NHL Lockout, Day 300: Crosby Says He’ll Pass Up Cash For NHL

Crosby Leaving Money On The Table To Play In NHL

NHL prospect Sidney Crosby said he will play in the NHL next season, despite potentially making one-third of what he could make with Swiss club Lugano, according to Terry Koshan of the TORONTO SUN. Crosby’s agent, IMG’s Pat Brisson, was negotiating with Lugano for a deal that “possibly could have been worth [US$10M] over three years.” Under the NHL’s pending CBA, “it is expected picks in the [‘05] draft won’t be able to earn much more than [US$850,000] in base salary” (TORONTO SUN, 7/12).

ANOTHER ROUND? In Toronto, Al Strachan cites sources as saying that the NHL is “considering adding two more teams from each conference [to the playoffs] and a best-of-three preliminary round added to the four best-of-seven rounds that exist now.” The league is also “considering some other significant rules changes, including adding three minutes to regular-season overtime and a three-man shootout if the teams remain tied (TORONTO SUN, 7/12).

COMEBACK KIDS: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Andy Bernstein reports the NHL is not planning an “immediate marketing blitz” once a new CBA is announced. NHL Group VP/Communications Bernadette Mansur said that the league will “talk to fans and players before completing its comeback plan, and likely will begin most activity as the new season is approaching,” rather than in the summer. Mansur added that the players “will be an integral part of whatever marketing campaign the league eventually adopts.” Mansur: “This is the first time we’ve had a true marketing partnership with the players. The players have voiced to us they know they need to work as hard as we do to earn our fans back” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/11 issue).