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September 7, 2010 // 10:05pm ET
Bettman the Bully
PITTSBURGH, PA -- Some guys are Chuck
Norris tough. Especially when they know the other side won't fight
back.
The NHL’s recent victory over the NHLPA in
the Ilya Kovalchuk saga, which included forcing the Players’
Association to agree to a re-write language of CBA governing long-term
deals, came at the expense of a leaderless PA.
The saga began last off-season, as NHL clubs and star players join forces to exploit a
loophole in the hotly contested Collective Bargaining Agreement.
In exchange for garbage bags full of cash, players like Marian Hossa,
Roberto Luongo and Marc Savard agreed to front-loaded contracts that
steadily, and in some cases drastically, reduce in value long before
they expire. Despite many opportunities, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman
said nothing, at least publicly.
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Last summer, the NHLPA was led by Paul Kelly. While Kelly's tenure was
short, he was a warm body that could have, and probably would have,
provided opposition to a unilateral re-write of the CBA language.
This off-season, no one is in charge of the NHLPA.
Not coincidentally, Bettman has puffed out his chest this summer,
hitched up the pants his tailored Brooks Brothers suit (or does he
wear Osh Kosh by Gosh?) and begun righting wrongs, which he apparently
had the authority to correct, but previously ignored.
Tough guy.
In fairness, it can't be proven that Bettman knew Hossa, Luongo, Chris
Pronger or Savard signed long term deals. Or that he knows the sport
is played on ice, and cherished by people who have, at some point in
their lives, seen ice.
Unfortunately, actions bring equal and opposite
reactions. You didn’t think hockey players would
be pushed around for long? Undoubtedly, in response to a series
defeats, the PA appears to be close to hiring the contentious Donald
Fehr.
Baseball fans still know the name. Hey, Montreal Expos fans, how did
that pennant chase of '94 turn out? Oops, sorry,
Fehr shut down the game to avoid a big luxury
tax or salary cap.
Rewind.
If Bettman was serious about protecting the spirit of the CBA, why did
he do nothing last July when Kelly was still employed? One of the
reasons the Boston lawyer got the ax was his perceived closeness to
Bettman and Co. It would seem that was the appropriate time to discuss
long-term, front-weighted deals.
Fehr is rarely agreeable -- just as a
matter of deep principal, he will say no. He refused to let baseball
test players for steroids long after the problem was obvious and
destructive to fan relations. |
The new CBA rules put in place last week
certainly didn’t favor the player’s side. Teams are, in some cases,
doubly charged for singing players to contracts which extend beyond a
player’s 40th birthday.
The reworked CBA rules mean the NHL will
now assess a salary cap hit equal to the full value of the deal in the
seasons proceeding the players 40th birthday. For example, if Team A
signs 35-year-old Player B to a seven-year, $50 million contract that
pays $7M annually, the salary cap hit would be $10 million per season
-- as the entire $50 million would be spread over the five years
before the player is 40.
Further, the NHL will impose a cap hit of $7 million for the final
two-years of the deal, when the player is past 40.
So, in this case, Player B will count $64 million against the cap on a
$50 million contract.
Also, players who sign deals that extend into their late 30s will
carry a larger cap hit in the final years of their deals because the
second re-write of the CBA dictates those players will carry a cap hit
of at least $1 million, regardless if their salary is less.
The new rules will effectively kill long term, big money deals, and
shorten careers of marginal or declining players. The rules will also
suck money out of the salary pool by counting against the bottom line,
without owners having to actually pay as much money as counted against
the cap.
Bettman has done well for his employers, the NHL owners, but some guys
are tough... when there's no one to fight.
Perhaps the commissioner will take an equally aggressive line with
failing franchises in failing markets, which are not contributing
revenue. Perhaps Bettman will play hardball in the league's US TV
rights negotiations.
Soon, there will be someone to bargain with the NHL management. And
like many school yard bullies, Bettman will soon be confronted with an
equal, or perhaps superior. Bettman will have to decide what is worth
fighting for, what is he truly authorized to do for the good of the
game, and what he is willing to risk.
How many NHL players do you know tolerate getting shoved without
giving at least a good face wash? If Fehr becomes the union chief, it
could make the 2005 lock out look like a morning skate compared to
what’s to come.
The NHL owners and Bettman have had their way for several years.
Payback seems imminent.
Daniel Kingerski, host of The Fourth Period Radio Show,
is the Pittsburgh Correspondent for
The Fourth Period Magazine and a Columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com.
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