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If owners can't insure contracts over 5 years, I find it hard to criticize them for wanting to cover their investment costs. At this point, I am surprised a middle ground can't be found. A 5% variance in contract years may be a bit much, but the 75% variance the NHLPA has proposed is almost no change at all.
My suggestion:
A 50/50 split of HRR (like most of the other major sports are near). Transition aided by "make-whole" provision contribution of 300M by owners.
10 year term- either side can opt out after 8 years. No one wants to do this again in a few years.
5 year contract maximum. Teams re-signing their own players can go to 7 years. Contract length can be increased to 8 years, but player needs to contribute to the costs of insuring the contract against injury or forced retirement.
A 20% maximum in the dollar values per year. No more 12M to 1M drops over the life of the deal.
Play hockey.
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