NHL Lockout: The Owners New Plan

[Ming]

In Chicago, we have the AHL Wolves. They've been in the playoffs 3 out of the last 4 cheers. Their entire ad campaign is about how they win... basically laughing at the fact that NHL Black Hawks don't...

I think this is the first year the Wolves have lost more games than the Black Hawks

[joncha]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
NHL offer was the first positive step I've seen from them yet.



NHLPA was right to reject it, but at least the owners are now demonstrating that they're willing to negotiate in good faith, something the players have been doing from the start.

My thoughts exactly. Who knows? They might actually get a deal out of the latest round of "last-minute" talks...

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Sava
the NHL is dead... stick a fork in it.

I for one hope so.

[paramir]

why do they even submit proposals, if it has a cap the PA will say no, if it dosen'tthe owners will.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Because maybe they hope at some point they can have the NHL not die a horrible, horrible death?

Loved to have seen this proposal win out, but I guess that was asking too much.

[Ming]

Rumor has it that one of the owners has told the press that they are going to call the season officially dead on Friday. It could be a great ploy to get the players to accept a salary cap... but more likely the truth. The players haven't figured out yet that it's a cap or nothing... but they are about to find out

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well it's not like they can really have a season anymore anyway. Hockey won't do well as a summer game .

[Jonny]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Well it's not like they can really have a season anymore anyway. Hockey won't do well as a summer game .

Indeed.

Besides, considering the way discussions have gone so far, they'll need all the time they can get in order to reach an agreement for next season...

But I do miss the hockey. No minor league teams around here.

[Ming]

What's really silly is... I PREDICT

Once they call the season, all talks will stop. And the next talks won't begin again until the end of the summer. The owners are going to make the players sweat it out. And in the end, the players will have to accept a salary cap.

So this season will have been missed, and the players will gain NOTHING!

[notyoueither]

What about the possibility of replacement players?

The NHLPA does not own the franchises. Comes a point they either go to work or they lose their jobs.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Because maybe they hope at some point they can have the NHL not die a horrible, horrible death?

pfft.

Nobody is gonna replace the Bruins, the Leafs, or the Canadians... anytime soon.

The owners hold the hammer... if it goes that far.

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by notyoueither
What about the possibility of replacement players?

The NHLPA does not own the franchises. Comes a point they either go to work or they lose their jobs.

Scabs are forbidden in some provinces.

Edit: silly me , it's a lock-out, not a strike.

[notyoueither]

Yeah, I wonder about that.

The position of the owners is that they can't survive under the expired CBA. The players refuse to accomodate the major demand of the owners.

At some point in time the courts have to take the side of the owners and allow the franchises to get on with business, don't they?

[Wezil]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Yeah, I wonder about that.

The position of the owners is that they can't survive under the expired CBA. The players refuse to accomodate the major demand of the owners.

At some point in time the courts have to take the side of the owners and allow the franchises to get on with business, don't they?

As I understand it, they are legally entitled to use 'replacement' workers next season - hence my earlier post.

While I would prefer to see the true professionals playing again, I do not want to see a bad deal signed in order to make it happen. The problems with the league need to be solved. If the players refuse to understand this, then so be it.

As for the 'scabs' issue...

Am I supposed to feel sorry for highly paid NHLPA members going to Europe and displacing the hard working players on those teams? Hell no! Let's have those displaced players come here and take the NHL'ers jobs and see how they like it.

[optimus2861]

^ No, the NHL has to get an impasse declared in negotiations before they can legally use replacement players. And they have to do it in all jurisdictions (the USA, Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, and British Columbia). Then they would have to show that the NHLPA has bargained in bad faith (conversely, if the NHLPA could show the NHL has bargained in bad faith, all sorts of bad things happen to the NHL, such as losing anti-trust exemptions).

The MLB tried this in 1995 and lost the gambit. The NFL tried and won in -- 1987? -- effectively breaking the union in the process.

However, I don't believe labour laws in Quebec or British Columbia permit replacement workers in this situtation at all, so the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks still wouldn't be able to operate.

I'm recalling second-hand info here, and of course IANAL.