Quotes of the Day

“Check the accompanying sidebar, which combines the won-lost percentages for the current season of the 15 cities with both NHL and NBA teams. Yep, there is Team Tanenbaum, right down there in 15th place.” Dave Perkins…
“To be getting dressed in the Canadiens room is something I always wanted to see,” he said in French.” Vincent Lecavalier
“When I walked through those doors and saw the hundreds of people there for autographs and waiting for the players arrive — my hair was all over the place, and I really didn’t expect to have it,” he said Friday. “I don’t think anybody expected to have a welcome like that.” Vincent Lecavalier
“”For someone being born here, to play here, obviously people add a little bit of pressure,” said Lecavalier. “But I think a good pressure.” Vincent Lecavalier

Sure sounds like Vinny has Montreal on the mind, and no it doesn’t sound like it’s not his kind of town….

“Bettman and his bosses used a hammer to try to fix something that wasn’t necessarily broken in the first place — and what was really broken, they couldn’t acknowledge, let alone fix.” Stephen Brunt on the NHLPA declining to re-open the CBA

“The problem was — and the problem is — there is a wider disparity in NHL markets than in any other sport when it comes to how much people actually care about the product. Hockey is front of mind everywhere in Canada and in a handful of U.S. cities (now, for the first time in years, including Boston and Chicago). There people will pay large amounts of money for a seat, and produce big television audiences that are attractive to advertisers. it didn’t do a thing for the Phoenix Coyotes or Atlanta Thrashers or Nashville Predators or Florida Panthers. If anything, those clubs are in worse shape now than they were before the lockout, their decline accelerated by the credit crunch and ensuing recession, coupled with shaky ownership. If they’re still in business come 2011 — and who would like to bet their life on that right now? — the next labour war won’t cure what’s wrong with them, either.” Stephen Brunt

“Each and every player, NHL Players Association boss Paul Kelly said today, should expect a 13.5 per cent pay cut this season because of declining league revenues. The cut takes the form of escrow payments, monies withheld from players to make sure the union collectively does not make more than its share of the money the league takes in. the league’s revenue growth has dropped to about two per cent from 12 per cent a year ago..”The players aren’t happy about it,” said Kelly. “But they understand it.” Kelly admitted that in this case, the escrow will have the effect of being a salary rollback the same as that the players were forced to accept after the 2004-05 lockout.” Damien Cox-

Who would have guessed that the PA would elect to extend the deal that all the majority of pundits called a loser (not looser) for the players. Perhaps, just perhaps the players have gotten a tad bit smarter this time around….

The best quote of the day however was from PA slappy Glen Healy on the NHL suspension of those players who aren’t in Montreal for the All Star festivities:

” ”

Somewhere, Healy must be a caged dog. Just wait till he gets a few pops in him on St. Catherine tonight… Kelly may have the duct tape on his mouth for now…it won’t last, and when it ends, get ready for quotes like you can’t believe.

The Hot Stove…

A few folks have asked me to post it, so here is the satellite hot stove from CBC tonight

tonight they talked about fighting, and the move to “ban it”, the CBA- Vinny, Al “he is being offered all over the league- at least 5 teams are in on it, TB wants Markov” Montreal number one on Vinny’s list..MB TB has a total lack of credibility if they trade him… NYI playing in KC…trade today…

watch it here

NHLPA Slithers To Avery’s Defense

As I have written in this space before (with all due respect to Happy Howie) the NHLPA intends to enter battle with the NHL over the suspension of one Sean Avery. You see, neither Paul Kelly nor Glenn Healy have learned a single thing from the mistakes of yesteryear. The public will NEVER, I repeat NEVER support the players when they continue to act like a UNION. There are times, when people screw up, make mistakes that you don’t have to worry about precedent and you have tell a person to take their lumps. The PA refuses to do it. Maybe, and this is ok, they just don’t care about public sentiment. I have no problem with that, it is entirely their prerogative. But don’t come out and claim unfair coverage or ask for equal coverage when you don’t really care about the court of public opinion.

“TORONTO (December 5, 2008): NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly’s statement regarding the suspension of Sean Avery for six regular season games:

“While the NHLPA does not condone Sean’s comments, which were clearly inappropriate, the discipline imposed by the Commissioner is unprecedented both in its severity, as well as the process by which it was handed down. We have also seen signals from the Dallas Stars that Sean’s contractual rights might be challenged. We are monitoring the situation as it develops, and we will evaluate all legal options as the circumstances warrant. In the meantime, our first priority is supporting Sean’s efforts to learn from his mistake and move forward in a positive manner.”

What always is lost in these situations is the victim. Here the victim is Dion Phaneuf right? Just as in all other issues like this the PA comes running to the defense of the offender to the chagrin of the victim. That is what unions do right. Funny how when the media (berger) were rambling about the awful things Cliff was going to do to Mccabe Healy came a running to McCabe’s defence even before there was an action. When Tampa threatened Dan Boyle there was no such defence from either Mr. Kelly nor his kilt wearing pal (at least not publicly). When all eyes are on the NHL for all the wrong reasons (averygate) the PA comes a running. Nice of the PA to mention Dion Phaneuf in that press release wasn’t it? I mean that shouldn’t be their first priority; it never is. Always concerned with “prisoners” rights ahead of victims. It’s the PA way….

By the way I am officially sick of the Sean Avery affair. Here’s hoping the stars waive him and send him to the minors. They still have to pay him and then there is no beef. Except, according to Howie, no free agent will EVER want to sign again in Dallas if that is how they do business, right???!!

Barnum, Bailey & The NHLPA

I really thought that with Paul Kelly taking over the NHLPA the circus days were behind the union. No matter what these guys seem to do, the sideshow never ends. I am not sure what is more hilarious, the fact that these things go on, or that they are uncovered so easily.

“The NHL Players’ Association overhauled its constitution a year ago to prevent the union from repeating the errors of its past, but the union’s new structure is now causing friction between Executive Director Paul Kelly and ombudsman Eric Lindros. Kelly and Lindros, once staunch supporters of each other, are increasingly at odds over their roles at the union, according to numerous hockey and sports industry sources. Neither Kelly nor Lindros would comment on their relationship or whether there is tension between them. Kelly did say there should be a review of the constitution, including the ombudsman’s role, in a year. Lindros replied, “The constitution is there for a reason.”

So the PA put in an oversight system, one to ensure that the players had an eye on what was going on so that the mistakes of yesteryear. Makes sense. What is one to think when the new head of the PA wants to reduce the influence of the oversight (Lindros)?

“At a meeting of player representatives in Chicago at which both Kelly and Lindros were present, the issue of changing the constitution was raised and Lindros’ role as ombudsman was clarified. One player representative who asked not to be identified said the issues between Lindros and Kelly had been worked out, but other sources said that was not the case. Sources would not pinpoint reasons for problems between Kelly and Lindros, but the organization is structured in a way that could naturally put them at odds. Lindros fields complaints from players and acts as a watchdog over Kelly.The tension between Kelly and Lindros “is the worst-kept secret in hockey,” said one hockey source.”

Again, how does this happen? How is it that this is the worst kept secret? Here is the best part of the excellent story from the Sports Business Journal:

“Kelly said he understands the reasons for the checks on the executive director; after all, he was the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Eagleson. But, he said, “Some of the checks and balances are a bit more rigorous than they need to be. “If there are portions that need to be tweaked, that is what we need to do.” Kelly said another difficulty is that the constitution requires 25 player representatives to be on a conference call to get anything done, which is difficult to accomplish during the season, when teams are traveling. Kelly said the advisory board is beneficial and that separating the general counsel and the executive director positions makes sense. But, he said, “I am not so sure about the ombudsman role.”

I mean seriously folks…is this ridiculous? How are these guys going to work with the NHL if they are still fighting within?

“Lindros, asked to address Kelly’s comments, said, “Guys should continue to pay attention to what is going on within their own association, as well as take on a more interested role.” A year ago, Lindros and Kelly were vocal supporters of each other. Lindros was on the search committee of players that selected Kelly for the executive director job. And Kelly told SportsBusiness Journal in October 2007 that he supported the hiring of Lindros as the ombudsman weeks before he was officially hired. Back then, Kelly said of Lindros, “I think he would be the perfect choice.”

Ahhh what a difference a year makes. So know as the PA boss makes his rounds, asking the million dollar question (should we reopen the CBA), there is again unrest at the PA……

From the outside it looks bad. I can’t imagine how it looks from the inside either…..

Here is the a link to the full text….

Paul Kelly- Sounding More Alarm Bells

First, let me tell you, that I am not Joe the Plumber!

Now, back to the task at hand. Paul Kelly, head of the PA sat down with the hockey’s other Darren (Sportsnet’s Millard) to talk turkey… Folks, no matter how you slice it, this doesn’t bode well for the hockey fan…However, as a fan in Southern Ontario, one has to wonder how long the Leafs will dominate the market for…

“We’re looking ahead at a CBA which may get terminated at the end of this season. It could get terminated three years from now, four years from now. I think the principle job that I have is to make sure we have a new CBA when the end of the current CBA comes that is fair for the players, that protects the rights of the players, that is good for the fans and for the business of the sport. I think we have to be mindful of the climate that we’re in at the time. But it’s clear that the most important part of my job is to look at the CBA issue and make sure that we can have a good quality CBA in place, hopefully without losing any portion of a season. That requires beginning a conversation about those kinds of critical issues well in advance of when that CBA terminates.”

Numerous times throughout the interview Kelly talks about the potential of the deal being killed after this season….

“I don’t like the fact the players don’t have a say in expansion or relocation of teams and don’t benefit from that if that in fact does happen. I think we need to make changes to the disciplinary system in our league. Colin Campbell (NHL director of hockey operations) is a passionate guy and does a good job, but it’s a very tough job. I think there is a better way to do it then we do at the present time. What happens in our business is that whenever there is an incident, Colin Campbell gets lobbied by any number of parties. He gets lobbied by the general manager of the team of the victim player, the team of the aggressor player; other teams because they have an interest in whether a guy plays or doesn’t play. The system, it seems to me, gets muddled and you’ve got to take that out. You’ve got to start from scratch. You have to bring some balance and equality. There has to be a consistency across the board to the results in the disciplinary area and I don’t think over the last couple of years we’ve seen tremendous consistency. And I don’t mean that in any negative way towards (Campbell) because he works very hard at it. He cares deeply and it’s not an easy job and I’m not talking about any individual case. I just think we should take that burden off his shoulders and put it in the hands of some trusted third party hockey person who can make those calls and do it in a manner that can be consistent across the board.”

I would love to know who this 3 party would be that wouldn’t get lobbied as Colin apparently does….

Here is where it gets interesting:

“If you terminated the CBA you would continue to play under the terms of the current CBA unless one of three things happens: Either the owners lock the players out; the players opt to go on strike, which wouldn’t happen if we were playing under the terms; or you reach a new deal, a new CBA. So, you could continue to play indefinitely even if you terminated the deal. Again, it’s a fairly complicated issue but it’s an issue that will be brought to a head in the next three months or so and we won’t delay in informing the owners of the results. Once the players make an informed judgment, we will inform the owners and we will proceed.
Practically speaking, if we terminated, the owners would immediately want to try to retrench in certain areas and make what they would view as improvements, perhaps lowering the percentages of revenues that the players receive in salary, things of that nature. We wouldn’t agree with a lot of those approaches by the owners. If that led the owners to lock us out, then that would be the owners call. My sense is even if the players opted to terminate, is that the players would continue to play. ”

So the PR game begins. No matter how many times he says it, if the players kill the deal, they will lose the PR war. Fans will not, in any way shape or form support the players. Also, I can’t see any way, shape or fashion that the deal gets killed and their is an 09 season. I don’t care how the games stops or who stops them, this deal gets re-opened, hockey will be iced, again, for some time. One has to wonder, if he knows already what the owners would want if the deal gets re-opened and his response to those demands, why go down that road? That is not to suggest you deal with a problem by avoiding it…but seems rather defeatist to me.

“Obviously some things went on in the early relationship between Mr. Balsillie and the league which perhaps could have been handled differently, and it set people kind of off about it and I think those relationships have to be repaired. I think they should be repaired because, again, I say you’ve got someone who cares about the sport who has got significant financial resources who’s willing to commit some portions of those resources to see a successful franchise operate in the right geographic location, then I think we should pursue that.”

Hard to argue with the rationale here. Balsillie seems to be a saint compared to some of the folks that the NHL has let into the fraternity of late…

” My view of that is that any young guy who comes into our league who has been wearing a visor his entire life ought to keep it on. I’ve seen enough video clips of guys who have taken that slap shot in the face both with visor and without visor and you see the difference. We are not talking about use of visors to somehow diminish the physical nature of our sport or to remove fighting from the sport – that’s not the point. It’s basic safety and protection. I think that the guys who are playing the sport currently, and (have) for many, many years, they ought to continue to play it and if that’s without a visor that should be their choice. But I think we should protect those who come after the current crop of players, so I think young players who are used to wearing the visors should keep the visor on. ”

Wholly shit, common sense??? Can’t be…. I totally agree with Kelly here. Why we get less safe in the pro’s makes no sense to me.

Finally, the issue of expansion/relocation:

“I guess my view of expansion is if you’re going to expand you have to do it smartly. Do it in areas we know will strongly support the sport. They will support it by showing up to games, buying the merchandise, following the teams. And that means if you’re going to expand in North America you’ve got to think of southern Ontario. You can’t just automatically think of Kansas City or Las Vegas. You’ve got to think of southern Ontario or one other Canadian city. bviously we want the existing 30 teams to survive and flourish; hopefully that happens. If it doesn’t happen and you either have to relocate a couple of teams or you decide there is sufficient basis to expand by a couple of clubs, one of those first places to consider has to be southern Ontario.”

I agree with Kelly again here. If LA has 2 teams and the NY area has 3, southern ontario should have 16. No, seriously, this market, the golden horseshoe should have another team. I think it would be good for everyone involved. Is it a 100% guarantee, no, it is not. It is often argued that Toronto is a Leaf town and not a hockey town, I don’t necessarily disagree with that. Having said that, absent a second NHL team, we can’t really judge. I think it should happen, but the folks at MLSE and in Sabreville are going to fight like hell to prevent it.

You can find Millard here

Is The NHL Facing A Money War?

Interesting times in the world of money indeed. Let’s not talk about the world markets here, it is enough everywhere else. However, the Globe is running a pretty interesting story on the hockey $ markets, and it has me thinking, that this could get ugly….

“According to information compiled by The Globe and Mail from various sources, the six Canadian NHL franchises contributed more than $40-million (all figures U.S.) to their fellow owners last season, and about $50-million when playoff revenues are taken into account.And at the other end of the spectrum, several teams are becoming increasingly frustrated at the skyrocketing salary cap, which now forces teams to carry a minimum payroll of $40.7-million.”

It is amazing how the times have changed and how different things are in the various leagues. The Blue Jays rely on revenue sharing in MLB. Yet in the NHL, the Leafs (12m) Habs (12.5), Canucks (10), Flames (6) Senators (1)and Oilers (800k) are the ones shelling out the dough.

“Another part of the problem is that some teams build their business models around their revenue-sharing windfall and strive to keep their own revenues below the threshold where they will have to contribute. The Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators, like other teams who spend near the midpoint of the salary-cap range, are often singled out as examples.”

So, lets get this straight, you plan on making just under the limit to ensure you get the handout from the league????? What a great way to run a business… No wonder the PA is suspicious….

“”The cap was supposed to solve everyone’s problems, but all it’s done is prevent six or seven teams from spending $80-million,” said an ownership source who exchanged candour for anonymity. “Some folks are pretty upset: We sat out a whole year to get the cap, and some people are saying, ‘Well, why?'” As one long-time executive with an Eastern Conference team pointed out, the bottom of the NHL salary scale now exceeds the top-end figure from the first postlockout year ($39-million).”

Next to the “player to be named later” the “anonymous source” is my favorite sports character of all time. It is wild when you think that the league floor on salaries already exceeds the first year cap.

“”Some teams are pretty pissed off at the whole thing: We didn’t manage to get rid of salary arbitration, and some teams just can’t afford to pay their restricted free agents or arbitration-eligible players,” the executive said. “There are probably 10 to 12 teams that can’t afford a $40.7-million payroll,” added a source with extensive knowledge of league operations.

So, one has to ask the question then, what now???

The Canadian dollar exploded today (so much for a soft landing). The Canadian NHL teams will be taking in a devalued Cdn dollar and paying out in USD. Ouch.

You know who is going to pay for this???

“For example, Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez each earned US$10 million last season. They’ll both get back the $950,000 they paid into escrow plus interest and an additional $48,000 or so to cover the shortfall in overall salary payments.”

Remember, the league witholds, almost like a tax a certain % of each player’s paycheck as an escrow to ensure “cost certainty”, that is that salaries don’t exceed the threshold of hockey revenue…So guess what will happen when the canadian dollar heads south and the Canadian teams don’t make as much money or gulp, lose money? Guys like Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez aren’t going to be getting their 950k back. That will be a big issue when Paul Kelly contemplates re-opening the CBA…

So we are clear, the owners aren’t happy, the players certainly aren’t going to be happy, why did we have this lockout again??????

NHLPA on Campbell, McCabe and, ummm Sundin?

Editors note, Kypreos was on the fan this am and he cited a an article in the Sun today which provides:

” Whatever the case, a source close to McCabe said last night the veteran defenceman would not change addresses for at least another couple of weeks.

“(Bryan) isn’t going anywhere until Sept. 1, at the earliest,” the source said. “That’s the date (he) gets his $2-million US signing bonus from Toronto.

“Why would a team deal for (him) before that and be on the hook for that extra money? They’ll just wait until (he) gets paid, then see what happens.”

And there you have it folks, the reason why this is on hold. As stated previously, everyone is too positive this will happen, but not for another 2-3 weeks. Any suitors are waiting for the Leafs to pay McCabe this bonus and then he will be dealt. The proverbial other shoe may have just dropped.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Relatively new NHLPA gran poobah Paul Kelly was on the morning show with Gord Stellick and Damien Cox. It was a pretty interesting interview. The Guy certainly is bright and doesn’t come across nearly as snively as Ted Saskin nor as big an egomaniac as Bob Goodenow. The interview can best be described as The Good, the Bad and the HUH…

The Good: On McCabe, Kelly didn’t say anything when it was suggested to him that the Leafs threatened to keep McCabe away should he not waive his NMC. To be clear, it was part of a long question that went a little something like this, Here locally fans are interested in the Bryan McCabe situation were originally the Leafs were telling Bryan he wouldn’t be welcome at training camp and now it seems like there has been some positive developments, how involved are you in the situation?

Kelly’s response was, more or less, I am not directly involved, however I am heartened by the things I hear from Cliff Fletcher and am pleased where things are headed and that is a credit to both sides and it looks like this will be resolved amicably.

Again I am more convinced that the other shoe just needs to drop on this one. All the parties seem to be saying the same thing. This is a good sign. Let me make it clear that I think McCabe isn’t the Alexander Karpotsev he appears to be. I think, however, there is no way he can perform to his ability here in Toronto. That doesn’t mean he won’t go to another team and become a top level player again. Nor does it mean that dealing him is a mistake. I truly believe that sometimes it really is in everyone’s best interest that a player move on. This is one of those cases.

Interesting to note that Kyrepos is reporting McCabe has waived his no trade clause to a limited number of teams. One is apparently the Florida Panthers as Hanky reported (e3, I believe). Florida Panthers writer George Richards is speculating it will be a package of Mike Van Ryn and a prospect coming north in exchange for McCabe. KuklasKorner has good comentary on this too here.

The Bad: Kelly was asked about his relationship with the Commish and the NHL in general as compared with Saskin who seemed to be in bed with the league and Goodenow whom no matter what the issue was, Bob was always in conflict with the league. Kelly said that he has respect for everyone. That when he was a trial lawyer he fought hard battles in the court room but always tried to respect his opponents and treat them as people. He said that he was trying to establish a relationship that was somewhere between the Saskin love in and the Goodenow scortched earth. He then said that he speaks to Bill Daily or Bettman numerous times a week and he speaks to the business guys a lot.

Where’s the bad, well, Kelly then said that he speaks to Clarence Campbell about on ice issues! So either Kelly is Cole Sear or he meant Colin Campbell. I am impressed that he even knew the name Clarence Campbell, but its not too great either that he mixed him up with Bettman’s on-ice guru either…

The huh: Ok, so the boyz were trying to be funny, but they did ask Kelly about Mats Sundin. It’s interesting that he said he isn’t directly involved in the McCabe situation (which must be pissing of Hanky to no end) but he talks about the Sundin issue as if he IS directly involved in it. While he says he doesn’t know what Sundin is going to do, he does say that he knows Sundin is working out and is in great shape (um, you trying to sell something Paul?) He continued that Sundin is skating and re-emphasized that he doesn’t know what is going to happen but that he think we will hear from Mats shortly.

One of the alleged complaints from several agents about Goodenow was that he constantly meddled in player business that wereclearly issues as between player and agent. Those agents represented the players and that specific players best interests, where Goodenow was allegedly always trying to get what was best for the union. Sometimes those two interests were not aligned. The amount of pressure Goodenow allegedly put on the agents was at times immense. One has to wonder if that is continuing in the Kelly era already.

If you listen to the interview, it is also interesting when Kelly says, when asked whether the infighting and apathy within the PA is diminishing, that he is trying to keep the players abreast on all the issues in case something creeps up in two years the players won’t be caught by surprise. Remember, this is a VERY experienced trial lawyer. The Clarence/Colin Campbell is a slip up, a mistake, making comments like a reference to issues appearing in 2 years is not anecdotal, you have to believe he says that for a very specific reason. It will be interesting to learn over time what that purpose was.

you can listen to the interview here:

Kelly on the morning show

NHLPA Boss Kelly thinks NHL should look to Canada

Hard to disagree with the Paul Kelly (no relation to our pally at Sportsnet/Fan) on this one:

“I mean the Canadian fans are like no others,” he continued. “They’re passionate, they come out and support it, they buy the merchandise, and they’re knowledgeable about the sport. And it seems to us a no-brainer that if you’re going to expand or you’re going to relocate, that you first and foremost have to consider some of the major hubs here in Canada.”

Can this guy switch teams and run the league? PLEASE!!!!

The more interesting part of the story, which you can find here is when he lays in this little gem, grenade :

“You know, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Quebec City, perhaps Halifax if they had an arena that could sustain an NHL team. But I think there are locations in Canada that would strongly support the NHL game.”

Sitting in downtown Toronto, I can feel the tremors from the ACC all the way to NHL head office…

Kelly is smart, there is no question about that. I can promise you that the Hamilton comment didn’t just slip out of him mouth. This was an intentional inclusion; you can bet on it.

A discussion for another day, but I for one would love to see another team in the GTA area (read Hamilton). I think that would be fantastic. Hey, LA has 2 teams, the NY area has 3 why can’t we have 2???