This is the era of L O N G term contracts in the NHL. So while John Ferguson Jr. may have been a total knucklehead, nothing that I have read or seen since he blew out of town has changed my mind about that, but at least he didn’t give away any 12 year contracts. You have to believe that is for one reason. He wasn’t smart enough to figure it out! If he was Jason Blake would have been on the books for another 9 years, not to pick on Blake, but that last contract Domi signed would have been for at least 8 years, with Tie actually having to pay the Leafs in years 7 and an8. Nope, our last full time GM wasn’t so bad after all, he didn’t stick us with any of those L O N G term contracts. Problem is, he also didn’t get any players deserving of them.

Of course that was written tongue in cheek, however it does beg the question, do you think that our Leafs will ever have the type of player you would want to sign to an excessively long term contract. I know many of you are in love with Luke Schenn. I don’t know why, but I just don’t imagine ever giving him that type of contract. I recognize that I may one day eat those words, and hell I hope I do. Other than him, is there someone you see who could one day get that deal??? A Schrute Buck to the first person who yells Kadri!

I doubt these long term contracts will be around when Buzz Hargrove negotiates the next CBA for the NHLPA, so we can only dream…

What do you think?

By the way, I loved all the emails responding to both little TSM’s bedwetting alarm and the guest vs. host question- keep em coming.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

The hell with Chris Shult’s Moustache, let’s talk about Glenn Healy’s never quiet mouth. Yes the two lips that will eventually get him fired from his role at the NHLPA. LT said to me this am that he thinks Healey would make a great GM one day. Healy did more lobbying for the Leafs job prior to JFJ’s hiring than Maclean has done for every opening since his latest dismissal. Can you imagine the way Healy talks about the game and the owners that one of them would actually hire him???

The funny thing is, this time he is actually right. Does he say it the right way? That is for his boss to decide:

““You need to have leverage and rights before you can take a position,” “We have no ability to dictate anything.
“We were told in September that the team was okay. We were told in February that the team was okay. In fact, at that point, [the NHL] had already infused tens of millions of dollars into the team. Any media outlet that wrote that the team was in trouble was ridiculed.”

Healy is right on both account, yet doesn’t seem to listen to himself. The players signed the current CBA and are therefore fully aware of their legal position, the only one they have to blame for that is themselves. He is right that they have no power, that is the deal they signed. It’s funny how he says you need to have leverage before you take a position, the inference is that the players have no leverage…yet he goes on to take a position. What Healy is saying is that Bettman Inc. lied to the PA the same way they lied to the public. Sounds like a position to me though….

“So from that standpoint, we basically had the burlap bag over our heads with regards to the Phoenix situation, which is disappointing because we consider ourselves major stakeholders in the game, and it affects not only our 23 players there, but a whole bunch of players who used to play there as well.”

The players can consider themselves whatever they want, right now, by the CBA they signed they are working stiffs like the rest of us. The NHL is management and the players are the workers. The only way that will change is through collective bargaining and to get the changes Healy wants you will be talking about a lockout that would last years. Name one other industry where the union and management are on equal footing??? It just doesn’t happen. In the NHL the fact that it doesn’t happen is beneficial to the players. Would they be willing to share in the losses that ownership may suffer from time to time. If a team loses money, would the players on that team be willing to give some cash back, I mean partners right????? Don’t get me wrong, the fact that Bettman lied to the public is wrong. The fact that he lied to the union is really shitty.

“My approach was, we’ve got some of the best stuff going on, on the ice, in a long time,” Healy said. “The problem is, we’ve taken the game from the sports page to the business page, and the quicker we can get it off the business page, the better it is.”

Translation, the players have fixed the on ice issues (to a degree), however Bettman is failing on the business end. Hard to disagree when you consider the rumors about all the teams in trouble. Where one day I may have suggested that we shouldn’t believe the rumors about the other teams troubles, given Mr. Bettman’s ever increasing nose, it’s hard to believe anything that comes out of his mouth these days…

Soooo, the winter classic may expand from 1 game to 2…hell why not just do all games on that day outside??? Just kidding, if this brings big time attention to the league then it’s a good thing. I still say they should use it as the All-Star game and dump that loser of an “event” instead of what they claim is a big winner. I watch most Leafs game on TV anyways so the fact that one more is going to be on TV isn’t going to make a difference to me.

Anyone see the Monster today???

TSM

Healy is here

I hear what Damien and his pals are trying to sell this morning. I mean the outrage, the horror…While firms like Microsoft, Ford, GM and others are laying off thousands of people, people across North America are losing (not loosing) their homes to foreclosure we should all march on the streets here in and New York to support our NHL players. Good luck with that. This is not the time for the NHLPA to try and win a PR war over the fact that the players are, for the first time ever going to share in the pain with the rest of us. That is why the officials at the PA aren’t talking. That’s why they extended their deal. The smart ones at the top know what is winnable and what isn’t.

The media however are dying for a scandal to write about. Newspapers across North America are laying off entire department, ceasing to print on certain days and sports departments are no longer covering hockey. Yet here in Toronto, our fellas keep digging (shoveling in this case) as their colleagues are losing (not loosing) their jobs, but take pity on the NHL players. Do you think the folks who gut shuttered at WDFN this week are worried about the fact that Zach Paraise is going to see his escrow deduction almost double to $300,000 and not recover a penny of it? I am willing to bet that $300k is more then more then a couple of the folks let go were earning combined.

So, it is interesting to read things like this, which tells us the amount the player is going to result as a loss of the increased and forefitted escrow payment (the first number) as compared to their annual salary (the second number):

“-$1,732,500 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins

Salary: $9 million

-$91,437 John Mitchell Toronto Maple Leafs

Salary: $475,000

-$1,347,500 Roberto Luongo Vancouver Canucks

Salary: $7 million

-$673,750 Jeff Finger Toronto Maple Leafs

Salary: $3.5 million

It’s fine to say things like :

“One of the reasons the union wants the escrow to jump immediately is that the players’ association itself is liable for any shortfall at the end of the season. If that were to climb into tens of millions of dollars, it could bankrupt the union. More than ever, players will now understand their financial well-being depends on the economic health of the league after years of drawing ever-increasing salaries regardless of TV contracts or whether arenas were full or not. Players may now be less supportive of efforts to prop up money-losing franchises, or at least motivated to have franchises moved to more profitable markets. Kelly yesterday called for the league to give the association more input on TV deals, international competition, expansion and franchise relocation.”

As the players should inject themselves into where their cash is going (to prop up hopeless teams (financially)).

When players say things like this:

“”That’s news to me,” said a surprised Parise, scheduled to earn $2.5 million this season. “I hope you’ve got a bad scoop there.” Sorry, Zach, no bad scoop. In fact, despite the best efforts of Kelly, NHLPA director of player affairs Glenn Healy and other senior union executives, it’s clear many NHLers will be caught totally off-guard by what essentially amounts to an enormous pay cut.”

It just goes to show you the ignorance of some of these guys. I don’t mean to pick on Parise. You spoke to Cox not I. A much better answer would have been “no comment”. You see Zach, the economic world is crumbling around you. The players of the NHL are not immune from it. Many of your fans are facing the daunting issue of how to pay for school, clothes and the next meal. Perhaps, maybe, just maybe you should open your eyes, and pay attention to the details inside that small document your union agreed to, so you know the rules of the game, and how the outside economic factors are going to effect you. The reality is no fan is going to cry for the money you lose (not loose). This isn’t your fault by the Zach, your a product of an environment where you are shielded from these types of issues. Me thinks it’s time you start asking the right questions.

By LT

We are just past the half way mark and mere days before the All Star break….Deadline dealings will no doubt heat up shortly.  Not all cup contending or playoff wannabe (in some cases “needtobe”) teams will be looking for this years version of Marian Hossa….Many teams will be looking for lower priced, small pieces of the puzzle….vets that can handle playoff pressure or simply more 3^rd and 4^th line depth to deal with injuries.  We all know about the Kaberle’s, Kubina’s and Antropov’s that we hope Burke can morph into picks and/or prospects….But there are a few vets on the Marlies that I believe the Leafs should consider recalling to see (and demonstrate to potential suitors) if they have anything left at the NHL level that could net more, albeit lower, picks in this years draft.   I’m referring to Mark Bell, Boyd Devereaux and Bates Battaglia.  Bell especially; who apparently has played extremely well of late (read Sun Article by Steve Buffery).  Before you laugh – I know that the league is probably filled with guys like these and that there will likely be very few teams interested in our older farmhands….but why not give it a try?  All three will be UFA’s after the season so it’s our last chance to get any value for them and there is no downside for the acquiring team as there are no long term commitments.  Drafting is a numbers game; especially in the later rounds….there are lots of great stories of low picks becoming good NHL’ers…why not try to parlay one or all three of these guys into late picks?  One might argue that playing these guys will stunt the development of others….Well, for a few games, I see no harm in asking vets like Mayers and Hollweg (who doesn’t play regularly anyway) to sit and sending a guy like Deveaux back down to the AHL for a few weeks.  If you think I’m way off – especially on Devereaux and Battaglia…at least give me Mark Bell. 

Another consideration (and perhaps most damaging to my suggestion above) is the risk of losing these players on re-entry. I’m not an expert on the CBA but after reading the rules (Article 13) I believe all three players mentioned would have to clear waivers if recalled…(someone correct me if I’m wrong).  So, we could risk losing them for nothing.  So perhaps the ultimate question is….is it worth it to attempt to bring them up to demonstrate their worth at the NHL level vs. trying to peddle them based on their AHL performance?  Another option is to focus on other moves and simply let them remain with the Marlies and ride off into the sunset at the end of the season. 

 What do you think?

If you haven’t already read it, get ready, it’s going to be everywhere. You will hear that the NHL salary cap will not go down next season, as for the season after, all bets are off. Remember that the Cap is based on the previous years’ hockey revenue. Given that much of the hockey type revenues for this year are already accounted for, next year’s cap is pretty safe. Next year when sponsorships are expected to shrink, along with ticket sales and luxury suites, the size of the pie to split up for the following season (2010/11) is going to shrink dramatically. So while Cliff did a nice job hacking and cutting the payroll and salary commitments for both now and tomorrow, the pressure is really going to be on Burke to act accordingly so that his team isn’t prevented from doing the things he wants at the time this franchise should be righted. In simple terms, you don’t Burke’s hands to be tied be salaries and contracts that aren’t movable nor desirable internally. Assuming Sundin signs elsewhere this season, we could be looking at multiple seasons where the Buds are significantly below the ceiling. Also Burke’s ability to pedal players this year and next off-season could be dramatically hindered by the almight dollar and teams’ need for cap precious cap space.

Going into 2010-2011, as the leafs sit right now , they are in pretty good shape. 5 committed contracts carrying a cap hit in total of $18,725,000. Jason Blake($4,000,000) and Niklas Hagman($3,000,000) are the only 2 forwards with contracts in that season. On the blueline, Tomas Kaberle($4,250,000), Jeff Finger($3,500,000) and Luke Schenn(2,975,000) are the only players with contracts. The Buds will still be on the hook for Darcy Tuker’s salary at the time, taking a cap hit of $1,000,000. Of all those players (Tucker excluded) I am only comfortable that Schenn will still be here. Hagman’s no trade clause expires after this year and there is no guarantee that come next deadline he couldn’t be a valuable trading asset. Despite a few good games, I am not convinced that Jason Blake will be here by then. Be it the minor’s or re-callable waivers, I am comfortable that he won’t be here. On D, I don’t have to get into Tomas Kaberle as his story has been well documented this past week. The jury is out on Finger. I wouldn’t be stunned if her was still around in 10/11, nor would I be stunned if he were elsewhere.

So, as the NBA sits back and waits on 2010 does the NHL too? How much does this effect what Burke wants to do. At some point down the road, Mats Sundin needs to be replaced. A franchise player is going to have to be acquired. Ideally this will happen in the draft. More likely, this player will come via trade/free agency. As the calendar progresses from year to year the age limits on free agency seems to get lower and lower, which should have resulted in more and more free agents. Instead, thankfully, I think for the leafs, teams have been locking up their younger players to long term deals at big money. How is that to the Leafs advantage? Well, if the cap goes down, teams are going to have to look to trim payroll. The value of cap space at that time will be at an all time premium. The less payroll a team has tied up, the more flexibility they will have. It really is that simple.

Tampa Bay, for example has 34,502,273 already tied up in salary in that year in 9 guys. The New York Ranger’s have 34,782,143 tied up in 7 guys…ouch! The Ottawa Senators have 30,526,496 tied up in 7 players and 1 buyout (emerson). The Flyers have 42,145,833 tied up in 10 guys. Burke is in good shape compared to some of his compadres. Does this guarantee success? Of course not. What it should mean is that if Burke is smart at the time he wants to add those extra pieces to get to or over the top, the could very well be pretty affordable.

These are interesting times indeed. I am interested to see how this plays out. I doubt that the Jeff Finger’s of the world will realize the huge dollars that they saw this past summer when free agency opens up this summer. That is not to say there won’t be a lot of movement. I think the top guys will get their money. Maybe not at the pace as in years past, but the big dogs will eat.

salary info form nhlscap.com

I really thought that with Paul Kelly taking over the NHLPA the circus days were behind the union. No matter what these guys seem to do, the sideshow never ends. I am not sure what is more hilarious, the fact that these things go on, or that they are uncovered so easily.

“The NHL Players’ Association overhauled its constitution a year ago to prevent the union from repeating the errors of its past, but the union’s new structure is now causing friction between Executive Director Paul Kelly and ombudsman Eric Lindros. Kelly and Lindros, once staunch supporters of each other, are increasingly at odds over their roles at the union, according to numerous hockey and sports industry sources. Neither Kelly nor Lindros would comment on their relationship or whether there is tension between them. Kelly did say there should be a review of the constitution, including the ombudsman’s role, in a year. Lindros replied, “The constitution is there for a reason.”

So the PA put in an oversight system, one to ensure that the players had an eye on what was going on so that the mistakes of yesteryear. Makes sense. What is one to think when the new head of the PA wants to reduce the influence of the oversight (Lindros)?

“At a meeting of player representatives in Chicago at which both Kelly and Lindros were present, the issue of changing the constitution was raised and Lindros’ role as ombudsman was clarified. One player representative who asked not to be identified said the issues between Lindros and Kelly had been worked out, but other sources said that was not the case. Sources would not pinpoint reasons for problems between Kelly and Lindros, but the organization is structured in a way that could naturally put them at odds. Lindros fields complaints from players and acts as a watchdog over Kelly.The tension between Kelly and Lindros “is the worst-kept secret in hockey,” said one hockey source.”

Again, how does this happen? How is it that this is the worst kept secret? Here is the best part of the excellent story from the Sports Business Journal:

“Kelly said he understands the reasons for the checks on the executive director; after all, he was the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Eagleson. But, he said, “Some of the checks and balances are a bit more rigorous than they need to be. “If there are portions that need to be tweaked, that is what we need to do.” Kelly said another difficulty is that the constitution requires 25 player representatives to be on a conference call to get anything done, which is difficult to accomplish during the season, when teams are traveling. Kelly said the advisory board is beneficial and that separating the general counsel and the executive director positions makes sense. But, he said, “I am not so sure about the ombudsman role.”

I mean seriously folks…is this ridiculous? How are these guys going to work with the NHL if they are still fighting within?

“Lindros, asked to address Kelly’s comments, said, “Guys should continue to pay attention to what is going on within their own association, as well as take on a more interested role.” A year ago, Lindros and Kelly were vocal supporters of each other. Lindros was on the search committee of players that selected Kelly for the executive director job. And Kelly told SportsBusiness Journal in October 2007 that he supported the hiring of Lindros as the ombudsman weeks before he was officially hired. Back then, Kelly said of Lindros, “I think he would be the perfect choice.”

Ahhh what a difference a year makes. So know as the PA boss makes his rounds, asking the million dollar question (should we reopen the CBA), there is again unrest at the PA……

From the outside it looks bad. I can’t imagine how it looks from the inside either…..

Here is the a link to the full text….

Interesting times in the world of money indeed. Let’s not talk about the world markets here, it is enough everywhere else. However, the Globe is running a pretty interesting story on the hockey $ markets, and it has me thinking, that this could get ugly….

“According to information compiled by The Globe and Mail from various sources, the six Canadian NHL franchises contributed more than $40-million (all figures U.S.) to their fellow owners last season, and about $50-million when playoff revenues are taken into account.And at the other end of the spectrum, several teams are becoming increasingly frustrated at the skyrocketing salary cap, which now forces teams to carry a minimum payroll of $40.7-million.”

It is amazing how the times have changed and how different things are in the various leagues. The Blue Jays rely on revenue sharing in MLB. Yet in the NHL, the Leafs (12m) Habs (12.5), Canucks (10), Flames (6) Senators (1)and Oilers (800k) are the ones shelling out the dough.

“Another part of the problem is that some teams build their business models around their revenue-sharing windfall and strive to keep their own revenues below the threshold where they will have to contribute. The Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators, like other teams who spend near the midpoint of the salary-cap range, are often singled out as examples.”

So, lets get this straight, you plan on making just under the limit to ensure you get the handout from the league????? What a great way to run a business… No wonder the PA is suspicious….

“”The cap was supposed to solve everyone’s problems, but all it’s done is prevent six or seven teams from spending $80-million,” said an ownership source who exchanged candour for anonymity. “Some folks are pretty upset: We sat out a whole year to get the cap, and some people are saying, ‘Well, why?’” As one long-time executive with an Eastern Conference team pointed out, the bottom of the NHL salary scale now exceeds the top-end figure from the first postlockout year ($39-million).”

Next to the “player to be named later” the “anonymous source” is my favorite sports character of all time. It is wild when you think that the league floor on salaries already exceeds the first year cap.

“”Some teams are pretty pissed off at the whole thing: We didn’t manage to get rid of salary arbitration, and some teams just can’t afford to pay their restricted free agents or arbitration-eligible players,” the executive said. “There are probably 10 to 12 teams that can’t afford a $40.7-million payroll,” added a source with extensive knowledge of league operations.

So, one has to ask the question then, what now???

The Canadian dollar exploded today (so much for a soft landing). The Canadian NHL teams will be taking in a devalued Cdn dollar and paying out in USD. Ouch.

You know who is going to pay for this???

“For example, Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez each earned US$10 million last season. They’ll both get back the $950,000 they paid into escrow plus interest and an additional $48,000 or so to cover the shortfall in overall salary payments.”

Remember, the league witholds, almost like a tax a certain % of each player’s paycheck as an escrow to ensure “cost certainty”, that is that salaries don’t exceed the threshold of hockey revenue…So guess what will happen when the canadian dollar heads south and the Canadian teams don’t make as much money or gulp, lose money? Guys like Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez aren’t going to be getting their 950k back. That will be a big issue when Paul Kelly contemplates re-opening the CBA…

So we are clear, the owners aren’t happy, the players certainly aren’t going to be happy, why did we have this lockout again??????