NHL agrees to a cap structure...

[POJO_Risin]

Report: NHL, players agree on salary cap formula
June 8, 2005
CBS SportsLine.com staff and wire reports

The National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association have cleared the biggest hurdle in their labour negotiations by agreeing on a formula for a salary-cap system based on team-by-team revenue, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.

This has been the most contentious issue between the owners and players, but the Globe and Mail also reported it does not mean a new collective agreement is close to completion.

The negotiating teams are now working on salary arbitration, free agency, qualifying contract offers and other issues, any of which could be deal-breakers.

According to the Globe and Mail report, there will be a team-by-team salary floor and cap based on a percentage of each team's revenue. The actual percentage is not known, although the league had been demanding 54 percent.

In the first year of what is thought to be a six-year deal, based on revenue projections by both sides, the salary cap will range from $34 million to $36 million, with the floor from $22 million to $24 million. What is not clear is how the percentage will be applied to each team, since there is a large disparity in revenue among the NHL's 30 teams.

According to the formula, a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax will kick in at the midway point between the floor and the cap. If the floor of the lowest team proves to be $22 million and the cap on the highest team is $36 million next season, then the tax will come into effect at $29 million.

This will allow the wealthier teams to spend a little more money, but will prevent the large gaps in spending in the previous agreement that saw teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins with payrolls as low as $18 million, while the New York Rangers were spending $80 million.

The luxury tax will be spread among the lower-revenue teams to help them stay at the salary floor or higher. Plans for further revenue sharing are still vague, aside from the owners' offer to share some playoff gates, but management sources say they have long been assured there will be further sharing.


______________________

Obviously...they are much closer...and the plan is decent...but...when it's all said and done...is it better than what the owners were saying no to at the beginning of the lockout?

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Could've sworn someone else mentioned that it was close...

Hmmm, who was that ???

[POJO_Risin]

Yeah...ESPN...Foxsports...Sports Illustrated...My aunt...my dead grandma...oh...and you...

[POJO_Risin]

I'll believe it when I see it...

[Rikk]

With a team-by-team cap, wouldn't this mean even more that certain franchises will excel beyond belief and other franchises will just die because they don't have the money to complete?

[Va Beach VH Fan]

If I'm understanding this correctly (that's a big IF), the biggest disparity that I see is one team can have their cap at 36 mil, while another team can have theirs at 22 mil...

Compared to the old system, in which there was no system, I can certainly live with a 14 mil difference for a 20-man salary cap....

Knocking the Rangers/Red Wings/Leafs cap down to 36 from near 70 million is fine by me....

[Nickdfresh]

Goddamnit! I think the BUFFALO SABRES may have won it all in a strike shortened season! They were in the best position by far (the only team with all their players under contract).

Hopefully this means hockey next year.

But like POJO, I'll believe it when I watch the puck drop....

[Matt White]

LET'S GO RED-WINGS!!!


Maybe Yzerman has one more season in 'em!

FUCKIN' RIGHT!!!

[Vinnie Velvet]

Yeah, same here.

When I see it, I'll believe it.

However, I do think a deal is close to be done.

Unless the players convince Goodnow that they are getting a shitty deal.

Because as I see it, the owners won this one.

And that's a good thing!

[Bob_R]

Excellent news!

I can't wait for hockey to return!!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
Goddamnit! I think the BUFFALO SABRES may have won it all in a strike shortened season! They were in the best position by far (the only team with all their players under contract).

Hey, just be happy they won it in Bruce Almighty....

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
Hey, just be happy they won it in Bruce Almighty....

NO GOAL!

[Nickdfresh]

Looks like it might be a done deal after all:

GLOBEANDMAIL.COM
NHL sides agree on salary cap
League, players cross biggest hurdle to ending 266-day lockout, sources say

By DAVID SHOALTS

Thursday, June 9, 2005 Updated at 9:14 PM EDT

TORONTO -- For the first time in 266 days of the National Hockey League lockout, there is hope for an end, as sources with ties to both sides of the labour dispute say the players and owners have cleared their biggest hurdle by agreeing on a formula for a salary cap.

The cap, which sources say will be tied to a percentage of team revenues, is expected to form the foundation of a six-year deal.

According to a source with ties to both owners and players, and another source close to the owners, there will be a team-by-team salary floor and cap based on a percentage of each team's revenue. The actual percentage is not known, although the league had been demanding 54 per cent.

In the first year of the agreement, the salary cap will range from $34-million (all figures U.S.) to $36-million, based on revenue projections by both sides, with a floor of $22-million to $24-million.

The Canadian teams left in the worst shape by the new salary cap will be the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, due to their high team payrolls. The Leafs, according to figures from the NHLPA, already have eight players under contract for the 2005-06 season for a total of $27.1-million. The Senators have 10 players under contract for $23.6-million. Both numbers include the 24-per-cent pay cut offered by the NHLPA.

The other Canadian teams are in reasonably good shape, as the Edmonton Oilers have 12 players under contract for $13-million and the Calgary Flames have 11 at $12.8-million. Next are the Montreal Canadiens with eight players at $14.5-million, with the Vancouver Canucks at six players at $11.8-million. Those numbers also include the pay cut.

While a number of issues remain to be negotiated, there is now optimism that a collective bargaining agreement can be reached by early July.

The outstanding issues include salary arbitration, free agency, qualifying contract offers, drug testing and NHL participation in the Olympics,

"You are very, very dead on there," said a high-level source. "I can confirm this is where they're at."

NHL vice-president Bill Daly, the league's chief negotiator, declined to confirm or deny anything yesterday, but he did say publicly on Tuesday that the negotiators had moved on to other issues.This was confirmed by a third source with ties to the highest level of the NHL.

The negotiating teams met yesterday in New York for the second consecutive day. The talks expanded yesterday from the small groups on each side to include members of the NHL Players' Association executive committee and members of the owners' negotiating committee.

Mr. Daly's counterpart with the NHLPA, senior director of business affairs Ted Saskin, could not be reached for comment. A union spokesman said in a statement that no agreements have been reached, although he also admitted talks have moved into other areas.

It's possible that new snags connected to other issues could develop, which would delay an agreement or possibly force both sides to revisit the cap concept. However, both sides have come a long way from the bitterness of the season cancellation in late February.

What is still not clear is how the percentage of revenue will be applied to each team, since there is a large disparity in revenue among the NHL's 30 teams.

And it's clear the agreement is complicated. If a strict percentage was used, then a wealthy team such as the Toronto Maple Leafs would have a salary cap not only much higher than $36-million, but vastly higher than a team such as the Phoenix Coyotes, whose financial situation is regarded by insiders as one of the worst in the NHL.

According to the formula, a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax will kick in if a team's player payroll reaches the midway point between the floor and the cap. If the floor next season of the lowest team proves to be $22-million and the cap on the highest team is $36-million, then the tax will come into play at $29-million.

This will allow the wealthier teams to spend a little more money, but will prevent the large gaps in spending in the previous agreement that saw teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins with payrolls as low as $18-million a year, while the New York Rangers were spending $80-million.

The luxury tax will be spread among the lower-revenue teams to help them stay at the salary floor or higher. Plans for further revenue sharing are still vague, aside from the owners' offer to share some playoff gates, but management sources say they have long been assured there will be further sharing.

One source close to the owners said it is important to realize that the $36-million cap does not mean all of that money will be spent on player salaries. It includes all player compensation, which means signing and performance bonuses, and benefits will be paid out of that pool of money.

That might mean an end to performance bonuses, commonly put into contracts to end contentious negotiations. With a hard cap, teams will be reluctant to commit to bonuses that might put them in violation.

The benefits and bonuses could take, the source said, as much as $5-million off the cap number, which would leave about $31-million for salaries. This was what the owners demanded as a salary cap in an offer made in October, 2003, which came in response to an NHLPA offer of a 5-per-cent pay cut for every player along with other concessions.

However, that $31-million also included all player compensation and no minimum payroll, so the figures finally agreed upon represent an increase. But it is believed the offer of a 24-per-cent pay cut made by the players last December will be part of the new deal.

Management sources said the agreement on the cap was reached because moderate voices such as NHLPA president Trevor Linden were willing to make a deal and because both sides were able to agree on accounting methods after long and arduous studies of team finances by groups from both sides.

What is not clear is the role of NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow in the agreement. While management sources insist he has moved into the background, with Mr. Linden and Mr. Saskin handling most of the negotiating, there is a long history of animosity between owners and general managers and Mr. Goodenow, who fights hard at every turn for the NHLPA members.

The blueprint

WHAT'S DONE

An agreement on a salary cap and floor based on team-by-team revenues.

The cap ranges from $34-million (all figures U.S.) to $36-million, based on revenue projections, for 2005-06.

The floor ranges from $22-million to $24-million.

A luxury tax kicks in at the midway point, currently $29-million.

The tax is dollar-for-dollar for amounts over the cap for redistribution to lower-revenue teams.

TO-DO LIST

Work out a complete revenue-sharing system.

Decide on how high-payroll teams will drop to the new maximum.

A new salary arbitration system.

Work out qualifying offers for pending free agents.

Settle on unrestricted and restricted free agency, based on age and/or years in league.

Olympic participation - players want it, owners don't.

Drug-testing policy.

New rules for equipment and the game.

IN SPORTS

Stephen Brunt: The players just want to play again.

Analysis: What the salary cap means for rich and poor teams.

© Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[POJO_Risin]

Salary's can't go over 36ish million...

It all sounds great...sounds wonderful...but how are grandfathered contracts going to work? What's a player who is making 10 million a year for the next 2 years going to do?

Are those contracts going to be voided?

Are they going to be penalized because the fucking owners paid them that money then reneged?

Fuck it all...I still don't by it...

something struck me from that article...

"The negotiating teams are now working on salary arbitration, free agency, qualifying contract offers and other issues, any of which could be deal-breakers."

if people don't think it still may not get done...you need to rethink things...because IT MAY NOT WORK!

We'll see...and I'll wait with baited breath...

[Nickdfresh]

They'll have to have some sort of grace period and a grandfather clause I would imagine. Maybe about two seasons or so? I sure hope this works and it stabilizes things...Any team with a smart GM can compete, theoretically anyways.