As we trek through the dreary sports months of July and August (unless you're a diehard baseball fan), something new has finally been brought to our attention, something that will not only give us pundits something to talk about for the next few months, but may jeopardize something that many of us in this city look forward to with uncontrollable angst: hockey season.
The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players Association entered into the first phase of negotiations on the league's collective bargaining agreement, which expires on September 15th, 2012. While the season can start while negotiations are ongoing, there is a much higher likelihood of a lockout, meaning the season could be delayed or outright cancelled as it was in 2004-2005.
Its disappointing to think that despite the huge success the league has had since that dreaded lockout, we may have to wait out another whole year while the league and the union settle their differences. This week, the NHL offered what it called its "initial proposal", but what we will refer to as its initial "slap in the face", as the terms put forward we're essentially a joke; more in the sense that NHLPA head Donald Fehr probably laughed out loud and kept the proposal only to be used as toilet paper or as a paper basketball-crumple it up, aim, swish, into the garbage can.
The initial proposal called for an 11% difference in the revenue-sharing between the two parties. As it stands, the players receive 57% of the pie; the owners want it down to 46%. The owners also want to stretch the amount of time in which teams have full control over their drafted players. Entry-level contracts (essentially a rookie's first pro contract) would be extended from three to five years, and players would have to wait 10 years to become unrestricted free-agents, compared to the significantly shorter required service time in place now (as it stands players need to play seven seasons except for in unique situations).
Perhaps the most laughable proposed change was the idea to have a a limit of five-years for any contract handed out; laughable because there has been much outrage and debate regarding the fact that general managers have been handing out contracts of over ten years while committing hundreds of millions of dollars to players, all with the consent of the men signing the players cheques, the owners. Apparently within the last two weeks or so the owners had a change of mind, as they now want to not only curtail the handing out of mega-contracts, but eliminate them completely.
Its safe to say that the players will not willing to accept many of these terms, if any at all. Now we await the counter-proposal, with the hopes that the NHLPA will simply submit a legitimate offer as opposed to striking back with an equally ridiculous offer. Suffice to say, it does not look good for October, when the puck is scheduled to drop on the season-opening game of the 2012-2013 NHL season.
