response was "40%" and to say that the NHLPA isn't making any meaningful effort to work out a deal.

I really haven't heard or seen anything indicating the players are willing to drop down to 49% or anything indicating the owners want 60%


The screenshots below are taken from a September 13th Globe & Mail article (and it's all based on a 7.1% growth in revenue)






P.S. Apparently NFL players reduced their % of revenue from 50 to 47, and the NBA players agreed to reduce their % of revenue from 57 to 49-51

[Manimal]

Douglas Murray is also returning to his home-town team, Djurgården. He hasn't played there since he was 16 years old.
To make things even better, his grandfather, Lasse Björn, was a real icon in Swedish hockey and played for the same team.
We Djurgården-fans have been dreaming of Murray playing for some time now.
I do believe all Swedish players will play for free but their insurance is costly enough

[batdad]

THese guys just need to get it over with and go 50-50. That is what they are both willing to accept. Get it done.

[XenHL]

THese guys just need to get it over with and go 50-50. That is what they are both willing to accept. Get it done.

The owners won't accept that... their initial offer was an immediate 27% cut to the players' share - that is, from 57% to 30%! The players offered to drop to 49%, but Bettman said that that's not a "meaningful" offer...

http://www.canada.com/NHLPA+tables+offe ... story.html

[nino33]

their initial offer was an immediate 27% cut to the players' share - that is, from 57% to 30%!

The same site says (http://www.canada.com/sports/Commission ... story.html) that on July 13th the League's opening offer was a reduction from 57% to 46%, and the NHLPA claimed it was really a reduction to 43%...it wasn't until a month later the players responded with their first offer (where they essentially told the money making teams to pay for the money losing teams, and they wanted an increasing salary cap seperate from revenues for three years, and in year four the players could revert back to recieving 57% if they wanted!)...then on August 29th the League offers 51.6%/50.5% and the players turned it down!...then on September 12th each side made the proposals noted in the screenshots above

While I can't say I actually recall any of these details (I haven't really been following it), I don't see anything indicating the owners offered the players only 30%

[nino33]

As you may know, there have been talks of building a new arena here in Edmonton soon (the current lease in a very old arena expires in a couple years), and I've posted a few times noting the Oiler's ownership sure seems to want a sweet deal paid for by taxpayers...the Oilers owner was seen this past Monday watching the NFL Seahawks in Seattle and looking like he was trying to plant the idea that if he didn't get his way he'd move the Oilers! - and a lot of anger or apathy at owner Katz's actions have followed (the news reported lots of "of course a new arena would be nice, but if not regular development/life still continues!")...the public response has resulted in him actually apologizing! (http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/h ... story.html)...he still wants lots of taxpayer money!...but I never thought I’d see an apology of any sort!

Maybe the strongest hope for an end to the labour dispute is both sides realize the damage that will be done if they continue to take the fans for granted!

[philou21]

Hasek is officially retired now, at 47 years old. Never really liked his attitude but I can't deny how much he was dominant.

[archibalduk]

A neat little update on how the NHLers are doing abroad: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl-lock ... /?site=www

[philou21]

There it is! The 50-50 offer that Stinson was talking about.

[B. Stinson]

There it is! The 50-50 offer that Stinson was talking about.

I'm not sure why they wasted their time with anything else. You have one lump of money, and two sides who want that money. So just split it 50/50, and neither side can possibly complain

[batdad]

I love that the media is saying the NHL is great for doing this. I mean anyone could have told you 50-50 is where it should end up....I mean if Stinson can tell us....

[B. Stinson]

...I mean if Stinson can tell us....

Well, you know, I did spend a few years as a partially-active-but-then-tended-to-get-kind-of-bored fantasy hockey league commissioner, so...

[philou21]

Hahaha

[nino33]

I guess I'm just not as convinced that this 50-50 idea is the great solution...my understanding is the NHLPA wants revenue sharing to occur too, and I'm just not convinced that the top 10 teams will be willing to pay forever just to keep the bottom 10 teams in the League + with the 50-50 solution the players will lose money (because they used to get 57%)...based on last year's numbers it's apparently at least 231 million dollars, and haven't the players been adamant that they will NOT lose any money in this? Every player offer/comment about their cutting back involved them losing no money because the cutting was to be offset by increased revenue


I have to admit I’ve been hoping they'd lose the whole year, just because I think that's the only thing that might see a bunch of money losing clubs fold...IMO reduced NHL teams would be a significant positive/improvement

[batdad]

You will note I never said it was the total solution. Clearly revenues need to be 50-50 between union and players. But revenues between teams should be 1/30th for each team. The owners need to get it figured out that in order to be a healthy competitive league on the ice....they need to work together. Not to screw each other, and not to collude. But to keep the league financially viable in all markets.

Now...that being said....some markets need to go. The Rags, Wings, Leafs, Habs, Nucks, Flyers should not have to give up say 20 million each to teams like the Panthers, Lightning, Ducks, and say Stars and possibly Avalanche (unless they get things together)....not to mention Charles Wang or Lou Lamarello's boys.....they should have to maybe give up some to small markets that do well...say Winterpeg, Minnesota, Buffalo and perhaps even Carolina "like" places. THe big clubs that are successful in big markets should have to share with the successful clubs in small markets. NOT help lame ducks like those above and of course the Desert Yotes.

Please don't quibble over each team I name.....just making a standard point.

The reason the owners do not want to share the loot? Because they are constantly propping up markets that have no interest in hockey. If they were only propping up the smaller successful markets to make those teams be able to compete even more with them......the owners would be much more likely to share.

However....it is the idiots in the idiot non hockey small markets that are freaking running the Buttman show. So the healthier orgs in big markets won't give up the dough.

Buttman needs 8 owners to take a hard line and do whatever he wants. As long as he has eight....the other 22 could hate everything he is doing and those 22 could do nothing about it. The 8 who love Buttman? Boston, Anaheim, New Jersey, Chicago, Florida, Nashville, Phoenix, Philadelphia.

WHy Philly? Well....because Snider wants to be the only one who can pay players and win. And guess what? It does not work. CLearly.
Why Boston and Chicago? Cheap ass owners.
Why the other 5? Well look at them and you tell me. Nashville is the only one with a hope right now.

[batdad]

No more burying guys in the minors, max 5 year deals, cap hits count, entry level 2 years,UFA after 8 years, transferring cap allocations in trades, big cap hits count in spite of the gradual decline in salary over years, etc etc.

All great things for the NHL to make sure its owners don't screw up. Yet they will. I can see some teams trading for massive cap space so they can sign everyone to 5 year super deals.

But more to the point of where we are at....NHLPA will say no to this. Too many things that can be perceived as limits on their salaries. So no start Nov 2

[philou21]

Exactly.

[McQwak]

[archibalduk]

Haha!

Have you seen that ESPN are running a week-by-week simulation of the NHL using NHL 13 (link)? It's not very realistic, though - the Habs are top of the Eastern Conference!

[philou21]

My friend posted that on his FB maybe two weeks ago. I thought it was a good idea even if I don't follow it. Maybe the Habs have done some trades?


Edit: Just saw they were 8-0-0. Seems like Price is on fire haha

[Manimal]

Maybe those guys at WebSim Hockey are homers

[archibalduk]

Maybe those guys at WebSim Hockey are homers

It's EA Sports who have the sim with Montreal at the top.

WebSim Hockey's is a little more realistic in terms of the Habs' performance (3-2-1): http://websimhockey.com/lockout - although not many games have been played yet and so the standings aren't very reliable yet.

[batdad]

sims are all we are going to get for 2012-13. Even Cory Schneider who was dead set against going to Europe to play...is now thinking about it and looking for work. Note that he is one of the players on the negotiating committee. Season is done. Guys won't be talking for quite awhile.

[archibalduk]

It'll be interesting to see what any future NHL looks like given the WHA... erm I mean the KHL... over in Russia. It's a very high level of skill over there - and the salaries are good too. Surely it must be tempting for locked-out players to stay there for good...

[batdad]

Not for anyone not from Russia or maybe finland, sweden, czech.

The north american players do not want to be there for any length of time. They feel the same way (in general, not ALL) about Russia's culture and living adjustments etc as the what's his name? that third line guy Kostytsin said about playing here. Not the same, not right, want to be home.

So the KHL may become the top Euro league (already is) and NHL or something else should the unthinkable happen and the NHL falls apart....would be the top North American league. Just not ever going to see the NA guys go over (especially Canada) because they will always have top end N American talent to play in a top league with.