NHL fires first labor shot
Daily News Flyers blog
NHL fires first labor shot
In an attempt to possibly bury or drown out negative press on the night of an Eastern Conference final Game 2, the NHL has thrown the first dagger in what appears to be a long summer of labor negotiations.
On Wednesday, the NHL officially notified the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) in writing that it would like to terminate the current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Had either side not notified one another of a desire to terminate the current contract within 120 days of the Sept. 15, 2012 expiration date, the deal would have rolled over into another season.
The NHLPA could have also provided the league with notice, but chose not to do so, apparently ready to accept the status quo.
“As you know, this is no surprise,” NHLPA leader Donald Fehr said in an email to players and agents on Wednesday, according to Sports Business Daily.
No matter how big or small the changes, the league will be operating under a new CBA whenever the puck drops on a new season.
The two sides were supposed to begin informal negotiations during January’s All-Star break but have yet to do so. The NHL has claimed, through commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly, that they are ready to begin negotiations at any time.
Clearly, the NHL’s owners would like to see more financial concessions from players, who currently earn 57 percent of the league’s revenue. The NFL and NBA both rolled their players back to somewhere near 50 percent with their respective lockouts last year. The NFL started their season on-time; the NBA shortened their schedule.
The NHL is set to surpass $3 billion in revenue for the first time this season. Though that is just a fraction of what the other three major sports leagues earn per season, it would be the league’s 7th straight season of record revenue.
In 2004-05, the NHL locked out players for an entire year, rolled back salaries 24 percent and instituted a hard salary cap. That cap has risen from $39 million in 2005-06 to $64.1 million in 2011-12.
Even this season, major market teams like the Flyers are still not spending as much on player salaries as they were in the uncapped, pre-lockout seasons in the early 2000’s.
While it is no surprise, the NHL fired the first shots on Wednesday of what appears to be a long and dangerous battle – even before this playoff season has yet to conclude. Neither side can afford to lose another season. But there’s no telling when the last shot will be fired.
QUICK NOTE: The Flyers have yet to announce any injuries or surgeries for their players, though the list is expected to be long. They were eliminated from the playoffs on May 8.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
You decide: Flyers Stay or Go Poll: Are Flyers or Phillies more disappointing?
Bettman seems like such a slimeball, how'd he get his job?— pitzdidg
Both sides are preparing for a work stoppage...The billionaires fighting the millionaires because they can't decide how to divide 3 billion dollars...And the fans suffer....again.- Thank goodness Ken Spencer was here to give us this cliche! None of us could have deduced that concept on our own! — logicandreason
- Thank goodness Snipes is enlightening us with more of his brilliance..Like Leaky is a better playoff goalie than Henrik Lundqvist...LOL Yo Snipes! Watch your hero choke the Cup away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5aLHImCKDc
- Both sides are preparing for a work stoppage...The billionaires fighting the millionaires because they can't decide how to divide 3 billion dollars...And the fans suffer....again.
- The owners are right and they are the true risk takers who deserve at least 50% of the pie.
The players do not deserve the majority of revenue..afterall they are employees and people sometimes forget that, who can currently be more easily replaced in this "youth" speed driven league.
— sdeens - — sdeens--"The owners are right and they are the true risk takers who deserve at least 50% of the pie."
I would like to think you are being sarcastic, but I'm pretty sure you're just an idiot. Have you read any of the articles about player concussions or post-mortems of players who had suffered brain injuries? Risk takers . . . yeah. Risking money. What an a-hole.
— stonelamb - Bettman is a jerk and he's ruining this league by turning it into the NBA on ice.— Fly Guy
- This falls more towards the NFL than NBA. NHL is making money and don't have structural issues, just locked up a ton (for them) of TV money for a decade, no chance this gets beyond early training camp. Record TV ratings, full stadiums, they will find a way, just will take some time. When the last season was lost they had big structural issues.— zonaindie2
- all I care about is whether they will be able to drop Bryz. If so, it's worth it.— djembe323
- I'm still waiting for the price cuts on ticket prices promised when the last CBA was signed— Patriot72
- @stonelamb, you clearly don't know anything about "risk". Without owners there is NO sport, got it? They have ALL the financial risk and this is a business despite what you may think. Yep, I'm pretty sure you're an idiot!— JBinPA
- At the least, you'd have the City of Glendale, AZ, and the former owners of the Atlanta Thrashers nodding in agreement with you.
— icarus - JBinPA:
Just how much "risk" are they taking? They pulled in 3 billion dollars. 28 of the teams are solidly in the black.
I'm pretty sure you're a Tea Bagger.
— backhand
