Canada's Federal Government has "put the final touches
on" a C$20M "annual subsidy package" for Canadian NHL teams,
according to Rick Gibbons of the OTTAWA SUN, who notes that
the move "answers the last demands" of Senators Chair Rod
Bryden for government assistance "to keep his team in
Canada." The package, "confirmed by two government
sources," will be announced "as early as" Tuesday. One
source: "It's ready to go." The package will provide
Canadian teams with up to C$3.5M annually in a "direct
handout." The assistance "will be extended to all six"
Canadian NHL teams, "provided they meet strict conditions,"
including demonstrating that they are "also getting help
from both provincial and municipal governments." Gibbons
notes that "only three teams" - the Senators, Flames and
Oilers -- currently "meet that test." Bryden had been
"demanding between" C$10-12M in assistance, and the federal
package means that he "will have secured total savings of
about" C$11.1M annually. But Gibbons writes that "just
because Bryden's demands are about to be met, that doesn't
mean" the team won't be sold, as the team has "apparently
begun to attract strong interest from buyers" who want to
keep the team in Ottawa (OTTAWA SUN, 1/14).
AGENTS BATTLE NHLPA? In Toronto, David Shoalts reports
that the "natural tension that has always existed" between
the NHLPA and player agents and their clients "intensified
recently." Shoalts: "At the root of the problem are
contracts signed by older players for less money than they
made on their previous ones." Shoalts: "Some agents are
complaining -- anonymously -- that the NHLPA is giving them
a hard time for making these deals for veteran free agents.
By taking pay cuts to stay in the NHL, the players are
helping to lower the average salary, and this is an anathema
to the union." NHLPA Exec Dir Bob Goodenow said he is "not
dissatisfied with the way salaries have gone. Salaries are
a reflection of the marketplace" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/14).
