Quote:
Originally Posted by txomisc
I guess I would consider myself on the owners side but not because I think they are good. I generally feel that owners should have more input into how their league is run than their employees. Now I am not saying they should be able to push them around at will and its pretty difficult to figure out a way to strike a balance. Id also consider myself an owners supporter because I don't believe the PAs vision for the CBA is very good for the long term health of hockey. Their goal is obviously to squeeze every last cent they can out of the league and the less money the league makes the more unstable the league gets. I want to see a league where less teams are in financial trouble and if that means some owners rake in lots of cash so be it.
I also dont agree that Bettman steamrolled the pa last time. It took a canceled season just for him to get linkage and it ended up being linkage at a high % in favor of the players. Lowering the UFA age for players was a massive win for them as well.
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I don't agree with the sentiment that the players are the party unconcerned about the health of the league. The players are the side that called for better revenue sharing. Of all the pro leagues in NA, the NHL's revenue sharing is the weakest and contributes the least to the teams that need it the most.
The owners weren't calling to fix that broken system, and improved revenue sharing is more important to the health of the league than anything the owners are doing.
I think the players never expected to get more than 50/50, and they came to that number pretty quickly. I really don't see a money grab from their POV. They've made many mistakes, but taking the contracts that GMs offer and owners approve is not their fault. That blame doesn't fall on them IMO.