Many NHL players would welcome a return to the Olympic Games after missing them in '18GETTY IMAGES
Olympic participation appears to be "part of the agreement" as CBA negotiations continue between the NHL and NHLPA, according to Elliotte Friedman of SPORTSNET.ca. NHL players will "compete in (at least)" the '22 Beijing Games if a proposed new CBA is finalized and there is a financial agreement with the IOC. Prior to the pandemic, the IOC indicated that it "would consider these incentives for the NHL and NHLPA to return to the Olympics" after they did not participate at the '18 PyeongChang Games. Friedman reported to expect "some kind of clarity about the negotiations over the next few days" (SPORTSNET.ca, 6/30).
IN THE DETAILS: TSN.ca's Frank Seravalli reported two "separate but inextricably linked negotiations have bogged down" the NHL's announcement on hub cities and fixed dates for its restart plan. The first involves the "details on the hub cities," as well as "training camp procedures." The second involves an extension to the CBA, a "near financial and economic prerequisite to return to play given the lost revenue." The players "owe the owners hundreds of millions of dollars because they are responsible for a 50-50 revenue split and have already been paid 90 per cent of their compensation for the season." It is "unclear whether one negotiation can be completed without the other." A simple majority vote is "required by the NHLPA's full membership to ratify any proposal, but the vote will reportedly include both the CBA extension and the return-to-play specifics lumped together." Among the details believed to be on the table:
- The new CBA extension "could be three years with an option for a fourth year." The current CBA has two more full seasons to play, which "would guarantee hockey labour peace" through '24-25.
- A "frozen salary cap upper limit for each of the next two full seasons" at $81.5M, followed by a "one million per year increase in each of the subsequent two seasons."
- The latest proposal "would be de-linked from revenue projections for the first time in the cap era."
- Escrow "would likely be capped" at 20% for the '20-21 season, followed by a "sliding scale which would reduce the escrow percentage withheld annually" from 18% to 14%.
- Players "would also agree to defer" 10% of their salary in '20-21 to "aid owners in liquidity, which could be returned potentially over a number of years."
- NHL owners "would be repaid in full for the players’ share of lost revenue as a result of the pause during the pandemic" (TSN.ca, 6/30).
SALARY SQUEEZE: In N.Y., Larry Brooks writes a flat cap at the current $81.5M for the next two or three years will "strangle contenders that historically spend to the upper ceiling, and will have to contend with arbitration and pending unrestricted free agents without the luxury of steady, even if modest, increased spending room." Less cap space "not only translates into less room to add players, but also less with which to keep them," as teams will be "forced to exercise buyouts." Adopting a flat cap will "lower escrow, but the players could have done that any time by narrowing the band and setting the ceiling at, say 5 percent over the midpoint than the current 15 percent." Deferring 10% of their salary next season also will "ease escrow," as that money to be "paid following the NHL’s new media-rights deal(s) also mitigates the burden" (N.Y. POST, 7/1).
