Posted July 7, 200520 yr comment_2787038 Thursday, July 07, 2005 By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- 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 today. 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.
July 7, 200520 yr comment_2791861 There's no way Bob Goodenow stays around after this. He rejects a deal back in February that was better than this one, loses his players millions of dollars for missing a season, and then accepts a deal that is worse than the one that would have saved a season and has a bunch of the players badmouth the union for having a lost season. I didn't think it was possible, but Gary Bettman probably comes out looking better than he did before all this bullshit.
July 7, 200520 yr comment_2792939 Bettman came out looking good? The badmouthing the players are doing of the union is only making Bettman look like God at this point. As for Goodnow, I can't wait to how quickly he falls. The quicker the better. Sure, I'd like Bettman as well, but he's there to stay more than likely.
July 7, 200520 yr comment_2793335 *just wants to see the Bruins playing again* I won't start cheering until I see "NHL and NHLPA have finalized and signed on the dotted line a new CBA"
July 9, 200520 yr comment_2807325 NHL denies reports of new CBA July 8, 2005 NEW YORK (Ticker) - The NHL is doing its best job of extinguishing the smoke surrounding a new collective bargaining agreement. For the second straight day, the league on Friday denied reports a new CBA has been agreed upon with the Players Association. Following a published report in Thursday's Los Angeles Times that stated an agreement had been reached, both the NHL and the union issued statements of denial. On Friday, the league reiterated the falseness of the story. "Given additional media reports, the NHL again denies that there is an agreement in principle between the league and the NHLPA," the league said in a statement. The sides, which have held discussions every day since Monday, will continue to meet this weekend. Citing "sources familiar with the labor negotiations" on Thursday, the LA Times said the agreement features a hard cap linked to 54 percent of league revenue, a 24 percent rollback in existing player contracts and qualifying offers, and a provision that would prevent any one player from earning more than 20 percent of the team's cap figure in any given year. According to the newspaper, the deal includes a provision in which 15 percent of every player's paycheck would go into an escrow account until revenue is calculated following each season. Only if league-wide spending on salaries were to fall short of 54 percent of revenue would the escrow money revert to the players; otherwise, the excess amount would be paid to teams from the account. The report said the salary cap would be $37 million but would not include medical and dental benefits and pension payments, while the salary floor would be close to $24 million. The paper said the agreement is expected to be announced next week. It also stated there will be an 18-day break next season to allow players to participate in the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, pre-empting the 2006 All-Star Game in Phoenix. Further, the paper reported each team will have an equal chance at the No. 1 pick, likely Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby, in the draft lottery. After the 2004-05 campaign was wiped out due to the labor dispute, the sides have held frequent sessions in an attempt to prevent another disastrous situation. On February 16, commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the 2004-05 season, making the NHL the first major North American sports league to have an entire season wiped out due to a labor dispute. After convening with the NHL's Board of Governors in April, Bettman announced the league would not resume play until a CBA was in place, erasing the belief replacement players would be used for the 2005-06 campaign. In March, the league officially canceled the 2005 draft, which was slated to take place in Ottawa in June. Why is this is the only freaking league that can't get its damn act together? Honestly now. Just announce that the fucking deal is done.
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