Happy days are here again -- almost
May 20, 2005
Crank up the Zambonis.
Lay some ice.
Sharpen those blades.
Happy (NHL) Days MAY be here again.
That’s the word after four days of intensive meetings between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association which concluded late Friday afternoon at a secret Times Square location.
Bill Daly, the league’s chief counsel and lead negotiator, tells me that, “We are on our way home.”
Mind you, that does not mean the nine-month management labor war is over but an armistice certainly is in sight for the first time since the lockout began in September.
When I asked Daly for a realistic target date for completion of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, he pointed out that there remain a number of obstacles still to surmount.
“We still have a ton of issues to do,” Daly asserted, “but, if we continue on the same level that we did on Friday, it can get done by early June.”
This time, he means 2005, not sometime in 2006. Which, in turn, means that the 2005-2006 season can be saved.
Among the sensitive issues close to being resolved are the Salary Cap and Linkage, both of which had been vigorously opposed for years by union boss Bob Goodenow.
According to one of my sources, a change in the NHLPA balance of power has taken place over the past weeks with Goodenow no longer exclusively calling the union shots, with association president Trevor Linden and executive Mike Gartner taking a more dominant role.
Another source asserts that the nearly two-dozen NHL players representing Canada during the World’s Championships in Austria had intense CBA discussions among themselves.
They returned home demanding that a deal be done and had a “Plan B” available – the source contends – to push Goodenow to a pact.
Likewise, there has been intense pressure on Commissioner Gary Bettman to settle the dispute while time remained for teams – and their TV affiliates – to line up sponsors for next season, not to mention a new ESPN deal.
“(NHL) buildings were getting slaughtered and the prospects for next season without hockey was awful,” one former NHL team president tells me. “Goodenow’s procrastinating style couldn’t continue.
“The industry has been so damaged that the time finally came for everyone to put aside differences and settle.”
A mid-June deadline for the final settlement remains an imperative.
One industry analyst, Doug Checkeris, president of the Toronto-based Media Company, pointed out that with every week without a new deal, the league would be losing money.
“This is the moment for them to announce they have an agreement to maximize their TV revenue for the fall,” said Checkeris. “Now is the time when dollars are committed.”
The frequently reliable Eklunds Hockey Report emphasized over the past few days that player pressure on Goodenow grew by the week.
“The players are putting pressure on the union in numbers not seen before,” Eklunds observed.
Bettman’s message that the longer the players wait to cut a deal, the smaller their percentage of the fiscal pie finally seemed to be penetrating by the middle of this week.
“The players knew that Gary’s offer was getting progressively worse for them,” another former NHL team owner tells me. “What the players needed most of all was a leader.”
Whether that “leader” turned out to be Gartner, Linden or Tie Domi – who held an influential secret meeting with officials from both sides during the Winter – is less relevant that the speed with which the loose ends are tied between now and mid-June.
“The players (not Goodenow) are in control,” another source tells me.
More talks are scheduled for next week.
“We had two long days of meetings in which the parties discussed and made progress on some of the key issues pertaining to a new economic system,” Daly concluded.
“While we have not yet been able to reach agreement on those issues, we remain committed to continuing the process in earnest until a new CBA can be achieved.
“The parties intend to stay in touch . and we expect that new meetings will be scheduled for next week.”
Even the official NHLPA post-meeting communiqué betrayed a hint of hope.
NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin admitted, "We made progress in some areas, there remain many issues to be addressed."
Both sides are clearly motivated and determined to get a deal done by mid-June.
Conclusion: Happy (NHL) days MAY be here again.
Granted, the CBA is not in the bag yet but, at least, the bag is open.
