The talk was stark from both sides of the NHL dispute yesterday in Toronto after commissioner Gary Bettman took 10 minutes to dismiss the players’ counter-proposal to the league’s not-exactly-50-percent solution that had been submitted on Tuesday.
But contrary to Bettman’s assertion the sides “are not speaking the same language,” the fact is the essential economic dispute as the owners’ lockout enters Day 34 can be distilled to approximately $650 million-$700 million within existing contracts the NHLPA expects the owners to honor.
The union offered three alternate plans to the NHL at the start of what became an abbreviated meeting at the NHLPA offices. Under the third, the players agreed to an immediate 50-50 split in revenues if the league would carve out the approximately $650 million-$700 million that would be affected by the 12.3-percent cut in share from 57 percent.
Under this proposal, 87 percent of the annual rate of existing contracts would be applied against the players’ share with the other 13 percent carved out of the equation. Approximately 270 contracts are due to expire at the end of this season, with another 215 set to expire at the end of 2013-14.
The league’s proposal on Tuesday featured a mechanism to make good on current contracts by having the players themselves assume the burden of deferred payments to correct projected immediate double-digit escrow withholding
Bettman, owners’ deputy commissioner Bill Daly and the owners at the meeting including Boston’s Jeremy Jacobs, chairman of the board, rejected the players’ concept out of hand, though — as with all three of yesterday’s NHLPA offers — it certainly is negotiable.
“That didn’t seem like a group that’s willing to negotiate,” said Sidney Crosby, one of 18 players who attended the session.
According to one participant in the meeting, Bettman actually characterized Tuesday’s NHL proposal that called for an immediate 50-50 split in revenues accompanied by severe restrictions on systemic issues including contract length, as “Take it or leave it.”
That seems like prototypical scare-tactic rhetoric from the commissioner, whose offer on Tuesday contemplated a full 82-game season to commence on Nov. 2.
It is unclear if the NHL, which previously canceled games through Oct. 24, soon will announce additional cancellations or if the league will return to the table with Nov. 2 still a target. It also is unclear when the parties will next convene.
“We would like to resume negotiations [today],” PA executive director Don Fehr told The Post. “The issue that we face is that the owners’ basic premise seems be that they must get a significant reduction of the players’ share immediately and over the life of the agreement.
“We’ve shown we’re willing to work to reduce the level of compensation over time, but we believe existing contracts should be fulfilled.”There was no discussion regarding the systems issues beyond the NHLPA informing the league that the union rejected all of the NHL’s proposed changes.
Jacobs, the board chairman who is believed the league’s most extreme hardliner, did provide moments of the most levity in the meeting even if unintentionally so, when, according to one player, the Boston owner announced that Bettman has the most difficult job imaginable.
“Gary has the hardest job because he represents both the players and the owners,” Jacobs is reported to have said.
That, according to our mole, prompted Fehr to ask, “Does that mean we can fire him?”