Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Mike]

It sounds like they could be headed for another lockout which would be catastrophic for the league. Hopefully they'll get it handled promptly this time around but I almost get the feeling Holland is looking further down the road.

[Optimus Prime]

NHL will table their counter offer soon. Bettman and the owners broke the NHL Union in 2005, expect they will do the same again.

1200 young guys, many with their first taste of money, will not take long to acquiesce.

[Hannibal]

I think that the salary cap is still amortized.

[Optimus Prime]

You are right but in REAL cash terms: Nashville is looking at an 8-10 million dollar operational loss this season in addition to having to pay REAL Dollars to Weber, that's 13 million now & another 13 million by July 1st, 2013 out of general revenue. How long can the Predators afford to operate in the red?


That CBA, of course, expires on Sept. 15, and the NHL and NHLPA continued negotiations toward a new one on Wednesday, the first of three straight days of bargaining sessions at the league office in New York. Aside from “please save us from ourselves,” the Flyers’ offer to Weber points to one key negotiating point: how salary cap hits are calculated.

Under the current system, cap charges are based on the average annual value of contracts. Not only has that led to big-money teams like the Flyers being able to front-load contracts to poach star players from lower-revenue teams, it has eased the burden of those contracts on the back end, as the past-prime years of megadeals are costly only in cap charges, not real dollars.

The way that these giant deals are structured only became regulated after the New Jersey Devils were penalized for cap circumvention on Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract in the summer of 2010. Still, under the new rules, Minnesota was able to sign Suter to a deal that pays him $35 million over the first three years and $36 million over the final seven.

While the Kovalchuk Amendment to the CBA was designed to get a handle on cap circumvention, there is much more insidious floor circumvention at the other end. Teams looking for loopholes at the upper end of the salary spectrum are at least trying to win. At the bottom, there are teams like the New York Islanders, who currently check in with a cap payroll of $47,772,333 for 19 players and Alexei Yashin’s buyout according to figures from capgeek.com, but whose actual current salary outlay for the 2012-13 season is $37.105 million. Last month, the Islanders traded for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, who was attractive to them not only because of his veteran presence on the blue line, but because he makes only $3 million in the final season of a contract with a $5.6 million cap hit.

By playing with $10 million in ghost money, the Islanders gain financial flexibility as they wade through an uncertain future—their lease at Nassau Coliseum set to expire in 2015—but they also are able to put a team on the ice that is not representative of the spirit of the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA. The Predators, for their part, have slightly less than $4 million in ghost money, between salary-cap hit discrepancies and $1.8 million worth of buyout charges for J.P. Dumont and Brett Lebda.

If there are teams in a league with revenues of $3.3 billion who are unable to afford to pay $54 million to players, that says the biggest issue in CBA negotiations should not be how money is split between the league and the union, but how the owners split their share amongst themselves.

[Optimus Prime]

You are right but in REAL cash terms: Nashville is looking at an 8-10 million dollar operational loss this season in addition to having to pay REAL Dollars to Weber, that's 13 million now & another 13 million by July 1st, 2013 out of general revenue. How long can the Predators afford to operate in the red?


That CBA, of course, expires on Sept. 15, and the NHL and NHLPA continued negotiations toward a new one on Wednesday, the first of three straight days of bargaining sessions at the league office in New York. Aside from ?please save us from ourselves,? the Flyers? offer to Weber points to one key negotiating point: how salary cap hits are calculated.

Under the current system, cap charges are based on the average annual value of contracts. Not only has that led to big-money teams like the Flyers being able to front-load contracts to poach star players from lower-revenue teams, it has eased the burden of those contracts on the back end, as the past-prime years of megadeals are costly only in cap charges, not real dollars.

The way that these giant deals are structured only became regulated after the New Jersey Devils were penalized for cap circumvention on Ilya Kovalchuk?s contract in the summer of 2010. Still, under the new rules, Minnesota was able to sign Suter to a deal that pays him $35 million over the first three years and $36 million over the final seven.

While the Kovalchuk Amendment to the CBA was designed to get a handle on cap circumvention, there is much more insidious floor circumvention at the other end. Teams looking for loopholes at the upper end of the salary spectrum are at least trying to win. At the bottom, there are teams like the New York Islanders, who currently check in with a cap payroll of $47,772,333 for 19 players and Alexei Yashin?s buyout according to figures from capgeek.com, but whose actual current salary outlay for the 2012-13 season is $37.105 million. Last month, the Islanders traded for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, who was attractive to them not only because of his veteran presence on the blue line, but because he makes only $3 million in the final season of a contract with a $5.6 million cap hit.

By playing with $10 million in ghost money, the Islanders gain financial flexibility as they wade through an uncertain future?their lease at Nassau Coliseum set to expire in 2015?but they also are able to put a team on the ice that is not representative of the spirit of the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA. The Predators, for their part, have slightly less than $4 million in ghost money, between salary-cap hit discrepancies and $1.8 million worth of buyout charges for J.P. Dumont and Brett Lebda.

If there are teams in a league with revenues of $3.3 billion who are unable to afford to pay $54 million to players, that says the biggest issue in CBA negotiations should not be how money is split between the league and the union, but how the owners split their share amongst themselves.

[Rob F]

Prime, for all the talk from you during the playoffs about the Penguins and Cindy, I have yet to see anything posted about them getting him some help. I don't follow NHL teams/news nearly as closely as you do, but shouldn't they (Pittsburgh)get some muscle or size signed to back him up?

[Optimus Prime]

Like the Wings, Pittsburgh remains an enigma and I now believe NYR with the acquisition of Nash, the Rangers are the new Cup favorites in the East.

Pittsburgh failed to sign RFA Jordan Staal and let him head to Carolina to join his brother, at the time many figured they were freeing CAP space to sign Zach Parise, which didn’t happen? Staal was one of the best two-way forwards in the League.

Since Hossa’s departure, Pittsburgh has been looking for an affordable winger to play with Crosby, Nash fit the bill especially after their stellar Tournament play together in Olympics. Sean Doan remains viable but at 35 and seeking 4 years at $30 million is too expensive, secondly it appears the latest suitors to buy the Phoenix Coyotes may not have the money to do so, making his departure more than likely?!?

Doan would add size, skill and grit, he has 318 goals, 788 points in 1,198 NHL games but that’s a lot of mileage.

If Pittsburgh fails to do nothing they definitely risk falling behind the Rangers & Flyers in the East, a new shift in power rankings IMO.

Last, I am hearing Bobby Ryan, Jarome Iginla and Devin Setoguchi.

[Tony G]

which is terrible since Phillie and NY fans are the worst. (Boston right behind them)

[Rob F]

Are the Penguins still cash-strapped, then? I know they were in trouble financially a few years back, but haven't heard about any such problems lately. Then again, according to the Commish, the entire league has been hemorrhaging $$$ for a while now.

[Optimus Prime]

No Rob, they rank 9th according to Forbes #110 million in operational revenue for 2011 and beautiful new Arena! Like all Sport, it boils down to have and have-not markets.

Florida's Gold Coast represents the greatest concentration of wealth in the world during the winter months but good luck filling the Panthers Hockey Arena in Sunrise, FLA. (18 000)

The League is enjoying six years of consecutive record profit, 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion in that time span.

[Rob F]

So, if it's not a lack of cash, then what? I remember the days when the Penguins were feared, when they could handle physical play practically as well as any team out there. This past playoff season, in that series vs. Philly, they tried to match up physically but looked eventually for the whistle to bail them out---when push came to shove, the bullies (the Flyers) were clearly tougher.

Nowadays, it seems that these are the only penguins that inspire fear:

[WingsFan]

They will fall way back with the first crunching hit to cindy

[Rob F]

So, if it's not a lack of cash, then what? I remember the days when the Penguins were feared, when they could handle physical play practically as well as any team out there. This past playoff season, in that series vs. Philly, they tried to match up physically but looked eventually for the whistle to bail them out---when push came to shove, the bullies (the Flyers) were clearly tougher.

Nowadays, it seems that these are the only penguins that inspire fear:

I think Cindy might be the penguin to the left, in the foreground, the one covering his head in fear...

[WingsFan]

Yes your right Rob lol

[Optimus Prime]

Like the Wings younger D-men but need this or Yandle if they wish to remain an outside Cup contender.

WOULD BOUWMEESTER WAIVE HIS NO-MOVEMENT CLAUSE?
Calgary Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester remains a potential trade target for clubs seeking skilled, experienced blueline depth.

The Calgary Herald reported a rumor claiming the Detroit Red Wings made an offer for Bouwmeester, with no elaboration as to what may have been pitched to the Flames.

Another club that may have interest is the St. Louis Blues. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted on Twitter they were still seeking a defenseman via trade.

A month ago, Rutherford suggested Bouwmeester (along with Phoenix’s Keith Yandle) as a trade target for the Blues.

The two sticking points in any deal for Bouwmeester are his cap hit ($6.7 million per season for two more years) and his no-movement clause.

Should a respected franchise like the Red Wings or an up-and-coming one like the Blues come calling, he might be willing to waive it if he no longer feels wanted in Calgary.

If the Flames do shop Bouwmeester, they’ll likely want at least a top-six forward as part of the return.