The 2012-2013 NHL Thread

[bobobob]

Originally Posted by Schatzman

The truth is the players made deals and signed contracts in good faith.
The owners are trying to get out of those contracts by passing rules that will override the contracts.
I see issues on both sides still.

There it is in a nutshell.

The owners act like it's monopoly money wheeling and dealing for the best
Stanley Cup squad that they can buy. After a couple of years of overspending they
sober up and all of the sudden want a reset and start over on the CBA they agreed to
because they plunged the sport into ruinous financial predicament.

The players demanded and got revenue percentages that no other buisiness in the universe
could concievably sustain for more than a few years without wrecking team's finances
and making the CBA untenable.

Plenty of stupid and greed on both sides.
Rich folks can never be rich enough.

[Schatzman]

Originally Posted by bobobob

There it is in a nutshell.

The owners act like it's monopoly money wheeling and dealing for the best
Stanley Cup squad that they can buy. After a couple of years of overspending they
sober up and all of the sudden want a reset and start over on the CBA they agreed to
because they plunged the sport into ruinous financial predicament.

The players demanded and got revenue percentages that no other buisiness in the universe
could concievably sustain for more than a few years without wrecking team's finances
and making the CBA untenable.

Plenty of stupid and greed on both sides.
Rich folks can never be rich enough.

Yes, then you have the teams that wanted to screw other small market teams over by offering insane signing bonuses to certain franchise players. Since these franchise players knew their contracts would get altered as a result of the new CBA agreement, they chose the team that offered the highest signing bonuses....

Cough cough, Minnesota, cough, cough.

[bobobob]

Let's cut to the chase.
Will the NHL survive another lost season?
I don't think so.

[Schatzman]

Originally Posted by bobobob

Let's cut to the chase.
Will the NHL survive another lost season?
I don't think so.

Only if they dump several teams. Small market teams need this to get done, because if the players aren't willing to eat the cost, someone will have to be on the chopping block, and Darwinism will be in full force.

[Grainbelt]

The salary cap, in its current form, is essentially a mockery of accrual accounting. Ignoring the % revenue calculations for a moment, the change from long-term, bonus-heavy, cap-averaged contracts to 5-year, no-bonus, cost-per-year averaged contracts is HUGE.

The ownership group is basically saying 'we can't figure out how to manage our cash payrolls'. Playing around with capgeek.com makes this all the more obvious.

As mentioned before, the Parise/Suter deal at 12/12/12/9/9/9/6... has a cap hit of 7.5 per year. 4.5mil spread from cash to cap for each player, 9 total. They gained five of that back on contracts that are paying less than their cap hit but still have cash payroll 4mil higher than the cap.

They can afford it. Nashville? Not so much. Which is exactly why the players are angling for comprehensive revenue sharing. The cap doesn't mean anything if some teams can overspend and others can barely make the floor. As a player, you want to get paid cash up front as much as possible.

[shrineclown]

At least they are meeting face to face everyday. Perhaps they will sort this out.

[Schatzman]

I loved the announcement on friday. They said they came to an agreement on player safety issues and the order in which they would discuss the remaining issues.

It is always nice to see they can agree on the order in which they will discuss the issues.

[Moving Pictures]

Originally Posted by Grainbelt

The salary cap, in its current form, is essentially a mockery of accrual accounting. Ignoring the % revenue calculations for a moment, the change from long-term, bonus-heavy, cap-averaged contracts to 5-year, no-bonus, cost-per-year averaged contracts is HUGE.

The ownership group is basically saying 'we can't figure out how to manage our cash payrolls'. Playing around with capgeek.com makes this all the more obvious.

As mentioned before, the Parise/Suter deal at 12/12/12/9/9/9/6... has a cap hit of 7.5 per year. 4.5mil spread from cash to cap for each player, 9 total. They gained five of that back on contracts that are paying less than their cap hit but still have cash payroll 4mil higher than the cap.

They can afford it. Nashville? Not so much. Which is exactly why the players are angling for comprehensive revenue sharing. The cap doesn't mean anything if some teams can overspend and others can barely make the floor. As a player, you want to get paid cash up front as much as possible.

You made my brain hurt.

My perspective? Everybody is whining over salaries that are for the large part greater than i will earn in a lifetime.

Screw Gary Bettman, the hell with the players. Buncha greedy buggers, all.

[bobobob]

They've collectively thrown away $100 million by wrecking the preseason and the first two weeks of the regular season.

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article...ms-3914376.php

[Schatzman]

Originally Posted by Moving Pictures

You made my brain hurt.

My perspective? Everybody is whining over salaries that are for the large part greater than i will earn in a lifetime.

Screw Gary Bettman, the hell with the players. Buncha greedy buggers, all.

While I agree the contracts seem like a lot of money, you need to compare it to other sports and the risks you face.

Let us take a 4th line enforcer. You are expected to play every game. You take a slap shot to the face, you are expected to go back out there. You are responsible for protecting your team members. You are expected to give up your body no matter what. You are expected to rush into the dirty areas and take the big hits and deliver them too. When your team needs motivation, you go out there a fight some of the fucking scariest people around. Your real career lasts from 23-35 if you are lucky. You face the risk of concussions more then anybody else.

You are doing all of this for 900k-1.5 mil. A closing pitcher in the MLB who sucks makes 3.5-4.5 million. Fuck that. This fight in the NHL isn't for the big contract guys, it is for the small contract players.

[Transalp Jas]

Originally Posted by Schatzman

While I agree the contracts seem like a lot of money, you need to compare it to other sports and the risks you face.

Let us take a 4th line enforcer. You are expected to play every game. You take a slap shot to the face, you are expected to go back out there. You are responsible for protecting your team members. You are expected to give up your body no matter what. You are expected to rush into the dirty areas and take the big hits and deliver them too. When your team needs motivation, you go out there a fight some of the fucking scariest people around. Your real career lasts from 23-35 if you are lucky. You face the risk of concussions more then anybody else.

You are doing all of this for 900k-1.5 mil. A closing pitcher in the MLB who sucks makes 3.5-4.5 million. Fuck that. This fight in the NHL isn't for the big contract guys, it is for the small contract players.

And, yet, I'm still having trouble feeling sympathy.
Millions of people take bigger risks every day for peanuts. If all of the bottom of the rung players in the NHL walked away tomorrow, there'd be people lining up for miles to take their place.

No matter what the risk, no matter how shitty the job, these fourth liners are still living the dream. Oh, and they're millionaires to boot. If the risk turns out to be too much for them, they can join the rest of us in the real world, working all year to make 5-10 percent of what they make now.

[Grainbelt]

Losing optimism. Nobody will care until football season ends down here in 'merica.

I'll substitute college hockey, maybe even take in a high school game or two.

USHL teams are all ~3hrs away now that the Rochester Mustangs folded.

[shrineclown]

Originally Posted by Grainbelt

Losing optimism. Nobody will care until football season ends down here in 'merica.

I'll substitute college hockey, maybe even take in a high school game or two.

USHL teams are all ~3hrs away now that the Rochester Mustangs folded.

Hmmmm, not so. I care and am getting frustrated. Just saw the gal I buy my tickets from, and she is nervous too. She said, "I need them to play or I will be out of business." Bummer.....she is a good twenty percent better than any other vendors around here. And no extra extra extra fees tacked on.

[Schatzman]

I scored some tickets to the UNH game tomorrow. I am doing whatever I can to survive.

[MZcountryboy]

by this point last year, I had already bought 4 tix to see the habs, and the nhl center ice streaming package.

your loss, NHL.

assholes.