NHL Armageddon has arrived - a not so subtle suggestion the owners were almost busted
week ago at this time there was momentum building among a group of dissident owners to call (Gary) Bettman to account, to demand answers from the commissioner. As we understood it, there were as many as 12 owners who by Tuesday had expressed discomfort with the direction of the non-negotiations. This report was written by Larry Brooks and appeared in The New York Post
But Bettman seems to have halted the effort with a campaign of his own to enforce unity. We know of at least one telephone conversation between the commissioner and an owner in which Bettman warned that owner-to-owner phone calls would likely undermine the process of attaining a hard cap. Bettman has been told by people who were on the other side during the last lockout that the league would have gained far more concessions from the players if they'd waited another couple of weeks. He reminded Board members of that within the last week.
Indeed, we're told that Bettman said last week that if the owners were to cave now after caving in January of 1995, the league would never be able to lock out the players again, because they'd know they'd only have to wait until January to get a deal. And that, of course, is exactly what the commissioner should be focusing on: the next lockout.
Just asking, but which NHL Board member might soon find himself outed if he continues to make on-the-record statements in support of a hard cap that are direct contradictions of off-the-record observations he made to a handful of reporters at the World Cup?
So a week ago Bill Daly repeated the canard about the union refusing to engage the league in discussions even after the NHL first notified the union of CBA-related problems in a letter dated March 19, 1999.
But Daly must have forgotten that that letter and the ensuing exchange indeed produced an joint economic study committee that, during the 2001-02 season, examined the books of four teams — the Bruins, Kings, Sabres and Canadiens. When the union found discrepancies amounting to $50M of revenue not reflected in the league URO reports for those four clubs, the league essentially shut down the process. This report was written by Larry Brooks and appeared in The New York Post
But Bettman seems to have halted the effort with a campaign of his own to enforce unity. We know of at least one telephone conversation between the commissioner and an owner in which Bettman warned that owner-to-owner phone calls would likely undermine the process of attaining a hard cap. Bettman has been told by people who were on the other side during the last lockout that the league would have gained far more concessions from the players if they'd waited another couple of weeks. He reminded Board members of that within the last week.
Indeed, we're told that Bettman said last week that if the owners were to cave now after caving in January of 1995, the league would never be able to lock out the players again, because they'd know they'd only have to wait until January to get a deal. And that, of course, is exactly what the commissioner should be focusing on: the next lockout.
Just asking, but which NHL Board member might soon find himself outed if he continues to make on-the-record statements in support of a hard cap that are direct contradictions of off-the-record observations he made to a handful of reporters at the World Cup?
So a week ago Bill Daly repeated the canard about the union refusing to engage the league in discussions even after the NHL first notified the union of CBA-related problems in a letter dated March 19, 1999.
But Daly must have forgotten that that letter and the ensuing exchange indeed produced an joint economic study committee that, during the 2001-02 season, examined the books of four teams — the Bruins, Kings, Sabres and Canadiens. When the union found discrepancies amounting to $50M of revenue not reflected in the league URO reports for those four clubs, the league essentially shut down the process. This report was written by Larry Brooks and appeared in The New York Post
posted by SportsDoc at 1:18 PM
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