The NHL has made a new offer to the NHLPA in an attempt to re-start negotiations and put an end to a lockout that threatens the entire 2012-2013.  With many NHL players already active in other professional leagues around the world, NHL fans are looking for anything that might signal a return to NHL hockey.  Before we start popping the champagne, let’s take a look at the owners’ latest offer.

First, there were not many details released about the new offer.  What we know is that the offer would govern at least the next six years, and proposes a 50-50 split of HRR or Hockey Related Revenue.

You’ll recall that part of the reason for the lockout is that players were taking in approximately 57% of HRR as the last collective bargaining agreement expired.  The new offer also removes the league’s demand that salaries be “rolled back” on current player contracts (those at the 57% HRR levels).

In other words, the owners are willing to honor the existing salary contracts they signed with the players.  Imagine that!

There are also indications that the league is still pushing for a maximum contract length of five years.  The offer would also allow players to achieve unrestricted free agency at age 28 or after eight years of service–one additional year compared to the last collective bargaining agreement.

The league is trying to save a full 82 game season, with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman saying of the offer, “It is our best shot at preserving an 82-game regular season and [Stanley Cup] Playoffs.” The head of the NHLPA, Donald Fehr, also had very brief comments about the offer:

“We, of course, share that view and would like to get a full 82-game season in. And, so, what our hope is that after we review this that there will be a feeling on the players’ side that this is a proposal from which we can negotiate and try to reach a conclusion. But, we are not in a position to make any comments about it beyond that at this point.”

The NHLPA’s executive committee, consisting of the bargaining committee and player representatives from all 30 teams had a conference call scheduled for 5pm Eastern today to discuss the new offer.

While this latest move by the NHL is cause for cautious optimism in my opinion, several potential stumbling blocks remain.

The largest one that I see is the very definition of HRR.  The owners presumably still want to change the definition of HRR to include less items, thus lowering the amount of HRR, which in turn lowers the amount of cash they are required to split with the players. How does the new offer deal with this issue?

One other potential problem is revenue sharing.  This was a big one for the players in the last round of negotiations and chances are that they still want to see a significant increase in the percentage of revenues shared to help struggling teams.

The devil will definitely be in the details on this one.  We’ll just have to wait and see how this all unfolds.

I, for one hope, that both sides will recognize the damage they are doing to their product and fan base and get a deal done.

Or rather one man and one very adorable intern.

Chocolate Iced is the sole voice of reason in this estrogen-filled den of hockey immorality.

While he might not post often, when he does, he brings a certain wisdom and insight that we appreciate and value.  Not to mention the math skillz we lack.

Hi there.  Chocolate Iced here to give you the skinny on unfortunate lack of NHL hockey at the moment.  Everything you wanted to know about the nuts and bolts of the current NHL labor dispute can be found here.

In 2005, the NHL and the NHLPA (the players’ union) negotiated a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) that put in place a so-called “hard salary cap” for the first time.

You’ll recall that this CBA was reached only after the entire 2004-2005 season was lost to a lockout.  At the time, the salary cap was the main issue, with the owners essentially claiming that the players made too much money and the skyrocketing player salaries needed to be reigned in.  In the beginning, the salary cap was set at $39 million per year, per team.  That salary cap has crept up, until this past season it was set at $64.3 million while the salary cap floor, or the minimum a team had to spend, was $48.3 million.

So, you might be thinking that the owners effectively triumphed after the ’04-’05 lockout with the cap.

And they did.

Except they didn’t, according to themselves.

Under the terms of the same CBA that just expired on September 15th, the players were entitled to 57% of last season’s hockey related revenue generated by the league.  Now, the league claims that this figure, 57%, needs to be reduced because many NHL teams are effectively bleeding money and player contracts are out of control.

I know what you are thinking.

You’re thinking, “Aren’t the owners the ones who give these huge contracts to players?”  And you’re also thinking, “Wait, doesn’t the league have record revenue right now of over $3.3 billion (US).”

The answers are yes and yes.

The owners essentially want to pay the players less, far less, than the $1.87 billion the players were paid in the previous season and save themselves from giving out big contracts to players.  The league’s initial offer would have the players earning 43% of hockey related revenue.  The last offer from the league had the players getting 49% in the first season of the CBA and then backing down to 47% as the CBA expired over 5 years.

This would effectively have the players giving back millions of dollars to start.  There are also a few tweaks to free agency that the owners want (10 years of service before a player is eligible for free agency, elimination of arbitration, etc.), however the money pie and how big of a slice the players get is still the main issue.

The players for their part, are not interested in giving back money to the owners, unless that money will be used by the league for revenue sharing to assist weaker small-market teams.  You know, those teams that the league claims are bleeding money.  The union effectively wants to ensure that the players get no less than the $1.8 billion they got last year.

The players’ last offer was a little complicated, but essentially they want to take a 2% increase over the $1.8 billion figure in the first year, a 4% increase from that in year 2, and a 6% increase over that in year 3.  After that, it gets a little nutty so I won’t get into that.  What’s key though, is that the players have positioned their numbers based on 7.1% revenue growth, which is what the league had after the last work stoppage.

Over the course of 5 years, the two sides have a difference of around $1 billion.  The 7.1 % revenue growth is important because that’s a big “if.”  There are no guarantees that the league revenue will grow at that rate going forward.

At the end of the day the players want to ensure they keep at least the $1.8 billion they received last year, and the owners want to reduce that figure upfront.  Unfortunately there seems to be no end in sight to this dispute.  It seems that both sides have some room to give.

I hope they figure out how to split up their $3.3 billion sometime soon.

Contact CI at chocolateiced@outlook.com.

Also awesome is the fight at the 2:08 mark, featuring former Bruin PJ Stock. He straight messes that guy up!

(Thanks to Chocolate Iced, for sending it to me.  He is a true friend.)

Conference and Stanley Cup Champ predictions, 2010-2011

Politically incorrect to lift him over your head.

Chocolate Iced predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Capitals
Western Conf. Champs – Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Champions – Capitals

CI – Faith in the Capitals may finally be rewarded.  After an early exit in ’09 and an absolute implosion last year, could this be the year they deliver on all that promise?  Ovi called their loss “embarrassing” – this from a man who dances on a boat in a pair of Dawn’s underwear.  He knows no shame except defeat.

Dawn predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Capitals
Western Conf. Champs – Canucks
Stanley Cup Champions – Capitals

Dawn can’t believe she wrote Vancouver, but she’s hoping for a battle of the coasts.  Not least of all because it’s the closest hockey to her house and she’d happily evade the Mountie border patrol for the chance to see Ovi in action.  He’s is undoubtedly the Beast of the East.

Chuck predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Capitals
Western Conf. Champs – Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Champions – Blackhawks

Chuck going out on a limb with the repeat – could turn out to be a very safe bet.  With lots of off-season changes, everyone’s anxious to see how the Hawks gel.  If Turco can get it done in net, we expect to see them well into next summer.

Pants predicts:
Eastern Conf. Champs – Penguins
Western Conf. Champs – Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Champions – Penguins

Pants has cast Mike Comrie as the guest star in How Malkin Got His Groove Back. They have a lot of young talent that knows how to win. And you can bet their first early summer in 3 years (a lifetime when you’re 22!) stung like a bitch. Hunger and expectation should put the Pens right back in it.

What Pants would look like during a Pens/Hawks Cup final:

And there’s a really good chance that Jonathan Toews would just make out with Sidney Crosby.  JT’s totally crushing on Sid – the blushing, giggling, teenage girl kind.  (Warning: This video is squee-tastic.  Tazer says “ass.”  Girls will die.)

(Video via a couple of sites, originating with sheesusnat and k diddy on LiveJournal.  We don’t know them, but we really love them.)

A special WUYS message to the San Jose Sharks:

Chuck: Dear Joe Thornton, I wanted to pick you vs. the Bruins for sentimental reasons (Bruins for the Cup, natch).  But you have toyed with my emotions.  You do all your post-game interviews shirtless then you never show up in the playoffs or remember my birthday.  I’ve been doing the walk of shame for you since ’97 and this year… well, this year is your last chance.  I mean it.

Pants: San Jose, let’s talk.  On a tin can phone since you’re right down the street.  ’09 was the pits – President’s Cup and punked by the Ducks in the first round.  Alas, the Pens won, so I don’t give a crap about you.  Last year was better… being swept sucks, but at least the Hawks went on to win the Cup.  This year, if you pull it together, we promise to do the “Fins” dance in your honor.

Even the smart kids are crazy about college hockey!

Over the next two weeks, I’ll break down each conference and tell you who to watch throughout the country this year en route to the national title game in Minnesota.  We’ll also make some predictions with the WUYS staff and see who can pick this season’s national champ.  Today in part one we’re going west young man, and looking at the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The WCHA has an impressive history when you consider that since 1951, teams from the WCHA have earned 36 NCAA national championships and finished as the runner-up another 27 times.  That’s a lot of hardware (see below).

Cash for Gold?

Last season, four teams from the WCHA went to the national tournament: Denver, Wisconsin, North Dakota and St. Cloud State, with Wisconsin the eventual runner-up to Boston College (I hate the Eagles!) for the national title.

Look for North Dakota to be strong out of the gate.  With a great defensive unit anchored by  Captain Chay Genoway, the Fighting Sioux will be tough to beat.  It’s not an accident that ND is ranked No. 2 in the national preseason polls.   This team has the potential to dominate the conference and will be a serious contender in Minnesota come Frozen Four time.

Minnesota-Duluth has great scoring ability and should do well this year also.   Ranked No. 9 in the preseason polls, the Bulldogs return 20 letter-men, including five of their six top scorers from last year. The  star of that group, All-American center Jack Connolly (18G-31A-49P) is poised to take the Bulldogs to new heights this year.

UMD Standout Jack Connolly

St. Cloud State will sport solid  goal tending in their Lee-Dunn tandem.  However, with the loss of Ryan Lasch (20G-29A-49P), the Huskies could struggle to find enough offense this season.  The Huskies do return a large crop of upperclassmen and that experience should make them one of the teams to beat in the conference.

If Jaden Schwartz is everything he’s advertised as, Colorado College could have a very good year.  Schwartz, the WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year, was also selected in the first round of the NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues.

Jaden Schwartz - The Answer?

The Tigers are loaded with forwards, some proven, some raw recruits.  That being said, defense could be an issue with so many talented offensive teams in the conference.

The Denver Pioneers look to be in a bit of a rebuilding season as they lost many players from last year.  Picked 11th nationally in preseason polls, DU will look to build around a solid defensive corps that includes sophomore Matt Donovan.  The Pioneers will be tested early as they open their home schedule against defending NCAA champion Boston College (did I mention I hate BC?) with a pair of games October 15-16.

Bimidji State is new to the conference this season, but this is the team that shocked the hockey establishment a couple of years ago by advancing to the Frozen Four.  With a 23-10-4 record  overall last season in the CHA, the WCHA coaches poll has BS finishing in the bottom tier of the conference in 9th place.  I have to agree.

Nebraska-Omaha is the other new team this year and are a bit of an unknown.  They will retain most of their offensive firepower from last year, but defensively they could struggle.  Don’t expect them to finish any higher than 7th this season.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers, once a feared team and in the national consciousness has lost a bit of its bite int he last few years.  The coaches poll has them finishing squarely int he middle of the pack in 5th place.  Minnesota’s Nick Bjugstad did receive a vote for preseason rookie of the year.  Coach Don Lucia could surprise some folks this year out west and the Gophers could find themselves in the mix come playoff time.

Wisconsin will surprise me if they spend any time in the top half of the conference.  The national runners-up lost seven of their best players last year and you just can’t replace that kind of talent overnight.

This badger looks tough...

Minnesota State will struggle to put the puck in the net as they lose almost all of their top scorers from last season.  They will stay toward the bottom this year.  the same can be said of Michigan Tech, which was very thin at the blue line last season.

Finally, Alaska-Anchorage will again struggle to fight its way out of the basement as there are holes all over the ice for them this year.

Well, there you have it folks.  The west will (likely) be won this year by North Dakota.  I think this conference can legitimately send several teams to the NCAAs that will contend for a title.

Here’s how the WUYS staff picks the WCHA this year:

CI – North Dakota…they have too many weapons

Pants – North Dakota…” I don’t know enough to argue with those numbers.  That’s some seriously heavy favoritism.”

Chuck – Chuck, Chuck are you there?

DawnCherrie – TBD

Next time we’ll have a look at the CCHA.  Until next time.

From Chuck
Hey all.  I’m here!  So I’m going to have to go with CI and Pants on this one.  I pick the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota to win the WCHA.  They are stacked like Jenga.

Ed’s Note: Apparently DawnCherrie is picking Wisconsin to win this conference.  I know that Badger looks cute in the photo, but I don’t think the fellas on the ice will have it this year.

Home Team: New York Islanders

Favorite Players: Alexander Ovechkin; Jarome Iginla

Team(s) I hate: Montreal Canadiens, Boston College Eagles

Player I hate: Sean Avery (What a jerk)

Hockey Wife: Christine Simpson, Versus reporter ( I always thought she was hot in a Stiffler’s Mom kinda way.)

Stiffler's Mom?

Hockey Girlfriend(s): Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux (They are hot. See photo.  Gotta support the stars and stripes!)

The Twins

Favorite Hockey Memory: Watching the Terriers win a national championship.