When did you get that job?
- PatC80

Agreed, but if you do see him, can you please tell him to spit out his gum before he goes into the negotiating sessions?

It's just so bush league.
- Atomic Wedgie

jacobs collects all their used gum at the end of the meetings

Eklund: 4 Reasons NHLPA is Killing Themselves Arguing For Longer Than 5 Year Deals
- Eklund

So, the players are not aware of any of this? Is that what you're saying?

You make great points.

I don't feel sorry for millionaire players, but when compared to billionaire owners, I am more understanding of the players' view of all this. The players have a small window of time to earn a small fraction of what the owners are worth.
- lifexkills

Well, here's the deal. We live in America. It was founded on the ideal that you could take a little risk, start a business and maybe make a buck or two. Heck, if you were good at it you could maybe make a little more than that. And there are some other benefits too - be the boss, call the shots, be the man Stan. It's called the AMERICAN Dream (no offense to my neighbors in the Great White North).

But mostly it is and always has been about making money. Here, no royalty, everyone earns what they get and everyone has a chance...if they've got the stones to try. Why should the owners be punished because they're a little better at it than alot of other businessmen? And if it is so great to own a sports franchise, why don't the players (former or current) pool their resources and buy a franchise?

And by the way - you've completely ignored the risk that comes with owning your own business, and many of these owners are not making a profit. That's the heart of this whole CBA struggle.

Let's put this in perspective...

-In Canada, "the average Joe's" annual salary is ~$45K, while the average NHL player's annual player salary is $2.4M

- The average NHL pay cheque every two weeks is ~$92K, more than double the "the average Joe's" ANNUAL salary.

- Based on a $45K salary, it would take "the average Joe" 53.3 YEARS to make $2.4M. Pretty much their entire work life/career, and that's on the high side.

It blows my mind with how out of touch the NHLPA is. They have ZERO idea how good they have it. I hope league takes these spoiled brats to the cleaners!
- As_I_See_It

This^^^

So, the players are not aware of any of this? Is that what you're saying?
- OLDSCHOOL#6

I'm starting to think they might be unaware of a lot of things.

jacobs collects all their used gum at the end of the meetings
- Canada Cup

Then re packages it and sells it to under privileged youth for a profit.......he's a monster

WTF does this have to do with the topic at hand? Absolutely amazed at how many jagoffs get wood over hating on the kid.
- Sell My Monkey

I;m a bit of a crosby hater my self, and I have to agree with this. The lengths some people go to hate on him is insane.

Well, here's the deal. We live in America. It was founded on the ideal that you could take a little risk, start a business and maybe make a buck or two. Heck, if you were good at it you could maybe make a little more than that. And there are some other benefits too - be the boss, call the shots, be the man Stan. It's called the AMERICAN Dream (no offense to my neighbors in the Great White North).

But mostly it is and always has been about making money. Here, no royalty, everyone earns what they get and everyone has a chance...if they've got the stones to try. Why should the owners be punished because they're a little better at it than alot of other businessmen? And if it is so great to own a sports franchise, why don't the players (former or current) pool their resources and buy a franchise?

And by the way - you've completely ignored the risk that comes with owning your own business, and many of these owners are not making a profit. That's the heart of this whole CBA struggle.
- TheGreat28

Well, Mario is a former who did.
As for current though, wouldnt that be a major conflict of interest? There must be rules agasint that.

Your co workers daughter must have a nice snatch
- tmlfan17

Political correctness can go fuk itself.

I'm not defending millionaires by making this statement, but you have to recognize the average salary for these guys most likely will go down significantly once they are done playing hockey.

The best they could hope for after their playing career is an executive job for one of these teams. Coaches and scouts don't make squat compared to what they made as a player. If they didn't plan accordingly, they could join the average joe tax bracket really really fast after their playing days are done.

They might not know right now how good they have it, but one day in their life they may regret missing out on this guaranteed money they could have had right now...
- SCPensfan

And your point is????.... So fans should somehow be able to relate to the salary demands of these players because some day after pissing away tens of millions of dollars because they didn't realize how good they actually had it and didn't bother to invest anything they might have to figure out how to live like the rest of us? Wow and I mean Wow, absolutely stunning...

You mean your avatar isnt the lead singer of Quiet Riot?
- luckynumbslevin

My avatar choice is based on the look he's giving more than his hair style. Besides, the guy in the picture is not a singer (to my knowledge).

Agreed, but if you do see him, can you please tell him to spit out his gum before he goes into the negotiating sessions?

It's just so bush league.
- Atomic Wedgie

Parise and Suter are making $54M in the first five years of their deals.

That's $10.8M/year, and yet cap hit of "only" $7.5M/year because of the stretched out back-load.

And that's where the "middle class fear" comes from.

Those guys are still going to get their $10.8M/year for those first five years, and now that's $3.3M/year less of cap space for everybody else on the team under the NHL's proposed scheme.
- georule

The complication here is last year they had 1.88 billion (57% of 3.3 billion) in actual salary to give out in which the 10.8 million would be part of that versus the salary cap of 7.5 million so your pot doesn't get any larger. Am I missing something here?

My avatar choice is based on the look he's giving more than his hair style. Besides, the guy in the picture is not a singer (to my knowledge).
- bloatedmosquito

Jeez, the whole time I thought it was Ani DiFranco.

You make great points.

However, would you mind doing the math on this for what the owners are making? And I don't just mean via hockey - I mean via all of their enterprises. Because for most owners, they are not living on the earnings (or losses) of the NHL team they own.

What's my point? Why should the players be looked at as greedy for making higher than average salaries, while the owners who make 10x as much as players, or more, be viewed as heroes?

Obviously, the scale here is much higher, but it mimics the outrage that people had when they were losing their homes because of the banking bailout while the CEOs of the banking companies were handing out bonuses.

I don't feel sorry for millionaire players, but when compared to billionaire owners, I am more understanding of the players' view of all this. The players have a small window of time to earn a small fraction of what the owners are worth.
- lifexkills

Where is it written that pro sports players or anyone for that matter employed by billionaires or even millionaires are entitled to anything more than the absolute minimum of their employment value?

These global business leaders spend their lifes work creating and building their empires, why is anyone entitled to any of it? This is exactly the argument I've seen being spewed around here lately and frankly it's preposterous. Why is an NHL player entitled to "earn" even a fraction of what an owner is worth simply based on the fact that he's a pro athlete? One has nothing to do with the other.

As far as your statement goes "a small window of time to earn a small fraction of what the owners are worth." I guess that goes for all of us then, the problem is 99% of the population doesn't get to make it so easily and as quickly as does a pro athlete. Oh yeah, but they shouldn't be expected to live in the real world once their careers are over.

My avatar choice is based on the look he's giving more than his hair style. Besides, the guy in the picture is not a singer (to my knowledge).
- bloatedmosquito

Isn't it Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols?

Jeez, the whole time I thought it was Ani DiFranco.
- moondawg

Honestly, I have no idea who that is. Had to google it.

Doubtful. Only what, 7% of players have contracts over 5 years? Majority of teams don't give out deals longer than that, and you don't see what you are talking about as a trend.

Remember also that 7 year deals will be possible for your own free agents.
- niedermayer27

The 5 year contract term limit is going to affect the middle class NHL player far more then it is the top players in the NHL.

Isn't it Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols?
- MnGump

thats the point, they want costs to slow down. If they can get a handle on inflation on player salaries, more clubs with be profitable and the league happier, the players will still increase, just at a slower rate.
- walshy66

What will slow down in growth is the middle contract of NHL players. That's what the League wants. As well as eliminating the back diving contracts.

Parise and Suter are making $54M in the first five years of their deals.

That's $10.8M/year, and yet cap hit of "only" $7.5M/year because of the stretched out back-load.

And that's where the "middle class fear" comes from.

Those guys are still going to get their $10.8M/year for those first five years, and now that's $3.3M/year less of cap space for everybody else on the team under the NHL's proposed scheme.
- georule

You got it!

- bloatedmosquito

Gary Oldman playing Sid Vicious in the movie Sid and Nancy...

Quit drinking the kool-aid. About 6% of players have longer than 5 year deals. So tell me, how would that 40 players affect the entire pay structure? It doesn't. The problem for the NHLPA is that it slows down the rate of growth of salaries because there can be no more long term back diving deals.....
- chompsey

Maybe instead of telling people to quit drinking the kool-aid, you should become informed on the situation. The 5 year term limit pushes more Cap dollars to the top players due to not being able to have a back diving contract. That leaves less cap dollars available to the middle class of NHL players, and hence less salary for them. It affects far more then 40 players.