July 7, 2005
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The NHL and its players' association reached a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement that, if finalized, would end a lengthy lockout, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
The newspaper, citing anonymous sources close to the negotiations, said the agreement will feature a hard salary cap linked to 54 percent of league revenue, a 24 percent rollback of existing contracts and qualifying offers. It will also include a provision that will limit the salary of any player to 20 percent of the team cap figure in any season.
The salary cap will be $37 million and won't include medical and dental benefits and pension payments, the Times reported.
Details will be presented to the NHL executive committee in New York on Monday, the newspaper said, and players will meet to decide whether to approve the deal.
Under the new agreement, the league's All-Star game will be dropped next season and players will be allowed to represent their home countries at the Turin Olympics next February, the Times said. Each team will also have an equal chance in the lottery for the No. 1 pick in this year's entry draft.
The new deal includes a provision under which 15 percent of each player's paycheck will go into an escrow account until revenue is calculated after each season, the paper said. If league spending on salaries exceeds 54 percent of revenue, the difference between the salaries paid and the negotiated percentage will be paid to teams from the escrow account. If teams spend less than 54 percent, the escrow money will revert to players.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the hockey season Feb. 16 because of the lockout, which started Sept. 16. The NHL became the first major pro sports league in North America to lose an entire season to a labor dispute.
The Times reported some details of what it believes will be in the new accord. One of them was that when the NHL entry draft lottery is held to determine order of selection that every team will have an equal chance -- one in 30 -- of getting the first overall pick and the right to choose phenom Sidney Crosby.
Sources tell TSN that when the lottery is conducted, it will be a slightly weighted lottery, giving the teams that have performed poorly over the last three or four seasons a slightly better chance than those who have performed well.
Cross Traffic wrote:Watch the Rangers win that "lottery".
You really have to hope that it will be done on the up and up because Crosby is the real deal and he'll become an instant superstar in the league. With the league having a more balanced playing field, any team will benefit from getting him but the big media markets like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles could make him into a megastar if he is the real deal on the ice. Chicago needs a shot in the arm badly...he'd be a great fit with the 'Hawks. With the salary restrictions in play, the Rangers will have to make smarter moves and a former small market GM like Sather knows what to do on a limited budget. I'd love for Crosby to be a Red Wing but it's a 1-in-30 chance.
I'm just relieved this is coming to an end and we can actually look forward to the NHL again. It's going to be an exciting offseason with all of the player movement and watching which veterans will hang around for another year. Have we seen the last of Yzerman, Chelios, Hasek, Francis, Messier, and Hull? The Crosby sweepstakes will be huge as well. Hopefully all of the players come back from Europe and the league can begin the healing process. The game should be more exciting with the new rule changes and fingers crossed, tickets might be more affordable for everyone. The fact the owners won should mean the league will become a more stable situation. Players can go to Europe if they want but the NHL will still remain the premiere hockey league in the world.
It's funnier only because of hockey players' reputation of losing teeth. You'd think they'd need it most out of all pro athletes. I think they can afford the dental bills anyways.
According to the Toronto Sun, the league may add an extra round of playoffs when the NHL rturns to the ice. Although the format has yet to be determined, two teams from each conference would make the playoffs and play in a best-of-three preliminary round.
The Sun also reports that overtime may be lengthened by three minutes and followed by a three-man shootout. In the case of a tie after regulation, there would be five minutes of four-on-four, followed by three minutes of three-on-three.
TSN has learned of several other key elements of the new agreement:
$850,000 is going to be the cap for entry-level players, but there are some bonuses that these young players can make. So a player like Sidney Crosby could make upwards of $4.5 million if he reaches some lofty bonuses, like being a top-10 scorer in the league.
Free agency will also become more liberal under the new CBA. Unrestricted free agency will still be 31-years-old in 2005, but the number drops considerably from there - 29 in 2006, 28 in 2007 and 27 in 2008 through 2010. This is important because at 27 players still have a lot of their career left.
There is all sorts of talk that players will have to renegotiate their contracts to get underneath the salary cap...that is not going to be allowed. Players are not going to be allowed to renegotiate their contracts. They are stuck with the deal unless they are bought out.
Another positive for the players is a significantly improved pension for both existing players in the NHL and for those retired players who are over the age of 70.
Otis wrote:
Another positive for the players is a significantly improved pension for both existing players in the NHL and for those retired players who are over the age of 70.
It was nice of the NHL owners to include that in deal.
I know he was a goalie. I prefer to ignore it, given who he played for (thank you for bringing up such a painful subject, btw).
But be that as it may, it doesn't naturally follow that his having been a goalie means that he likes to draft goalies. I mean, Brian Burke (as an example) is a former defenseman, but he drafts a lot more forwards than he does defensemen.
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Love the idea of adding playoff teams. I started a topic on that subject waaay back on SC years ago, and you all jumped all over me like I was insane. Maybe I was, but at least the fools in charge are too.
The OT sounds pretty good too. I've always loved watching 3 on 3 hockey the very rare times it happens. Should make for an interesting show. And NO TIES!!! Thank God.
Pyrric victory or not, methinks the NHL will be a new and improved thing to watch after this CBA stuff finally goes away.
