Deal Agreed to in Principle

[coyoteshockeyfan]

More about the situation from the LA Times.

"Bettman, NHL chief counsel Bill Daly, Gretzky and Lemieux were expected to meet this morning with NHLPA President Trevor Linden; Ted Saskin, the union's senior director; Mike Gartner, the union's director of business relations; and the union's entire executive committee.

Linden and Gartner met secretly with Bettman on Thursday, a union source said, where they discussed ways to reach a deal...

...When asked if Goodenow had the support of the union, Modano replied, "I don't know, I don't know. I'm not sure."

Amazing what happens when the players give Goodenow the runaround...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp...y?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true

 

[Town Drunk]

It's done.

The owners finally came to their senses and realized that the difference between $45 million and $42 million was minute.

Thank god they finally came half-way with the players.

 

[Town Drunk]

http://hockeyrumors.blogspot.com

Deal to be Announced Today
from a myriad of sources...

One said, "Despite what is being spread there is ZERO chance that these folks walk away without a deal."

And a rumor on possible rule changes..
Shootouts
Touch up Offsides
No Red Line

Next year...Goalie equipment

 

[Town Drunk]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1994750

ESPN.com news services
There might be an NHL season, after all.
Several sources have told ESPN The Magazine's EJ Hradek that a deal could be imminent that would un-cancel the 2004-05 season.

The NHL and the players' association restarted talks Saturday at 9 a.m. ET at an undisclosed location in New York after the league requested the sides get together again. On Friday, the Hockey News reported the two sides had reached an agreement in principle that includes a $45 million salary cap.

Asked if there was any way a deal won't get done, a player close to the talks who asked to remain anonymous told The Hockey News, "Not that I can see. I couldn't possibly imagine the idea that somebody is going to try to make a name for themselves in the last minute here."

The players' association, in a message to membership posted on its internal Web site Saturday, said a deal has not been reached. NHL vice president Bernadette Mansur and NHL vice president Bill Daly also have denied that the sides have agreed to a deal in principle. A top bargaining source told ESPN.com that there was no truth "to anything that's out there," in terms of a deal being in place or a firm number for a salary cap.

On Wednesday, commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, saying it was too late to play any semblance of a schedule. The cancellation made the NHL the first major North American sports league to lose a full season to a labor dispute.

Or did it?

"I think the timing has always been to get an agreement so that we can play," said New Jersey Devils prsident Lamoriello, who has taken part in previous negotiations. "Right now, it's still get an agreement, and then if we get an agreement, then can we play?

"I think it's a little different than it was before."

In a statement released Friday night, the players' association said the NHL made the offer late Thursday night to get back together. NHL spokesman Frank Brown told ESPN that the league had no comment on the reports.
TSN reported that Daly and NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin would be part of Saturday's meeting, and TSN said Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow might not be directly involved.

Both TSN and The Hockey News reported that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are in New York taking part in the talks, but the Canadian Press reported it wasn't clear if the two would actually join the official discussions Saturday.

"The way everything has transpired, nothing surprises me," said Lamoriello, who declined to say whether he would be in attendance.
Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, one of the game's senior owners and power brokers, told The Boston Globe for Saturday's editions that the last offer made by the owners remained on the table Friday night.

"We are where we are now," said Jacobs, confirming the deal, with the $42.5 million cap, was still there for the union to accept. "Let's make the most of it. I'd like to see us do something."

One general manager told The Hockey News that Bettman used the cancellation to force Goodenow's hand -- i.e., if Goodenow thought he could maintain his reputation of being a successful deadline hunter, he was wrong.
Hradek reported that even if an agreement is reached, there is no guarantee a season will be played this year.

There hadn't been any official contact between the NHL and the players' association since Tuesday night -- when the sides traded what they said were final offers.

All proposals were rejected, and Bettman went ahead and canceled the season Wednesday at a news conference that was scheduled two days earlier.

The Canadian Press reported that some players, owners and general managers agreed $45 million was the magic cap number to get a deal done. But, according to the CP, neither side initiated talks in the last 12 hours leading up to the cancellation.

"I don't think anything was premature. It was a necessity," Lamoriello said. "It didn't appear to be going anywhere and there was too much jockeying going on.
"Right now, there's a chance of people getting down to possibly getting this done," he said.

Bettman said in a letter to Goodenow on Tuesday that the league's salary cap proposal of $42.5 million was as far as he could go and that there was no time or flexibility for negotiation.

Goodenow sent a letter back, proposing a soft cap at $49 million that could be exceeded by as much as 10 percent by teams twice during the course of the six-year deal.

It appeared there was momentum toward reaching a deal and that the season had a chance to be saved, since the sides were only $6.5 million apart on their cap numbers. But talking ceased after each side sent two letters to the other on Tuesday night.

"A lot of players, owners, managers saw how close the two negotiating teams got to a deal and I think people are just exploring if that can be explored any more," agent Pat Morris said Friday. "I don't know if it'll have a successful conclusion."

There were big breakthroughs Monday in Niagara Falls, N.Y., when the NHL agreed to drop its demand that player costs be linked to league revenues and the union, in turn, came off its steadfast opposition to a salary cap.
"We got through the philosophical end of it, so there's a better chance, but I think there is still a lot of work that has to be done and it still takes some time," Lamoriello said.

Bettman said the NHL couldn't afford the union's final proposal and said if all 30 teams spent $49 million on player costs, then more money would be paid out to players than last season.
Rumors began to swirl on Thursday, once the realization set in that the season had indeed been canceled.

"A lot of players, owners, managers saw how close the two negotiating teams got to a deal and I think people are just exploring if that can be explored any more," agent Pat Morris said Friday. "I don't know if it'll have a successful conclusion."

Bettman said the NHL couldn't afford the union's final proposal and said if all 30 teams spent $49 million on player costs, then more money would be paid out to players than last season.

The commissioner said that teams lost more than $1.8 billion over 10 years, the last time a collective bargaining agreement was reached. The previous lockout cut the 1994-95 season down to 48 games per team.
NHL clubs claim to have lost $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season.
Bettman said a deal would have to be in the drafting stages by the end of last weekend if there was going to be time to play a 28-game season and a standard 16-team postseason.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[Town Drunk]

The Hockey News Article:

Season saved Saturday?

February 18, 2005

The NHL season is expected to be "un-canceled" Saturday in New York.

A player close to the talks who asked to remain anonymous told The Hockey News the two sides have agreed to a deal in principle that features a $45-million salary cap. Asked if there was any way a deal won't get done, the player said,
"not that I can see. I couldn't possibly imagine the idea that somebody is going to try to make a name for themselves in the last minute here."

Following two days of media speculation that backroom talks between players and owners were taking place in an attempt to "un-cancel" the 2004-05 season, the NHL Players' Association issued a press release Friday night confirming it would be meeting with the league in New York on Saturday. If the two sides are as close as expected, an agreement in principle could be made public tomorrow.

As first reported by The Hockey News, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are still believed to be major players in the process. Both are reported to be in New York taking part in the talks.

"I believe all (that) stuff is pretty accurate," said the player.

A second source confirmed Lemieux traveled to New York on Friday.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman cancelled the season Wednesday with the two sides seemingly within striking distance of a settlement. Though the components of their offers had some differences, the sides agreed on the basic premise of a salary cap with luxury taxes. The union was offering a $49-million cap and the league $42.5 million.

One NHL GM told The Hockey News Bettman’s decision to cancel the season had a lot to do with history repeating itself. In other words, if NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow thought he was going to maintain his reputation of being a successful deadline hunter, he was wrong.
Since the season was called off, there has been considerable movement among the players as well as agents and GMs to do whatever is necessary to get talks started again in an attempt to save the season.

Detroit captain Steve Yzerman told The Hockey News Thursday afternoon he believed the season could be saved.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday night or Saturday…I know the season has been cancelled, but it’s not too late to 'un-cancel' it.”

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Thank you Town Drunk for keeping us all updated....

Here's some other articles

http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2005/02/19/Sports/hockeytalks_resume050220.html

Talks back on: NHL, NHLPA meeting
WebPosted Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:29:18 EST

NHL brass and the players' union resumed labour negotiations Saturday morning in New York, only three days after the league cancelled the season.

The meeting began at 9 a.m. ET at an undisclosed location.

CBC News correspondent Tom Harrington is in New York, and he reports the NHL plans to hold a press conference later Saturday, although the nature of the league's annoucement is uncertain.

The NHL Players' Association announced Friday night that the league had requested a meeting with the union. But this time, it appears two of the greatest players in hockey history are sitting in on the discussion.

Sources told Canadian Press that Wayne Gretzky, now a managing partner with the Phoenix Coyotes, and Mario Lemieux, player-owner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, would play a part in Saturday's meeting along with commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL executive vice-president Bill Daly and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow and senior director Ted Saskin.

The NHLPA wouldn't confirm who would be attending the meeting.

Both sides have emphatically denied a Hockey News report on its website suggesting the league and its players have already agreed in principle to a deal that includes a $45-million US salary cap.

he Players' Association told CBC Sports Online that claim "is absolutely false."

Daly also denied the report.

Since Bettman cancelled the NHL season, various reports – all citing anonymous sources – surfaced claiming that players, owners and agents were reaching out to each other to try and salvage the season.

"I think both sides took a step back the next day and realized 'we were that close,'" Calgary Flames superstar Jarome Iginla said Friday night from Edmonton. "And I think both sides realized that for the big hit hockey would take, maybe we needed to take another crack at it."

Several media outlets reported that Gretzky and Lemieux – both disappointed that a deal wasn't done and worried about hockey's future – had made contact with the union executive to try and jumpstart new talks.

Gretzky, in an interview with Toronto all-sports radio station The Fan 590 on Thursday, said he did talk to Lemieux, but it wasn't about restarting talks.

"To say Mario and I had a conversation to try to stir up the conversations and talks again, that's just not true," Gretzky said.

However, Gretzky didn't completely slam the door shut on the hockey season. Gretzky, like many other hockey observers, took note of Bettman's suggestion that the league may have been willing to negotiate further had the union dropped its $49-million salary-cap proposal to $45 million.

"I think that if we can get a deal done, you know the commissioner sort of left it open yesterday [Wednesday] that there still is that possibility and hopefully, maybe cooler heads will prevail and we can somehow work something out and we're playing hockey," said Gretzky.

Player agent Pat Brisson told the New York Times Thursday that three unnamed owners told him they had urged Bettman to try to negotiate later this week.

He said his clients and other players made the same request to Goodenow.

"There is conversation and agitation on both sides," Brisson said. "We had momentum and [Bettman] pulled the rug out. The players' association made a lot of concessions. This could have been resolved."

Red Wings veteran Steve Yzerman is also hopeful the season can still be saved.

"I don't know if it's necessarily tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday night or Saturday. I know the season has been cancelled, but it's not too late to un-cancel it."

If an agreement can be reached, Bettman is expected to follow through with his previous plans for a 28-game schedule with each team playing a home-and-home series against its conference rivals.

with files from Canadian Press

Feb. 19, 2005. 09:23 AM

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...970081593064&DPL=IvsNDS/7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Hockey heroes to rescue
Gretzky, Lemieux revive talks in dramatic last-ditch bid

Season could start March 1 with $45M salary cap in placeGretzky, Lemieux bring sides together

DAMIEN COX
SPORTS COLUMNIST

This has truly turned into the theatre of the absurd.

Just three days after the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season created headlines across North America, the season may be back on again courtesy of two of Canada's greatest hockey heroes, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

The league and the NHL Players Association are poised to meet in Manhattan today for what could be the formal announcement of a done deal, with a $45 million salary cap.

A 28-game season would then begin March 1.

That the two greatest NHL stars of the past quarter-century may become the dynamic duo that saves the NHL from devouring itself is the only part of this tune that isn't off-key.

Gretzky, his ear red and sore after two straight days on the phone, and his good pal Lemieux may get the lion's share of the credit if the league and its players' union can miraculously un-cancel the 2004-05 season.

"If anything happens, and it's probably too early to tell, it's those two member-owners who kind of got this thing going," Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs told the Boston Globe last night. "Hey, they may come out of this looking like heroes. If they do, that's great.

"We are where we are now. Let's make the most of it. I'd like to see us do something."

That Jacobs, commissioner Gary Bettman's No. 1 supporter, was on board with the entire goofy, unorthodox process that has unfolded over the past two days, after the formal cancellation of the season on Wednesday, at least suggests Bettman has been part of the process.

The same might not be said for union boss Bob Goodenow, who has seen his membership rise into near-open revolt over the past 48 hours, with angry players contacting each other and ultimately setting up the back-channel avenue through Gretzky that allowed today's talks to be created.

Yesterday, it was nearly impossible to sort fact from fiction as wild, bizarre rumours spread across the industry.

What seems to be true is that Gretzky and Lemieux may have approached Bettman to see if there was any way a season-saving deal could be built around a $45 million salary cap after talks fell apart with the league at $42.5 million and the union refusing to budge from $49 million.

With some kind of assurance from the commish, Gretzky and Lemieux — both of whom own teams desperately in need of cash flow — were then put in contact with players' association intermediaries, possibly including Shane Doan of Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes, former NHLPA president Mike Gartner or current union vice-president Bill Guerin.

Last night, even the most prominent player agents and team union reps were still completely in the dark over the clandestine communications that had created the meeting.

This much seems sure: The two sides would not likely have been idiotic enough to call today's meeting without knowing the structure of a new deal was already in place.

In other words, they certainly would not want to now screw up the un-cancellation of the season.

It remains to be seen whether the league will elect to throw a bone to Goodenow to help him save his job. Having now surrendered a salary cap and a 24 per cent salary rollback for all players, and with senior players having all but cut him out of secret talks over the past two days, his future with the union looks to be in significant jeopardy.

Assuming the deal comes together today or tomorrow, the Maple Leafs will be arguably the most relieved of the NHL's 30 franchises. Indeed, several weeks ago principal owner Larry Tanenbaum was involved in secret talks with a group including Tie Domi and Lemieux that failed to translate into a deal before Bettman cancelled the season on Wednesday.

Additional articles by Damien Cox

 

[Town Drunk]

I'm reading that Goodenow is gone and Gartner has pretty much taken over.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2005/02/19/Sports/hockeytalks_resume050220.html

NHL, NHLPA end meeting
WebPosted Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:29:18 EST

Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and NHL Players' Association president Trevor Linden led renewed labour negotiations in New York on Saturday, with talks ending after 61/2 hours.

There was no immediate indication as to whether the sides agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement or if more meetings were planned.

The meeting began at 9 a.m. ET at an undisclosed location. CBC News correspondent Tom Harrington is in New York, and he reports the NHL plans to hold a press conference later Saturday, although the nature of the league's announcement is uncertain.

 

[Town Drunk]

Press Conference at 6 p.m. ET.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Press Conference at 6 p.m. ET.

I hope this is good news!

 

[bankybruce]

Nothing Today
Meetings broke off...issues still to resolve...some of the owners not ratifying deals...some owners may not want to play this year.....No meetings scheduled...I'm trying to find out what went wrong..."absolutely ridiculous" one source said...."Still 90% that something gets done in the next 2 days" another great source...I will report back...I can't believe they could be so stupid...I stil think they are close...they had a PC scheduled..they may need to try and convince certain owners....stay tuned
posted by Eklund at 3:08 PM


That is per http://hockeyrumors.blogspot.com/ courtesy of Town Drunk

 

[NickelBack]

...some owners may not want to play this year

This surprises me not in the least. Owners have been and continue to be the problem!

 

[Town Drunk]

This is getting ridiculous.

The press conference has been postponed.

I’ve read that some of the small market teams have thrown the monkey wrench into the deal.

Here’s an article from TSN:

Site Map »




Daly after labour talks: It's too late


TSN.ca Staff



2/19/2005

Just three days after cancelling the 2004-2005 season, both the NHL and NHL Players' Association met in New York for 6 1/2 hours in an effort to table a new collective bargaining agreement and perhaps save the season. But things did not go well.



NHL Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly told reporters in New York after the meeting that it was too late to save the season, and that the league's focus would turn to getting a deal done for the 2005-2006 campaign.



''Our discussions revealed that we remain as far apart as we believed we were last week,'' Daly told TSN. ''The rumours that the parties were close or had in fact reached a deal were greatly exaggerated. There is still a long way to go.''



TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that no further talks are scheduled at this point.



A source close to the talks added that despite the presence of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, the situation was ''not good''.



Watch TSN and SportsCentre and click on to TSN.ca throughout the weekend for updates as they are made available.



Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow were not present. But their right-hand men, the NHL's Bill Daly and NHLPA's Ted Saskin, were in the room. The players were reportedly represented by union president Trevor Linden, Colorado veteran Vincent Damphousse, a vice-president of the union's executive committee, and NHLPA executive Mike Gartner.



Goodenow and other members of the NHLPA committee were in New York, but did not attend the meeting.



Gretzky, managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes, joined talks for the first time in this process. The Great One was believed to have been instrumental in bringing both sides back together in an effort to reach a deal and "uncancel" the season. Lemieux, a playing owner, also joined the session for the first time.



On Saturday, league sources told TSN that the NHL may be prepared to make another offer to the players, but that it would contain only "cosmetic" changes to the $42.5 million dollar deal that was presented as a "final offer" to the players on Tuesday night.



Suggestions that a deal was reached to end the NHL lockout were at best premature and at worst dead wrong, multiple sources told TSN late Friday night.



The optimism was fueled first by news that the two sides were set to meet today, and then by the arrival of Gretzky and Lemieux to join the discussions. There were also several reports that Gretzky and Lemieux had actually managed to broker a deal, but both reports were quickly denied by both the NHL and the Players Association.



"The report is absolutely false," an NHLPA spokesman said late Friday night in reference to the first such story, which came from The Hockey News website.



That sentiment was echoed by NHL vice president Bill Daly, who told TSN it was "entirely untrue and without foundation."



While it's still possible the two sides could reach an agreement Saturday, a source close to the talks called the chances of that taking place "very remote".



Still, the fact that the two sides are talking again was greeted as welcome news.



"I've said all along that the most important thing is coming to an agreement," said New Jersey Devils CEO and GM Lou Lamoriello. "Even after the season was cancelled it was just so important to get together as soon as possible.



"And I commend both of them for agreeing to do it. And now, get it done."



Since Bettman announced the cancellation of the season Wednesday afternoon, there has been a flurry of activity in hockey circles, with general managers, agents and players desperately trying to resuscitate the talks.



"I think both sides took a step back the next day and realized 'we were that close,"' Calgary Flames superstar Jarome Iginla said Friday night from Edmonton. "And I think both sides realized that for the big hit hockey would take, maybe we needed to take another crack at it."



"I can only hope that both sides realize they owe to the game to allow common sense to prevail," veteran agent Don Meehan of Newport Sports said Friday night from his Mississauga office.



But there remain serious differences that must be bridged.



There are several owners upset with the league's final offer of a $42 million dollar salary cap, feeling it was too high.



"That number ($42.5 million) would have been a tough sell at a governor's meeting," said one high ranking team executive contacted by TSN.



On the players' side, there are those who felt betrayed by the union's decision to agree to a salary cap so late in the process, after vehemently refusing even to consider one previously.



Several participants on both sides of the divide have been discussing a "laddered" salary cap - one that would start at $42.5 million, and gradually work it's way up to $45 million, and those suggestions were mentioned frequently by those who felt there was a deal imminent.



But as of now, no such deal exists.

 

[Town Drunk]

According to the Fan 590 (Toronto radio station, I've found to be very reliable):

The talks have broken off. The players are holding a conference call among themselves right now and supposedly, they're pretty pissed.

Sounds like the Bettman and Co. have been negotiating in bad faith, yet again.

 

[Scott MS]

This surprises me not in the least. Owners have been and continue to be the problem!

I agree with owners who are losing money and do not to want to play. If I owned a hockey team and all I did was lose money, then not playing is a better alternative.

I found it ironic that the Coyotes' COO Douglas Moss says this will be the best financial year in Coyotes history.

The NHL will be bankrupt if they continue down the path they have been on. Why not lose a season and correct the problem. Both sides are to blame, but they have to come to an agreement that lets them both survive.

 

[NickelBack]

Sounds like the Bettman and Co. have been negotiating in bad faith, yet again.

There is a news flash.....what a joke this ownership group is. Shame on them!

 

[Town Drunk]

While I agree that the owners are losing money, I disagree that they're losing massive ammounts of it.

If that were true, don't you think they'd be smart enough to set up some sort of owner to owner revenue sharing? And why would they have continued to have given out the big contracts to players?

 

[Scott MS]

The problem with the NHL is that costs have grown, stadiums have been built, etc., but the fan base just has not increased enough to subsidize the growth. The NHL still doesn't really have a TV contract.

The NFL, for instance, made $4 billion off TV alone during the last TV contract deal. They also making millions and millions off licensing contracts with Reebok, etc.

Unfortunately ESPN contracts and contacts with licensees CCM and Koho just don't cut it.

Don't get me wrong, hockey is and has always been my favorite sports. I have 1/5 a Coyotes season ticket (can't afford to buy 42 games at $65/seat). It's just that ticket sales and beer sales aren't enough to cover salaries. Plus, players are moving all the time.

I vote for firing all the players and then starting over. Create a new league salary cap, revenue sharing plan, etc., and hire back those guys that want to play. I'm sure Mike Modano will hang up his skates, but a lot of other guys making less than $1M a year will play and so will lots of minor league guys.

 

[NickelBack]

I vote for firing all the players and then starting over.

With the same ownership group?!?

I've got news for you, the players change all the time, the owners are the only constant in this mess!

 

[Scott MS]

With the same ownership group?!?

Maybe you should step in and take the teams away from the owners.

They own the teams. Just like a business, they have a right to decide what to do with their teams. This isn't a a government charity operation where people are elected. These owners spent millions on their teams and they have a right to do whatever they want.

 

[Scott MS]

The league is far more important than the players. There were different players 10 years ago and there will be different players 10 years from now. Find a way to make it work financially and then find the players who will play.

The league should survive, even if it has to at the expense of the players. If owners don't make money, they'll shut down their teams. Maybe contraction wouldn't be such a bad move, but arenas still only hold 17-20k.

 

[NickelBack]

This isn't a a government charity operation

Tell that to the tax peyers of Glendale!

 

[Town Drunk]

And the players offer a unique service to the owners that not many people can do. They’re the ones who make the owners investment worthwhile. Shouldn’t they get paid?

If we go with your plan, you’re going to see some terrible, terrible hockey.

Again, the owners created this mess, and they can’t expect the players to fix it for them. They have to come half way with the players.

I’m still crossing my fingers that something can get done.

 

[Scott MS]

Tell that to the tax peyers of Glendale!

Perhaps, but they'll also have a giant vacant building if the NHL goes under and Glendale will be LOSING money on that deal.

Glendale did it for a reason, so that I will spent my hard earned Phoenix money in their city. Please don't tell me that Glendale is being victimized here. They did all they can so I can go to Glendale and see the beloved Cardinals. Their businesses will benefit. And if you don't like it, don't vote for the Glendale city council.

 

[Scott MS]

If we go with your plan, you’re going to see some terrible, terrible hockey.

I wouldn't say terrible, but it won't be at the same level as before. I'd rather see some hockey than none at all.

And, let's be honest here, the only players who would hang it up and quit are the veterans playing today. Will the Juniors play in Europe instead?

No. They can still make millions in the NHL, just not $7 million/year.