NHL to reject Players' offer

[pcnorth22]

"The NHL intends to reject the players' association's latest proposal and counter with one "consistent with our mandate," NHL executive vice president Bill Daly wrote in a Dec. 12 memorandum to all 30 member clubs."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1945492

[SkateZilla]

least there was a counter proposal this time..

[NapalmDeath]

If this season is cancelled, they should purposely leave a mark on Lord Stanley's Trophy. For the 2004 season just have the words "LOST..RUNIED BECAUSE OF MONEY NOT THE LOVE OF THE GAME"

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

NHL

[Myers57]

I slowly die more and more every day...

R.I.P. NHL

[Ebenezer]

I slowly die more and more every day...

R.I.P. NHL

when the players learn to love the words Salary Cap there will be hockey...what is so hard to understand??

[Typ0]

I think bettman will come out with a mandate after christmas stating the players need to come to the table before a future date (not far in the future) or he will pull the plug on the season. This will force the union to make a choice NOW about forgoing the revenues from this season for it's players. It would be nice if he also would say future contract negotiations would not contain any compensation for the players not being allowed to play this season. It's pretty clear the process is not going well...so he'll set the date two or three weeks down the road and after that any negotiations will be focused on playing the following season. I don't expect to see any hockey this year. Bettman is going to position the league and owners pretty strongly in the next few weeks to implement a cap in the league...and the players are going to feel a real crunch with the realization they are losing tons of revenues because of their stubborness and the longer they don't recognize the challenges of the league the more moula they are going to be throwing out the window. The way I see things with every tick of the clock the franchises are increasing the net present value of their investments and the players are decreasing their life-time earning potential. Not a good position for the players to be in at all.

[Ebenezer]

I think bettman will come out with a mandate after christmas stating the players need to come to the table before a future date (not far in the future) or he will pull the plug on the season. This will force the union to make a choice NOW about forgoing the revenues from this season for it's players. It would be nice if he also would say future contract negotiations would not contain any compensation for the players not being allowed to play this season. It's pretty clear the process is not going well...so he'll set the date two or three weeks down the road and after that any negotiations will be focused on playing the following season. I don't expect to see any hockey this year. Bettman is going to position the league and owners pretty strongly in the next few weeks to implement a cap in the league...and the players are going to feel a real crunch with the realization they are losing tons of revenues because of their stubborness and the longer they don't recognize the challenges of the league the more moula they are going to be throwing out the window. The way I see things with every tick of the clock the franchises are increasing the net present value of their investments and the players are decreasing their life-time earning potential. Not a good position for the players to be in at all.

the owners are billionaires...i am sure they can miss the pittence they make from hockey...the guys who make the big bucks are older...just wait them out and when they retire you cut costs immediately by not having them around...then you put a cap in for the younger guys...kill two birds with one stone.

[Typ0]

the owners are billionaires...i am sure they can miss the pittence they make from hockey...the guys who make the big bucks are older...just wait them out and when they retire you cut costs immediately by not having them around...then you put a cap in for the younger guys...kill two birds with one stone.

yeah but it's not about them being rich...it's about them increasing their cash position for the future. There are too many teams that aren't financially viable--they just plain are sink holes for cash. Unless the players bear some of that the league will contract and there will be less jobs available. The players contend they are looking out for the lower level players of the future...well if thats true they are going to have to suck it up pretty soon so those teams at the bottom of the revenue barrel are able to sustain operations for the long-term. I don't think the franchises want to force players to retire...they want to reap benefits from their investment in their best players.

[Ebenezer]

yeah but it's not about them being rich...it's about them increasing their cash position for the future. There are too many teams that aren't financially viable--they just plain are sink holes for cash. Unless the players bear some of that the league will contract and there will be less jobs available. The players contend they are looking out for the lower level players of the future...well if thats true they are going to have to suck it up pretty soon so those teams at the bottom of the revenue barrel are able to sustain operations for the long-term. I don't think the franchises want to force players to retire...they want to reap benefits from their investment in their best players.

i don't disagree but at this point nothing would surprise me...i think it is a great strategy...wait for the older players to be too old to play.

[Typ0]

i don't disagree but at this point nothing would surprise me...i think it is a great strategy...wait for the older players to be too old to play.

It is interesting...in a sense the ones in their last years time is already really ticking away for them. Those are the guys that are really being hit hard by this anyway because they are making the most money. I'm sure there will be plenty of issues with guys staying in the proper shape after not having played at least a season as well...can you imagine what Mike Williams would have looked like if we weren't playing football? No matter what happens and how long it takes...I'm looking forward to there being some more long-term stability in the NHL. I hope it fairs well for the Sabres and we can look forward to hockey in Buffalo for a long time and even the chance to have some good teams along the way.

[fushetti]

Kudos to the NHL Owners and Bettman. Stand strong. The proposal by the players was substantial (in terms of rollbacks) but we all know its just a temporary fix.

I honestly don't care if the NHL goes 2 years without playing because the model needs to be fixed. The players have to realize that the teams have minimal revenue past ticket sales. Theres essentially no money coming out of the TV deal unless NBC makes a profit and even with the ESPN and Fox contracts in the past the teams lost money. The bottom line is, the NHL will never be popular in the US other than in its markets. Hell some markets can't support a team as it is. The typical teenager is not watching hockey in Jackson, MS. Hell, I live in Albany, NY and nobody cares about hockey. I don't understand how the players don't see this.

Get it right boys and Go Sabres....whenever. I'm going to buy my six pack of tickets whenever they start playing again.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

I agree with you. I have the feeling the owners are in the drivers seat and will wait until the players come back to their demands. Good for you owners, get this thing worked out and make the product the way it was in the 80s.

[BillsFever21]

I don't care if they ever have another NHL game.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

I don't care if they ever have another NHL game.

You aren't alone in that feeling, there are many that feel the same way.