The Official NHL Thread

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  • guwapo_rocker

    The Official NHL Thread

    TSN.ca Staff



    7/13/2005 12:38:41 PM

    And now for the words everyone has been waiting to hear: The deal is done!

    The NHL and NHL Players' Association have finally reached an agreement (pending ratification) on a new six-year collective bargaining agreement that - if approved by the NHL board of governors next Thursday and the rank and file membership of the NHLPA next Tuesday - will officially end the stalemate on July 21.

    The agreement, a complex document reportedly numbering more than 600 pages, came after the two sides staged marathon negotiating sessions for nine consecutive days. Since the 2004-05 NHL season was officially cancelled on Feb. 16, the league and union have met on 82 occasions, leading to an agreement that will revamp the way the entire professional hockey industry conducts its business.

    The league went into this lockout, which started on Sept. 15, 2004, seeking cost certainty and believes it has achieved that with a new economic system from top to bottom.

    It is expected both the NHL and NHLPA will move to ratify the agreement within the next seven days, with a formal announcement on July 21. During that time, it is expected the new CBA will be distributed to all in the hockey industry so they can begin getting themselves up to speed on a myriad of new rules and regulations.

    Among the most significant are:

    - a hard team-by-team salary cap with a payroll of range of $21 million to $39 million (in the first year), which includes all player costs (benefits, insurance etc).

    - the league's total expenditure on player costs (salaries, bonuses, benefits and insurance) is not permitted to exceed 54 per cent of defined hockey-related revenue and the salary cap and payroll range will move up or down as revenues increase or decrease each year of the deal.

    - a 24 per-cent salary rollback for any NHL player who has time remaining on an existing contract, keeping in mind that the players will receive none of the monies they were slated to earn in the lost season of 2004-05.

    - liberalized free agency (including unrestricted status at 27 by year four of the deal), a more restrictive entry level system, totally revamped salary arbitration, improved pension benefits and a revenue-sharing plan.

    This agreement (pending ratification) will kick off the most bizarre and busiest off-season in NHL history after the league became the first major professional loop to lose an entire year to labour strife.

    As tutorials are conducted to allow NHL owners, general managers, NHL players and player agents to understand the new economic order, plans are already in the works for the two ratification votes.

    NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will be recommending acceptance of this agreement to the governors, so a simple majority of the league's 30-man ruling body will be enough to ratify it.

    It's also expected the NHLPA's executive committee, led by president Trevor Linden, will be endorsing the deal, which means a simple majority of the NHLPA's more than 700 members will be enough to make it binding. For those players who cannot physically make it to the membership meeting, the vote will be conducted through the NHLPA's secure website, The Source.

    Assuming both groups ratify, the NHL is expected to begin a brief transition period before the league fully re-opens for business.

    But before teams and players start to concern themselves with the specifics of transition - such as the buying out of some players to allow teams to meet cap requirements or the attempted signing of 2003 and 2004 draft picks who would re-enter the 2005 entry draft if not signed - the league is expected to unveil significant changes to the game, on and off the ice.

    Because no season was played in 2004-05, there is no order of selection for the 2005 entry draft, which is scheduled to take place as a scaled-down event in Ottawa on July 30. Usually, teams draft in inverse order of finish from the recently-concluded season, but this time there will be a weighted draft lottery (with the teams who have fared poorest over the last few years to get marginally better odds than those who fared well) to determine who gets the first overall pick and the right to pick young phenom Sidney Crosby. That lottery is scheduled to take place on July 21 when the NHL is expected to formally announce the new CBA.

    In addition to that major business, the NHL is also expected to unveil significant rule changes aimed at making the game more exciting and fan friendly, including shootouts to end tie games and the removal of the red line for the purpose of allowing two-line passes.

    While the regular season will remain at 82 games long for each team, the format of that schedule may be altered, along with a potential expansion of the NHL playoffs from 16 to 20 teams.

    Once the NHL's formal news conference is put to bed, along with the lottery and rule changes, the brief transition period should unfold in order to take care of the loose ends from the expired CBA. At some point, the NHL will declare itself open for business and NHL teams will be sorting through a huge pool of unrestricted free agents as many teams make themselves over from the ground up.

    Whether it is the brave new world the NHL hopes, remains to be seen, but the level of activity and uncertainty will be higher than at any other time in league history.

    For now, though, the only thing that matters in the short term is this: The deal (pending ratification) is done.
  • Full Bug
    Crazy Ass Mofo
    • Jan 2004
    • 2921

    #2
    I will watch again, but they will have a hell of a time getting the average fan back....
    Diamond Mafia Forever - 4. To restore fullbug to the prominent place in this board, after various serious attacks by hitch1969 have now damaged his reputation and now is reguarded as a "Retarded, Stoned, Canadian, Dog finger bangin' fuckup"

    Comment

    • Matt White
      • Jun 2004
      • 20569

      #3
      JUst so long as they don't change too much....

      "No red lIne"

      Give me a break! Roller-Hockey, anyone?!?

      Comment

      • Nickdfresh
        SUPER MODERATOR

        • Oct 2004
        • 49335

        #4
        I can hardly wait!

        Comment

        • Matt White
          • Jun 2004
          • 20569

          #5
          I'm just waitin' to see if the RED WINGS will be able to afford to bring back the Cap'N' for one final season!!!

          Comment

          • WhaWhaWha
            Roth Army Recruit
            • Jul 2005
            • 6

            #6
            Rightaway I notice a few things ...

            - This is basically a 54% cap, with an escrow system ala NBA. The max per team will be 55% ($39M) and the min will be 30% ($21M). This is a TERRIBLE deal compared to the the deal the NHL offered previously (I think in December). 54% hard cap is also a terrible mark compared to other leagues, namely the NBA (soft cap at 58%) and NFL (hard cap at 61%)

            - The biggest bone thrown to the PA is probably the 27 yrs UFA eligibility. Considering most players don't "come to age" until mid 20's, it'll be very difficult for teams, especially small market teams, to hold on to players they developed in house.


            A lot of questions still remain though, such as how will the revenue sharing work (include regular season revenue or post seson only? ... then again, it's less of an issue when the floor % is so low at 30% or $21M) ... what about contract restructuring / buyout? Is the 20% individual player salary cap somewhere in the CBA?

            I guess as we wait and more details come out we'll know.


            The NBA took a few days to get a deal and the NHL decides to cancel a season and take over 100 days! Looks good on em!
            http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7459/stfu9pz.gif

            "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake"

            -Napoleon Bonaparte

            Comment

            • Va Beach VH Fan
              ROTH ARMY FOUNDER
              • Dec 2003
              • 17913

              #7
              Hell ya, I'll be back....

              Things I'm looking for...

              Lower ticket prices, ESPECIALLY in the box seats close to the ice...

              Tag up offsides, also no line changes after icing the puck.... That should really keep the flow going...

              Also like the removal of the red line for two line passes.... It opens the offense up, backs up the defense, but at the same time doesn't make it like a "cherry picking" scenario...

              They're also going to taper the uniforms, meaning less fabric for clutching on the forwards, and less fabric for the goalies to shield the puck...

              Game on !!!!

              Poj, get the beer cold !!!!
              Eat Us And Smile - The Originals

              "I have a very belligerent enthusiasm or an enthusiastic belligerence. I’m an intellectual slut." - David Lee Roth

              "We are part of the, not just the culture, but the geography. Van Halen music goes along with like fries with the burger." - David Lee Roth

              Comment

              • guwapo_rocker

                #8
                The Leafs have already emailed all of their seasons seat holders

                telling them ticket prices will not increase this year.

                If you know how the Leafs work, this also means ticket prices

                will definitely NOT decrease this year.

                And the idiots will buy every seat in five minutes as usual meaning

                zero chance for the average Joe to take his kids to a game.

                Comment

                • Nickdfresh
                  SUPER MODERATOR

                  • Oct 2004
                  • 49335

                  #9
                  So...rules changes?

                  I've heard four-on-four OT, then three-on-three if no one scores?

                  I also heard that they are going to have a mini-playoffs where four additional teams will fight it out in a mini-series of maybe three games.

                  What I heard on the radio anyways...

                  Comment

                  • guwapo_rocker

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Nickdfresh

                    I've heard four-on-four OT, then three-on-three if no one scores?

                    Then a shoot out.

                    No ties.

                    Comment

                    • Nickdfresh
                      SUPER MODERATOR

                      • Oct 2004
                      • 49335

                      #11
                      I dunno, I don't like shootouts.

                      Comment

                      • guwapo_rocker

                        #12
                        Is Buffalo still going to have a team?

                        Seriously, I'm not being an ass here, weren't they

                        looking for new ownership??

                        Comment

                        • guwapo_rocker

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Nickdfresh
                          I dunno, I don't like shootouts.
                          neither do I.

                          Terrible way to lose a hard fought game.

                          And the way the Leafs shoot on breakaways...

                          Comment

                          • Va Beach VH Fan
                            ROTH ARMY FOUNDER
                            • Dec 2003
                            • 17913

                            #14
                            Originally posted by guwapo_rocker
                            Is Buffalo still going to have a team?

                            Seriously, I'm not being an ass here, weren't they

                            looking for new ownership??
                            They got new ownership last year...
                            Eat Us And Smile - The Originals

                            "I have a very belligerent enthusiasm or an enthusiastic belligerence. I’m an intellectual slut." - David Lee Roth

                            "We are part of the, not just the culture, but the geography. Van Halen music goes along with like fries with the burger." - David Lee Roth

                            Comment

                            • guwapo_rocker

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
                              They got new ownership last year...
                              Thank You,

                              Guess that would be 2 years ago now though huh?

                              Comment

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