jstewismybastardson
Lord Shitlord aka El cibernauta
OH LAWD! I'M COMIN LIZBEF!
the day after a new cba gets signed (if and when) ... bettman will tell us there are 30 strong franchises
OH LAWD! I'M COMIN LIZBEF!
So now a second article emerges about how the owners basically stopped negotiations as soon as they were told that Donald Fehr was coming back into the mix:
Yeah, and if the players had started off saying they refused to deal with Bettman (which the hiring of Fehr sort of was) they'd have been crucified.
Ron Hainsey smear campaign starts in 3... 2...
Well, I did put a disclaimer at the end that I could be totally out to lunch (haha). I think I have stated previously in this thread that I do lean towards the players side in this dispute, but there's no denying that the owners have the hammer. I'm not saying that we should take the Forbes financial numbers as gospel, but there are definitely several teams struggling financially currently in the league. It's a pretty hollow victory for the players if they declare CBA victory only to see the team they play for have to fold up shop.
I guess what I'm saying is that at some point, you have to choose pragmatism over principles.
Are you serious? I (along with many others on this board) would have figuratively been doing backflips had they said that. I'd gladly give up 1 year of NHL Hockey if it meant Bettman got the boot (and they hired somebody who cared about the growth of the game).
Here's a pretty good read from Ken Dryden (albeit not a short read)
To understand this dispute, you have to follow the pride - The Globe and Mail
After having watched Fehr's and Bettman's press conferences, I have to admit that I think the PA really blew this most recent opportunity to get a deal done.
In Gary's presser he brought up 3 major points within the structure of a new CBA that the clubs' felt they had to have:
- Term Limits of Player contracts 5yrs max, or 7yrs if with current team
- Term of new CBA, first pitched 10 yrs/8yr opt out, then shrunk to 8/6yr op out
- Compliance Issues: 1. reduce cap to 60mil teams could stay @ 70mil for 1 yr
2.Contract Buyouts 3. Escrow Limits
I just don't understand what Fehr is telling the PA they can still squeeze out of the league? :nonod:
Perhaps I should have added "in the media" right after "crucified".
The thing is, the union didn't walk away from those. They agreed in principle, but wanted to negotiate the exact details.
Someone else can find the quote, but Bettman said something along the lines of "We thought we came to an agreement on the makewhole, but that was conditional on the union accepting three things: term of player contracts, term of deal and compliance issues".
Translated: We'll give you a bit more (but not all) of the money we already agreed to pay you, but only if you accept everything else we're proposing.
And then when the NHLPA tried to negotiate, which I don't see anything wrong with, the owners threw a hissy fit.
Pierre LeBrun @Real_ESPNLeBrun
Despite al the drama yesterday, NHL/NHLPA moved even closer to a deal. Here's what still is keeping them apart, Here's why we're still close to a deal - Cross Checks Blog - ESPN