NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 22, 2020

by | Nov 22, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 22, 2020

The latest return-to-play news and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons believes the infighting between the NHL and NHL Players Association over the league’s requests for higher escrow and salary deferral rates puts the start of the 2020-21 season into question. He feels league commissioner Gary Bettman faces a difficult challenge, attempting to negotiate during a pandemic with the owners angry and divided and the players unwilling to budge over further cuts to their salaries.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (NHL.com).

  NEWSDAY: Andrew Gross suggests additional salary deferral could be a way out of this mess despite the initial shock and anger from the players. Unlike escrow, deferrals will at some point find their way back to the players. Another is the desire by Bettman and the PA to start the season as soon as possible.

The league and PA prefer a start date of Jan. 1. With the clock ticking, however, Gross thinks that might have to be pushed back to around Feb. 1. He feels a realistic start date for the season should become clearer by the end of the upcoming American Thanksgiving weekend.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: We can probably forget about a Jan. 1 start to the season if an agreement between the league and the PA isn’t reached by Monday, Nov, 30. Many players still haven’t joined their teams. The league wants a 14-day training camp leading up to the start of the season, with last season’s seven non-playoff clubs getting an additional seven-to-10 days as promised.

ESPN.COM: A recent survey of American sports fans indicates two-thirds of the respondents will await the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to arenas and stadiums.

THE MERCURY NEWS: San Jose Sharks president Jonathan Becher said the club will have to hold its training camp outside of Santa Clara county if local health officials won’t allow players to skate in large numbers at its training facility in San Jose.

NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: Blackhawks star Patrick Kane and his girlfriend Amanda recently announced the birth of their first child. Patrick Timothy Kane III arrived on Nov. 12.

TSN: Fred Saskamoose, one of the first Indigenous players to skate in the NHL, tested positive for COVID-19 and has been hospitalized. He played 11 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953-54. Following his playing career, he was extensively involved in developing sports programs for Indigenous youth. Saskamoose was named to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and received the Order of Canada in 2017.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Best wishes to Saskamoose for a speedy recovery.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 21, 2020

by | Nov 21, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 21, 2020

The latest return-to-play news plus updates on Joe Thornton, Braden Holtby, Anton Khudobin and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

TORONTO SUN: Lance Hornby reports Canadian NHL clubs could be affected if provincial borders close for non-essential travel. British Columbia premier John Horgan recently called upon the federal government to follow his provinces’ lead in discouraging inter-provincial travel.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadian teams are located in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and BC. The NHL is considering having an all-Canadian division for this season due to the pandemic as those clubs would have difficulty traveling across the Canada-US border with current restrictions in place. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he won’t force the closure of provincial borders. However, if provinces decide to do it themselves, he would support it.

The NHL hopes to start the 2020-21 season on Jan. 1, but its push for the NHLPA to accept further salary cuts could close the negotiation window. Hornby cites a source telling Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty a mid-January return was more likely as the players could object to training camp during the Christmas holiday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr reportedly continue holding daily discussions. The salary issue upset the players and generated plenty of headlines, but both sides have not released public statements on the matter nor have they been sniping at each other through the media.

Toronto Maple Leafs center Joe Thornton (NHL Images).

Perhaps cooler heads are prevailing here or it’s the calm before another labor storm. Nevertheless, there’s a belief the two sides should be able to work through the salary issue. They’ll have to hammer out an agreement by Nov. 30 at the latest to maintain their Jan. 1 season-opening timeline.

An outbreak of COVID-19 among players for Davos of the Swiss League has sidelined Joe Thornton. “The whole team is in quarantine after five players, not known to include Thornton, tested positive the past few days,” writes Hornby. Thornton, who recently signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is playing for Davos while awaiting the start of the NHL season.

Speaking of Thornton, SPORTSNET’S Luke Fox reports Davos general manager Raeto Raffainer believes the 41-year-old center’s experience, hockey smarts and leadership will benefit the Leafs in whatever role they choose for him. Thornton has six points in his first six games with Davos.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Skating in a European pro league should give Thornton a competitive edge whenever the NHL starts up this season.

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby had some difficulty getting across the US border into Canada with his family’s two pet tortoises. It’s since been resolved after securing the necessary export papers from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Things kind of slowed to a crawl for a while there for Holtby. See, because he has tortoises and they crawl and, okay, I’ll stop now…

NHL.COM: Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin is expected to be ready for training camp following surgery last month to repair a nerve issue in his right arm.

OTTAWA CITIZEN: Bruce Garrioch recently reported Anders Nilsson is still plagued by concussion symptoms, putting his availability for the coming season into jeopardy. The 30-year-old goaltender’s been sidelined since suffering the injury on Dec. 16.

TRIBLIVE.COM: Former NHL winger Ken Schinkel passed away at age 87. He spent 12 seasons in the NHL from 1959-60 to 1972-73. His first six seasons were with the New York Rangers until selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 NHL expansion draft at age 35. He enjoyed his best NHL seasons with the Penguins, with three 45-plus point campaigns. Schinkel went on to coach the Penguins for parts of four seasons and held a variety of front-office roles with the club before joining the Hartford Whalers in 1989.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to Schinkel’s family, friends and former teammates.

 










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 20, 2020

by | Nov 20, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 20, 2020

The fallout from the league’s request to the players for increased escrow and salary deferral rates in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

THE ATHLETIC: Pierre LeBrun reports return-to-play talks between the NHL and NHLPA have reached a delicate stage following the league’s request for increased escrow rates over the final three seasons of the recent CBA extension and increased salary deferral for 2020-21.

Staging the season would keep the NHL’s brand alive. The league’s requests are essentially because NHL owners are hurting, perhaps more than they thought they would, especially facing reduced revenue because of fewer games and empty or near-empty arenas.

Hockey-related revenue is divided 50-50 between the owners and the players. If the players receive more than 50 percent in 2020-21, they’ll have to pay back that overage at some point.

LeBrun notes the league isn’t asking to prorate players’ salaries for 2020-21. Proration would mean money taken from the players they would never see again, whereas deferral means they would receive it at a later date.

Nevertheless, the NHLPA wasn’t happy with the league’s requests coming only four months after an agreement was reached on a CBA extension that took revenue losses into account. They feel the league would reject any PA request for adjustments to the extension if the roles were reversed.

LeBrun believes the NHL and NHLPA can reach an agreement here. He suspects the PA will agree to tweak some of the salary deferrals but not at the league’s requested rate, provided the players get something in return.

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports sources claim the league made two requests. The first was for increased salary deferral to 20 percent and escrow to 25 percent for 2020-21. The second was for deferred compensation for 2021-22 to be raised to 26 percent, with escrow rates increased from six percent to between 8.5 – 9 percent for the final three years of the CBA extension.

There were several problems with this for the PA. Some members wondered why the agreement is being changed so soon. Some pointed out they’ve had to live with deals they didn’t like in the past. Some point out if they agree to this, it could happen again.

Part of what’s behind the players’ anger is some of them recently signed contracts that were structured to take advantage of lower escrow over the final years of the CBA.

Like LeBrun, Friedman believes the two sides can reach an agreement as both sides are keen to play as soon as possible. However, the league’s requests knocked negotiations off-course. He also suggested the players seek an expanded playoff format in exchange for accepting alterations to the agreement as it would increase revenues.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Ken Campbell points out how the league’s proposals would affect player salaries. A player earning $1 million would see his gross pay reduced to $720K under the current agreement. The league’s recent requests would reduce his pay to $592K. That’s before deductions such as taxes and agent fees.

One player agent said the league is offering no concessions to the players. “They get to play,” he said, “That’ll be the give-back.”

Campbell acknowledged the owners are being affected by the pandemic in terms of hockey revenue and other areas of their business. However, they’re getting $650 million in expansion money, none of which goes to the players. They can also borrow money at historically low interest rates to get them through this period. They could also see revenue significantly improve once a vaccine is developed and fans return to the games. The players, on the other hand, lose money now that they probably won’t get back.

If the players refuse to budge, one player agent suggested to Campbell that the owners could trigger Section 17 of the standard player contract that would allow the league to adjust salary based on situations beyond the league’s contract. However, that could trigger a lawsuit.

Campbell also feels this could eventually be resolved, but it could erode whatever goodwill existed between the owners and players that led to the current CBA extension.

ESPN.COM: Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski report when the CBA extension was negotiated, both sides presented best, moderate and worst-case financial outlook scenarios, with the worst case being a full season without fans. The extension was negotiated during the pandemic based on those scenarios. One NHLPA member said the league will have to have to come up with something good as a giveback for the players to accept its recent proposals.

Sources say daily discussions are ongoing between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr. If the season is to start on Jan.1, teams will need two weeks of training camp leading up to that, with last season’s seven non-playoff clubs promised an additional week.

Players on Canadian teams returning to their clubs require a 14-day quarantine period. The league and PA are in discussions with local and provincial health authorities to see if accommodations can be made, such as having players serve their quarantine while also training.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: I understand the league’s side given the course of this pandemic and its effects upon hockey-related revenue. It’s the way they’ve gone about it, however, that raised hackles among the players. Based on these reports, I believe the players’ reaction is justified.

The league agreed to the extension knowing full well what the worst-case scenario could be. The owners knew what they were getting into here.

So did the players. They agreed to a higher fixed rate of escrow over the first three years of the extension with the promise of a lower rate over the final three years when revenue is expected to improve. That’s money they won’t ever get back. They also agreed to defer part of their salary for next season at a set rate.

Years of playing hardball with the PA are coming back to haunt the league. The players have steadily given back over the past 15 years, as their share of HRR dropped from 74 percent in 2004 to 57 percent following a season-killing lockout, to 50 percent following the 2012-13 lockout. They accepted another reduction under the recent extension with a high escrow rate for this season.

Now, with the ink barely dry on the CBA extension, one that took into account the worst-case scenario, they’re being asked for another giveback without anything in return other than they get to play in 2021. Getting the players to agree to that requires a significant sweetener beyond being able to go to work in a shortened schedule for less money.

Because the players can receive no more than 50 percent of HRR, they must eventually offset any overage for the upcoming season. That’s something that could have been discussed between the two sides after the 2020-21 season is completed when the full amount of the overage has been determined. If the league remains insistent on tweaking those rates now, the owners must come up with a substantial give-back to the players as an enticement.










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 19, 2020

by | Nov 19, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 19, 2020

The players aren’t receptive to changing salary deferral or escrow rates, plus the latest on Pierre-Luc Dubois, Olli Juolevi and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

LATEST RETURN-TO-PLAY NEWS

TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports the NHL Players Association isn’t keen on changing salary deferral and escrow rates agreed upon in the extension to the collective bargaining agreement. This emerged from yesterday’s PA board meeting. No vote was taken on the subject as part of the discussion.

LeBrun said this is a timing issue for the NHL. Players are entitled to 50 percent of hockey-related revenue. The more they take this year, the more they’ll owe in debt payments in later years. However, the PA took that into account when it agreed to the CBA extension.

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the league asked for an additional salary deferment and for the players to consider raising the escrow rate. Under the memorandum of understanding, escrow is capped at 20 percent for 2020-21, with the rate dropping to six percent for each of the final three years of the agreement. The league reportedly requested to increase that rate to 8 or 9 percent. The players believe the league now seeks an additional $300 million in savings.

The requests indicate the league has concerns over revenue shortfalls exceeding previous projections. Without fan attendance, the 50/50 revenue split tilts in the players’ favor. He wonders how the shortfall will be made up and under what mechanism if the escrow rate is too low.

Friedman doesn’t believe this will derail the return-to-play plans as both sides are keen to return to the ice. Nevertheless, the league’s request didn’t sit well with the players.

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports the league sought an additional 13 to 16 percent in salary deferral on top of the 10 percent already agreed to under the MOU, as well as raising the escrow rate on those final three years to as much as 9.5 percent. Brooks claimed the league’s requests “annoyed, if not angered, the union membership participating in the call.”

The NHL’s requests, however, weren’t delivered in the form of an ultimatum. Brooks said the PA will likely identify issues, “perhaps systemic issues,” that it would like reopening in a renegotiation.

Brooks also reported a preliminary 60-game schedule was delivered to the NHL and NHLPA within the last 48 hours. He also cited sources claiming the CBA discussions aren’t expected to derail ongoing discussions for the tentative Jan. 1 start date.

TORONTO SUN: Lance Hornby reported more than 100 members of the PA took part in yesterday’s call, including its executive, return-to-play committee, team reps and some rank-and-file members. They feel they made significant long-range financial sacrifices and consenting to spend weeks in the 2020 playoff bubble away from their families.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The players are within their right to reject those requests after making substantial concessions in the recent CBA extension. Still, the league is also justified in its concern over higher-than-expected revenue shortfalls.

The MOU was agreed to at a time when it was hoped the pandemic would recede, allowing the NHL to stage its 2020-21 schedule with a full schedule and fans in the stands. However, that’s not going to happen while the second wave of the pandemic rages across the United States while COVID rates rise at alarming levels in the provinces where the Canadian teams reside.

PuckPedia indicates one problem with salary deferral is there are 26 players whose salaries cannot be deferred because of the large signing bonuses in their contracts. They include Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin and Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

The hockey-related revenue issue remains a significant sticking point even if it isn’t currently jeopardizing the return-to-play discussions. The two sides don’t have much time to work this out if they hope to meet their timeline to open the season on New Year’s Day. It’ll be interesting to see what transpires between now and the end of November.

IN OTHER NHL NEWS…

NHL.COM: Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen remains confident his club will re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois before training camp opens for the 2020-21 season. The 22-year-old center is a restricted free agent completing his entry-level contract.

SPORTSNET: Olli Juolevi is finally healthy after several injuries delayed his transition to the Vancouver Canucks. The 22-year-old defenseman was the sixth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

OTTAWA SUN: Senators prospect Tim Stuetzle was named to Team Germany for the 2021 World Junior Championships.

TSN: Senators prospect Ridly Greig tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 8. He’s asymptomatic and self-isolating at home. He hopes to join Canada’s world junior selection training camp on Nov. 22 when his 14-day quarantine period is over.

THE SCORE: Speaking of the 2020 WJC, Canada’s deputy chief of public health is optimistic about the proposed health and safety protocols for staging the tournament in Edmonton. “I think the proposals and what’s been put forward to us at the present time look very promising. It looks very good,” said Dr. Howard Njoo. The WJC will be held under quarantine bubble conditions similar to those of the NHL during its 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

CBC.CA: Former NHL star Rick Vaive recently released his biography titled “Catch 22: My Battles in Life and Hockey.” He details his feuds with former Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard and former Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry, as well as his struggles with alcohol addiction.










When Will The NHL Offseason Trade and Free-Agent Activity Resume?

by | Nov 18, 2020

When Will The NHL Offseason Trade and Free-Agent Activity Resume?

 










NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 18, 2020

by | Nov 18, 2020

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – November 18, 2020

The NHL seeks more financial concessions from its players, the latest on return-to-play plans for 2020-21, and much more in today’s morning coffee headlines.

NHL RETURN-TO-PLAY UPDATE

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks cites multiple sources claiming the NHL is seeking financial concessions from its players in the form of a 13 percent deferral on their gross pay for 2020-21. The NHL Players Association agreed to a 10 percent deferral in the recent six-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. That’s in addition to the 20 percent in escrow payments for this season being deducted from their salaries.

Brooks is unclear if this represents an ultimatum from the league or its initial position for a separate negotiation regarding player salaries for the coming season. He notes the CBA Memo of Understanding rules out prorating salaries for this season. It allows for clubs and players to negotiate additional deferments on a case-by-case basis, but what the NHL seeks is uniform and league-wide.

If the players agree to the 13 percent deferral, they would receive 61.6 percent of their ’20-’21 pay, with 23 percent to be returned at later dates.

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman cited two sources saying the NHL hasn’t made an official proposal regarding an additional deferral. However, the subject did come up in conversations between the league and the NHLPA. It received a mixed reaction with some questioning altering a deal made several months ago while others believe that not playing is the worst result.

Friedman noted the short timeline to work out an agreement in time to reach the NHL’s tentative Jan. 1 start date. He sees this issue as part of the process of working toward an accord.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Deferral seems the only workable alternative if prorating salaries isn’t an option. While the PA membership has a right to question making changes to a recent agreement, this is not a normal situation.

The MOU was made in early July with an eye on starting the 2020-21 schedule by mid-to-late November. The pandemic, however, has changed those plans. All NHL teams face varying degrees of revenue losses even if they return on what’s expected to be a shortened ’20-’21 schedule with, at best, limited fan attendance.

Deferring payments could be better for the players than prorating their salaries. They’ll eventually get that money in installments over the latter years of the CBA extension as revenue improves once the pandemic has passed.

In a series of tweets, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports the league and the PA continue daily calls to put together a plan for this season. The 16-player return-to-play committee has convened internally almost daily over the past week but not with the league. Talks between the NHL and NHLPA remain at higher levels.

LeBrun said both sides still hope for a Jan. 1 start date with an eye on awarding the Stanley Cup by no later than July 15. Most conversations have focused on a 60-game schedule. The next seven-to-10 days will be crucial toward achieving a puck drop on New Year’s Day.

The players on the NHLPA return-to-play committee are David Backes, Darren Helm, David Savard, Justin Faulk, Lars Eller, Sam Gagner, Justin Abdelkader, Ian Cole, Zach Hyman, Ron Hainsey, Claude Giroux, Ryan Dzingel, Andrew Copp, Alex Biega, Chris Kreider and Mark Scheifele.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

NHL.COM: The Florida Panthers named Brett Peterson as assistant general manager, making him the first black assistant GM in the NHL. Peterson, 39, played five years as a minor pro defenseman with the AHL, ECHL and IHL from 2004-05 to 2008-09. He spent the last 11 years as a player agent.

THE ATHLETIC: San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said he’s recovered from the devastating season-ending knee injury suffered in January. He began skating in August and has been on the ice three days a week. Hertl said he’ll be ready to go for the upcoming season.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: Alex Pietrangelo purchased a $6-million mansion in Summerlin, Nevada. The former St. Louis Blues defenseman signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract last month with the Vegas Golden Knights.

STLTODAY.COM: The Blues hired Ryan Podell as their new strength and conditioning coach. Podell was the sports science/conditioning coach with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. He also spent two seasons with the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers and six seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers organization, including four years with the Flyers.