***Official*** NHL Lockout news thread ***Confirmed***

[SaigonK]

Also, I dont believe Crosby will go number one..call me crazy but he isnt the great all around player they make him out to be.
Also, the anti-trust and labor law angle is crap...if the company I work for decides that they want to lose my facility then I am sh*t out of luck, why should some pro athelete get to pound sand up the courts ass to get his/her way so they can make their $1mil this week, tell them to get a real job like everyone else.

if Crosby's people sue based on labor and anti-trust laws, then you can expect the NHL to hurt even more in the fans eyes, it would be the biggest pile of dung since Latell Spreewell and the NBA went at it and they had to give that asshat his job back even after he punched and choked his manager (boss) out during practice.

He complained that the team and the NBA were taking away his right to work, etc. etc. If I choked out my boss at owrk, you can be sure that no court would care about me having to work at Mickey D's instead of in IT.

 

[Aquaman]

Report: NHLPA scoring system revealed

TSN.ca Staff with Star-Tribune Files
11/8/2004

Hockey fans love keeping statistics during the NHL season, but it appears that the NHL Players' Association likes keeping numbers of a different sort.

The Minnesota Star-Tribune has uncovered a computer system called NHLPA SCORE, a program designed for player agents to streamline data, exploit its legal rights and outduel the league and its team in salary negotiations.

The Tribune, with help from an anonymous player agent, was given a detailed tour of the program.

The main feature of the SCORE system is an E-File. According to the Star-Tribune, any agent can click on the E-File go to a home page for each of the players he represents. The home page features nine options, which include Player Profile, Marketplace Cluster and Searches.

Player Profile is a form that each agent must fill out for each of his clients during the season. The paper says the agent must explain his client's free agent status, the player's potential arguments in upcoming contract negotiations, his team's potential arguments; an analysis of his previous contract; his stats; an analysis of his place in the marketplace; and a recommendation of how much the player should make.

The NHLPA would then use this information to group players in a pool known as the Marketplace Cluster. Any qualifying offers made to players by general managers are posted here, as well as any additional club offers. That way, each agent would know where the market stands as he negotiates for his client.

The Searches aspect of the program lets an agent compare his client's statistics to those of comparable players and their salaries.

When a deal is completed for a player between the agent and the team, it becomes available on the SCORE system for any other agent to read.

The paper also added that the program allows the NHLPA to watch its agents. The program allots two full hours of viewing time for an agent, and the agent must ask for more time from the Players' Association when it runs out.

NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly told the paper that the league has used the same sort technology for a decade, but general managers are under no obligation to share information.

"It's an information-sharing network on restricted free agents," Daly told the Star Tribune. "We give tools and ultimately the clubs all act independently." Daly added that the NHL does not "group players on the contract tracking database....posting similar players, we don't do that."

The union is "faster than us," said Minnesota Will assistant GM Tom Lynn. "They're better at it. Teams are competing. They're less likely to share offers."

Daly also told the paper that the NHLPA groups free agents with arbitration rights into "three buckets: guys they want in salary arbitration, guys who are better to negotiate and guys in a third bucket in terms of withholding (services)," meaning the NHLPA chooses who goes to arbitration, who doesn't and who holds out.

Any hint of teams sharing such information could spark accusations of collusion, but not in the legal sense.

"A league management can exchange information about players," Minneapolis attorney Clark Griffith told the Star-Tribune. "It doesn't rise to the level of a crime until two or more teams agree" to act together to not sign someone or to price set.

Nevertheless, it did not stop the Players' Association from filing a grievance six years ago saying that the NHL could not share data and offers.

"We had one hearing before an arbitrator," Daly explained to the paper. "They couldn't articulate how it violated the CBA. They essentially withdrew the grievance. It went away."

Attempts by the Star-Tribune to interview NHLPA Exceutive Director Bob Goodenow were turned down. Public relations chief Jonathan Weatherdon accused the newspaper of "hacking" into the union's system.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHL general managers to meet with Bettman

Canadian Press
11/19/2004

NEW YORK (CP) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman plans to meet with the league's 30 general managers in New York on Dec. 2 to discuss the NHL lockout.

The dinner meeting will serve as an informal update on bargaining. The NHL Players' Association met with over 60 agents Wednesday in Chicago to update them on the lockout.

The lockout is in its ninth week and as of Friday, 246 games have not been played. The league and the players' association haven't held talks since Sept. 9.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Report: NHL agent loses certification

TSN.ca Staff
11/19/2004

According to a report in the Ottawa Sun, an NHL agent has lost his certification for leaking information about a players' association website to a reporter from a Minnesota newspaper.

The Sun reports that NHLPA union head Bob Goodenow informed the agent, who could not be identified, on Wednesday that he broke the union's confidentiality rules and would no longer be able to negotiate player contracts.

The agent gave a Minniapolis Star-Tribune reporter an extensive tour of the union's website and a computer system called NHLPA SCORE, a program designed for player agents to streamline data, exploit its legal rights and outduel the league and its team in salary negotiations.

The Star-Tribune reports that the program allows the NHLPA to watch its agents. The program allots two full hours of viewing time for an agent, and the agent must ask for more time from the Players' Association when it runs out.
system revealed

According to the Ottawa Sun, the NHLPA was able to trace the agent's activity on-line and track down who accessed the information.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHL agent McBride loses certification

TSN.ca Staff
11/19/2004

Bryant McBride, a Boston-based agent and marketing rep, is the player representantive who has been de-certified by the NHLPA, TSN has learned.

NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow told agents attending an association meeting this week in Chicago that an unnamed agent had been decertified for leaking information from the NHLPA's secure website to a newspaper reporter in Minneapolis. While the NHLPA has not released the name of the individual, McBride's name has been removed from the NHLPA's list of certified agents. Multiple sources have confirmed that Goodenow met with McBride on Tuesday night in Chicago and hand delivered to him written notification that he was being de-certified as an NHLPA agent and was not welcome to attend the meeting of agents on Wednesday.

When contacted by TSN on Friday afternoon, McBride acknowledged the de-certification, but said there is much more to the story than meets the eye.

"It has come to my attention that over the past month an ex-employee (of mine) shared confidential NHLPA information with a member of the media," McBride told TSN. "I understand and respect the NHLPA's position on this matter and we are working closely with the NHLPA to resolve the matter quickly."

Sources say while the NHLPA has proof that the leak came from McBride's office, those who know McBride say it wasn't him and he will be working to clear his own name and attempt to regain his certification.

McBride is a 39-year-old native of Chicago who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. He attended both West Point and Harvard and worked for almost eight years as an NHL vice president of business development, who started up the NHL's diversity task force.

In addition to Jason Allison, McBride's other NHL clients include netminder Byron Dafoe, forward Doug Doull and defenceman Garnett Exelby, as well as several minor league players. McBride is not particularly active in the agent business -- he doesn't recruit clients and only got started in the business when Allison asked him to be a representative -- but does most of his work in his Boston-based office for major corporate clients.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHL GMs to meet with Bettman

Canadian Press
11/19/2004

NEW YORK (CP) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman plans to meet with the league's 30 general managers in New York on Dec. 2 to discuss the NHL lockout.

The dinner meeting will serve as an informal update on bargaining. The NHL Players' Association met with over 60 agents Wednesday in Chicago to update them on the lockout.

The lockout is in its ninth week and as of Friday, 246 games have not been played. The league and the players' association haven't held talks since Sept. 9

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Lowe to resign if things don't change

TSN.ca Staff
11/22/2004

If a new economic system is not put in place in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers could lose their general manager.

Kevin Lowe was quoted in Sunday's Edmonton Journal saying he would resign if the NHL's current economic system does not change.

''I would not do this job for another four years under what I just went through the last four years,'' Lowe told the Journal. ''It was too difficult, too difficult emotionally, spiritually, psychologically.''

Perhaps no NHL team has been as affected by the economics of the league as the Oilers. The Oilers have dealt away many of their top players near the end of their contacts because they would not be able to afford their contract demands. In recent years, Edmonton has shipped key players like Curtis Joseph, Doug Weight, Bill Guerin and Anson Carter away for financial concerns.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Hull speaks out on NHL lockout

TSN.ca Staff
11/23/2004

Brett Hull says he doesn't think there will be NHL hockey played this season unless both sides are willing to compromise, which he doesn't see happening until an entire season has been lost.

"I really don't (think there will be a 2004-05 season)," Hull tells the Arizona Republic in an exclusive interview.

"What is it that's going to make the two sides come together? I think it's going to be a missed season, and then in the off-season they're going to say, 'This can't happen again.'"

Hull, who needs 61 goals to move into second place on the all-time list, says he's a little surprised by the lack of any formal talks.

"I expected it but ... I'm more perturbed at the fact that whether it's one side or the other, they don't seem to really care whether (a deal) gets done or not."

"Once you start talking, anything can happen. But if you're not talking, nothing's going to happen."

Hull says he would like to see both sides take a realistic look at their positions.

"As far as I'm concerned, the players, I think, have to become a little more realistic about what is fair-market value for themselves," Hull tells the newspaper. "But I would also tell (NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow) to stand firm. . . I think they (union leaders) are doing a good job.

"I don't think (the owners) are ever going to get a salary cap from us, but if (NHL commissioner Gary Bettman) ever wanted to, I don't think the number he's starting at is very good."

Hull also took issue with the fact the NHL is losing fans as a result of the lockout, saying the problems go much deeper than that.

"I think the fans lost interest starting 10 years ago when Gary Bettman came in, and I think everyone who has watched the game has seen the game decline, not only in popularity, but the actual game itself has declined in skill and excitement and fan entertainment value."

"Something's got to be done. I think there's no question that the fans are going to lose interest, because the game that's not being played right now wasn't that exciting to begin with. And unless changes are made at the top of the heap as far as marketing goes, as far as people in charge of running the game (and) making it more exciting, changing the rules, whatever it takes to make the game more exciting for the fans, it's going to keep steadily declining."

"We don't have a TV contract because it's 'a bad game.' It's a fantastic game and a great game to watch, but something has happened along the way that has made it very undesirable for TV to want to pick up the NHL, and I think it's because of the level of play, the diluted talent and poor marketing."

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Mayfriday0529]

I miss the NHL, please bring it back.

 

[Aquaman]

Wings' Legace believes season is off

TSN.ca Staff
11/24/2004

If there is a 2004-05 NHL season, it will be a surprise to Red Wings Goalie Manny Legace.

The Wings' representative for the NHL Players Association told the Detroit News that he will be heading to Eurpoe when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman eventually cancels the season.

"There's not going to be any hockey," Legace told the paper. "It's a joke. The league doesn't want to negotiate. It doesn't look as if we're going to have a season."

"We've given them (the owners) offers, they've said no and they haven't come back (with any counteroffers). All he (Bettman) talks about is salary cap, salary cap. He does not want to negotiate."

Legace reinterated the NHLPA won't accept a salary cap. He also told the paper that he felt fans wouldn't welcome replacement players.

"Fans aren't going to pay to watch the Grand Rapids Griffins and (Chicago) Wolves (of the American Hockey League) play in NHL uniforms."

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHLPA to start lockout pay

Canadian Press
11/24/2004

TORONTO (CP) - The NHL Players' Association will pay out between $29 million and $44 million US in lockout pay this season.

The payments will start this month with more than 730 players getting $10,000 each for November and another $10,000 for December, The Canadian Press has learned.

Subsequent monthly payments will vary between $5,000 or $10,000. The NHLPA refused to detail the payment schedule but said the "initial" plan will cover the next 24 months.

Those numbers would work out to a minimum of $40,000 and maximum of $60,000 per player through April, although the maximum would likely not be reached.

That translates into a total of between $29.2 million and $43.8 million through April. Over 24 months, it would be a low of $94.9 million and a high of $175.2 million (from $130,000 to $240,000 per player).

The money comes from a pool saved up over the years from union dues and licensing fees, among other sources.

"As a result of the ongoing owners' lockout, the NHLPA executive committee has announced a player stipend plan which consists of an initial 24-month schedule and monthly payments for over 730 locked-out players," Ted Saskin, NHLPA senior director, said in a statement released to The Canadian Press. "Each locked-out NHLPA member receives the same monthly payments."

During normal operations, players only get paid during the regular season - 13 paycheques, two for each month and one for April since the schedule ends partway through.

The average salary of an NHL player was $1.8 million last season, which worked out to about $138,000 per paycheque. That translates into about $1.31 billion for the season - or about $1.1 billion from November on.

Players have missed three paycheques to date.

Using the average salary, an NHL player would normally make about $277,000 per month during the regular season. Lockout pay of $10,000 a month equals some 3.6 per cent of that amount.

The NHL minimum salary was officially $180,000 last season - or about $27,700 a month during the regular season - although it is rare a player makes it.

It's not clear whether all players will accept the lockout pay, especially high-end salary players. One prominent agent said Wednesday it was too early to tell.

The lockout pay probably won't score points with hockey fans already fed up with the players - according to the 2001 census, the average Canadian annual income was $31,750 Cdn. But the union hopes to send a strong message to the league by showing it has enough money to take care of its players for two more years.

The league would not bite when asked for comment Wednesday.

"That's an internal union matter," Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president and chief legal officer, said from New York. "We have no reaction or comment."

The union's executive committee, consisting of current players, discussed lockout pay with player reps Nov. 2 in Toronto. The committee then announced the final details to the membership through the union's secure website Tuesday.

The committee consists of president Trevor Linden, and vice-presidents Bob Boughner, Vincent Damphousse, Daniel Alfredsson, Bill Guerin, Trent Klatt and Arturs Irbe.

The NHLPA is planning to hold another meeting in Toronto with more than 200 players sometime in the first two weeks of December.

The NHL will hold a dinner meeting to update the league's 30 general managers Dec. 2 in New York.

The two sides haven't held bargaining talks since Sept. 9 in Toronto. Through Wednesday night, 282 of the season's 1,230 games had gone by the wayside.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

McKenzie: Is an NHLPA proposal coming?

Bob McKenzie, TSN.ca Staff
11/23/2004

With each passing day the rumbles get stronger that the NHL Players' Association is preparing to make a new offer to the National Hockey League. And yet for every time that story line is floated around, everyone from NHLPA Executive Bob Goodenow to Trevor Linden to Bill Guerin deny an offer is coming and that the ball remains in the league's court.

Well, where there is smoke there is obviously some fire.

It would surprise no one if an NHLPA offer is made at some point in December. Ideally, it is said the offer would come just days in advance of a drop-dead date but since NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman apparently isn't going to provide a deadline, the Players' Association has to guess a little.

Assuming the offer is made, look for it to be a luxury tax proposal - one of the numbers being floated is 75 cents on the dollar - at a threshold between $40 and $45 million. If it is that figure, or in that neighbourhood, it is significantly stiffer than anything the NHLPA has proposed in the past.

But since it doesn't allow for linkage between revenues and salaries, or provide "cost certainty," it is likely to be rejected by the NHL.

And if that's what happens, then the offer will have served part of its purpose - that is, to publicly illustrate the NHLPA's point on the NHL's inflexibility.

And don't be surprised if the offer is sent directly to the owners, with the NHLPA's implication being that Bettman isn't keeping his owners up to speed. It's a common labour negotiating tactic, one that never fails to inspire even more bad blood.

Without a doubt, the Players' Association would like to think that a luxury tax offer might give the owners something to think about and perhaps put some pressure on Bettman to get over the cost certainty hump.

Then again, we can only speculate on all of this because - for now anyway - the NHLPA maintains there's no offer coming.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[silverpig]

I'll play for 50k a year.

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: silverpig
I'll play for 50k a year.

Without a jock?

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: silverpig
I'll play for 50k a year.

that wouldn't solve $#!T since nobody will pay to see you play.

 

[Aquaman]

Lemieux: Penguins need a new arena

TSN.ca Staff
11/26/2004

Mario Lemieux says it will take more than a new collective bargaining agreement to secure the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lemieux, a part-owner of the franchise, tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the team needs a new arena to enhance revenues. He says the chances of that happening are "50-50" right now.

"The CBA, we're going to fix it," he tells the newspaper. "If there's no new building, there's no chance the team's going to be here... Even in two years."

The Penguins current lease at Mellon Arena runs through 2006-07. The team is one of several groups bidding for a license to operate a stand alone slots casino, scheduled to be built in Pittsburgh. Part of the revenue from that operation would go into the construction of a new hockey arena.

Lemieux admits that he has been contacted about possibly relocating the Penguins elsewhere but that no one has made an offer to buy the team and he and his partners are not interested in selling at this point.

"Right now, we're not dealing with that," he tells the Post-Gazette. "We just want to see if we can get things done here. If not, we'll see what's out there."

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Daly: NHL luxury tax still won't work

TSN.ca Staff with The Hockey News files
11/29/2004

The National Hockey League maintains its willingness to discuss anything the NHL Players' Association brings to the table, but a luxury tax is still not a starting point.

"We have said repeatedly that a proposal centered around a luxury tax will not work for us," NHL Vice President Bill Daly told TSN.

"A tax-based system is too unpredictable and the league's problems too severe for us to take chances on the future of the game. At the same time, we believe that a meaningful proposal from the union, as opposed to the regressive proposal they gave us on September 9, would be a positive development in the process, and we remain prepared to discuss and negotiate over anything and everything the union proposes."

Daly's comments to TSN were made in response to a written feature in The Hockey News suggesting that the league might consider an improved luxury tax even if it wasn't linked to its revenues.

"It depends on what else it comes with," Daly was quoted telling the weekly hockey publication. "I know a luxury tax by itself will not be acceptable to us, but let's take a look at how serious they are about addressing the issues and maybe we can formulate a response that moves us closer."

Daly was told that readers could view the statement as a softening of the NHL's position, and Daly responded by telling The Hockey News, "The linkage continues to be a foundation point, there's no doubt about it. But the proposal they gave us on Sept. 9 was a step backwards. They really took things off the table. So any kind of step toward trying to address our issues in a meaningful way I would think is a positive step in the process, even if it doesnt get to where we need to be."

The NHL will get another opportunity to clarify their position when the league holds a meeting to update the league's 30 general managers Thursday in New York. The NHLPA plans to hold another meeting in Toronto with more than 200 players sometime in the first two weeks of December.

While reports have recently surfaced that the NHLPA is preparing a proposal for the league's owners to consider, the Players' Assoociation says it is not working on another offer.

"All of our proposals to date have been aimed at addressing their stated issues in a meaningful way," NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said in a statement. "And while no new proposals are planned at the present time, it is safe to assume that if we made a new proposal it would also be aimed at addressing their issues in a meaningful way."

The two sides haven't held bargaining talks since Sept. 9 in Toronto. More than 300 of the season's 1,230 games have gone by the wayside.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[rh71]

contract (remove) Pittsburgh !

 

[Aquaman]

NHLPA: Some GMs may work without cap

Associated Press
11/30/2004

The NHL is labelling Thursday's dinner meeting in New York with the league's general managers as an informal get-together with no particular agenda, but Ted Saskin hopes much more will come out of it.

The senior director of the NHL Players' Association believes some GMs could live without a salary cap and work with other types of salary-drag systems.

"The discussions I've had with a few general managers over the last couple of months make it very clear that they don't have much information about our proposals or what the league's proposals have been to date," Saskin said Tuesday from his Toronto office.

"Hopefully the NHL will use their meeting as an opportunity to not only bring their general managers up to date, but also get some input on what type of salary restraints could be considered other than just a salary cap."

Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president and chief legal officer, says it's a stretch to suggest GMs have been left totally in the dark.

"I don't think that's fair," Daly said from New York. "We try to be in contact with club representatives on a frequent basis, that's both at the governors' level, the team president level and at the general manager level.

"But we also understand that there's a lot of silence out there in terms of what's been going on. People want to hear it from the league and we thought this would be a good opportunity."

While Daly stayed behind in New York, commissioner Gary Bettman was in Edmonton on Tuesday, reiterating the league's disdain towards a luxury tax.

It's believed the union will make another offer to the league before the season is officially cancelled, but when exactly isn't clear.

Asked whether the league would at least sit down and talk again with the union if presented with a luxury-tax proposal that had more teeth to it, Daly said that would be a possibility.

"If they give us a meaningful proposal, absolutely I would think that it would be incumbent on us to consider it and to see if it warrants a meaningful counter-proposal," Daly said.

"I mean, they know what the issues are league-wide and the issues facing our clubs. I would hope, at some point in this process, that they would craft a proposal that would deal with those issues."

The union has made two proposals over the last two years, the last being Sept. 9, based on a luxury tax, revenue sharing, changes to the entry-level system and a five per cent rollback in salaries.

The league wants "cost certainty," a system that would link player costs to overall league revenues, limiting the players to no more than 53 per cent of revenues. The union calls that a salary cap, a total non-starter.

As far as Thursday night's dinner meeting, to be held at an Italian restaurant in Manhattan, Daly said not to read too much into it.

"We're going to certainly provide them with an update with where we are in the negotiation process and answer any questions that they may have," Daly said. "The purpose of the meeting really isn't anything specific other than the fact that the group hasn't gotten together in a while."

Not all 30 GMs will be present, because attendance isn't mandatory but most will be on hand.

The NHLPA had a similar update with 62 player agents two weeks ago in Chicago but Daly says it's not exactly the same.

"I think it would be different in the sense that we don't have any formal agenda, we're not going in there to talk about specific things," Daly said. "There will be talk about how the new rules are working in the AHL, get the general managers' view on that, and obviously we'll be giving them an update on collective bargaining and answering their questions, but there really isn't no particular reason for this meeting other than just wanting to get the guys together from time to time."

Asked what a GM would be told if he asked whether the league was formulating a new proposal, Daly said: "What I would say is that we're playing this on a daily basis. We're certainly not planning, at this point, to make a proposal, and we understand that the Players' Association may or may not be preparing a proposal.

"Obviously if they make a proposal and it's a meaningful proposal we'll respond in a meaningful way. If they don't make us a proposal, we'll assess the situation as it goes on and do what we think is right and what we think will lead to a resolution in the bargaining process."

Time continues to work against both sides. Many believe the season will be cancelled if there's no deal by early to mid-January.

"As each day goes by, the level of urgency increases in terms of having enough time to negotiate a deal and get the players back on the ice to play hockey this season," Daly said. "Certainly as we've arrived at the last day of November, the urgency is at a higher level than it's been at any point in the past."

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHL GMs to meet Bettman on Dec. 2

Canadian Press
11/19/2004

NEW YORK (CP) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman plans to meet with the league's 30 general managers in New York on Dec. 2 to discuss the NHL lockout.

The dinner meeting will serve as an informal update on bargaining. The NHL Players' Association met with over 60 agents Wednesday in Chicago to update them on the lockout.

The lockout is in its ninth week and as of Friday, 246 games have not been played. The league and the players' association haven't held talks since Sept. 9.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Bettman still opposes NHL luxury tax

Canadian Press
11/30/2004

EDMONTON (CP) - The Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames have no future if the league doesn't get a better deal with the players, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.

He told reporters in Edmonton that a deal that gives parity to the league's 30 teams is essential for small-market clubs that can't afford to compete for players with the wealthier big market teams.

"Most franchises are doing better than they were, but franchises like this franchise and Calgary don't have a future if we don't fix this the right way," he said.

"Owners have had enough of this situation and we owe it to our fans to stabilize the franchises and to ensure that our franchises are competitive."

Bettman, who met with the 38-member Edmonton Oilers Investors Group before visiting Calgary on Wednesday, said it isn't any fun for the fans of small-market teams that don't believe their teams have a chance at making the playoffs, let alone have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.

In fact, Calgary came within one game of winning the Cup last season, losing to Tampa Bay in the final. Edmonton missed the playoffs but Forbes magazine said the Oilers ranked seventh in the league last season with operating income of $3.3 million US.

"What Gary Bettman failed to tell his audience in Edmonton was that the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames were among the most profitable teams in the NHL last year when the (Canadian) dollar averaged 74 cents (US) and they were operating under our recently expired CBA," Ted Saskin, NHLPA senior director, said from Toronto.

"With the dollar consistently over 80 cents this year, and the significant concessions we have already offered in our proposals, they would have been far more profitable."

Bettman said Edmonton and Calgary are not the only clubs in peril if a better deal is not struck between th league owners and the locked out players.

"We're at risk big time. Lots of franchises are at risk if we don't fix this the right way."

Bettman received a standing ovation at a packed Edmonton Chamber of Commerce breakfast speech when he pledged to get the right deal to ensure the economic viability of the club.

"I believe more than ever that without our Canadian franchises there is no National Hockey League," he said. "This is where hockey works. This is where hockey is important."

"No longer should we have to go through drives to save the Oilers. No longer do we have to go through competitive droughts."

Bettman said the right economic system will give the Oilers their rightful place in the league they dominated in the 1980s until player salaries went through the roof.

"I promise we will get you what you need and most importantly, what you deserve," Bettman told the applauding business owners.

Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe said it isn't only fans who don't enjoy the current arrangement that sees the best players go to the richest clubs and leaves the small-market teams unable to afford to sign coveted free agents.

He said he won't continue as general manager if the system is not fixed to give the Oilers a fighting chance.

"If we had to go operate under the previous system, I wouldn't do it again," he said.

Lowe said he spoke out about not wanting to continue as GM without a better deal because of what he termed "the rhetoric" he was hearing that that the Oilers were an example that small-market teams can succeed under the current CBA.

"I wanted to make an emphasis on the fact there are people suggesting the system is OK. My point was that it's not OK. It doesn't work."

Oilers chairman Cal Nichols said the Oilers will likely have to borrow money to keep afloat if the lockout goes into a second season.

He said the club anticipated losing $13 million this year if the players didn't take the ice, but that figure is down to $10 million thanks to the success of its AHL Roadrunners franchise, now based in Edmonton after a stint in Toronto.

While in Edmonton, Bettman reiterated the league's position that it won't consider the players' proposed luxury tax.

"They claim that will somehow fix our problems, I'm here to tell you today . . . that a luxury tax will not work and in fact I think it would create a potential for future disasters in the NHL," he said.

He said the only offer the players have made is to continue the status quo which is not acceptable.

The NHL and NHLPA haven't had a formal collective bargaining session since Sept. 9 in Toronto when the league officially rejected the union's luxury tax-based proposal.

The league has said it doesn't believe in a luxury tax because it's not predictable and doesn't guarantee what it calls cost certainty. The owners are seeking a salary cap, much like the system in the NFL.

Bettman also reiterated that the owners don't have a drop-dead date for when they would have to pull the plug on the 2004-05 season.

He said the players' association is kidding itself if it doesn't believe the owners are unified in their position

"A lot has been said and speculated about how we managed to achieve this level of unity," he said. "It wasn't by me putting a trance on the owners. It wasn't by me mixing up a potion of Kool-Aid that I got all the owners to drink."

"The reason why the owners are so unified is the problems are so profound and they know it. . . . They've had enough."

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Saskin: Bettman wrong man to run NHL

TSN.ca/Canadian Press
12/1/2004

(tsn.ca with CP files) - According to the senior director of the NHLPA, the NHL is being run by the wrong man.

When asked in a television interview if he thought commissioner Gary Bettman was the right man to run the NHL, Ted Saskin said: ''Not from what I've seen so far.''

Saskin was also asked if the players respected Bettman, to which he responded ''Certainly not now.''

Bettman was asked during a news conference to respond to Saskin's comments.

''We're finally getting to the stage where the union is resorting to personal attacks, a very common practice in collective bargaining when a union isn't getting what it wants,'' said Bettman. ''It sounds to me like the union's rhetoric is getting desperate. If that brings us closer to a deal then it will be constructive. I don't mind being the whipping boy as long as we get to the right result.''

Bettman repeated his message that a deal that gives parity to the league's 30 teams is essential for small-market clubs such as the Flames or the Edmonton Oilers can't afford to compete for players with the wealthier big market teams.

Bettman said the league needs ''cost certainty,'' while the union translates that as a salary cap and has flatly rejected it.

''We're trying to forge a partnership, unfortunately the union is trying to bargain by confrontation,'' he said.

Bettman said no ''drop lead'' date has been set that would cancell the season, but many believe time is running out.

The NHL will hold a meeting with some of the league's general managers in New York on Thursday.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Insane3D]

I'm hoping the lockout lasts all season...screw these overpaid players. If they are so concerned about getting the NHL back up and running, why are they all in other countries? How about the players from those international leagues that are being displaced by all these poor, out of work NHL players coming over and taking their jobs?

I'm enjoying the best AHL season so far with my team, and I've already been to about 10 games. The Monarchs are basically wiping the floor with the rest of the teams in the league. Even when Philly had it's incredible, record breaking run of 17 straight wins, they still couldn't take over 1st place overall from my favorite NH based team.

This little blurb from the AHL site tells the story..

PHANTOMS SET RECORDS ? Philadelphia set an AHL record with its 17th straight win on Saturday night, a 3-1 decision over Hershey at a sold-out Giant Center. It was also the Phantoms? 16th win in a row over the Bears, believed to be an AHL record for consecutive victories over a single opponent.

The 17-game winning streak, which lasted 37 days and ended on Sunday with a 2-1 loss in Syracuse, still didn?t allow the Phantoms to take over the top spot in the overall league standings. That distinction belongs to the Manchester Monarchs, who will take a record of 18-1-0-0 into the month of December. The Monarchs have won 11 in a row, six shy of the Phantoms? new AHL record, and continue to lead the league in both offense (4.68 gpg) and defense (1.74 gpg).

AHL Standings

Manchester 18-1-0-0 , Win % : .947, GF: 89, GA: 33, 478 PIM

:thumbsup:

 

[Aquaman]

NHLPA's Saskin discusses issues on OTR

TSN.ca Staff
12/2/2004

NHLPA Senior Director Ted Saskin had a lot of issues to address on Thursday as he participated in a lockout edition off TSN's Off The Record with player agent Gord Kirke, sports business writer Lou Schizas and NHL on TSN analyst Brian Burke.

The most pressing topic off the top was news that league and the players' association have agreed to meet in Toronto on Dec. 9 and possibly Dec. 10, as NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow will present a proposal that will 'provide a basis to end the owners' lockout and resume NHL hockey."

Saskin did not divulge any details about the proposal, but believes it can be effective enough to set a foundation for some progress.

"It's safe to say there are going to be significant restraints on salary in this proposal and can form the basis for a fair deal for both sides going forward," he told TSN's Michael Landsberg.

The two sides haven't held formal talks since Sept. 9.

Saskin made headlines in the country's sports pages on Wednesday with words of a different sort, aimed at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. When asked in a television interview if he thought Bettman was the right man to run the NHL, Saskin said: "Not from what I've seen so far." He was also asked if the players respected Bettman, to which he responded, "Certainly not now."

Saskin addressed his statement on the show.

"I was asked a yes or no question and I said no (in terms of it being closer to no), but that's my opinion," he said.

"The only opinion that matters is the owners' opinions on Gary (Bettman). Gary has certainly done a lot of good things and we certainly have issues with him now. That was my opinion and I stand by it, but that's really not relevant to what I think."

While Saskin did not give out details on what the new proposal would include, he did say what the players' association did not want.

"We're not interested in limiting player costs to some arbitrary perventage of a negotiated amount of revenue, we don't think that's a fair system for us to operate under," he said. "When you get into profit and loss with 30 different enterprises people do accounting in a slightly different way. Forbes (Magazine) does one slice of it, the NHL does its own and a third party can do yet another slice but at the end of the day that doesn't really matter to us."

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

NHL and NHLPA to meet on Dec. 9

TSN.ca Staff with files
12/2/2004

The NHL has accepted an invitation from NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow to attend meetings in Toronto next Thursday and Friday.

The two sides haven't held formal talks since September 9.

"We've set aside a couple of days and are obviously prepared to go as long as it takes to get a new agreement," said Ted Saskin, senior director of the NHLPA.

"Almost three months have passed since the players made their last proposal and we have yet to receive a counter-offer from the league," Bob Goodenow, the NHLPA's executive director, said in a statement. "We have been working hard at other creative solutions and believe our new proposal will provide a basis to end the owners' lockout and resume NHL hockey."

The union has been rumoured for the last two weeks to be preparing a new proposal to get talks going again. Given that the union's new offer will likely once again be based on a luxury tax, it remains to be seen just how long the next round of bargaining talks will last.

"We look forward to meeting with the NHL Players' Association next week," said Bill Daly, NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. "We are hopeful that the NHLPA's offer will be a meaningful effort to address the league's economic problems. When we receive the proposal, we will evaluate it closely and respond appropriately."

Bettman, backed by the owners, wants "cost certainty," a fixed link between players costs and league revenues which guarantees player costs won't eat up more than 53 per cent of league revenues. The league says player costs took up more than 75 per cent of league revenues last season.

Given the lack of trust the union has for the league's financial numbers, especially after a Forbes magazine report claimed the league was exaggerating its losses, it seems unlikely the two sides will ever be able to agree on a system that links player costs to league revenues.

The meetings next week, however, are an opportunity to get over at least some of those hurdles.

"I'm hopeful. But I'll wait until next Thursday to tell you guys if I'm encouraged,'' said Daly.

Saskin was also cautious. "It's a day to be more optimistic than pessimistic," he said.

Added Columbus GM Doug McLean: "Any time there's an offer, of course it's exciting. Let's hope it's enough to get people to the table."

But Daly cautioned that there's lots of work to be done.

"We need the union to bring a sense of urgency to the table. To this point, I don't think they've done that. We need to make the right deal. To make a deal just to play hockey games this year is not right."

Washington GM George McPhee was also reserved in his reaction. Asked if there was a sense of optimism now, he replied: "No, I don't sense that. I think we expected this, I just hope they get something done."

Just what the players' association is prepared to offer is not known; Saskin said he didn't want to discuss the proposal until it has been turned over the league.

"We believe we are going to be able to present a basis that can bring an end to the lockout and get what we all want, hockey playing again," Saskin told reporters during a brief appearance in Toronto.

It's expected the union will once again offer up a luxury tax system next week, but one with more teeth to it. At the very least, it may serve as a starting point for negotiations.

With the league allowing its clubs to book events at their arenas 45 days in advance, even a deal reached next Friday would mean hockey wouldn't start up until late January at the earliest.

While touring Alberta each of the last two days, Bettman insisted the league would not accept the luxury tax proposal the Players Association initially offered. He also proclaimed unless a new and improved collective bargaining agreement is reached with some sort of salary restriction, teams such as the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers would not survive.

NHL teams have been given the authority to clear dates in their arenas up to 45 days in advance, effectively canceling games through mid-January.

Players have missed out on four paydays thus far, as checks are issued twice each month.

Cheers,
Aquaman