maybe more like 10 % but you get my point
- thegodfather

How about 1%.

Look at that from the Flyers prospective. Many fans are in favor of limiting contract term, from what I've read. So say it's 5 years like the League wants. And just for conversations sake, say the cap is around 50M. So if 20% is Max salary, then Max salary is 10M. If Giroux continues to be one of the top players in the League, then he's going to want top dollar. Why would he take less then the max? So with the ability to sign players to long term deals with low years on the back end, removed. Your looking at a player with a 10M Cap hit, which will be 1/5th of the total cap. Not going to be easy to re-sign top players for teams.
- MJL

But no team is going to want to spend 1/5 of their salary cap on one guy will they? So salaries will come down where they should be.

But no team is going to want to spend 1/5 of their salary cap on one guy will they? So salaries will come down where they should be.
- Jimmygrazz

What choice will the Flyers have if Giroux demands that? And why won't he?

I hate that there is no hockey to watch, but its entertainment like anything else. If you are crying yourself to sleep over this, time to seek help or move on.
- senstroll

Definititly not crying myself to sleep. But you got to ask youself this, how hypocritical is it when someone goes on hockeybuzz during a lockout, to tell fans they shouldn't care about hockey in a lockout?


Anyhow I will be streaming the Rochester game on the projector tonight. I helps with the fix.

But no team is going to want to spend 1/5 of their salary cap on one guy will they? So salaries will come down where they should be.
- Jimmygrazz

as opposed to huge signing bonuses, front loaded contracts and multiple years tagged on to bring down the cap hit.
If a player wants and can find a team to pay him his 10 then he should have to deal with what that does to the team around him.

What choice will the Flyers have if Giroux demands that? And why won't he?
- MJL

The Flyers can sign him but then they will have to let some talent/skill go to another team to fit under the cap thereby even more parity in the league.

But no team is going to want to spend 1/5 of their salary cap on one guy will they? So salaries will come down where they should be.
- Jimmygrazz

Star players will always get a fair deal / ability to make lots of money over their careers.

It is mediocre players like Wideman, who is unbelievably making $5.25M per year, that are going to fell the hit.

And those guys should fell it.

Why is the Optimeter half cocked?

Personally I see too much friction in the ownership as a group for Bettman to escape. The 04 lockout they were 100% in favor. This time I guarantee there is a significant portion (if not a simple majority) who are NOT in favor of how this lockout has gone or been handled. I will be shocked if he escapes this lockout in place.
- uf1910

The number of people who think Bettman is acting on his own and ignoring even a majority of the owners is just fascinating at times. Anyone paying attention knows what Bettman's job is (do the bidding of the owners, take the heat when people disagree), and knows he's doing it very well - and for that, the owners have rewarded him with four (4) contract extensions. They didn't do that because they think he sucks and they don't want to have to find someone else, they did that because he's represented their interests very well when asked.

I'll point this out yet again, much to the chagrin of the fervently anti-Bettman crowd: if the owners really aren't happy with him, they can call for a vote to give him the boot at any time - and it only takes a 2/3rds majority (20 of the 30) to kick him out. Otherwise, to pass a plan he approves of, he needs only a simple majority of the owners (16 of the 30) to vote with him; for the owners to approve a plan Bettman doesn't approve of, it takes a 3/4 majority (23 of the 30).

Now, ask yourself: if there's really even a simple majority against him at this point, why haven't they called for even a symbolic vote to give him the boot? If he knows there's a majority against him and it goes on the record, he knows that symbolically he no longer has the support of the owners he likely bails out on his own. Thinking the owners are close to kicking him out (or will kick him out once the lockout is done) is like thinking Romney is really +6 or more in the polls because "the darn liberal media is skewing the polling numbers," which requires a level of proof that everyone alleging will never be able to provide.

Actually it does ace......your are posting in a thread, posted today, specifically about the NHL lockout.

This isnt a thread about the WJC championship or any other forms of hockey bud.

With so much time on your hands you would think you would know how a forum works no?
- C.J

actually i responded to a quote about minor hockey

i didnt come in here saying OOO IM SOOO ANGRY ABOUT THE NHL AND THE LOCKOUT

i just commented on someone talking about fine hockey still being played


and ace? really? who uses ace anymore

The Flyers can sign him but then they will have to let some talent/skill go to another team to fit under the cap thereby even more parity in the league.
- braidan

Parity makes for boring hockey, especially if you are a fan of a team that is stuck in the glue of the middle teams.

But parity also makes it more plausible for more teams to reduce losses, simply because 90-95% of the teams are in the playoff hunt until at least the last few weeks of the season. And that keeps people buying tickets, going to games, and watching them on TV.

And with that, we will see shorter cycles of dominant teams, which means more teams have a shot at greater playoff success (if not the cup).

So if talent is more spread around the league, the better for most teams.

no deal by thanksgiving = no hockey this season

no deal by thanksgiving = no hockey this season
- feetontheair22

Damn. That means seven teams are already out.

no deal by thanksgiving = no hockey this season
- feetontheair22

that was 3 weeks ago

What choice will the Flyers have if Giroux demands that? And why won't he?
- MJL

They will have no choice. As a Flyers fan I would hope he would want a fair deal and want to win a championship with the team that drafted him. Will that happen? Who knows. My point is salaries are out of control.

The number of people who think Bettman is acting on his own and ignoring even a majority of the owners is just fascinating at times. Anyone paying attention knows what Bettman's job is (do the bidding of the owners, take the heat when people disagree), and knows he's doing it very well - and for that, the owners have rewarded him with four (4) contract extensions. They didn't do that because they think he sucks and they don't want to have to find someone else, they did that because he's represented their interests very well when asked.

I'll point this out yet again, much to the chagrin of the fervently anti-Bettman crowd: if the owners really aren't happy with him, they can call for a vote to give him the boot at any time - and it only takes a 2/3rds majority (20 of the 30) to kick him out. Otherwise, to pass a plan he approves of, he needs only a simple majority of the owners (16 of the 30) to vote with him; for the owners to approve a plan Bettman doesn't approve of, it takes a 3/4 majority (23 of the 30).

Now, ask yourself: if there's really even a simple majority against him at this point, why haven't they called for even a symbolic vote to give him the boot? If he knows there's a majority against him and it goes on the record, he knows that symbolically he no longer has the support of the owners he likely bails out on his own. Thinking the owners are close to kicking him out (or will kick him out once the lockout is done) is like thinking Romney is really +6 or more in the polls because "the darn liberal media is skewing the polling numbers," which requires a level of proof that everyone alleging will never be able to provide.
- Irish Blues

Again, we shall see. You have your opinion, I have mine. But you will not convince me that every owner is on board with this lockout. And regarding any vote to boot, the owners aren't stupid. If they did that now they would literally kill themselves in regards to negotiating this CBA. They've made their bed so now they have to sleep in it. However, after there is a new CBA is a different story. This league will need to remake it's image and attempt to repair some of the damage from this lockout. Well I for one think canning Bettman would go a long way to this league distancing itself from what is quickly becoming the biggest stain on its record.

Simple fix freeze the cap to 70 million for 3 years and then think about increasing it on a year basis. Lower the floor by 5 to 10 million. Allow the rich teams to trade for 4 million cap space and do revenue share among the 30 teams. Teams that show profit draw back a smaller percentage then those that lose money. This will force owners to move teams to stronger markets if they fail to be successful in their current market or allow them to be viable. Next step is reduce regular season to 78 or 80 games and expand the playoff format. Allow a best of 3 for teams that finish 5-12 this will help with losing parity and generate playoff races right down to the last day of the season and rewards the elite 8 with a first round bye. The last step is to go back to playing 2 games on neutral ice allowing the nhl to promote and test in markets without a team.

It's so frustrating.

It's so frustrating to have to go through all of this again.

I can't think of anything else to describe the last few months.

As much as I want to stay away, prove a point to the NHL if it ever comes back, I know the effort will be futile.

It's just so frustrating that this could not have been taken care of earlier this year, perhaps even last season, or the season before that, when they decided to extend the CBA for another year.

It's so frustrating not being able to watch the NHL.

It's so frustrating explaining the situation to NFL, NBA, non-hockey fans who already think this joke of a league (and sport) belongs in Canada.

It's so frustrating not being able to cheer for the Flyers.

My days have been dramatically more depressing, boring, lonesome without the NHL to look forward to each day.

It's so frustrating.

I can see the point of view from both sides.

Owners are just that, owners. No other employee in a regular job would ever demand a raise just because the owner made more last year.

Players expect to receive everything that was MUTUALLY AGREED to in their contracts.

It's just frustrating that we are losing hockey again and we, the fans, are so helpless in this "fight".

This feeling will go away with time, just like it did back in the fall of 2005.

It's just frustrating that the already tarnished Stanley Cup could feature another "SEASON NOT PLAYED". It's disgraceful. It's embarrassing. It's a blemish on the world's most beautiful trophy.

It's so (frank)ing frustrating.

Again, we shall see. You have your opinion, I have mine. But you will not convince me that every owner is on board with this lockout. And regarding any vote to boot, the owners aren't stupid. If they did that now they would literally kill themselves in regards to negotiating this CBA. They've made their bed so now they have to sleep in it. However, after there is a new CBA is a different story. This league will need to remake it's image and attempt to repair some of the damage from this lockout. Well I for one think canning Bettman would go a long way to this league distancing itself from what is quickly becoming the biggest stain on its record.
- uf1910

Its sad because they spent five years repairing the image from the last lcokout and 2 years reaping the rewards, and then this again.

Betman is, without question done here after the new CBA. I'm not saying he hasn't done some good things, but how can fans, vendors, and Tv networks have any confidence in him anymore. Everyone will start cancelling season tickets and contracts with the league 1 year before each CBA expires if they dont can him .

It's so frustrating.

It's so frustrating to have to go through all of this again.

I can't think of anything else to describe the last few months.

As much as I want to stay away, prove a point to the NHL if it ever comes back, I know the effort will be futile.

It's just so frustrating that this could not have been taken care of earlier this year, perhaps even last season, or the season before that, when they decided to extend the CBA for another year.

It's so frustrating not being able to watch the NHL.

It's so frustrating explaining the situation to NFL, NBA, non-hockey fans who already think this joke of a league (and sport) belongs in Canada.

It's so frustrating not being able to cheer for the Flyers.

My days have been dramatically more depressing, boring, lonesome without the NHL to look forward to each day.

It's so frustrating.

I can see the point of view from both sides.

Owners are just that, owners. No other employee in a regular job would ever demand a raise just because the owner made more last year.

Players expect to receive everything that was MUTUALLY AGREED to in their contracts.

It's just frustrating that we are losing hockey again and we, the fans, are so helpless in this "fight".

This feeling will go away with time, just like it did back in the fall of 2005.

It's just frustrating that the already tarnished Stanley Cup could feature another "SEASON NOT PLAYED". It's disgraceful. It's embarrassing. It's a blemish on the world's most beautiful trophy.

It's so (frank)ing frustrating.
- Domthebomb90

(frank) em...(frank) em all except 2...one exec from each side...use them to carry 2 hockey nets in to your backyard or driveway, and ref the kids that are exhibiting the true spirit of hockey...and when its time for free hot chocolate, charge the execs 300mill and bill them for the cost of the hot chocolate as well...then tell them to GTFO

The Flyers can sign him but then they will have to let some talent/skill go to another team to fit under the cap thereby even more parity in the league.
- braidan

No doubt that it can lead to more parity around the League. And the richer teams might lose some of that advantage.

Star players will always get a fair deal / ability to make lots of money over their careers.

It is mediocre players like Wideman, who is unbelievably making $5.25M per year, that are going to fell the hit.

And those guys should fell it.
- JDJ

I agree with that. It's not just Free Agents. That 2nd contract coming out of ELC deals has gotten out of whack also. Which the League tried to address with their latest offer.

I think the most common feeling you will see is apathy towards the whole situation. Everyone can run down their list of why they are a hardcore NHL hockey fan. It means nothing.

What i know is the NHL and NHLPA have taken away many things right now.
People that worked for the teams losing their jobs, check.
Local business that lose money because of no games, check.
The enjoyment of their fans, check.

All while the owners cry foul over billions and players over millions.

It seems so dumb to me because hockey was finally starting to make some inroads in America. While that may mean nothing to the Canadian fans where its a religion here in America they had some progress with the Winter Classic and other items.

I live in Philadelphia which is generally a solid NHL and in general hockey city. I pay around $1000 a year to play the game I love in an over 30 mens league. Last year I ruptured my ACL and tore my MCL and the thing I thought about the most was getting back on the rink.

I hope every cowardly player that cries over their millions enjoys the rest of their life in whatever foreign league they are now playing in.
I hope every dishonest owner that cries over his billions enjoys the rest of his life in his big mansion on the hill.

I will always love the sport of hockey, playing it with my friends but I will never ever support or defend the NHL again.