Thread: The Official CBA Negotiations/Lockout Super Thread

At this point, I hate both sides and I'm totally discusted with them all.

Originally Posted by Dana

How can you strike if you're locked out?

I was referring to conjectured accelerated negotiations where the owners may appear to be in panic mode to get a deal done before their deadline comes up.

Originally Posted by taz42

At this point, I hate both sides and I'm totally discusted with them all.

Discuted, my thoughts, exactly.

absolutely. its one of the reasons why the owners are making this cash grab and not attempting to make any real concessions. they know that theirs is the only real game in town.

that wasnt my point anyway. my point was that making the argument that the owners are infallible because they have the money and the teams is an asinine argument that ignores the rights the players have and that there is nothing wrong with them exercising it.

Originally Posted by Dana

There are a couple of problems with this idea, including the big one being that North American players didn't grow up with the idea of turning pro and playing in the KHL or SEL. They dreamed of the NHL and the Stanley Cup. Someone like Drew Doughty might be a big star in Canada, have endorsements and things like that here. He's not going to get those endorsements playing in Sweden or Russia.

1) Many of the leagues in Europe have limits on the number of foreign born players they can bring in. The star players in the NHL wouldn't have trouble finding jobs, but the 3rd and 4th liners and bottom defense pairing type guys would. They might be able to make a similar salary in Russia, but not in some of the other European leagues.

2) While I think some players might be ok with the idea of playing in the KHL for a month or two if the lockout is short, I don't know if it's something many North American born players are going to want to do for a year or more. Besides the culture shock, I think there are legitimate safety issues that players would be concerned about. Maybe it's just the Western media overhyping things, but based on this article I'd imagine North American-born players would be concerned about air travel, rink safety, being blackmailed/robbed, teams not paying players or honoring all the provisions in their contract.

KHL: Gun-slinging owners, drugs, dodgy air travel all part of the game - thestar.com

I know it's from Bleacher Report, but this guy makes sense.

NHL CBA Meetings 2012: A Fan's Simple Quick Fix for NHLPA'S Proposal Rejection | Bleacher Report

Anyone think that if there were camera's in there with both sides that a deal would be hashed out a lot faster?

Originally Posted by SmytheKing

Anyone think that if there were camera's in there with both sides that a deal would be hashed out a lot faster?

I like the "no toilet" idea myself. Combine the two ideas and you'll really have something special.

I want to be on the NHLPA's side here, but there are two major problems with their position:

1) This suggestion that the NHL is like the MLB. Are you kidding me? I can't even imagine a day when the NHL is as profitable as the MLB. So, to make the comparison make you look like you're operating on another planet.

2) The NHL made an effort to start negotiations over a year ago and the NHLPA stalled. Given the previous lockout, this should have been priority no. 1.

Originally Posted by wupmasta2000

I want to be on the NHLPA's side here, but there are two major problems with their position:

1) This suggestion that the NHL is like the MLB. Are you kidding me? I can't even imagine a day when the NHL is as profitable as the MLB. So, to make the comparison make you look like you're operating on another planet.

2) The NHL made an effort to start negotiations over a year ago and the NHLPA stalled. Given the previous lockout, this should have been priority no. 1.

Yeah, using the MLB as a comparison does nothing to get a deal done.

As for point two, Fehr was hired at the end of Dec 2010. To me, the writing on the wall for a lockout has been there since Fehr was hired. I could see him wanting a little bit of time to get adjusted to the NHLPA and how they and the NHL operate before jumping into CBA negotiations. Did things need to stall this long? No.

Nothing happens in these kinds of negotiations until there really is a deadline. You and I can both think playing chicken with the season is a stupid negotiation tactic, but sometimes you need that deadline to really make things happen. There's no urgency for the players until it looks like they might start losing paychecks. And I think although the owners might have offered to start negotiations awhile ago, but they probably also wanted to see how things went in the NFL and NBA labor disputes. It makes them look good because if there's a lockout, they can say "Look, we tried to start negotiations a year ago, the NHLPA did not want to negotiate." and use it as another way to try and paint the players in a negative light.