[Signing] Tampa signs Palat (5 yrs, $5.3 mil AAV)

[SebC]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

What about banked overtime?

You raise a good point.

[powderjunkie]

There are plenty of legitimate ways to differ income, especially in cooperation with your employer. Work 4 years to take 1 off - all 5 yrs paid at 80% programs, etc.

I don't see how it would be too different than strike pay. Except the members actually get their money back if not required for an emergency (unlike the thousands of dollars I've shipped off to AUPE over the years despite working in jobs that make no sense to even be in a union, but I digress).


Does the NHLPA do any kind of strike pay already? No mention in this old article. It raises another interesting question around injuries come next lockout - will 'have' teams be extra careful to assess their players' health leading into a lockout (ie. perhaps a chinook headache turns into a concussion symptom, one of the many injuries a player probably shouldn't have been playing through in the playoffs is aggravated in the last game, an allergy to not having to wear hockey equipment lands you LTIR, etc.)? A pending UFA (1 year out) could continue to receive pay in exchange for lower AAV on their next contract.

Not too many extension situations yet, but Dougie Hamilton would be one (Landeskog, RNH, Shattenkirk, Schwartz, Saad, Stepan, Rask, Jake Allen, David Savard, Adam Larsson, Brodin, and even Ovechkin won't be on the wrong side of 35 for their next deals at that point).

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Mister Yamoto

You can count on a lockout in 2020.

Why are players insisting on getting lockout protection? It's because everyone in the business already knows there is gonna be a lockout.

Really bad move by the GMs/owners to give it out.

They don't really have a choice. In between lockouts, players have all the power.

If you don't offer a top player what he wants, he will get it somewhere else, and there is an extremely limited supply of top players.

There actually aren't all that many of these buyout/lockout proof contracts out there yet. There will be more and more as we get closer to 2020, but will it really make much of a difference in a lockout scenario?

All of the players in a position to demand a big signing bonus in the year 2020 in their contracts are the upper echelon of NHL players. These are the guys that always would have been the most prepared to resist folding to owner pressure. These guys can afford to miss 2-3 seasons if they really wanted. These are the guys whose grandchildren are set for life.

These contracts aren't helping out the majority of the rank and file NHLPA members. The guys that really need to make every season count, and the guys that are the most likely to fold. So I think these contracts will really benefit some individuals, but I'm not sure if it will affect the will of the NHLPA as a whole.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

They don't really have a choice. In between lockouts, players have all the power.

If you don't offer a top player what he wants, he will get it somewhere else, and there is an extremely limited supply of top players.

There actually aren't all that many of these buyout/lockout proof contracts out there yet. There will be more and more as we get closer to 2020, but will it really make much of a difference in a lockout scenario?

All of the players in a position to demand a big signing bonus in the year 2020 in their contracts are the upper echelon of NHL players. These are the guys that always would have been the most prepared to resist folding to owner pressure. These guys can afford to miss 2-3 seasons if they really wanted. These are the guys whose grandchildren are set for life.

These contracts aren't helping out the majority of the rank and file NHLPA members. The guys that really need to make every season count, and the guys that are the most likely to fold. So I think these contracts will really benefit some individuals, but I'm not sure if it will affect the will of the NHLPA as a whole.

I also think it's important to note that Athletes arent your typical labour force. If a steel mill worker strikes, it's not a tough decision because their job is hard and not fulfilling, so spending time on the picket line is a vacation compared to the daily grind. Hockey players generally really want to go to work. They literally play a fun game for a job. Plus they want to be the best and win awards and are naturally highly motivated people. Sitting at home is like torture.

It's always the low paying guys who get the shaft in every work stoppage. That is true for all industries, not just sports and entertainment. But the low paying guys also know who brings in the revenue for cap increases, minimum wage increases, and expansions. Johnny Gaudreau puts butts in seats, not Morgan Klimchuck. The Flames spending to the cap, putting money into player development, and carrying a well-paying and competitive AHL and ECHL teams only happens if the organization is a financially healthy franchise, driven by talent like Gaudreau and Monahan. It's much like Universities that way. Grants and jobs are created if you have the talent and minds working there.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

I also think it's important to note that Athletes arent your typical labour force. If a steel mill worker strikes, it's not a tough decision because their job is hard and not fulfilling, so spending time on the picket line is a vacation compared to the daily grind. Hockey players generally really want to go to work. They literally play a fun game for a job. Plus they want to be the best and win awards and are naturally highly motivated people. Sitting at home is like torture.

It's always the low paying guys who get the shaft in every work stoppage. That is true for all industries, not just sports and entertainment. But the low paying guys also know who brings in the revenue for cap increases, minimum wage increases, and expansions. Johnny Gaudreau puts butts in seats, not Morgan Klimchuck. The Flames spending to the cap, putting money into player development, and carrying a well-paying and competitive AHL and ECHL teams only happens if the organization is a financially healthy franchise, driven by talent like Gaudreau and Monahan. It's much like Universities that way. Grants and jobs are created if you have the talent and minds working there.

I think that this line of thinking will only go so far with the rank and file for whom a lost season is detrimental to his career—which is most of the membership of the NHLPA. I can see this rhetoric carrying the day for 10 or 15 weeks, but as usual, by the end of January or early February most players simply cannot afford to hold out much longer.