NHL Players’ Association Executive Director Bob Goodenow and NHL Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly painted a rather grim picture of the chances of getting a new collective-bargaining agreement negotiated this summer during speeches at the Sports Lawyers Association’s annual meeting May 20-23.
“Our situation is one in which we have a very, very large difference of philosophy on how best to structure an agreement,” Goodenow said at the conference in Baltimore. “I can tell you it will be very, very difficult to reach an agreement — to try to find a fair and equitable approach that satisfies both sides and their concerns to the extent that it is possible without a lockout. We hope that will be the case.
“To the extent it is not the case, there will be a lockout and the parties will take the appropriate steps as we go through the process. It’s not like we haven’t been there before. We could be there again, but we will do all we can to avoid that.”
The NHL collective-bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15. The NHL reportedly has asked the NHLPA to accept a $31 million-per-team salary cap. The NHLPA reportedly has offered to accept a 5 percent across-the-board pay cut, but the NHL has said that is too little to fix a systemwide problem.
Comments by Goodenow and Daly last month underlined the wide gap between the two sides’ positions.
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| Goodenow |
Daly repeated the NHL’s demand that the league have a system that provides for “cost certainty.”
Goodenow maintained the union’s stance that it wants a “marketplace” system.
Pointing to the success of small-market teams Calgary and Tampa Bay, Goodenow said he could not remember a time when the NHL was more competitive.
“From a competitive point of view, we believe that a … fluid marketplace-structured system is the best for teams to change their fortunes, adjust the opportunities, adjust the way they approach their lineups,” Goodenow said. “Our marketplace allows teams to retool. There are no impediments on them to restructure.
“The teams that are successful reap the benefits of success. We are seeing that now with the long runs in the playoffs by the Calgarys, by the Tampas, teams of that nature.”
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| Daly |
Daly, who spoke after Goodenow at the conference, said a sports league should be judged by its financial health as well as its competitive health.
“I acknowledge that competitive balance … is not the biggest problem in our league,” he said. “Our financial situation … is the biggest problem.
“People point to small-market teams that have been successful under our agreement. While our system does help teams become competitive, it does not address as well the ability to remain competitive and compete for championships.”
While the Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames made the Stanley Cup Finals this year, Daly said both teams have high-profile players who will become free agents next year, and the teams will have to spend millions to keep them under the current labor agreement.
NFL and NBA fans understand that their favorite teams have to let players go because those leagues have salary caps, Daly said.
“Because we don’t have any system that tells clubs to have payrolls at certain levels, our fans don’t have the same expectations,” he said. “They expect our clubs to re-sign their players.”
The NHL suffers from “an economic system that is not working,” Daly told the sports lawyers conference, with the majority of clubs losing money and losses of “hundreds of millions” leaguewide.
NBA STILL SEEKING AGE LIMIT: The NBA has told the National Basketball Players Association that the league “would like to explore an age limit,” as part of its continuing labor talks, said Joel Litvin, the NBA’s executive vice president of legal and business affairs, at the Sports Lawyers Association’s annual conference.
Litvin said the league is interested in instituting an age limit for a number of reasons, including that “we don’t want to have a system that encourages kids to plan their lives around basketball.” He noted that “one in a million make it in the NBA.”
But, Litvin acknowledged, “At the end of the day, if [the NBPA doesn’t] agree, it’s not going to happen.”
It does not appear likely.
NBA players union chief Billy Hunter, speaking earlier at the same conference, reiterated his opposition to raising the age limit.
“I know the owners would very much like to have an age limit of 20 or 21, but we are not inclined [to agree] at this time,” Hunter said. “We feel the system we have in place is very appropriate. Before a player can come into the league he must graduate from high school.”
Hunter noted that 14 players have entered the league directly from high school and all but two of those are now “marquee” players.
“So we don’t see the need to impede or limit their ability to come in,” he said. “I think that Carmelo Anthony [and] LeBron James have put that issue to rest.”
ESSENTIAL SIGNS GORDON: New York-based Essential Sports Inc. has signed Connecticut point guard Ben Gordon for representation in this year’s NBA draft.
Gordon, ranked No. 4 overall by Web site nbadraft.net, will be represented by Essential President Billy Ceisler. “We are excited to have a client of his stature,” Ceisler said.
Essential Sports was formed three years ago and represents four NBA players, including Jarvis Hayes, selected No. 10 last year by the Wizards.
Gordon was briefly represented by agent Aaron Goodwin, of Seattle-based Goodwin Sports, before terminating that relationship and signing with Ceisler. Goodwin could not immediately be reached for comment.
Liz Mullen can be reached at lmullen@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
