A possible lockout issue, potential pushback against analytics and much more in this morning’s collection of notable NHL headlines.
Bonus-laden contracts, such as the one recently signed by Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos, could lead to another NHL lockout.
TSN: Travis Yost suggests the issue of bonus-laden contract signed by players such as Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, Vancouver’s Loui Eriksson and the New York Islanders’ Andrew Ladd could lead to another NHL lockout. He notes that “the higher the signing bonus amount, the more difficult it is to buy contracts out.” They’re also “lockout-proof”, meaning the only impact to the players in the event of a work stoppage is to their base salaries.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I recommend reading the full piece. Yost isn’t the only pundit to cite bonus-heavy contracts as a potentially contentious issue in the next round of collective bargaining between the NHL and the NHLPA. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks has also sounded the warning several times in the past year. Of course, it’s the team owners and general managers that have themselves to blame for this situation by agreeing to hand out more of these contracts, just as they were to blame for the heavily front-loaded contracts that were a major issue during the last lockout.
YAHOO SPORTS: Greg Wyshynski wonders if NHL teams are moving away from analytics, citing now-former Montreal Canadiens advanced-stats guru Matt Pfeffer’s speaking out against the P.K.Subban-for-Shea Weber trade, as well as Pfeffer’s claim there’s a pushback of late against analytics by some in the NHL.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As with Yost’s piece, I recommend giving Wyshynski’s column a read. I believe there’s a place in hockey for analytics, but they’re not the end-all and be-all in evaluating player and team performance. I don’t think there’s so much a pushback against advanced stats in general, but against the opinion that they’re the definitive measure of player and team performance.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks has the details of how the Derick Brassard-for-Mike Zibanejad trade between the Rangers and Ottawa Senators went down.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: The Carolina Hurricanes are seeing a surge in season-ticket sales this summer. “Compared with this time last year, new season-ticket package sales are up about 40 percent and overall ticket sales revenue is up about 60 percent”, said team president Don Waddell. Their season-ticket renewal rate is up from 87 percent last summer to just over 90 percent this year.
WINNIPEG SUN: Jets center Mark Scheifele’s golf tournament helped raise $135,000 for KidSport Winnipeg.
STARTRIBUNE: The Minnesota Wild placed forward Jordan Schroeder on waivers.
NBC SPORTS: Veteran NHL goaltender Jason LaBarbera has hung up his skates to become the goalie coach for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.
THE DETROIT NEWS: Veteran forward Dan Cleary isn’t ready for retirement yet, saying he’s willing to play another season in the minors.
THE VANCOUVER SUN: The Canucks re-signed “defenceman Andrey Pedan and forward Alexandre Grenier to one-year, two-way contract extensions.”
STLTODAY.COM: Hockey photographer Lew Portnoy has passed away at the age of 75 from “complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease.” He covered the St. Louis Blues in a freelance capacity for over thirty years.
The next CBA will yet again be about the GMs needing to be saved from themselves (on the backs of concessions on the players).
The only optimism I can see is there isn’t the level of rancor that preceeded the 2004-05 lockout, nor the same level of concern as there was leading up to the last one. For now, all we can do is wait. The league and PA each have an opt-out option in September 2019, triggering the end of the current CBA in September 2020. They each had an early out in the last CBA, too, so I’m hopeful they won’t exercise that right in this one. After that, the CBA expires in September 2022.
Yeah those poor players. When players like Shaw, Killorn, Sutter; Van, etc. can make essentially 4 to 4.5 mil long term I have a problem with the concessions they make as well.
Reduce the players share of revenue to about 40%, increase revenue sharing so all 30 teams at least have a chance of making what an average NHL player does.
poor teams not making money. If the teams are not making money than why does everyone want one. Teams in crap market should be moved.
the owners and GM are the knobs here not the players
Decrease revenue sharing so the remaining teams can make what the average player makes, they don’t now because they have to share with other teams.
A strong league with viable franchises can still impose a cap to create league parity; peaking fan interest without propping up markets like Arizona that DO NOT want hockey!
The PA is complicit with the force feeding of hockey into non traditional markets. Then they cry foul about concepts such as salary escrow! Can’t have it both ways!
Don’t GMs have to get approval from owners to offer the same contracts that will create a lockout? If so then why blame GMs? It seems owners need saving from themselves!
Larry Brooks has said the same as Yost but the idea of bonus laden contracts being the cause for a lockout, if that is the only major issue, is just ridiculous. You don’t always need a lockout to resolve issues, especially a minor issue like this one which affects such a small % of the contracts in the league. I can’t see the NHLPA letting all of its members lose well over 500 million dollars in salary, combined, over an issue that only affects such a small percentage of its members. It’s just bad business.
How about the fact 8 teams lost money in 2014-15 including TB who went to the final & averaged 19′ fans per game. That’s almost 1/2 the league, 4 making less than 3 mil & 8 lossing money.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/193744/operating-income-of-national-hockey-league-teams-in-2010/
Another lock out is coming. The NHL’s business model is flawed. Players get to great a share of revenue.
Striker, you really believe NHL teams are losing money? It’s creative accounting. The owners use the teams as their personal piggy banks. Teams keep losing money yet the values of the franchises just keep rising? Yeah, makes sense to me. Bettman always tells everyone how the league has never been better until the CBA is expiring. Then he changes his tune.
Striker, also where did I say therenough won’t be another lockout. I said a lockout won’t happen if the bonus structure is the only major issue. You are talking about something that isn’t even close to what I wrote.
Your stats prove my theory! The NHL has no business being bigger than 24 strong franchises all of which can support themselves without revenue sharing! The NHlL continues to force itself into markets that don’t want it!
Based on this article I drew up a new NHL! I think I might be on to something?
Here goes:
East
Adams
Toronto
Montreal
Ottawa
Boston
Patrick
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Washington
West
Smythe
Vancouver
Edmonton
Calgary
Colorado
San Jose
Norris
Chicago
Detroit
Dallas
Columbus
18 teams just like it should be!
Notice the Canadian content! I am surprised at St.Louis, Minnesota , and LA/ Anaheim
behind San Jose; however, these are financial realities. Detroit barely squeaked in which is scary!
But again, Canadian and original six carrying the mail for the NHL will continue!
A 20 team league would slot Colorado to the Norris to make room for Seattle and allow Quebec to reenter the Adams!
It’s fun to think about!
Woops! Take Colorado out and replace with Nashville in the Norris! Still makes room for Seattle expansion
I am happy Brooks is getting his article out there. The Sens are a cheap team and have a cheap owner. The longer Melnyk is playing a bizarre version of fantasy sports in this city on the cheapest buy in possible, the longer this team will be irrelevant. He is almost becoming as big of a joke as Charles Wang is.
Yeah, a second round pick in exchange for NYR paying the $2 million signing bonus? That is shocking. They must be in desperate straits.
Advanced stats work in baseball because every single play begins from the same fixed position. The variables are limited. Ball. Bat.
In hockey, you have 17 moving objects in play at any given time coming from billions of possible combinations of angles, etc.
To say nothing about where they fudge things in hockey…like calling shot attempt differential “possession”.