NHL Notes: ’05-06 Average Salaries To Be $1.28M After Escrow
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Iginla Agrees That NHL
Is Getting More Diverse |
The average NHL salary this season is $1.46M, down from an average of $1.81M in
’03-04. After escrow deductions are factored in at the projected 12% rate, the
average salary will drop to $1.28M (The Hockey News).
DIVERSITY: In N.Y., Jason Diamos noted there are 12 black players on NHL
rosters this season. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: “If you look at where the
players come from, we have the greatest diversity and background of any of the
major sports.” Flames RW Jarome Iginla added, “There are blacks and minorities
at all positions: role players, tough guys, scorers, goalies, every position;
and young and up-and-coming guys that are just breaking in. ... There are so many
different cultures. I think it’s great for hockey” (N.Y. TIMES, 11/13).
ESPN THE MAGAZINE’s Carmen Renee Thompson writes Canucks RW Anson Carter’s Big
Up Entertainment company produced an album for hip-hop duo Main & Merc and the
film “Bald” during the NHL lockout. Carter cited Def Jam Founder Russell Simmons
as the inspiration for the company. Simmons told Carter, “Your company is a twist
because it sounds connected to black culture, but people who play hockey, well,
you assume they’re not connected to black culture. You’ve got black fans?” Carter:
“Yep, we do. We had the lockout last season, but it’s actually good that we weren’t
playing. I think the league has to reinvent itself and get the word out that there
are more than two of us [black athletes] playing” (ESPN THE MAGAZINE, 11/21
issue).
SASKIN: In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch reported that as many as ten teams —
including the Capitals, Blackhawks, Wild, Maple Leafs, Rangers and Islanders –-
“have voted against having Ted Saskin take over” as NHLPA Exec Dir. Many teams,
including the Stars and Red Wings, have not yet voted because they “don’t like
the way the NHLPA’s executive committee has forced Saskin on them.” The Senators
voted in favor of Saskin, but “there was some player opposition in the room” (OTTAWA
SUN, 11/13). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Liz Mullen cites an NHLPA source as
saying that Saskin “isn’t yet enjoying the bigger paychecks that come with leading”
the union. As Exec Dir, Saskin is scheduled to earn $1.9M this year with annual
increases that bump his salary to $2.35M by ’09. He made $1M per year as the NHLPA
Senior Dir of Business Affairs (SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL, 11/14 issue).
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Gretzky Praises Bettman
For Handling Of Lockout |
BAD BETT? Sources in the Coyotes locker room said that “most players [on
the team] don’t want Bettman as their commissioner.” In Phoenix, David Vest wrote
Bettman’s “successful our-way-or-the-highway approach to the labor negotiations
rubbed players the wrong way. Plus, they still don’t consider him ‘a hockey guy.’”
But Coyotes General Managing Partner & coach Wayne Gretzky said, “I thought he
did an admirable job of doing the best possible [labor] deal he could do. I don’t
think the publicity and the press that we’ve received for our sport over the last
couple months has ever been this positive in the last [10-15] years. He’s done
a tremendous job. He loves the game of hockey and cares about our sport dearly”
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/13).
ON-ICE CHANGES: In L.A., Helene Elliott reports the Red Wings, Canucks,
Penguins, Panthers, Bruins, Canadiens and Sharks have all taken the “Thank You
Fans” message off the ice in their arenas. NHL VP/Media Relations Frank Brown
said, “Now it is a club-by-club decision with regard to whether that message remains
in/on the ice.” Spokespeople for the Kings and Mighty Ducks said that their teams
“would remove it when a break in their building schedule allows, probably within
a month” (L.A. TIMES, 11/15).
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