Brad Penner- US PRESSWIRE
As with most leagues, no one is going to be too upset about missing the NHL’s preseason. While it still may be hockey, the preseason is more about trying to build up energy and emotion for fans while the players try to find their legs. However, everyone knows that the NHL Owners will soon push the NHL Lockout into the regular season.
For the NHLPA the players are united behind Donald Fehr, the only union organizer able to hold off the threat of a salary cap in a league. He did so in the MLB, where the distance from the New York Yankees payroll to the San Diego Padres is almost $150 million dollars. The players do not want to accept another huge pay cut to save the owners’ poor business decisions. Almost everyone thinks they will lose.
If the players get nothing else they must fix their central thesis of the new negotiations. They do not want another lockout in the next decade and neither do the owners. In a league that gives out longer television deals than Collective Bargaining Agreements, this is not going to be an easy task. However, the players must get the owners to fix their revenue sharing programs.
The league’s overall value has gone up a billion dollars since the 2004-2005 lockout. However, there are still franchises that are in unsustainable financial positions. Right now league revenue sharing is unpredictable and cannot be counted on. This, and the poor placement of some franchises like the Phoenix Coyotes, make it hard to be competitive financially.
The owners treat their team’s revenues with the fiscal responsibility that made them money in the business world. Yet they treat their rosters like they’re a Fantasy Football owner without a budget; sign at any cost, for however long, for a defense.
The players have very little bargaining power because the owners believe, in the long run, that they will gain back any money lost this season under a new deal. That is why it’s essential that the NHLPA stop this cycle and force the teams to be accountable. If everyone is given financial stability, then perhaps this will be the last NHL lockout.
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