The NHL Players’ Association today exercised its right to extend the current collective-bargaining agreement for an additional year, meaning that the NHL will have labor peace until at least the summer of 2012. The players also voted for the five-percent growth of the salary cap for next season, meaning that the cap ceiling should be approximately $59 million, up from last season’s $56.8 million.
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Well, if the boys keep voting to increase the Cap, then the year that was lost won’t mean a thing as they’ll be right back to square one, and I’m sure guys that the players that are making 6 + figures are having a really hard time making ends meet.
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variable Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:36 pm
@Old Time Hockey,
i agree..
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DellaNooch Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:41 pm
@Old Time Hockey, Not exactly square one, there is the escrow account…the players are only giving themselves a chance at higher salaries.
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jet Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
@DellaNooch, you are right. In essence, this just allows the phily’s and chitowns to stay together.
The problem is that the small town GMs cannot count on the escrow acct. kicking back 20% every year and have to plan to ice a team with substantially less money. The players do not understand that it is the parity and “the chance to win” at the start of each year that keeps the seats full.
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5thLine Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
@jet,
“The players do not understand that it is the parity and “the chance to win” at the start of each year that keeps the seats full.”
Hopefully someone of importance and influence will read and understand your astute comment.
100% agree……
luc20rules Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:37 pm
@jet, Great Post, anyone questioning this can look at the sport with no cap and look at the KC Royals.
This is another reason people should never be allowed to give themselves raises. All the CEOs that gave themselves bonuses while driving there companies into bankruptcy, and Congress giving themselves raises. Even middle class labors do the same thing with Unions, at my work 98% voted for a increase while we lost 10% of our employees to layoffs each year for 3 straight years. I was in the 2% it was a waste voice on the subject it fell on deaf ears. So now the survivors that dont want to be part of the 10% this year are working unpaid overtime to make up for the 27% that worked here 3 years ago.
PRMan Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
@Old Time Hockey,
Actually, the players (strangely, in my opinion) all voted to give themselves a pay cut.
Why?
Now, instead of making 95% of your $1,000,000, you are more likely to make 90% of your $1,000,000 instead because of the escrow accounts.
The smart free agent votes for it and the smart player with an existing contract votes against it.
Since so few players are UFAs, if all players were smart, it would have been voted down, because only a vast minority stand to benefit from its passing.
What can we determine from it passing? The average NHL player is not that smart.
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luc20rules Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:48 pm
@PRMan,
The reason they are not thinking straight is with a cap what usually happens is the top 10% of the players get about 40% of the pay and the others are just scrambling for whats left. Also as Jet explained the more money generated by the NHL the more there is to be paid. Meaning parity is good for the players.
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The increased cap should make for an even more interesting July 1st…
Here’s hoping the Kings make the most of the next couple of weeks, I am looking forward to seeing what our team will (or may, since the training camp might turn up some surprises also) look like come October.
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From the schedule, it appears as though the Kings will be featured on NBC’s Game of the Week versus the Capitals on 2/12 at 9:30AM Pacific.
I wonder how many time the Kings will knife the puck out of the zone, DRIIIIIIIIVE to the net, and waffleboard the puck out of harm’s way?
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tantrum4 Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
@Jonathan,
Not sure what you’re getting at, but we beat Washington last year.
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Jonathan Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
@tantrum4,
I was making fun of Doc Emrick’s pleasantly cliche playcalling.
Does anyone know if the Kings have ever been featured on NBC’s Game of the Week?
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David Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:46 pm
@Jonathan, I dont think the Kings were featured last year.
tantrum4 Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:56 pm
@Jonathan,
Gotcha, that makes sense now. It sounded like you were saying something along the lines of the Kings just being happy to be in the game and won’t have a chance at winning…
josh e. Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
@tantrum4,
We also beat them the year before in washington
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Matt George Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:26 pm
@Jonathan,
I’m right there with ya Jonathan ..
personally I think the NHL would benefit from forcing NBC to hire announcers that don’t sound like they just came from a WWE match.
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Quisp? You let me down man….. I thought all these other teams were screwed cuz the cap was going to come down…..its ok, I thought it would to up until recently…….. Gotta give Matt Berry some credit, I remember him saying there was no way the cap would go down, and that in fact it would go up. He said it a while back when we were debating on his blog
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jet Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@4thliner, I was the primary believer in a smaller cap number. The gap between the have and have not’s is getting too large. The big market cities are tired of subsidizing the smaller markets. And, there are already a number of teams flirting with financial danger. Maybe if you compare the situation to our state’s budget problem, it looks minor, but discretionary income in most NHL cities is unlikely to grow 5% this year. The current point system with the possibility of 3 point games can only keep the teams so close. Pretty soon it comes down to money spent or not.
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quisp Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:12 pm
@4thliner,
sorry to let you down. i’m glad revenues increased to the point that we could get off the cap plateau we’ve been at for two years. that’s good news for everyone. I don’t believe I was prophesying doom, though. I was saying that you can’t keep spending to the cap ceiling and expect that cap increases are going to bail you out. i identified several teams that were going to have to dump salary (CHI, PHI, SJS, DET) and they either did (SJS, DET) or are hitting the brick wall right now (PHI, CHI). In PHI’s case the wall is padded somewhat, but in CHI’s case, no. It’s bad.
revenue projections (to which the upper limit is tied) showed that the cap would come down last year and this year. Last year, the cap would have been at around $54MM, but for the 5% inflator (which barely passed) which maintained the illusion that all was rosy. This year, in what was apparently another extremely tight vote, they voted to use the inflator again. Without which, the cap would have stayed almost exactly the same, with revenues essentially flat compared to a couple of years ago, but rebounding slightly from last year’s decline.
Also, I hesitate to point out, the cap has not been calculated yet. It probably will turn out to be what they say it’s going to be, but still.
The thing to keep in mind is, the players (all of them), only got 89% of last year’s pay because revenues did not meet projections and forced the union to give back 11% of the escrow account, which comes directly out of player’s paychecks. This is why there was an excellent chance they would not vote to keep the 5% inflator this year. What this does, essentially, is to take 11% off the top of everyone’s checks, and redistribute it to (1) the owners and (2) the players who get new contracts this summer. With the inflator, the owners and GMs get to spend a couple million more, all of which they get to bill to the players if revenues don’t match the increased spending. you could see the players getting docked 20% a year from now, at which point goodbye inflator and hello another year of the cap staying the same. since we have doughty, simmonds, moller, johnson and bernier to sign next summer, that prospect means that this year’s inflated cap number is not free money. we’ll need it next year for those contracts.
as far as which teams are screwed because of the cap, let’s see. philly is about to have to trade one of its elite players in order to make room to sign a goalie. that’s not “screwed” unless you don’t want to trade away Carter for picks and prospects, or whatever. san jose had the choice between making a big trade to dump salary or make some little ones, and they chose the latter (Erhoff, lukowich, cheechoo) I think they handled their situation brilliantly, but it was still a gamble. we’ll see if Marleau walks for nothing.
probably I was influenced by wishful thinking re marleau, thinking that dl would swing a trade for him last summmer. though in fairness to me, I did say it was a crack-pot idea.
chicago would have been 100% screwed if the inflator hadn’t been voted in, now they’re 90% screwed. woot. they can’t even qualify their RFAs. their cap is $4MM lower than everyone else’s for next season because they foolishly spent their bonus cushion (called that one a year ago). they’re going to suffer massive losses over the summer.
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Kingsfanone Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:27 pm
@quisp,
Now I know why I never paid attention in school to anythng connected to numbers. I can lean over and see what Quisp writes and not only get the idea of what’s going on but read it in a totally understandable description.
Impressive, Skywalker. Most impressive.
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quisp Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
@Kingsfanone
search your feelings, father, you know it to be true.
variable Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
@quisp,
in terms of how this translates into changing this year’s off-season dynamics, the proposed cap increase doesn’t help those who are in need of space, as you pointed out…but it’s safe to say players are going to try and make up the escrow difference anyway they can…and if that means asking for more money come contract time, the question remains how united are the owners in capping themselves…?
the nhl looks like it’s going to be heading towards something similar to what the nba has with it’s 6 years of service and under players…if the nhl is looking to stabilize markets through economic growth while in a worldwide financial crisis, the first place they should start is working in conjunction with the nhlpa (whenever they get a leader) to finalize a structured hard-cap guideline for un-tenured players…in a perfect world, both sides realize the assigned risk in not being on the same page financially in the future com 2012-13…it’s time for the league to let the game overshadow it’s finances…
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54FIGHTING Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:22 pm
@quisp,
For fun
54FIGHTING: 1
QUISP: 0
http://lakingsinsider.com/2010/05/28/hextall-on-bernier-etc/#comments
We’ll see how the next one plays out.
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Quisp Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:06 pm
@54FIGHTING,
You win this round, darn it all.
54FIGHTING Reply:
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:10 am
@QUISP,
Your stance however is correct. From what I’ve read it was a close vote.
I’d still like to know Schenn’s cap hit.
JB Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:35 pm
@quisp,
I still don’t agree w/ your representation that SJ/DET/PHI/CHI made salary dumps or even any salary driven trades. I think those team have to do more work to manage their salary issues but I think in the end most made smart hockey driven moves.
On Chicago what you say may turn out to be true but at worse they mortgaged 1 year’s worth of future for a Stanley Cup. If they can dump just one of those big contracts (Huet, Campbell or Hossa) this summer they can use that $ to fill their 4th line and 3rd D pairings easily. And in 1 year they’ll be fine again and have a good core locked in to build around. And nothing says they have to give Niemmi big $ this summer or even resign him. Go the Detroit route and make team about about high end offense and stable defense and not Vezina level goaltending.
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Quisp Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
@JB,
I suppose we are using two different definitions of salary dump. If I understand you correctly, your definition is “a trade in which a player with a big(-ish) contract is sent to another team and receives no salary back, or substantially less salary back.”
My definition is more broad. What I mean by “salary dump” is: “any transaction (or management decision not to enter into a transaction, i.e. not re-signing a UFA, not making a qualifying offer to an RFA) the result of which is a shedding of salary for the purpose of creating what the CBA calls “payroll room.
I don’t care if it’s done via trade (Erhoff, Barker), letting a UFA walk (Hossa, Samuelsson), not tendering a qualifying offer (what’s about to happen to several of Chicago’s RFAs), buy-out, demotion to AHL…those are all salary dumps, or “salary clearing moves” if you prefer that.
But I understand what you’re saying.
JB Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:35 pm
@quisp, yeah you and i have different definitions then because yours to me is just the normal business decision. Take recent SJ news re: Naby. Is he worth 4-5 million when you have Greiss or other prospects or pool of free agent goalies w/ playoff credentials? Yeah their desire to sign Marleau and stay under cap is a factor but primarily I think SJ can look at Naby and say he just hasn’t delivered in playoffs to be rewarded.
Even w/o cap teams have budgets. I think the cap is good excuse though for SJ to say, “well we’d love to but you know we just can’t” when really they don’t really want to that badly in the first place.
Thank goodness! Bettman will have wait another year to cause another lockout! I think he just does it for fun now. He derives pleasure from getting booed everywhere he goes.
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Newf Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:08 pm
@Matt R, i’m not sure he gets booed…maybe that’s just the sound air makes when it travels through that huge empty head of his.
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Matt R Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
@Newf, I stand corrected!
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tantrum4 Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:21 pm
@Matt R,
Ha, ha. I laugh when I read people think it was Bettman’s fault there was a lockout. He’s just the talking head for the owners. And it was just as much the NHLPA’s fault as it was the league owners’ fault. You’re kidding yourself if you think it was Bettman.
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Matt R Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:00 pm
@tantrum4,
So tell me how I boo the NHLPA…
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luc20rules Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:03 pm
@Matt R, You boo the void that is there current leadership structure.
Just have to say, thank goodness they extended the CBA, lets just hope the NHLPA can pull their heads out of their rears and keep this thing going in the right direction.
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“Hawks telling teams that price for Byfuglien is a first-round pick and a prospect” – LeBrun
Interesting
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54FIGHTING Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:17 pm
@Mike L,
Not worth it for a 3rd line player and PP guy. He had an average regular season and a GREAT playoffs but that doesn’t make your price a 1st rounder.
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I don’t like it.
Where is all this money coming from? Increased ticket prices, that’s where.
Remember back before the cap, most teams can’t afford to spend 40 million on salary. Now with the increase in cap, the salary floor is also raised.
Now they have to spend $42-44 million at the floor? Where is that money coming from? Look for more teams in financial trouble soon. Oh, not to mention overpaid veteran player that will not be worth their salary.
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Poll on NHL.com about Kovy and where he’ll end up…majority of votes are between LA and elsewhere, not so much the KHL.
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on and off topics…:
a lil’ surprised by the salary cap news…but the cba extension gives everybody another year to get their acts together…let’s see if that really changes anyone’s negotiating strategy…it’s always interesting how peeps look at the future…both in sports and in finances…
- kudos to scott neidermayer on a stellar nhl career, as he announced his retirement today…and it was the right time…i never rooted for him, but always regarded him as a perennial norris candidate and a fantastic all-around player and leader…he’s one of the good guys and i wish him all the best in retirement…
- the nathan horton/dennis wideman deal has equitable deal written all over it…i like how each player helps their new team…the kicker is the two picks to compensate for gregory campbell also heading to boston that florida gets…the dave tallon era has officially has begun w/the panthers…
- so happy to hear about cammi granato’s election to the hockey hall of fame…she was the face of women’s hockey for awhile and backed it up with her solid all-around play…she’s a true leader and deserves it…also happy to see that dino c. finally got in after eight years of eligibility…i know all the on/off ice issues…fine…i don’t like them either…the guy had a helluva temper…but his stats don’t lie and anyone with over 600 goals needs to be in the hall…unless they went o.j. or pete rose or pick yr crestfallen hero…i’m glad he’s in…
- and here’s this lil’ ditty from tsn on lappy…
http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/clip316707#clip316707
is that a crown i see on the right corner of lappy’s shirt…???
it’s a great piece and tribute to a great team player…yaaaaay, lappy…:)
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Dan H. Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:50 pm
@variable,
I’m happy and sad that Scott is retiring. You don’t see many guys who can skate and have that kind of vision so I’m bummed about that going away…on the other hand the Ducks will suck more now that he’s gone.
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Matt R Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:09 pm
@variable,
Enjoyed the Lappy video. It sucks in a way that getting in to the HOF for players is 100% about stats. It seems like sometimes the players without the stats are just as deserving. Players like Lappy or warrior defencemen like Norstrom deserve a shot.
Also, I’m not entirely sure why pro players don’t wear cages. Once you’re used to them they really don’t block your vision.
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Abbey Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:51 pm
@variable, Cammi to the HHOF is well deserved. But if the Hall of Fame had heard her work as the Kings Radio Color Analyst back in the day? I’m just saying….
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Real 9 Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:44 pm
@variable,
I think you meant DALE TALLON, not Dave….story
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5195378
former Blackhawks great, he was originally Van’s 1st draft pick in their very 1st year in the NHL,
in other words….a franchise player….
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variable Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 7:17 pm
@Real 9,
thanks for the typo catch…:)
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Can anyone tell me how many minutes between picks at the draft?
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I don’t pretend to understand all of it so I’ll just say I’m glad they’ll be no work stoppage.
and Washington is our *itch
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Some of the people above me were talking about wether Quick or Bernier should be traded for some fire power right now seeing that their trade value is so high…I think IF that were to happen, and that’s a BIG if, what made the time even riper for us right now is that the Sharks just announced that they are not offering Nabakov a contract. In a perfect world, I would trade Quick, Start Nabakov with Bernier Back up and get a big name for Quick. That’s ONLY if we were going to trade a goalie right now, which I doubt.
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oldthunder Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
@USCG, paying 6 million for a great goalie in the regular season is fine but… nabokov has a reputation for playoff tanking though. I’d rather have that 6 million for a great winger.
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USCG Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:08 pm
@oldthunder, true. I rather have a winger too. All i’m saying is that I feel that when we finally get around to wanting to trade either Bernier/Quick which would be LATEST the 2012 season, we wouldn’t be getting as many great offers as we may be getting possibly now.
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notposimatt Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Nabakov is a bum he’s not worth anything. and in front of bernier? Sounds crazy if you ask me
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Tookie Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:06 pm
@USCG,
I swear to christ, if the kings trade Bernier I quit. They shouldn’t even consider trading either until the trade deadline in 2011. Having Quick and Bernier is not an issue right now, it shouldn’t be thought of as one.
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USCG Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:08 pm
@Tookie, I also wanted to add that I doubt he would go for 6 mil for the reasons you included, and I think any team to offer him more than 4 is gonna have to be desperate.
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Tookie Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:14 pm
@USCG,
I like Nabby and everything, but history doesn’t lie…the guy chokes it in the playoffs. I’m more than happy to let our young goalies develop and peel them off as needed. If Bernier is going to be anywhere close to where we all think he will be he should never be traded. When was the last time the LA Kings had “Goaltender” listed as a freaking strength going into a season?
make kovulchuck happen, we can definatly afford it now
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With SJ letting Nabby walk, I assume they are planning to offer Marleau an extension. The Habs just signed Plekanec to a 6 year $30 mil extension. Our options are starting to thin out. If DL lets Kovi get away he’ll have to get really creative if he is going to add some fire power to the line-up. Come’on Dirty Dean, get to work, make something happen!!!!
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Sorry to be off topic folks. 5% inflators are great for professional sports athletes and teams trying to fit in players’ salaries under a cap. For us average “Joes” most of us have not had a cost of living adjustment (increase) to our wages in 5-7 years. The average percentage increase to a persons wages in line with the COLA should be about 3.6%. That being said, prices keep increasing for everything including tickets, food and transportation and I’m not exclusively talking about a night out at the Staples Center. How many of you in this room have had a wage increase?
The point is folks. I can’t afford to go to hockey games. I can’t afford the direct T.V. package and I can barely afford the internet. Just put a good product on the ice so I can have something to cheer for and create a diversion from my pathetic life. My namesake is truly a misnomer.
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Dan H. Reply:
June 23rd, 2010 at 8:24 am
@bonvivant1,
I haven’t had a raise in three years and actually took a pay CUT last year to keep the company solvent with everyone else that works here.
Economy still sucks so entertanment entities need to be careful because I don’t see the $$$ flowing much better this year. Unemployment is still HUGE and people are taking cuts like me so that means less nights out.
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Wow! The Ducks now have room to sign Kovi! Now if Selanne says i am done, ducks have a lot of room to sign some players… Like I said before Kovi likes Cali and now I think he has three choices: Kings, sharks and now the ducks.
If the Sharks do not sign Marlau then Kovi is thier man to get. What Cali team will Kovi go to, should be intersting to watch on July 1 to the 5th.
He will sign on a team that will pay 8 mil a year!
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fiederer2 Reply:
June 23rd, 2010 at 11:06 am
@sammuch, The quacks still need to sign Bobby Ryan to an extension. So they wont have the cap space after all. The Sharks have to much payroll in the top 2 lines so Kovi wont be heading to SJ.
Come on DL….Put Kovi next to Kopi and Simmer.
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I hope you are right!
I just heard the Sharks are not going to sign there goalie! 6 mil they save… to sign someone at a cheper price in net. Lots a free agents goalie to sign and it looks like you do not need an A+ goalie to win the cup anymore, all you need is 2 B+ goalie to win. Chicago and philly prove that this year!
We need to win 5 on 5 to go anywhere this year and Kovi is what the Kings need. Now that NHL teams will not take the Kings lightly. They will need Kovi to get them in playoffs. Or someone who can score 30 goals or more. I notice that most teams that win the cup have 2 to 3 30 or more goals to win the cup. Kings only have Kopi.
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