The biggest news of the offseason's CBA negotiations came when the Owners dropped the first proposal on the table roughly two weeks ago. If you can recall, the terms of that proposal consisted of 1) Reducing the players' revenue by 11% of what they're earning currently, 2) Unrestricted Free Agent eligibility must come after ten seasons rather than seven, 3) All standard player contracts (SPC) must be limited to a maximum of 5-years in length, 4) Elimination of arbitration, and 5) Entry Level contracts are to be five seasons in length rather than three.
Both parties (NHL & NHLPA) finished up Week 5 of negotiations last week, and are set to kickoff Week 6 today (Monday) in New York, NY.
Executive Director of the Players Association, Donald Fehr, has announced that he and the players would like to see the full fiscal details of the Owners' initial proposal before countering with one themselves.
''They've indicated that they're in the process of compiling it and will get it to us,'' Fehr said. ''In addition to looking hard at what they've given us and doing our own work, we're going to have to look at that additional information before we get to the stage of making a proposal of our own, making a counterproposal or doing something else.''
However, that didn't stop the negotiations from continuing on other matters last week.
Pension planning, training camp and ice conditions were the three biggest topics that the Union set proposals on.
''The Players Association made a couple of presentations, one on player pensions and the other on player health care and insurance,'' Gary Bettman said. ''Then, there was a pretty good discussion on playing conditions in a smaller group, having to do with things like training camp and ice conditions.''
Things seemed to be going well.
"Today was another good day," said former NHL defenceman, Mathieu Schneider. "I think we had a lot of good, open discussion and it was certainly one of the days where we had a lot of player involvement and to me that's the most important thing."
Schneider is Fehr's special assistant through this rollercoaster ride. When he added there's good player involvement, Mathieu meant exactly that.
Ken Campbell of The Hockey News posted that the biggest difference between the present bargaining sessions and those from the past is that more players are getting their hands dirty.
"[They] have been more vocal in the meetings than they have ever been before. And young players, such as Jonathan Toews and Jeff Skinner to name two, have been speaking up and making their association’s feelings known. Good for them. One of the things that has plagued the NHLPA almost since its inception, has been player apathy. The fact the young stars of the NHL seem so willing to stand up to their employers bodes well for the NHLPA’s present and future."
It really sounds like the players are taking a stand with this labor agreement. And like Ken mentioned, that certainly is a good thing. From rookies to veterans, I'm glad to see both sides enter these negotiations with passion, even if it's all driven by the almighty dollar.
But here's the catch; Fehr & Co. can walk around puffing out their chests all they want, but it's the League's Commissioner, Gary Bettman, who has the equivalent of the atomic bomb tucked up his sleeve and ready to drop should the negotiating come to a frustrating and season-threatening standstill.
Contraction.
Remember that word. Get acquainted with it. Invite it over for dinner. Let it date your sister.
Bettman may not be able to justify the need for a bigger share of revenues, term limits on contracts and increasing the age for unrestricted free agency with the fiscal insanity we’ve seen this summer, but he might be able to do so if he can convince the NHLPA that the Phoenix Coyotes will shut their doors if the league doesn’t get what it wants and the season doesn’t start on time. ~ THN
That's right, the Coyotes' financial nightmare --dealing with ownership and money loss-- has a lot more to do with the labor negotiations than you think. If the 'Yotes were to be suddenly liquidated and become a "Never Was" of the past, that would put 23-players out on the streets, unemployed, and looking to take up a roster spot for some other Club.
All of a sudden Bettman could make a good amount of players (Coyotes, or otherwise) fear for their jobs. As long as that enormous question-mark hangs over the vacant Phoenix Coyotes owner's chair (which something tells me it'll be there for quite awhile), the NHL has great leverage in this arm-wrestling match of the summer.
But this isn't news to the players or Donald Fehr. They know what they're up against which is why this whole matter is about gaining ground inch by inch (at least from the players perspective). Treading lightly on this minefield has become an art form.
Closing out Week 5, Bettman remains encouraged that a work stoppage will be avoided.
''We think that if everybody works hard,'' Gary said, ''we can get the job done in the appropriate time frame. I'm not going to place odds on it. I'm focused on making a deal, not on what might happen if we don't.''
So here's three things I'm hoping gets done during Week 6 --
- The NHL hands the NHLPA all the fiscal details of their initial proposal
- The NHL hands the NHLPA all the fiscal details of their initial proposal, and...
- The NHL hands the NHLPA all the fiscal details of their initial proposal
Right now, that's all that matters. Fehr made it known that the Players Association's counterproposal is dependent on these breakdowns, and with the month of August mooning us in the face....I don't believe we have the time to waste.
Check out The Pack on Facebook!
You can follow Michael DeNicola on Twitter: @MikeyD_OandBP
Send us your feedback to OrangeAndBlackPack@Gmail.com