If I'm honest, I can imagine a large portion of non-American/Canadian fans losing interest in the sport if there's a lockout... What benefit does that bring?
They went through a lockout last decade, and the fans came back, all the more reason to do it again.
All i want is the cap to drop. If that is on the side of the owners so be it but I'll come back to the NHL no matter what. Hopefully the owners dont cave and that smug ******* Fehr has to concede but I as a fan want the SENS to win and dont wanna end up like the Pittsburgh Pirates of the MLB. Unable to compete with the big clubs spending ways.
F-k it bring on replacement players, i dont care if I see Crosby/Ovie/Malkin or whether I see Beer League #1/Beer Leaguer #2/Beer Leauger #3. I just want a hometown team with guys who hit, fight, and play to win.
I still have not figured out why teams are in such a hurry to be locking up players that aren't even free agents, before they know the details of the new CBA. Seems like they know something we don't
Contract negotiations are 2 way, agents know as well as the general managers do. I would doubt that the players agents are oblivious to the fact that signing a contract today could mean that it would changed (salary reduction) due to new CBA.
I still have not figured out why teams are in such a hurry to be locking up players that aren't even free agents, before they know the details of the new CBA. Seems like they know something we don't
The Flyers will steal them if you don't sign them (then proceed to use them in an 8 player blockbuster trade)
Contract negotiations are 2 way, agents know as well as the general managers do. I would doubt that the players agents are oblivious to the fact that signing a contract today could mean that it would changed (salary reduction) due to new CBA.
So why are the players signing the deals?
That's my point, it seems like both sides seem to feel like there is a benefit to getting something done before the new CBA.
That's my point, it seems like both sides seem to feel like there is a benefit to getting something done before the new CBA.
It's still strange. Weber is a simple case, he wanted money, he went for a long term contract (10 year+), before CBA eliminates such contracts (and Philly willing to give him the money). In the current cases (Turris, Hall, Seguin, etc), perhaps it's just players who want security now instead of waiting a few years, and the teams get them cheap.
The contracts given out these days are quite juicy. It's funny that a Norris candidate (Chara) got a 2 year 9.5m total in 2004, when Lidstrom's salary was 10m.
Last edited by HavlatMach9: 09-11-2012 at 02:51 PM.
I agree. There is a clear path to a deal here - the players drop their revenue share closer to 50%, and give the NHL broader management rights. (Re-alignment, etc.) In exchange, the NHL drops their ridiculous demands to eliminate arbitration, five year entry level deals, bump free agency to ten years, and take a huge rollback. Things like this were clearly put on the table to sabre rattle, and I don't think any serious owner thinks that they will get them. This is where a deal will land anyway, and both sides know it. Without a big philosophical divide on an issue like a hard cap, I think they will get to a deal faster than we might think.
I agree. Last time, it was about the salary cap monster. This time, it's just straight math. There are no philosophical debates. There are really just two questions that need to be answered.
1. What counts as revenue?
2. How do we divide it up?
And #2 overrides #1 because if #1 is adjusted, #2 can be adjusted as well. They are interrelated. So basically, it's just an argument over how much of cash cow each side gets.
The other issues (contract terms, etc) are not going to hold up the season. It's not like they're going to agree to revenue and owner/player split percentages and then cancel the season because of ELCs or contract term limits.
I hope you guys are right, a lockout would piss me off so bad...
However, a journalist I heard on Montreal's radio yesterday didn't seem to be as optimistic, he said that this "philosophical divide" was a bigger problem that we seem to think... But hey medias aren't always right lol
Classic..
