Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

*Official* CBA Negotiations and Lockout Thread


Recommended Posts

I don't see the point. If the union disbands and the 700 players take legal action then it only applys if the NHL is actually doing business. All this does is force a shutdown until a new CBA is signed. A new CBA won't be signed by the NHL unless there is a union representing the players. It still comes down to whose pockets are deeper. I would think the owners can wait this out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see the point. If the union disbands and the 700 players take legal action then it only applys if the NHL is actually doing business. All this does is force a shutdown until a new CBA is signed. A new CBA won't be signed by the NHL unless there is a union representing the players. It still comes down to whose pockets are deeper. I would think the owners can wait this out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Without a union there is no CBA. The players, as individuals, will file anti-trust lawsuits against the NHL claiming the lockout is illegal. At that point, if successful, the teams have to resume business (hockey) or fold. If this happens you'd have 30 individual businesses (the teams) competing against each other. They cannot collude and agree among themselves to limit salaries, hold out/lockout, etc. under US and Canadian anti-trust (anti-competition) laws.

This is where it gets a little murky for me. Do the individual players still have contracts? Or are they contingent on having a CBA? I believe, based on what I've read, that they in fact are still under contract to their teams. Why would the Labour Relations Board award the players 3X their contract if they no longer had contracts? So assuming they have contracts they must be paid.

Free agents still unsigned would not be constrained by the salary cap. However they would not be covered by the league minimum salary anymore either.

Any benefits from the League (medical, dental, death benefits, etc.) that are covered under the CBA would be gone.

So basically, anything the teams themselves offer in individual existing contracts would be honoured. Anything covered under the CBA would not.

This doesn't happen overnight. The NHL will fight this tooth and nail and drag it out as long as possible. This would be an unmitigated disaster for them. Believe it or not, the CBA helps the league at least if not more so than the players.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, agree with everything you said, except maybe the last bit. The league's side would do one of two things, either capitulate immediately and work a deal within the week, or dig in for the long haul as you say. If the second scenario happens, I believe the minister was right when he said recently that the NHL as we know it today would cease to exist, and likely would never return. If it took too long I'm not even sure that the NHL would ever return, we might see the AHL take over the crown of hockey in North America.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Realistically, I don't think the NHL will allow this to get to the point where they are operating long term without a CBA. The CBA allows the league to operate as one entity and avoid all of the anti-competition laws in N. America. I believe the NHL will essentially cave to the players once the court rules the lockout illegal and that the union dissolving is not a form of bad faith bargaining.

But in theory if it went nuclear, the rich and middle of the road teams would operate as the NHL. maybe 20 teams. Why would the owners of the Rangers, Leafs, Canadiens, Canucks, Bruins, etc. just walk away from their business when it was making money?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I think you're right. Fun to theorize though, not much else to do these days.

I do think this is why we saw Gary's meltdown face last week. I'm certain he thought he could control when and how this all ends. The realization that he couldn't and they might actually be headed towards Decert/Disclaimer jarred him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...