Eklund: The Sides/ Mediator Break For Lunch. No News/Good News. Player Optimism?

Start the Games!!!!

Meh! Blah! Bah HUMBUG!! It seems all that goes through my head when I read any of these blogs is the Charlie Brown trumpet's. WAAA WAAA WA WA WA WAAAH WAHHH WAAAAHHHHH WHHHHAAAA lockout Fehr Bettman WAAHH WAHH WA WWWAAAAHH WAHHH.

such a circus

Eck, i have been reading you throughout this standoff, an no offense you have been wrong, alot! here's something to consider, this will be Mr. Bettman's 3rd CBA negotiated, why would anyone believe he has it right this time? The first two he negotiated were bad for the league, i get the feeling this one will be also! as long as the owners count on the players to save their business there will always be problems

first to say first

players don't want a long CBA cuz it could mean two generations of (average) players have no say in what CBA they play under

so basically they're negotiating on behalf of some 14 yr old soon-to-be-average nhl'er kid right now lol

if an average player making league minimum isn't happy playing in the NHL under whatever CBA may be in place at that given time, then he can go eff himself and play in the AHL or ECHL or KHL. seriously. playing in the nhl is a privilege and opportunity. not a right.

Eck, i have been reading you throughout this standoff, an no offense you have been wrong, alot! here's something to consider, this will be Mr. Bettman's 3rd CBA negotiated, why would anyone believe he has it right this time? The first two he negotiated were bad for the league, i get the feeling this one will be also! as long as the owners count on the players to save their business there will always be problems
- magarats

yea CBAs are just so easy to put together perfectly, you know with the change in economy and all that... how dare he not have a perfect CBA in place after the 2nd one?? what an idiot... all the PA supporters would of had it done perfect the first time around

Eck, i have been reading you throughout this standoff, an no offense you have been wrong, alot! here's something to consider, this will be Mr. Bettman's 3rd CBA negotiated, why would anyone believe he has it right this time? The first two he negotiated were bad for the league, i get the feeling this one will be also! as long as the owners count on the players to save their business there will always be problems
- magarats

I would disagree with 1 thing. The owners AND players are expecting the fans to come back like puppets to them.

Some players are saying that there is a general feeling they are a week to 10 days away from reporting for an abbreviated NHL training camp. When I delve deeper into why they're feeling that, I get only a lot of vagueness.

Ek, remember when Fehr blindsided you and the rest of the media last week?

The most likely reason that the players feel positive is because Fehr told them that the deadline for saving the season is soon and that he expects the NHL to crack.

Eck, i have been reading you throughout this standoff, an no offense you have been wrong, alot! here's something to consider, this will be Mr. Bettman's 3rd CBA negotiated, why would anyone believe he has it right this time? The first two he negotiated were bad for the league, i get the feeling this one will be also! as long as the owners count on the players to save their business there will always be problems
- magarats

Your getting banned.... Why would you call Ek out like that?? JEZZ what right do you have

I can't wait for the season to be back and hear all the roomers.

Last time they had a few days of feel good meetings, Fehr blew the whole thing up. This opinion also meshes perfectly with the comments from Tanenbaum.

My completely uneducated guess. We'll see 15 games on New Years Day.

come again?
- Alexzanki

Yeah I didnt get that either

players don't want a long CBA cuz it could mean two generations of (average) players have no say in what CBA they play under

so basically they're negotiating on behalf of some 14 yr old soon-to-be-average nhl'er kid right now lol

if an average player making league minimum isn't happy playing in the NHL under whatever CBA may be in place at that given time, then he can go eff himself and play in the AHL or ECHL or KHL. seriously. playing in the nhl is a privilege and opportunity. not a right.
- hnic

The PA wants a 5 year CBA for one reason, to keep from settling for 50%.

Their offers to date do not actually have them reaching 50/50 until "sometime later". If they can squeeze more make whole cash from the owners, they might not actually reach 50/50 until somewhere around the 4th or 5th year. This is especially true if revenues go down.

This was also the reason Fehr wanted a guarantee of no dollar decreases based on revenue, AND he wanted a minimum cap... both severance from the % HRR they clearly lied about, and BOTH are very likely to happen.

It also perfectly explains why now the players demand to be made whole when the contracts were not guaranteed to begin with.

This is also the reason they want longterm contracts... so they can receive more than 50/50 with the idea of "paying later" in terms of cap hit, which can occur with some variance being allowed. Of course they never actually intend to pay later... it will all be worked over in the next CBA negotiations.

It ALL boils down to dollars and cents and 50/50, and never actually getting there.

So,

The net of what Fehr has been offering would likely NEVER see the players hit 50/50 until near the end of a 5-year CBA.

... they get to call it 50/50
... The players get to whine about going from 57 to 50 (when they don't have even 57)
... long term contracts with some variance keeps 50/50 from being reached.

But, they never actually settle for only 50% and after 5 years, Just as revenues would be booming again, and the 100th anniversary is coming... BOOM they strike.

Fehr knows this. The NHL knows this. The PA knows this, and about 1% of the PA might even understand this.

However, if the sides are also meeting again tomorrow, then it becomes a much bigger deal.
- Eklund

DAMMIT EK!

When you underline words it makes me think I can click the word and get linked somewhere!






But player optimism about a resolution is a good thing. Matt Read coming home and Claude Giroux staying home might be an indicator that they think a deal will be finished soon.

This soap opera needs to end real soon!!! (so we can find out who the Leafs are trading for LU)

This soap opera needs to end real soon!!! (so we can find out who the Leafs are trading for LU)
- T_Digs

Gardiner, Lupul, Rielly, 1st

Gardiner, Lupul, Rielly, 1st
- Aetherial

you forgot Komisarek

This soap opera needs to end real soon!!! (so we can find out who the Leafs are trading for LU)
- T_Digs

Komisarek is somewhere in that package deal , I would put an E5 on it

THERE WILL BE NO HOCKEY THERE WILL BE NO HOCKEY THERE WILL BE NO HOCKEY

Your getting banned.... Why would you call Ek out like that?? JEZZ what right do you have
- Flyers_1488

That is correct. And this is coming from a guy just coming off a ban for making fun of the optimism meter.... and on that day when this place was rife with child abuse jokes...

The PA wants a 5 year CBA for one reason, to keep from settling for 50%.

Their offers to date do not actually have them reaching 50/50 until "sometime later". If they can squeeze more make whole cash from the owners, they might not actually reach 50/50 until somewhere around the 4th or 5th year. This is especially true if revenues go down.

This was also the reason Fehr wanted a guarantee of no dollar decreases based on revenue, AND he wanted a minimum cap... both severance from the % HRR they clearly lied about, and BOTH are very likely to happen.

It also perfectly explains why now the players demand to be made whole when the contracts were not guaranteed to begin with.

This is also the reason they want longterm contracts... so they can receive more than 50/50 with the idea of "paying later" in terms of cap hit, which can occur with some variance being allowed. Of course they never actually intend to pay later... it will all be worked over in the next CBA negotiations.

It ALL boils down to dollars and cents and 50/50, and never actually getting there.

So,

The net of what Fehr has been offering would likely NEVER see the players hit 50/50 until near the end of a 5-year CBA.

... they get to call it 50/50
... The players get to whine about going from 57 to 50 (when they don't have even 57)
... long term contracts with some variance keeps 50/50 from being reached.

But, they never actually settle for only 50% and after 5 years, Just as revenues would be booming again, and the 100th anniversary is coming... BOOM they strike.

Fehr knows this. The NHL knows this. The PA knows this, and about 1% of the PA might even understand this.
- Aetherial

But they had record revenues!