NHL and NHLPA Face Deadline to Avoid Postponement of 1994-95 Season

The NHL and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) are engaged in urgent negotiations to avert a postponement of the start of the 1994-95 season, with a deadline to reach a new bargaining agreement set for Saturday. The two sides are far apart on key issues, including revenue sharing, salary caps, and free agency. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow have been strong in their positions, but the rhetoric has been tempered, with a notable lack of rancour between the two.

The players have proposed a 5 per cent tax on every team's payroll and gate receipts, which they claim would raise about $40-million. However, owners argue that this would disproportionately punish small-market teams. Bettman has countered with a luxury tax proposal, which would see teams pay a 100 per cent tax if their spending exceeds the league-wide salary average by 10 per cent or more. Players believe that this amounts to a salary cap, which owners dispute. The issue of salary arbitration is also contentious, with the owners seeking to eliminate it and the players insisting it is a vital component of the agreement.

The stakes are high, with millions of dollars at stake for both the players and owners. The owners are eager to establish a more sustainable financial model, while the players are determined to protect their collective bargaining rights. As the deadline approaches, both sides remain resolute in their positions, making a breakthrough agreement increasingly unlikely.

Key Takeaways:

• The NHL and NHLPA are deadlocked on key issues, including revenue sharing, salary caps, and free agency, with a deadline to reach a new agreement set for Saturday.
• The players have proposed a 5 per cent tax on every team's payroll and gate receipts, which they claim would raise about $40-million.
• Bettman counters with a luxury tax proposal, which would see teams pay a 100 per cent tax if their spending exceeds the league-wide salary average by 10 per cent or more.
• Players believe that this amounts to a salary cap, which owners dispute.
• Salary arbitration is also contentious, with the owners seeking to eliminate it and the players insisting it is a vital component of the agreement.
• The owners are offering a simplified, seemingly more liberal free agency system that would hand players unrestricted free agency by age 27.
• 75 players in the NHL made over a million dollars last season, up from three millionaires just five years ago.

Statistics:

• League revenue last season was approximately $700-million, up from $549-million in 1992-93.
• Salaries also rose, to approximately $440-million last season from $356-million in 1992-93.
• The average player salary was approximately $15.5-million (U.S.) in 1993-94.
• The proposed luxury tax would see teams pay a 100 per cent tax if their spending exceeds the league-wide salary average by 10 per cent or more.
• The players have proposed a 5 per cent tax on every team's payroll and gate receipts, which they claim would raise about $40-million.

Sources:

• Byline: ALAN ADAMS Toronto ONT -- BY ALAN ADAMS Canadian Press TORONTO
• "NHL and NHLPA Face Deadline to Avoid Postponement of 1994-95 Season"