Olympics Debacle Shows Bettman is a tool

[Provost]

So now that the NHL has gotten the IIHF to take money away from its development leagues and pay the freight for the NHL players to go to the Olympics, Bettman has now pulled this gem out of his rear.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl-proposes-olympic-participation-for-cba-extension-1.609628

 

Effectively, "Hey players, we know you like representing your countries for free and just for the love of the game... if we allow you to do that, we want you to agree to keep giving us 15-20% of your salary and have this crappy CBA extended for 3 more years."

 

One doesn't have to do with the other, just an opportunistic chance to put the screws to the players when they saw a chance.

 

At some points the players are going to have to rebel and just not show up to games or get way more militant.  How do you think a Vegas billionaire would feel if he shelled out $500 million to the league and had no players on the ice.  

Bettman keeps falling to new lows and showing that he has no interest in being a steward for the game or fairly negotiate with players.  It is all about lining the pockets of the owners and trying to get free money from private taxpayers to fund their private business.

[Brad Marchand]

Bettman is a tool but he's ultimately the puppet of the NHL Board of Governors. He wouldn't have his job right now if he didn't act in the best interests of the owners.

Want to blame a bunch of old dinosaurs for this mess? Pick on them.

[khay]

This guy is negotiating CBA using the player's dream of playing in the olympics as hostage.

 

Great work again Gary. Great work. 

[Green Building]

As much as I hate some of the hockey related choices he has made, I've got to agree with @Brad Marchand - they aren't his choices. Isn't league revenue supposed to be 4.5 billion this season? Some of that probably comes from the World Cup and won't go back to the players via increased salary cap, but that again isn't Bettman's fault since he's acting on behalf of the Board (team owners) who would just fire him if he didn't do their bidding. 

 

I'd guess that escrow pissed off the richest players the most, but I'm going to steal a quote from a page that speaks in depth about escrow. I'd encourage anyone to crack a beer and take a peek at the page. It's fascinatingly complicated, and I wouldn't be surprised if the NHLPA told the league to shove this new "deal" big time.

 

Quote

Ultimately, the main thing to take away from this topic is that the salary cap system is incredibly complicated. The flexibility of the cap system creates a system where the players could be paid too much money, in which case escrow Is needed to adjust their earnings. And it’s by pushing escrow increasingly higher that players signing newer contracts can make a little extra money at the expense of their fellow players who are committed to older, long-term deals. 

This leads to a situation where some amount of in-fighting among the players is beginning as more and more players become dissatisfied with this situation. We should expect to see this contention brought up in the next round of CBA negotiations. But in the end the changes should not have much effect on how any of us enjoy or understand the game. It is mostly a backstage dilemma to us fans.

http://nhlnumbers.com/2016/8/12/how-escrow-is-becoming-a-growing-concern-in-the-nhl

Don't worry! It's not from NHL.crap it's a completely different website!

[Drive-By Body Pierce]

You needed something to show you that Bettman is a tool?

[VanGnome]

1 hour ago, Provost said:

So now that the NHL has gotten the IIHF to take money away from its development leagues and pay the freight for the NHL players to go to the Olympics, Bettman has now pulled this gem out of his rear.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl-proposes-olympic-participation-for-cba-extension-1.609628

 

Effectively, "Hey players, we know you like representing your countries for free and just for the love of the game... if we allow you to do that, we want you to agree to keep giving us 15-20% of your salary and have this crappy CBA extended for 3 more years."

 

One doesn't have to do with the other, just an opportunistic chance to put the screws to the players when they saw a chance.

 

At some points the players are going to have to rebel and just not show up to games or get way more militant.  How do you think a Vegas billionaire would feel if he shelled out $500 million to the league and had no players on the ice.  

Bettman keeps falling to new lows and showing that he has no interest in being a steward for the game or fairly negotiate with players.  It is all about lining the pockets of the owners and trying to get free money from private taxpayers to fund their private business.

 

Players should walk away from the CBA as is their right on September 19, 2019 and refuse to bargain until the entirety of the current NHL management has been replaced by competent people not just in business but know how to effectively meter, grow and protect the game and its players.

It's been 20+ years of Bettman bull$&!#, and it's time to stop.

[Coconuts]

Bettman's a tool, but he's a tool the owners wield as they see fit. Well, some of the owners anyway.

[Fateless]

I don't really see the problem with what the NHL has done. They're going to lose revenue and momentum if the players attend the Olympics. They've essentially said they're willing to give their blessing if they get something in return. That's how business works. Everyone is getting mad that Bettman is putting business first, but that's his job.

 

They haven't forced the players to do anything. They haven't said the Olympics are off the table if they don't agree, simply that they're willing to agree right now if their conditions are met. I don't really see the problem. Sure I'd love to see NHL players at the Olympics, but you can't really be upset at Bettman for doing his job.

[-SN-]