The Red Wings rank No. 1 in THE HOCKEY NEWS' annual NHL
team payroll survey, "thanks largely to Sergei Fedorov's
front-end loaded contract that pays him" $14M this season.
THN's Bob McKenzie reports that the Red Wings' $48.3M
payroll puts them "well ahead" of the Stars and Rangers, No.
2 and No. 3, respectively. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
said that a team's "on-ice fortunes are not always directly
connected to off-ice spending," and noted last year's
Eastern Conference finalists. Bettman: "[The Capitals and
Sabres] spent only what they felt they could afford to spend
and still had some success." The Capitals and Sabres rank
No. 11 and No. 20 on the list, respectively. The Rangers,
who ranked No. 1 last year with a $44M payroll, failed to
make the playoffs. McKenzie notes that the "unofficial
average" NHL team payroll is $29.8M, up 12% from $26.6M a
year ago; the "unofficial average" NHL player salary is
$1.2M, up from $1.1M a year ago; and the median payroll is
the Mighty Ducks at $30.4M. But McKenzie notes that the
survey doesn't "take into account at least 10 players" who
are holdouts or unsigned free agents "who could be earning
more than" $1M annually. See (#25) for more (THN, 11/6).
ARE NBA'S LOSSES NHL'S GAINS? Bettman, in Toronto
yesterday, touched on the NBA lockout: "When a bus drives
through a puddle, everybody gets splashed." Bettman, on the
effect of the lockout on the NHL: "The casual NBA fan might
be looking for alternatives. But we're working to build our
game and we think we're on the right track, regardless of
what's happening in the NBA" (TORONTO SUN, 10/29)
CROSSING THE POND: The CP reported that of the 654
players on NHL rosters, 399 were Canadians -- 10 more than
last year. But the "overall Canadian content dropped" to
61.1% from 61.4%. Only 98 U.S.-born players are on rosters,
four fewer than last year, which represents a 1.1% drop.
Europeans make up 23.9% of the league, a 1.4% increase from
last year. The figures are as of October 17 (CP, 10/28).
