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The first tense moments of the NHLs
Topic Started: Jan 11 2014, 01:12 AM (48 Views)
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TORONTO -- The first tense moments of the NHLs collective bargaining negotiations have arrived. With Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr not scheduled to sit across from one another until the middle of next week and the sides unable to even agree on the core issues that need to be addressed, a sense of uneasiness has suddenly enveloped the talks. After Wednesdays session, in which the NHL dismissed the unions initial proposal, Fehr set off for pre-scheduled player meetings in Chicago. The union boss will also oversee a session with players in Kelowna, B.C., before returning to Toronto and resuming CBA discussions on Aug. 22. At that point, the league and the NHL Players Association will have just 24 days left to reach a new agreement and avoid a lockout. But where do they start? There is very little common ground between the proposals each side has put forth and neither seems particularly willing to move off its current position. "What the issues are and how they get solved and how deep the issues go are something that were not yet on the same page," Bettman said Wednesday. Meanwhile, the hockey world remains on hold -- and many are starting to brace for the worst. The Detroit Red Wings announced Thursday that theyre cancelling their annual September prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., due to the "uncertainty" surrounding the CBA. Eight teams had been scheduled to participate. "We have determined that it is in everyones best interest to cancel this years tournament," Red Wings GM Ken Holland said in a statement. Sub-committees from the league and union gathered Thursday to discuss non-core economic issues such as travel, ice conditions and training camp. Both sides seemed encouraged about the status of those talks, but as deputy commissioner Bill Daly pointed out: "I dont think thats where this CBA is going to get cut or not." In simple terms, the owners want to pay players less -- much less. Despite the fact the NHLs revenues grew from $2.2 billion before the 2004-05 lockout to $3.3 billion last season, a number of teams are still struggling. The financial success of the wealthiest franchises over the last seven years ended up hurting the poorer ones. Thats because the salary cap was tied to overall hockey-related revenues and rose dramatically from $39 million in 2005-06 to $64.3 million last season, bringing the salary floor (the minimum teams must spend) up along with it. If next season was played under the current system, the cap would have been set at $70.2 million and the floor would have been $54.2 million. However, a new deal needs to be put in place before the NHL resumes operations. Under the proposal put forward by the owners in July, the players share in revenue would be cut from 57 per cent to 43 per cent and would include a change to the way the salary cap is calculated. Instead of being set at $8 million above the midpoint (total league revenues divided by 30 teams), the upper limit would be reduced to $4 million above. As a result, the salary cap would drop to $50.8 million next season, which is below where the floor currently rests. The league also called for the elimination of salary arbitration, contract limits of five years (with equal money paid each year, essentially eliminating signing bonuses) and 10 years of service before unrestricted free agency kicks in. All of those proposed changes are designed to slow the increase in salaries. The NHLPA estimated the leagues proposal would cost players approximately $450 million per season. Rather than making a direct counter-offer, Fehr elected to design his own system. He attempted to appease owners by keeping the hard salary cap in place and putting a drag on salaries by delinking them from overall revenues, but called for an expanded revenue-sharing plan that would see the wealthy teams distribute more than $250 million per season to the poor. Under the unions plan, the salary cap would fall at roughly $69 million next season. It would increase to $71 million in 2013-14 and $75 million in 2014-15. In other words, the owners would only realize significantly more profit in the deal if the league continued to grow at a level beyond the seven per cent it averaged since the lockout. Theres no guarantee of that, especially since the strength of the Canadian dollar has helped fuel the growth. The offer is based on the premise that the players would give up revenue for three years -- the system would revert back to the current rules in the fourth -- so that the NHL could work on getting its struggling teams on stable footing. "If there are issues remaining, they are club-specific issues," said Fehr. "And that if the clubs that dont need assistance are willing to partner with the players to help get at the issues of the clubs that may need it were prepared to do that. But its not a circumstance in which the players are just going to say OK, take everything from us." History is also at play here. The players are still smarting after being locked out for an entire season in 2004-05 before eventually accepting a 24 per cent rollback on salaries and a salary cap. At the time, Bettman repeatedly talked about the need for "cost certainty" to keep the league healthy -- something the union eventually capitulated to. Now in the next round of negotiations, the sides appear to be back where they started and the threat of yet another lockout seems very real. The league is contending the players need to give up a significant amount of salary to stabilize the industry while the union maintains that goal would be best accomplished with the wealthy teams doing more to help their struggling counterparts. Against that backdrop, the first signs of animosity are beginning to surface. After talks wrapped up Wednesday, Fehr hinted the NHL was working from a "playbook" that involves using the lockout as a negotiating tactic and called for the owners to present an offer that moved in the players direction. Bettman, meanwhile, seemed to suggest that this wasnt a good time for Fehr to step away from talks and hold regional player meetings. "Where we go from here is I come back next Wednesday to resume negotiations when the unions ready," said Bettman. Fehr contends that he doesnt need to be present for talks to continue. "As we go forward ... what we have to do is sit and negotiate until we get the deal done," he said. "It doesnt mean that every single person has to be in the room on every single meeting, but the parties have to be going at it regularly." --- Heres a look at how the salary cap and salary floor would be impacted by the current CBA along with proposals from the NHL and NHL Players Association for the 2012-13 season: Current system@ Salary cap: $70.2 million Salary floor: $54.2 million NHLs proposal@ Salary cap: $50.8 million Salary floor: $38.8 million NHLPAs proposal (assuming a fixed $16-million gap is kept in place)@ Salary cap: $69 million Salary floor: $53 million Sam Martin Jersey . New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in the Group A match on an own-goal by Ayu Nakada in the 11th minute and doubled the advantage four minutes later on a long-range effort by Rosie White. Dwight Lowery Jersey For Sale . Messi created chances for Alexis Sanchez to score in the sixth minute and Cesc Fabregas in the 55th for a 2-0 win away to Benfica. Barcelonas comfortable night was tarnished late on as the four-time champion lost captain Carles Puyol who dislocated his left elbow after landing awkwardly. http://www.officialpatriotsteamshop.com/autographed-irving-fryar-jersey-uz-88.html . Wilin Rosario hit a two-run homer and Colorado took advantage of four Dodgers errors to romp past Los Angeles 13-3 Friday night for its season-high fifth straight win. NFL Mychal Kendricks Eagles Jersey . Torontos victory seemed almost beside the point after the night Steve Delabar and Moises Sierra had. Delabar struck out a club-record four batters in a single inning, while Sierra hit the first home run of his major-league career in an extra-innings 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. Jacksonville Jaguars Customized jersey . Danilo Gallinari added 19 points, Andre Iguodala had 11 and JaVale McGee scored 10. Tim Duncan went 8 for 11 from the field in leading the Spurs with 21 points in 25 minutes at the AT&T Center.MILWAUKEE -- Cody Ransoms homer capped a four-run burst in the eighth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers, after firing their bullpen coach, held off the Houston Astros 8-7 Monday night. The Brewers dismissed bullpen coach Stan Kyles before the game, then watched their shaky relievers barely preserve this victory. Milwaukee scored four times in the seventh for a 4-3 edge, but the Astros tied it in the eighth against Livan Hernandez. Ransoms three-run shot gave the Brewers an 8-4 lead in the bottom half before Houston rallied for three runs in the ninth against Kameron Loe and John Axford. Axford got J.D. Martinez to ground out with runners at the corners for his 17th save in 24 chances. Ryan Braun, who leads the NL with 28 home runs, sat out because of blisters on his left hand. Houston starter Bud Norris allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, but remained without a win in his last 10 starts. Hernandez gave up the lead in the top of eighth when Jose Altuve led off the inning with a single off against Livan Hernandez (4-1) and scored on Steve Pearces double to tie it at four. Milwaukee responded in its half. Jonathan Lucroy led off with a hustle double off Francisco Cordero (1-3), lining the ball into left field and barely beating the throw into second with a head-first slide. Nyjer Morgan, attempting to bunt Lucroy over, reached when reliever Xavier Cedeno threw late to third. Lucroy scored when Cesar Izturis hit a dribbler in front of home plate that Cedeno couldnt pick up. Ransom followed with a 423-foot home run above the Brewers bullpen in left. Things got interesting again in the ninth. With one out, Jordan Schafer walked and went to second on defensive indifference, scoring on Brian Bogusevics single off Kameron Loe. Altuuve walked and scored on Justin Maxwells double.dddddddddddd Axford then came on, and Pearce hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right to score Altuve. Axford then hit Brett Wallace with a pitch. J.D. Martinez lined a single to the hole between short and third. Cesar Izturis dove to make the play and fired a one-hopper to first to get Martinez, as Corey Hart held on to the ball with a snowcone catch -- just another harrowing finish for the Brewers bullpen. Milwaukee starter Marco Estrada, whose last win came on Aug. 23, 2011, allowed six hits and three runs, two earned, in seven innings, striking out six and walking one. The Astros scored runs on sacrifice flies by Pearce in the first and Altuve in the third, and Scott Moore added a solo homer in the seventh, his fifth and third against the Brewers. Houston had lost a franchise-worst 12 in a row before beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-5, on Sunday -- the same day they announced they had traded third basemen Chris Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for two prospects. NOTES: Pearce made a great play in the sixth, leaping into the right-field wall and a cage-covered window to catch a fly ball from Hart. . Lucroy took to Twitter to react to Kyles dismissal. "We are all to blame, not just one guy," Lucroy tweeted before the game. "Win as a team, lose as a team. Tough times dont last, tough people do. Lets get after it tonight." . The Astros recalled Brett Wallace from Triple-A Oklahoma City before the game, and he started at first base. To make room for Wallace, the club optioned utility man Brian Bixler to Oklahoma City. . Brewers CF Carlos Gomez was chosen NL co-Player of the Week. Gomez hit .346 with four home runs, 10 RBIs, 10 runs and three stolen bases in seven games last week.
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