February 16, 200521 yr Nice. Now ESPN and the local RSNs will scramble to their feet. A short season means NBC will only join for Saturday playoffs, ESPN2 will carry games on Thursdays, and the teams will likely have to come to an agreement on which games to air on their local radio and television networks. FSN should air every Panthers game unless the Marlins or Devil Rays conflict. WQAM should air every game unless the Marlins conflict.
February 16, 200521 yr Author TSN is reporting that the players have just accepted a cap, only minor details need to be worked out now. This is absolutely huge and we could be seeing NHL hockey in as little as two weeks. :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :thumbup :thumbup :thumbup 686464[/snapback] Crap 686466[/snapback] Exactly. 686766[/snapback]
February 16, 200521 yr Barry Melrose is reporting on ESPNEWS and SportsCenter that Bettman is expected to announce the beginning of a 36 game season tomorrow and give teams exactly two weeks to organize themselves and hold training camps. NHL HOCKEY IN TWO WEEKS! :thumbup 686759[/snapback] *dies* :notworthy STREAKING!
February 16, 200521 yr The NHL is just as enjoyable to many Americans as the NBA. That is why they are the basement 2 and the NFL and MLB lead the pack. NBA and NHL are equals and that is why they both suffer from similar ailments economically every so often.
February 16, 200521 yr Barry Melrose is reporting on ESPNEWS and SportsCenter that Bettman is expected to announce the beginning of a 36 game season tomorrow and give teams exactly two weeks to organize themselves and hold training camps. NHL HOCKEY IN TWO WEEKS! :thumbup 686759[/snapback] best part of the season being so short is that the Panthers could make the playoffs if they get remotely hot
February 16, 200521 yr Author Barry Melrose is reporting on ESPNEWS and SportsCenter that Bettman is expected to announce the beginning of a 36 game season tomorrow and give teams exactly two weeks to organize themselves and hold training camps. NHL HOCKEY IN TWO WEEKS! :thumbup 686759[/snapback] best part of the season being so short is that the Panthers could make the playoffs if they get remotely hot 686840[/snapback] Even so, the Panthers are still one of the best young teams in the league aside from Atlanta. THN and numerous others expect the Panthers to be cup contenders within a few seasons, I just hope J-Bo will pick up right where he left off and not play like he's been playing in San Antonio. I have a feeling that if a team outside of the usual suspects (Coloroda, Detroit, etc.) wins it, people will just look at it as sort of a fluke and not give them the respect they deserve, but then again the NHL playoffs are by far the toughest in all of pro sports so that will definitely help their cause. Every team is going to have a chance.
February 16, 200521 yr best part of the season being so short is that the Panthers could make the playoffs if they get remotely hot 686840[/snapback] Go Panthers!
February 16, 200521 yr Author Some high profile players like Forsberg signed 1-year contracts with european clubs without lockout clauses, so they won't be coming back for the shortened season :thumbup . Anyone know what the story with Jokinen is?
February 16, 200521 yr Author The owners will have Bettman's head if this settlement falls apart over $2.5 million, you can hear John McCaw's teeth grinding all the way from Seattle. This feels like the Delgado thread, kind of .
February 16, 200521 yr Some high profile players like Forsberg signed 1-year contracts with european clubs without lockout clauses, so they won't be coming back for the shortened season :thumbup . Anyone know what the story with Jokinen is? 686856[/snapback] Jokinen is playing in Switzerland if I remember correctly. I also think he has a lockout clause. I know many Panthers players are in the states still because they are all at San Antonio or they are playing in England like Cairns is, and Finland and Sweden, and the like.
February 16, 200521 yr The owners will have Bettman's head if this settlement falls apart over $2.5 million, you can hear John McCaw's teeth grinding all the way from Seattle. This feels like the Delgado thread, kind of . 686898[/snapback] Sure as hell does for us hockey fans!
February 16, 200521 yr The NHL is just as enjoyable to many Americans as the NBA. That is why they are the basement 2 and the NFL and MLB lead the pack. NBA and NHL are equals and that is why they both suffer from similar ailments economically every so often. 686800[/snapback] Both sports also have negative stereotypes surrounding them. NBA: -black thugs who will mug you NHL: -Canadians beating up Russians
February 16, 200521 yr best part of the season being so short is that the Panthers could make the playoffs if they get remotely hot 686840[/snapback] Go Panthers! 686847[/snapback] Admin, my friend--you are an enigma... The Marlins, I can understand (with a bit of confusion) The Heat, I can understand (only because the Knicks suck) The Dolphins, I can understand (because the Jets fans are a-holes) The Panthers, I can understand.....wait, I CAN'T!
February 16, 200521 yr ESPNEWS says the NHLPA rejects the NHL's final offer. 686936[/snapback] :lol I knew that was gonna happen, there was too big a difference between the 2 sides.
February 16, 200521 yr ESPNEWS says the NHLPA rejects the NHL's final offer. 686936[/snapback] :lol I knew that was gonna happen, there was too big a difference between the 2 sides. 686941[/snapback] Not true, they made a counteroffer. Its down to 49 million to 43 million, this can get done! Associated Press NEW YORK -- The players' association countered the NHL's final offer just hours before the season was set to be canceled, proposing a $49 million salary cap on Tuesday night. Read the letter For the complete text of the letter sent Tuesday by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to NHL Players' Association executive director Bob Goodenow, click here. The NHL had made a take-it-or-leave-it pitch to the union earlier in the day. On Monday, the players' association said for the first time it would accept a salary cap once the NHL dropped its demand that league revenues be linked to player costs. This offer lowered its cap proposal from $52 million. "We wish that the NHL had offered a 'no linkage' proposal before yesterday so that negotiations in that arena could have commenced sooner," players' association executive director Bob Goodenow said in a letter to commissioner Gary Bettman. "However, we recognize that they did not and we agree that time is short." The league had bumped its salary-cap offer from $40 million to $42.5 million and gave the union until 11 a.m. Wednesday to accept. Bettman said if the offer was rejected, the season would be canceled two hours later, according to a letter he sent to Goodenow. In his letter, Bettman said there was no time or flexibility for bargaining. "This offer is not an invitation to begin negotiations -- it's too late for that," Bettman said. "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." Teams would still be allowed to spend up to 10 percent above the threshold, but they would only be able to do it twice during the six years of the deal and would be subject to an escalating luxury tax on anything above $40 million. The original offer permitted teams to go over the threshold three times. The union's offer would also require the 30 teams to have a minimum payroll of $25 million, but clubs would be allowed to drop no more than 10 percent below the total twice during the deal. While Monday's talks were still ongoing, Bettman scheduled a Wednesday news conference with the intention of announcing there wouldn't be any hockey until at least next fall. "Hopefully, the press conference will not be necessary," Bettman said in the letter. Some players stated Tuesday they were surprised that the union accepted a salary cap this late in the game. "We probably could've gotten this thing done in the summertime," Chicago forward Matthew Barnaby said. "Am I mad? No. I want to get back to work. But at the same time, I'm just a little disappointed that it went this far to play poker and to have someone call your bluff." Daly met one-on-one with Saskin in Niagara Falls, N.Y., on Monday and presented an offer that removed the owners' desired link between league revenues and player costs. The players' association refused to agree to that kind of tie-in since the union doesn't trust what the league claims as its revenue total. Once the NHL dropped that requirement, the players came off their refusal of a salary cap. "Obviously, the two sides have moved off of things they never said they'd move," free agent defenseman James Patrick said. "It would be a shame if you don't bridge the gap or come to some compromise. Even though both sides rejected each other, it puts us in the ballpark I think." The source added that the NHL's proposal on Monday was for a hard cap at $40 million with a 50 percent tax penalty for teams that spend between $34 million to $40 million. Now the sides are faced with a hard deadline to make a deal and salvage a season that was already going to be cut down from 82 games per team to 28. A central component to all offers is a 24 percent rollback on existing contracts that was first presented by the players' association in its Dec. 9 framework. On the adjusted scale, only eight of the 30 teams would have finished last season above $40 million. The average team payroll was $33.95 million, with the rollback factored in. Without the rollback, the Detroit Red Wings had the highest payroll at the end of last season with $82.9 million; Pittsburgh was the lowest at $21.65 million. If a deal is not reached, the NHL would become the first major professional league in North America to lose an entire season because of a labor dispute. The Stanley Cup has been awarded every year since 1919, when a flu epidemic canceled the finals. As of Tuesday, the 153rd day of the lockout, 834 of the 1,230 regular-season games and the All-Star game already have been lost to a lockout that started Sept. 16. Bettman said the sides needed to start putting a deal on paper by last weekend if the NHL was going to hold a 28-game, intra-conference schedule and a full 16-team playoff. "I know, as do you, that the 'deal' we can make will only get worse for the players if we cancel the season," Bettman said in the letter. "Whatever damage we have suffered to date will pale in comparison to the damage from a canceled 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." Bettman said teams needed to have cost certainty to survive and the only way he could guarantee that was with a salary cap that linked league revenues to player costs. Now that position has changed for the first time since the NHL started gearing up for the lockout in 1998. The league has said teams lost $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season, and an economic study commissioned by the NHL found that players get 75 percent of league revenues. The union has challenged those figures. A cap had been an automatic deal-breaker for the union even though it agreed the financial landscape was flawed. The players' association contended there are many other ways to fix it.
February 16, 200521 yr ESPNEWS says the NHLPA rejects the NHL's final offer. 686936[/snapback] :lol I knew that was gonna happen, there was too big a difference between the 2 sides. 686941[/snapback] Not true, they made a counteroffer. Its down to 49 million to 43 million, this can get done! 686969[/snapback] Not until the whole season is canceled...
February 16, 200521 yr ESPNEWS says the NHLPA rejects the NHL's final offer. 686936[/snapback] :lol I knew that was gonna happen, there was too big a difference between the 2 sides. 686941[/snapback] Not true, they made a counteroffer. Its down to 49 million to 43 million, this can get done! 686969[/snapback] Not until the whole season is canceled... 686971[/snapback] I'd love to have the season, but at this point all I want is for sure my hockey next year.
February 16, 200521 yr Author best part of the season being so short is that the Panthers could make the playoffs if they get remotely hot 686840[/snapback] Go Panthers! 686847[/snapback] Admin, my friend--you are an enigma... The Marlins, I can understand (with a bit of confusion) The Heat, I can understand (only because the Knicks suck) The Dolphins, I can understand (because the Jets fans are a-holes) The Panthers, I can understand.....wait, I CAN'T! 686928[/snapback] What's wrong with Admin being a Panthers fan?
February 16, 200521 yr Goodenow's reply to Gary Bettmen: Dear Gary, Yesterday afternoon, Bill Daly presented us with an offer from the League that, for the first time, was not linked to League-wide revenues. We appreciated your willingness to adjust your position and we worked to respond in kind. By evening, we had fashioned and reached out to you with an offer from the PA that included, for the first time, a team maximum cap. This offer built upon the 24% rollback and other changes in favour of clubs, which were presented by the Players on December 9, 2004. As you know, and as Ted told Bill, our offer of a team cap represented a radical step for the PA. We took this step because we too believe that our sport will be damaged greatly by the cancellation of this season and the continuation of the lockout through next season. We wish that the NHL had offered a no linkage proposal before yesterday so that negotiations in that arena could have commenced sooner. However, we recognize that they did not and we agree that time is short. In that spirit, and in a final attempt to reach an agreement, we are adjusting our offer of yesterday in two respects. First, we are reducing the maximum individual team cap to $49 million in salary, which does not include the $2.2 million per team in benefits due. Second, we will adjust our exception provision so that it is available to teams only twice during the six year term and for up to only 10% over the limit of $49 million (to $53.9 million), at the tax rate of 150%. The exception provision is important so that a successful team does not have to arbitrarily dismantle its roster after it has achieved particular success or is in a unique phase of its player roster cycle. I have attached a short summary of the main deal points discussed by Bill and Ted yesterday, as modified above. I can be reached at the usual phone numbers. Regards, Robert W. Goodenow Executive Director & General Counsel NEW CBA DEAL POINTS 1. Term - 6 full seasons (through 9-15-11). 2. CBA System Incorporation of NHLPA December 9, 2004 proposal into the recently expired CBA, with indexing of financial provisions (per diems, etc.) at 2% per year, with the following additional changes requested by the NHL yesterday: (a) Increased salary arbitration rights for Clubs -- to be agreed upon. Salary arbitration available after Player leaves Entry Level System. (b) Cap on Exhibit 5 Individual B Performance Bonuses -- to be agreed upon. © Replace NHLPA Revenue Sharing Plan with NHL Revenue Sharing Plan to share at least $88M in each year of the Agreement. Clubs may credit any payroll taxes paid against their revenue sharing contribution. 3. Team Payroll Limit - $49M in salary and bonuses 4. Minimum Team Payroll - $25M (each team can fall no more than 10% below only twice during term). 5. Minimum Player Salary - $300K (as per NHL Proposal) 6. Payroll Taxes - $40M - $43M (25%) $43M - $46M (50%) $46M - $49M (75%) $49M - $53.9M (150%) only twice per team during 6 year term 7. Indexing of Tax Rates and Payroll Minimums & Maximums All dollar amounts would be in place for 2004-05 (pro-rated) and 2005-06. Dollar levels for tax rates, payroll minimums & maximums for subsequent years either constant or increased by % change in greater of either hockey related revenues or only the gate receipts and broadcasting segments of hockey related revenues from the 2005-06 base year. 8. 2005 Playoffs 55% of playoff revenues to be paid to Players for the 2005 playoffs.
February 16, 200521 yr Author Very good, in a matter of hours the threshold decreased by $5.5 million, the PA gave up $3 million and the owners went up $2.5 million. One more minor concession of $1-2 million by either side should get this thing done by the morning.
February 16, 200521 yr NHLPA rejected it, so much for jumping the gun and saying there will be a season
February 16, 200521 yr Author So is there going ot be a season or not 686989[/snapback] All indications point to yes, but we won't know for sure until tomorrow morning at 11am.
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