Chris Johnston: Gary Bettman on why he doesn’t believe their recent pitch to the NHLPA is a renegotiation of the Memorandum of Understanding.
“Under our deal, and the one we’ve had for more than a decade with the players’ association, whatever the revenues are the players only get 50 percent. And if we overpay them and they don’t pay us back in the short, they have to pay us back over time, There will be stresses on the system and we’ve had discussions about what those stresses are and how they might be dealt with, but we’re not trying to say ‘You must do X, Y and Z.’
We’re trying to look for ways to continue to work together, I know it’s being portrayed as something else and it’s unfortunate and it’s inaccurate because at the end of day if the system gets stressed it’s going to be stressed for both of us. If we have to pay out lots of case – two-thirds of which is going to come back to us – that may cause some stresses but we can, or we’ll have to deal with it, if we’re going to move forward. And by the same token if the players owe us more money than anybody imagined, the salary cap could well be flat or close to flat for the next five or six years and players into the future will be repaying what we’re owed.
So the question isn’t. like. ‘Woah, we demand a renegotiation.’ To the contrary, it’s ‘we see the way the system’s going to be impacted is it something that makes sense to deal with in the context of everything else that we may have to do, which is out of the ordinary and unanticipated in order to be in a position to possibly play?”
Greg Wyshynski: (on Bettman’s statement)
“1. It’s not unanticipated. Worst-case scenarios were vetted by both sides before agreeing to new CBA.
2. Owners will get 50/50 split. Just not now. There’s even an option year triggered by how much the players still owe by deal’s end.
3. Something something it’s your cap system.”
Allan Walsh: “This is key. The current situation of starting the NHL season in empty buildings or in bubbles was anticipated. Both sides worked off possible worst case revenue scenarios for 20-21. Gary can call the renegotiation anything he wants but he’s clearly seeking a do over.”
Puck Pedia: A player will receive more overall cash if escrow %’s stay the same but deferral % increases.
Deferral moves cash from a 20% escrow year (20-21) to a 10% or 6% escrow year.
If deferral goes from 10% to 25%, a $5M contract nets $95K more cash once deferral repaid.
Puck Pedia: “If deferral goes from 10-25%, $1M contract nets $19K more cash once deferral repaid.
To reduce owners cash out $300M this yr, all players would need to defer ~14% more.
If only players w/ contracts >$2M (57% of players) deferred more, ~16% more deferral for just them = $300M.”