Last year, when the new CBA was freshly signed, the NHL missed out on a great opportunity to educate the fans on how the cap works. It’s been over a year now, and still nothing from Bettman and his bean counters on who counts and who does not.
I think there is alot of misinformation on how the accounting is done on how the cap counts for all clubs are explained. You read some columns from one beat reporter from one city and he or she says that long term injuries will not count and in an another city, an another reporter will say that for the same kind of injury it counts. You give NHL headquarters in New York a call, to fish out some information, they will probably tell you, read the CBA. It’s all fine and dandy to do so, but if your not a labour lawyer and don’t understand the language in it, your guess on the interpretation is as good as mine. I see it a bit like Spector said some time ago in one of his Soapbox articles, Thank you suckers and not Thank you fans, as written on every rink in NHL cities. Pay 100$ for a seat, eat hot dogs, pop corn, and drink 10$ glasses of beer and we will take care of the business side of hockey. Oh Mr.Bettman that is how it works.
Will all do respect, Mr.Bettman, we the fans know more and want to no more about all aspects of the game, on and off the ice than you could possibly think. Sir, we saw how you took care of the business side of hockey, since you have been commissioner, we have had two work stoppages caused by over inflation of salaries. Yes you brought in a spending limit and made it work, well at least for now it does. Every club as you like to put it, has been able to afford a top class player, where under the old CBA it was not possible. I know and many others that may read this will also know, that you don’t trust the owners, and with good reason, it is well stated in the CBA signed on July 22nd, 2005. I have read the part of that same document, and from what i have understood, you are making every salary and bonus acccountable, which is good. Example, article 50.10 (d), I have read it a few times to make sure that i understood it well, this including the illustrations. From what i have read, what is said, is that if a club is at 43.5 million and has an made exemption application for a player that could possibly be out for the season, and that so called unfit player is making 4.1 million, that club can go over the cap by 3.6 million. The so called club is at 43.5, goes to the upper limit of 44 million and goes over by no more than 3.6, that club the following season will not be penalized because of the bona fided exemption clause, as long as an application was made for it, or else the club will be penalized the following season.
In Spector’s latest Soapbox, on request from a reader, he responded that cap space would be freed up. In a way yes, if you read what i wrote above, the freed up cap space would only occur next season, a club that went over the cap because of a bona fided long term injury exemption application made, the 3.6 million that the Bruins will be going over the cap this season because of Zhamnov’s injury replacements, they will not be penalized in dead cap space next season. That being said, here comes the sticky part, if i am not mistaken, the Bruins signed him to a three year contract and he was 35 at the time he signed it, if he were to retire next summer, the Bruins will have his salary count on the books for 2007-08.
As for Keith Primeau’s situation, the reason why the Flyers will be able to take his salary off the books for next season, is that he signed his contract prior to the new CBA and he was not 35 + when he signed it, so my understanding is that the NHL will use the same grandfather clause as in the Jagr situation, that the part of Jagr’s salary paid by the Capitals did not count against their cap count, the Rangers where on the books for their share.
So to conclude, Bettman and his bean counters are counting almost everything under the sky. The only time a player’s salary will no count from what i have understood, if he is assigned to the AHL and not on re-conditionning assignement, he is suspended by the league or club and not receiving his salary during that period. Otherwise everything counts. There is a good reason for this, the players revenu sharing. I will read more about this and get back to you. To explain all of this, it’s easy. You have an hour for lunch, no problem there, but when do you start the count ? It’s 11.55 am and you tell your boss, ‘’ i’m off to lunch’’ well the count starts at 11.55am and not when you sit down and take your first bite in that big juicy big mac, so that means that at 12.55 you better be back at your position and ready to start work and not at 1.05. You can try and cheat, just don’t get caught, Bettman is not giving the clubs that chance.
This is just is my understanding on how the cap works and it’s accountability. I may be wrong, but i don’t think so.
That’s for now folks !
Monday, August 28, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Something brewing in Montreal ?
According to an NHL insider, something is brewing in the offices of the Habs management. The insider mentions in his latest blog entry, that the Canadiens Gm, Bob Gainey is in talks with two Eastern conference teams. He does not mention either of the teams, but some readers in their comments have mentionned one of the teams. One deal that could be in the making , would be with the Islanders. The habs would send Mike Komisarek and Radek Bonk to Long Island for Radek Martinek, Jeremy Colliton and Sean Bergenheim. I would not make the trade, i think by giving up Komisarek, a 6’4’’ solid defenseman with a bright future in Montreal, would make the habs defense vulnerable in the long term. Yes, i am a Komisarek fan and don’t want him to leave for the reason i mentionned above. Also the Habs play in a highly competitive division and against teams like Ottawa, Toronto, Boston and Buffalo, a guy like Komisarek will make his presence known and players may tend not come in the habs zone on his side, a mark of respect. Now without comparing him to one of my favorite habs players, Larry Robinson, I think Komisarek can gain with time the same kind respect that Robinson did, is that players tended not too come in on the left side when big Larry was garding the fort, those that did, paid a heavy price. Komisarek is young, strong and will get better with a seasoned NHL pro like Carbonneau as his coach. So no, i don’t make that trade.
Now on the same site, an another reader posted an another rumour, that would send Souray, Ryder, Ribeiro, Aebischer and the 2007 first round pick to Pittsburgh for Malkin, the young russian star . Of course alot people see this as a fantasy league trade, but i see it otherwise. First, salary wise it makes sense. The Pittsbugh Penguins have to become cap compliant as to the minimum of 28 million. An another reason that could be that Mario Lemieux and his group could see with such a trade, is becoming more competitive and have a better chance at making the playoffs and gaining the extra revenu with the veteran help that Gainey would be sending them. On the other hand, the Penguins could be willing to stand pat and risk missing the playoffs a few years, and hope to improve. When your trying to sell the team, you should be at an advantage. selling it as a competitive team could get you a good price. Or, you could risk taking less because it won’t bring you the extra revenus a potential playoff contenter could. Mario, we will be waiting for your answer. What do the habs get out of this ? Well, a player like Malkin would find in the habs some russian commrades in Kovalev and Markov, which would be dynamite on the powerplay. The space left on defense with Souray going the other way would not be as big as per Komisarek going in the other trade i mentionned. The Habs have a good stable of youngsters knocking at the door and could fill in for Souray. I like Sheldon Souray, when we was going thru a bad time last season, I stuck with him and it paid off , but he will become a UFA at the end of the season and nothing indicates that Gainey would of offered him an another contract, so Mr. Gainey would with this trade, gets better quality in return that he would, he if he tried to trade him in an another way. Alot people could say, why trade Ryder ? Yes he is a 30 goal scorer, but is not a fast skater and Malkin with Kovalev, has a better chance at scoring 40 + than Ryder ever could. Ribeiro, like Ryder is not a fast skater and his work ethic and attitude does not fit in with what Gainey and Carbonneau are trying to build in Montreal. Why would Gainey want to trade a good solid back up like Aebischer ? the answer is simple, it would complete the Theodore trade last spring, in the process, it would look better than the Roy trade in 1995. Gainey with trading Aebischer, would open the door for Yan Danis or shop for a good and cheap back-up. Of course a good part of such a trade is the cap issue, for both Pittsburgh and Montreal. The Penguins need to reach the mimimum of 28 million and the Habs want to make more room for youngsters. Gainey would be dumping 8.5 million in cap space and graduating some young talent and possibly sign free agent J.P. Dumont and have some cap room to add what is missing come the trade deadline towards the end of February and make a good playoff run. Bob, on this one, go do it.
Now on the same site, an another reader posted an another rumour, that would send Souray, Ryder, Ribeiro, Aebischer and the 2007 first round pick to Pittsburgh for Malkin, the young russian star . Of course alot people see this as a fantasy league trade, but i see it otherwise. First, salary wise it makes sense. The Pittsbugh Penguins have to become cap compliant as to the minimum of 28 million. An another reason that could be that Mario Lemieux and his group could see with such a trade, is becoming more competitive and have a better chance at making the playoffs and gaining the extra revenu with the veteran help that Gainey would be sending them. On the other hand, the Penguins could be willing to stand pat and risk missing the playoffs a few years, and hope to improve. When your trying to sell the team, you should be at an advantage. selling it as a competitive team could get you a good price. Or, you could risk taking less because it won’t bring you the extra revenus a potential playoff contenter could. Mario, we will be waiting for your answer. What do the habs get out of this ? Well, a player like Malkin would find in the habs some russian commrades in Kovalev and Markov, which would be dynamite on the powerplay. The space left on defense with Souray going the other way would not be as big as per Komisarek going in the other trade i mentionned. The Habs have a good stable of youngsters knocking at the door and could fill in for Souray. I like Sheldon Souray, when we was going thru a bad time last season, I stuck with him and it paid off , but he will become a UFA at the end of the season and nothing indicates that Gainey would of offered him an another contract, so Mr. Gainey would with this trade, gets better quality in return that he would, he if he tried to trade him in an another way. Alot people could say, why trade Ryder ? Yes he is a 30 goal scorer, but is not a fast skater and Malkin with Kovalev, has a better chance at scoring 40 + than Ryder ever could. Ribeiro, like Ryder is not a fast skater and his work ethic and attitude does not fit in with what Gainey and Carbonneau are trying to build in Montreal. Why would Gainey want to trade a good solid back up like Aebischer ? the answer is simple, it would complete the Theodore trade last spring, in the process, it would look better than the Roy trade in 1995. Gainey with trading Aebischer, would open the door for Yan Danis or shop for a good and cheap back-up. Of course a good part of such a trade is the cap issue, for both Pittsburgh and Montreal. The Penguins need to reach the mimimum of 28 million and the Habs want to make more room for youngsters. Gainey would be dumping 8.5 million in cap space and graduating some young talent and possibly sign free agent J.P. Dumont and have some cap room to add what is missing come the trade deadline towards the end of February and make a good playoff run. Bob, on this one, go do it.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Cap Money Spend in 2005-06 and…
You all remember the days under the old CBA when you had payrolls of 50, 60 and 70 million, it was crazy, i’m sure you agree. In 2003-04, the last season under the old CBA, the average in payroll for all 30 teams was 44 million. Last season, year one of the cap era, the average for all the clubs was below 35 million, 34,510,407$ to be exact. These are not official numbers from the NHL, but i’m sure they must be pretty close. These are cap money numbers and not actual salaries as seen on the NHLPA’s site.
The difference this past season to what we saw in the past, the gap between the team that spent the least and those that bumped against and went over the upper limit is not as wide. In 2003-04, the Pittsburgh Penguins spent about 25 million, one of the lowest, while teams like Detroit, Colorado and of course the New York Rangers, spend over 60 million, so you see how wide the gap was. In 2005-06, the lowest spending team in cap money of course, was the Minnesota Wild with 25, 312, 213$ and the highest was the Tampa Bay Lightning with 38,282,943$ and being cap compliant thru out the season if i’m not mistaken. As you can see, the gap is not as wide as before the lock-out. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup with a cap hit of 31,530,422$, so when you can get quality and quantity to match, it can take you a long way. As I said during the playoffs, who ever won the cup, they would become the poster boys on how to build a cup winning team without spending like drunken sailors.
I wonder what is happening with Simon Gagné’s contract situation, we have not heard about it in awhile. I guess Bobby Clarke is waiting to see if Keith Primeau will be back or not. If Primeau does decide to retire , that would free up cap money to sign Gagné, but would Clarke sign him to his asking price of 5m a year, we will have to wait to see.
I think J.P. Dumont may have missed out on a chance to become a member of Les Glorieux (Canadiens) due to the timing of his arbitration hearing, had he been available at the same time as Samsonov, Mr.Gainey may have gone with Dumont and saved some bucks to use at the trade deadline or to compensate to pay a remplacement for Francis Bouillon, who will be on injury reserve until November, unless Gainey can get Bouillon’s salary taken off the books, which i doubt, but who knows.
The other day i came across a blog, the blogger claims to be an NHL insider, with the Montreal Canadiens, he says that he works under Julien Brisebois in the legal department and Knows the true Habs cap situation. In his latest entry, he claims that something is brewing and that we should be hearing things soon. For one, i’m not sure if i do this if i was in his situation, the risk of getting caught is pretty high and losing your job with the most prestigious franchise in NHL history does not look good on a resume. For now, i’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
That’s all for now folks !
The difference this past season to what we saw in the past, the gap between the team that spent the least and those that bumped against and went over the upper limit is not as wide. In 2003-04, the Pittsburgh Penguins spent about 25 million, one of the lowest, while teams like Detroit, Colorado and of course the New York Rangers, spend over 60 million, so you see how wide the gap was. In 2005-06, the lowest spending team in cap money of course, was the Minnesota Wild with 25, 312, 213$ and the highest was the Tampa Bay Lightning with 38,282,943$ and being cap compliant thru out the season if i’m not mistaken. As you can see, the gap is not as wide as before the lock-out. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup with a cap hit of 31,530,422$, so when you can get quality and quantity to match, it can take you a long way. As I said during the playoffs, who ever won the cup, they would become the poster boys on how to build a cup winning team without spending like drunken sailors.
I wonder what is happening with Simon Gagné’s contract situation, we have not heard about it in awhile. I guess Bobby Clarke is waiting to see if Keith Primeau will be back or not. If Primeau does decide to retire , that would free up cap money to sign Gagné, but would Clarke sign him to his asking price of 5m a year, we will have to wait to see.
I think J.P. Dumont may have missed out on a chance to become a member of Les Glorieux (Canadiens) due to the timing of his arbitration hearing, had he been available at the same time as Samsonov, Mr.Gainey may have gone with Dumont and saved some bucks to use at the trade deadline or to compensate to pay a remplacement for Francis Bouillon, who will be on injury reserve until November, unless Gainey can get Bouillon’s salary taken off the books, which i doubt, but who knows.
The other day i came across a blog, the blogger claims to be an NHL insider, with the Montreal Canadiens, he says that he works under Julien Brisebois in the legal department and Knows the true Habs cap situation. In his latest entry, he claims that something is brewing and that we should be hearing things soon. For one, i’m not sure if i do this if i was in his situation, the risk of getting caught is pretty high and losing your job with the most prestigious franchise in NHL history does not look good on a resume. For now, i’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
That’s all for now folks !
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Rookie Coaches to make their Debut
When the NHL resumes in a few months, two former players will be making their debut in the head coaching ranks.
Jim Playfair in Calgary, will be taking over from GM Darryl Sutter, who led the Flames to the cup final in 2004 against the Tampa Bay Lighning.
Guy Carbonneau, three time Stanley cup champion, three time Selke trophy winner and last player to captain the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup, will attempt to lead his former team to glory, behind the bench. It's not going to be a walk in the park for the former hab and future Hall of Famer. The last guys to coach the Habs to a championship, did it in their first season, and Carbonneau was a member of those two teams. So if anyone knows about playing in the pressure cooker that is Montreal, it's Carbonneau. If he coach's with the same determination that he played the game, he should get his fair share of success. What is to Carbonneau's advantage, he is taking over an upcoming team with a promising future. Carbonneau, like Playfair in Calgary, will have a strong presence in the GM chair in Bob Gainey.
Carbonneau as a player, played for some pretty good coaches. Jacques Lemaire, Jean Perron, Pat Burns, Jacques Demers and Ken Hitchcock. All five have Stanley cup rings in their jewelery boxes. I'm sure Carbonneau has learned some things from all five.
Also this season, some old faces will be making their debut in New Cities. Former Habs coach, Claude Julien, will be coaching in New Jersey. After an eight year absence, Ted Nolan, will be returning behind the bench in Long Island. Michel Therrien, an another former habs coach, will be starting his first full season in Pittsburgh, with the best seat in the house to watch his sophmore star, Sidney Crosby.
Over in the western conference, only two major changes to note. Marc Crawford, former Avalanche and Canucks coach, will be running the bench in Los Angeles. Alain Vigneault, yes another former habs coach will be running things in Vancouver.
Including those that sat still during the off season, the question is : Who will be the first casualty this season ?
I know this is early, but don't forget, training camps will be opening in about a month. July blew by in a flash, it should be the same for August.
Jim Playfair in Calgary, will be taking over from GM Darryl Sutter, who led the Flames to the cup final in 2004 against the Tampa Bay Lighning.
Guy Carbonneau, three time Stanley cup champion, three time Selke trophy winner and last player to captain the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup, will attempt to lead his former team to glory, behind the bench. It's not going to be a walk in the park for the former hab and future Hall of Famer. The last guys to coach the Habs to a championship, did it in their first season, and Carbonneau was a member of those two teams. So if anyone knows about playing in the pressure cooker that is Montreal, it's Carbonneau. If he coach's with the same determination that he played the game, he should get his fair share of success. What is to Carbonneau's advantage, he is taking over an upcoming team with a promising future. Carbonneau, like Playfair in Calgary, will have a strong presence in the GM chair in Bob Gainey.
Carbonneau as a player, played for some pretty good coaches. Jacques Lemaire, Jean Perron, Pat Burns, Jacques Demers and Ken Hitchcock. All five have Stanley cup rings in their jewelery boxes. I'm sure Carbonneau has learned some things from all five.
Also this season, some old faces will be making their debut in New Cities. Former Habs coach, Claude Julien, will be coaching in New Jersey. After an eight year absence, Ted Nolan, will be returning behind the bench in Long Island. Michel Therrien, an another former habs coach, will be starting his first full season in Pittsburgh, with the best seat in the house to watch his sophmore star, Sidney Crosby.
Over in the western conference, only two major changes to note. Marc Crawford, former Avalanche and Canucks coach, will be running the bench in Los Angeles. Alain Vigneault, yes another former habs coach will be running things in Vancouver.
Including those that sat still during the off season, the question is : Who will be the first casualty this season ?
I know this is early, but don't forget, training camps will be opening in about a month. July blew by in a flash, it should be the same for August.
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