December 14, 2012, Will NHL owners labor victory be pyrrhic? news story for Metro Newspaper in NYC
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Prust, who signed with Montreal this
offseason, has been working out in Scottsdale, Ariz. during the
lockout.
The last 20 weeks have been prologue. The final act in the NHL lockout of 2012 has begun.
In an attempt to end the lockout, now in its 90th day, the NHL and the
NHLPA reconvened labor talks Wednesday in an undisclosed location,
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed in emails to Metro. Daly also
said that the sides will be joined by federal mediators.
Through its Twitter feed, the NHLPA announced Craig Adams, Adrian
Aucoin, Brad Boyes, Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Ron
Hainsey, Jamal Mayers, Andy McDonald, Steve Montador, Brendan Morrison,
Douglas Murray and Daniel Winnik attended Wednesday’s session, along
with NHLPA officials. According to reports, NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman and Daly represented the league.
The session was the first formal meeting since talks collapsed last
Thursday. Subsequently, the league released a ceremonial announcement
Monday afternoon on the cancellation of games through Dec. 30. The
statement noted the league has lost “526 regular season games — 42.8
percent of the season” — dating back to Oct. 11.
Should the sides be able to reach an agreement, there will be an abbreviated season similar to the 48-game campaign in 1994-95.
“Something needs to happen,” former Ranger and current Canadien Brandon
Prust told Metro in a phone conversation. Prust is in Phoenix skating
with a number of players including Doan and Darcy Hordichuk. “We’re
close. If we want to salvage the season something’s got to be done.
“[This is the] closest we’ve ever been.”
The remaining issues between the sides are the league’s insistence on
five-year max contracts for free agents (seven-year max for teams
re-signing their own free agents) analogous to the NBA’s free-agency
system, lowering the salary cap and a 10-year CBA.
The league has argued the preponderance of long-term deals such as the
14-year, $110 million contract Shea Weber signed with Nashville this
past summer have caused franchises financial distress.
However, a high-profile agent explained that the long-term contracts
“arose from [an] artificially suppressed system. [Executives are going
to] get around it — teams want to. That’s what you’re dealing with.”
Even if the league gets its way on the free agency rules, the agent
predicted the new CBA “will not dissuade teams from making deals
beneficial to [the] clubs and players.”
Clearly, the league will not equal the $3.3 billion in revenues it
earned last year in an abbreviated season, and it seems unlikely they
will reach that level in 2013-14. The NHL will also have to satiate
sponsors, who have lost money over the course of the lockout.
Then there is the troubling issue of undisguised anger between the players and the owners.
Throughout the course of the lockout, the league has made no secret of
its unhappiness with NHLPA Executive Director Don Fehr, most notably
having owners Ron Burkle (Pittsburgh Penguins), Mark Chipman (Winnipeg
Jets), Larry Tanenbaum (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay
Lightning) doubt in a statement released to the media and later posted
on NHL.com.
The players have responded by criticizing Bettman and the owners,
specifically Boston’s Jeremy Jacobs, Minnesota’s Craig Leopold and
Washington’s Ted Leonsis, who are on the league’s negotiating committee.
Boston, Minnesota and Washington were among the league’s highest
spenders during free agency prior to the Sept. 15 lockout deadline.
“We weren’t aware the owners were shopping at 25-percent discount,”
Prust said when asked about the owners’ tactics. “It’s dishonorable,
disrespectful. We’re grateful [to play hockey and make] the money we do,
[but] I don’t know if I’d sign in Boston.
“[The frustrating part is] that’s only a few owners. We want to play
hockey. We’re willing to give a lot back. I don’t want to be here. I
want to be playing hockey.”
Follow NHL beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.
Follow NHL beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.
http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1158185--former-ranger-prust-nhl-owners-dishonorable-disrespectful
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 1:31 PM
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