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*Official* CBA Negotiations and Lockout Thread


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Well considering even the worst player in the NHL is amongst the best at their profession on the planet... and the average NHL career is 4 years, most of them aren't making out like bandits. That is a $2-4 million dollars for their entire career, minus things like agent fees, etc. What they do to become NHL calibre players is not the same as you going to your local rink and playing pickup before a few beers... it is an actual job that requires a lot of work and years of dedication to the exclusion of lots of other things.

I don't begrudge them a cent.

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If it means nothing and NHL revenues have never gone down then why does the NHLPA want it in the contract? If I was either group I would be very concerned that revenues might go down. This dispute won't help the game and neither will the overall economy which I suspect will tank in 2013 and 2014. If this is a 50/50 partnership then both parties should share that risk.

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I hate to quote a whole post for the space it takes up when people will likely have read it and I'm responding to the sentiment in the first sentence, but we've also seen you take offence at that recently so here goes:

The NHL wants to use the CBAs from other sports as comparisons (to why we should have 50/50 revenue and 5 year contract limits for instance) so why can't we discuss them? So long as we realize there are differences between them all there's no reason to ignore them as a possible source of information and ideas.

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I understand your point from the post previous to the one I'm making now (where you responded to nateb123), but when using specific comparisons like how a KHL game has record attendance when NHL players are involved and that is still only so far ahead of the worst average attendance in the NHL, it does have some value to the discussion.

How about this, Phoenix did have woeful attendance for much of the year, but yet still managed to outdo the KHL record attendance 5 times in the regular season last season (they had 17K+ in attendance for all playoff games last season). KHL teams without NHL stars would love to have that kind of attendance since the most recent source I've found puts the top KHL team at under 10K fans average for the 2010/2011 season and the average attendance for the league at just over 6K. Granted they have smaller arenas too, but if they had the revenue from attendance they could expand arena size.

You've mentioned you don't want to talk about it, but others are arguing that the NHL holds all the power and it's because of the fans being loyal to teams (and teams alone) that the NHL could use replacement players and still be just as successful.

My argument is the opposite, in that if there isn't the same level of quality in the on ice product the fans won't be willing to spend as much to see games nor will they spend as much on merchandise and in other revenue streams. I'm happy to discuss that if you are.

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I know what I want to see in the next contract: A provision that if NHL players are locked out, they will be free to sign contracts and play in any other league of their choice - including the AHL.

That would at least be a big disincentive for another lockout.

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I agree. At his age Washington overpaid him at 3.5 per. He has one year left on that contract, after which he'd be lucky to be making 2, let alone being signed at all (should he decline further).

It's purely selfish. Roman just wants his money before he leaves the league. "Who cares what is happening in a year or two? I'll be long gone." This is depite him making over 25 million in just the last 5 years (for fairly average play).

I don't blame Cole - who has many years left in this league - for wanting to tell Hamrlik off.

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If it means nothing and NHL revenues have never gone down then why does the NHLPA want it in the contract? If I was either group I would be very concerned that revenues might go down. This dispute won't help the game and neither will the overall economy which I suspect will tank in 2013 and 2014. If this is a 50/50 partnership then both parties should share that risk.

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I also think that NHL players have an inflated idea of their worth to the NHL business. That is a fundamental weakness in their negociating position. While it would set the NHL back to replace them it still could be done. I think that situation would not occur until next fall if it comes to that.

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I don't begrudge whatever $ they can get. That is why IMO that current contracts have to be honoured in full and failing that I would support a PA strike. A deal is a deal.

Do I think NHL players are special athletes, no. Most professional athletes have to train at the same level, some make more and some less than NHL players. It is the price they pay to play the game in the NHL. I also think that NHL players have an inflated idea of their worth to the NHL business. That is a fundamental weakness in their negociating position. While it would set the NHL back to replace them it still could be done. I think that situation would not occur until next fall if it comes to that. Why wouldn't current owners want to do that? NHL clubs have hugh amounts of money invested in their players. Some of those clubs have development timelines that have them CUP competitive now. Burning the NHLPA hurts the game and hurts some clubs more than others. That doesn't change the reality that the decision would come down to dollars and cents.

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Yes of course, the reason we Canadians pay hundreds of $ to go watch a hockey game is because Canadian teams have a history of winning and we have the best players in the world playing in our cities.

When was the last time the Vancouver Canucks won the Cup? Actually forget that, when was the last time a Canadian team won the Cup? What is it you say? 21 years ago? I see.

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Maybe if you watched hockey half as long as I have you would understand.

Let me get this straight, you think because Hamrlik wants to play one more year, he's negating the efforts of 600+ players?

Really? What efforts?

Why won't Fehr let them vote? Probably because more then half would accept an offer as it means getting paid and playing.

There are no winners in this at all - everyone loses.

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http://hfboards.hock...ad.php?t=766218

your opinion is flawed. Character issues, "internal conflicts", "uninspired play" "not a team player". Lets just throw these at em for no reason. Okay. Say that he's a Selfish Russian while your at it.

There's nothing wrong with Hamrlik, the player. He was good when he needed to be, but he's a 38 year old that is slow. Throughout the thread, though many questions about his game. There is no indication of what you "claim" to be truth. Might as well stamp the "European" stereotype cause that's all you've done.

He's not a team player. I wonder why his teammate Neuvirth comes out and says he supports Hamrlik 100%.

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My understanding is that decertification would free the players up to start launching individual lawsuits against the league and the owners through antitrust. From what I've read it's very complicated and messy and would be somewhat groundbreaking in how it relates to labour laws; both the NFL and NBA began the process in their respective lockouts, and in both cases an agreement was hastily reached, so it is likely Fehr's backup plan. I'm not sure that the players are going to be anxious to go that route. Could be interesting but I'd personally rather they find an agreement without it.

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