On Bettman and Babcock
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman finds himself stuck in the middle of the players not wanting to change their pay structure after they agreed to the terms in the new CBA and the owners wanting more cuts as it’s looking like they will lose more revenue.
The players are giving up 72 percent of their salaries and don’t want to lose more even if they aren’t playing a full schedule.
Owners haven’t been this angry and divided in a long time.
Mike Babcock may not be back coaching in the NHL soon. There are some who think he should be the head coach of Team Canada for the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. There isn’t a management team in place yet.
Another agent speaks out on the NHLs request for further reductions
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The players aren’t showing a willingness to make changes to the CBA that they signed this past summer. The NHL and NHLPA continue to discuss details about getting the 2020-21 NHL season going.
Last week the NHLPA had 150 players on a call, and their executive board met on Thursday. They don’t appear willing to go beyond the 20 percent escrow and 10 percent deferral.
“The NHL is waiting on a response from the PA and I don’t think the players want to do anything with respect to that proposal,” said Ottawa-based lawyer Andy Scott, an agent with Octagon Hockey, Sunday. “Looking at it from 30,000 feet, you go back to the CBA extension that was signed in July and you’re four months into the future and they’re already looking renegotiate.
“That CBA was extended in the midst of the pandemic. Nothing has changed and no more information has come to light in the last four months. We knew we were in a pandemic, they finished the season in a bubble, the Stanley Cup was awarded in September and we’re still not into the 2020-21 season. The NHL is asking for all these concessions to a contract that was formalized four months ago.
“The players need to stand firm and they need to set a precedent they aren’t willing to negotiate in the middle of a CBA.”
