When I read about the NHL's opening offer I wasn't too concerned. This isn't the first time where you open up negotiations asking the moon. That way you look like you are making concessions when you finally come back to Earth. The amount of money taken back from the players was huge and the contract limits and free agency restrictions add up to a lot of money out of the players' pockets.
When the NHLPA make a counter proposal I was caught by surprise. It made a lot of sense. The players would give up money if the owners redistributed from wealthy teams to poor teams. Otherwise taking back money really just makes the rich richer. After the last lockout ticket prices really didn't fall much. Owners pocketed any additional profits. The NHLPA proposal was a real good starting point for negotiations.
So when the owners blew off the players' proposal, it became obvious the hockey season will not begin on time. Gary Bettman appears to want to crush the players again and earn himself a nice big raise. The question is at what cost?
Will the players capitulate again? Maybe. That's what Bettman is counting on. Will Donald Fehr make a difference? Can the league afford to lose another season with 3 teams more or less being operated by the league. Last time the fan base did not appear to take a hit. This time the economy is much weaker.
I'm pretty skeptical that the league needs these changes to the collective agreement to help the small market teams. I bought it in 2004 but the changes really didn't help them at all. For teams like the Leafs it reduced operating costs and made them more profitable but at the same time the salary floor still prevents small market teams from being profitable. This is just Bettman's iron fist approach to dealing with the union.
So don't expect any NHL hockey real soon.
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