New CBA Looks to be Almost Done

[KINGS17]

All the details of the current framework for the NHL's new...

Here are other details of the current framework being discussed, according to the source:

• The salary cap will stay at $81.5 million for the 2021-21 season.

• The cap will stay at $81.5 million until revenues reach $4.8 billion. After that, a formula for establishing the cap will be employed that uses hockey-related revenues from two seasons prior. For instance, the 2022-23 cap would be calculated using hockey-related revenue numbers from 2020-21. In theory, this will blunt escrow growth.

• Escrow on player salaries would be capped at:
  • 20 percent in 2020-21
  • 14-18 percent in 2021-22 (pending revenues in the previous season)
  • 10 percent in 2022-21
  • 6 percent in the final three seasons

• An escrow debt of $125 million or more at that time would trigger a one-year extension of the CBA. The owners and players split hockey-related revenue evenly, so a debt is created when players’ salaries are more than 50 percent of revenues. Players play a percentage of their salary into an escrow account to offset that potential difference, but if that is not enough, further debt would be created.

• Players will see a 10 percent deferral of next season’s salary, which will be paid out in equal installments over three seasons starting with 2023-24 and ending in 2025-26.

• There will be language in the Return to Play agreement that allows players to opt out of playing in the hub cities without penalty.

• The playoff fund for the Return to Play will be doubled from $16 million to $32 million. The cost of that increase is being split between the NHL and NHLPA at $8 million each. How that $32 million will be distributed among the players is still being negotiated.

• Next year’s playoff fund will be $20 million.

• Entry-level salaries will be set at $950,000 for players drafted in 2022 and 2023 and will go to $975,000 in the next two years before hitting $1 million in 2026. There are also increases in the bonuses available to players on entry-level deals.

• The NHL will take part in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing and 2026 in Milan, pending an agreement with the International Olympic Committee. The cost of insurance, travel costs and marketing were major issues in the NHL opting out of the Olympic tournament in South Korea in 2018.

• The league’s minimum salary will be set at $750,000.

• No-move and no-trade clauses will now move with players even if they haven’t been triggered. In the past, teams acquiring players with no-move or no-trade clauses had to agree to keep the clauses.

• Players 35 and older can sign multiple-year contracts and there will not be a cap hit if they retire before the end of the deal provided the deals are flat or ascending in value. Currently, the cap hit for players 35 and older remained on the books if they retired before completion of the contract.

• There are changes to the structure of front-loaded deals with a contract length of six years or longer that have an average annual value of at least 7.5 percent of the salary cap at the time of signing. Those contracts can’t exceed 35 percent between the highest and lowest yearly value.

• No changes are planned to other types of contracts or to signing bonuses.

• Players and spouses or significant others travel business class.

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[Bandit]

Man I remember when Gretzky got the first 1 mil a year deal, now that’s gonna be the ELC. Crazy times. Assuming that business class travel is a downgrade?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Man I remember when Gretzky got the first 1 mil a year deal, now that’s gonna be the ELC. Crazy times. Assuming that business class travel is a downgrade?

Speaking of contracts...

 

[Statto]

Speaking of contracts...

Wow Granto and Robitaille for $400k combined ... that’s a bargain. It shows how much the game has grown commercially as the salary increases massively exceed any normal inflation. Whatever people want to say about Bettman he’s certainly moved the NHL forward in terms of money, it’s hardly a surprise the owners like him. He’s also quite happy to be the fall guy for all their unpopular decisions, the perfect front man.

Back to salaries... how does Tim Watters earn Robitaille money? Luc needed a better agent. I was also surprised to see what DT was earning as the most expensive RW in the game so looked back. In fairness, I’d forgotten how productive he still was at that stage of his career aged 33 but he was still way overpaid, earning nearly double Jari Kurri money (although half was deferred, would that be injury?). However Taylor was one of the best played players in the league if you consider the full amount (950k), behind just Lemieux, Gretzky and Messier. Nuts. Was there a story there or did he just sign a deal at the right time.

Some of the other salaries were definitely mind boggling and didn’t seems to reflect ability like they tend to now.

 

[Fishhead]

That change to NMC's is pretty big. GM's are going to have to do their homework.

 

[flying v 604]

Wow Granto and Robitaille for $400k combined ... that’s a bargain. It shows how much the game has grown commercially as the salary increases massively exceed any normal inflation. Whatever people want to say about Bettman he’s certainly moved the NHL forward in terms of money, it’s hardly a surprise the owners like him. He’s also quite happy to be the fall guy for all their unpopular decisions, the perfect front man.

Back to salaries... how does Tim Watters earn Robitaille money? Luc needed a better agent. I was also surprised to see what DT was earning as the most expensive RW in the game so looked back. In fairness, I’d forgotten how productive he still was at that stage of his career aged 33 but he was still way overpaid, earning nearly double Jari Kurri money (although half was deferred, would that be injury?). However Taylor was one of the best played players in the league if you consider the full amount (950k), behind just Lemieux, Gretzky and Messier. Nuts. Was there a story there or did he just sign a deal at the right time.

Some of the other salaries were definitely mind boggling and didn’t seems to reflect ability like they tend to now.

Gary imo saved the NHL. If your old enough to have watched hockey in the mid-90s and early 2000s it was dark times. The league was an afterthought by most of the USA and with the low dollar even the Nucks were rumoured to be moving to Portland.
Hell we were lucky to watch 15 games on tv a season,
Now an outdoor game was played in texas between to Southern teams and it drew 80.000 local fans.
The league has never been stronger and even with all the shit that's happening the CBA will be ratified and is the league that has the best chance to actually finish the season while keeping the integrity of the post season, while MLB and the NBA seem poised to fail and their formats especially baseball, are a complete farce.

 

[Token]

Uncle Betty is brilliant!!!

He just set up debt-financing for the league on the backs of the players.

Based on other reporting in law and financial sites, it is estimated that gate and concessions are ~ 30% of HRR and the escrow of 20% and deferral of 10% of player salaries covers a big chunk of that.

Did the NHLPA get anything out of all those concessions?

 

[verbalkint47]

Interesting. Am I reading this correctly?

Players on ELC's will be making more than veterans making the league minimum salary.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The Alexis Lafreniere Draft Lottery sweepstakes will be held on Aug. 10, with the NHL Draft to follow in mid-October. Free agency would take place in the fall for the first time in league history on Nov. 1.

 

[KINGS17]

Uncle Betty is brilliant!!!

He just set up debt-financing for the league on the backs of the players.

Based on other reporting in law and financial sites, it is estimated that gate and concessions are ~ 30% of HRR and the escrow of 20% and deferral of 10% of player salaries covers a big chunk of that.

Did the NHLPA get anything out of all those concessions?

The NHLPA is getting paid more than 50% of HRR over the next few seasons. The players today financed their paychecks with the paychecks of future players. The players today are essentially borrowing money from the owners in the form of caps on escrow, and are going to pay it back "tomorrow".

 

[KINGS17]

Interesting. Am I reading this correctly?

Yes, if players on ELC's will be making more than veterans making the league minimum salary.

If the player on the ELC receives a one-way contract, or under a two-way contract makes the NHL squad. Players on two-way ELCs who are sent to the minors get minor league pay.

 

[Token]

The NHLPA is getting paid more than 50% of HRR over the next few seasons. The players today financed their paychecks with the paychecks of future players. The players today are essentially borrowing money from the owners in the form of caps on escrow, and are going to pay it back "tomorrow".

Wonder how this all plays out in the Carter household.

He would get paid under a million each of the following two seasons in real moneys after taxes and whatnot against a $70M career earning already in the bank.

Im betting the beach-house is all paid up, he can rent it out to the prospect pipeline and park it somewhere in Canada, go fishing with Willie Mitchel and his BFF Mike.

 

[Token]

There will be language in the Return to Play agreement that allows players to opt out of playing in the hub cities without penalty.

I’m curious to see if this clause gets extended in November to cover the 20/21 season.

It sure ain’t looking good these days in the US.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Making sure the change in every year on a front loaded contracted doesn't exceed 35% is pretty interesting. Sorta nerfs the idea of front loaded.

 

[KINGS17]

Making sure the change in every year on a front loaded contracted doesn't exceed 35% is pretty interesting. Sorta nerfs the idea of front loaded.

I think this change is to cut down on the number of long-term deals being handed out like candy. Without as much money up front, players in their middle to late-twenties will be forced to take a long-term deal, or bet on themselves in terms of being worth more in three or four seasons.

I like it.

 

[KopitarFAN]

I’m curious to see if this clause gets extended in November to cover the 20/21 season.

It sure ain’t looking good these days in the US.

I've had some ideas about how they could do that, full-season hub cities I mean, not opt-outs, obviously they would have to do more than two, perhaps four. They could put teams in groups of 8 (one of 7) at each site, within those groups put 4 teams together that will rotate to a new site periodically and lock in with another group of 4 from another division.

A logistical nightmare for sure, but better than the alternative, unless they wanted to go back to the old format with a West site and East site and no inter-conference.

 

[Token]

I've had some ideas about how they could do that, full-season hub cities I mean, not opt-outs, obviously they would have to do more than two, perhaps four. They could put teams in groups of 8 (one of 7) at each site, within those groups put 4 teams together that will rotate to a new site periodically and lock in with another group of 4 from another division.

A logistical nightmare for sure, but better than the alternative, unless they wanted to go back to the old format with a West site and East site and no inter-conference.

The logistics could be worked out but the human aspect would be a nightmare for the players and their families.

It would basically turn into a 9-month road trip. That would be brutal.

Could be that the immediate future of the NHL will be a youth movement until The Rona situation plays out. Youngsters may be able to deal with the crazy environment better.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[kingsholygrail]

So if you can convince the old and busted player to retire, you won't be on the hook for the cap still? That's a change.

 

[kovacro]

Glad to see they made a change to the recapture penalty..

Cap recapture limit: For all players subject to a cap recapture penalty, the maximum salary cap charge moving forward will be the players’ normal salary cap hit.
Example: If
retired prior to the 2025-26 season, the Nashville Predators (the team that signed him to the deal and enjoyed the benefit of his cap hit being well below the actual dollars paid to him those years) were scheduled to be on the hook for a $24.6 million salary cap penalty.
Now, under the new terms of the CBA, that amount would be limited to Weber’s normal cap hit of $7.86 million in any one season - but it would continue to be charged for three full seasons until the cap ‘benefit’ is paid back.

This only affects a small number of contracts still active including Jeff Carter and Jonathan Quick.

NHL, NHLPA on verge of labour peace; plan to resume games Aug. 1 - TSN.ca

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

1,250 Covid tests to be done every day...LOL. This just seems to be ridiculous to me...cancel the season already.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

1,250 Covid tests to be done every day...LOL. This just seems to be ridiculous to me...cancel the season already.

Particularly when this is the case... Months Into Virus Crisis, U.S. Cities Still Lack Testing Capacity

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Canada isn't the U.S.

It isn't the NHL's responsibility to fix our country's response and we should be pretty happy to have the international presence to allow for our favorite sport to return.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Canada isn't the U.S.

It isn't the NHL's responsibility to fix our country's response and we should be pretty happy to have the international presence to allow for our favorite sport to return.

I didn’t say it was, but the fact that the much larger neighboring country to where the “bubbles” will be is having such a massive issue with testing is not a great sign. Certainly there are differences between the response of the Canadian government and the American government, but I don’t see how there will be no impact at all from America’s issues.