By Mark Madden
Beaver County Times Sports Columnist | Posted: Sunday, October 14, 2012 7:47 pm
When the NHL lockout was in its infancy, a dialed-in little birdie told me that the strategy of union boss Donald Fehr would be to turn negotiations to sludge, then try to eliminate the salary cap.
Well, here we are. The big financial issues aren’t even being discussed, and Fehr is threatening to deep-six the cap.
No cap means no competitive hockey in Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin: Pick one. Maybe the Penguins could afford him. And maybe not.
No cap means more revenue sharing, which Fehr wants anyway. More revenue sharing means profitability can exist without success. Profitability without success means some teams get paid to lose. They’re the Washington Generals. They don’t try.
Such a situation exists locally. You might be familiar with it.
It looks more and more like this season is shot. Given that, owners should adopt a scorched-earth policy.
Step 1: When Fehr yanks the cap off the table, the owners should yank guaranteed contracts off the table. Fehr wants hockey to be baseball. The owners should want hockey to be football.
Step 2: Tell the players to report to training camp in two weeks, then line up replacement players. The union would crumble. The majority of players would break ranks and play. How many have other legitimate high-paying employment options?
Extreme? Sure. But no more extreme than eliminating a cap that promotes competitive balance and gives every fan hope.
The players deserve their fair share. But the notion that NHL players are even remotely underpaid is laughably absurd.
Only Sidney Crosby sells extra tickets. The other players are extremely disposable, but still very well-compensated.
Rick Nash, for example, isn’t paid $7.8 million per year based on his marketability, or any tangible return he brings. Nash is paid purely for his perceived impact on winning.
Nash has played nine NHL seasons and won zero playoff games.
It’s disgusting when NHL players use the “working man” shtick. The players don’t have to get summer jobs. The scratches don’t sell popcorn on game nights. The NHL minimum salary was $525,000 last season. The average salary was $2.4 million.
How much did you make?
Fans lionize athletes because the owners are rarely glamorous -- the Penguins’ owner being a notable exception. But players come and go, even the greatest players, and the game never dies. NHL revenue has increased by $1.2 billion per year since the last lockout, and done so with only one legit individual drawing card.
Hockey sells. Not the players.
I admire the greed on both sides. But drop the puck. When Fehr pulls the cap, the owners should get the NHL back on the ice by any means necessary. Solve the problem now and forever.
The NHL Players’ Association isn't really a union. Real unions stick together. Members don’t work other jobs in the same profession while the rest sit idle. Members of real unions get paid scale based on collective bargaining. They don’t negotiate individually. The NHLPA is a union of convenience.
The players make plenty. Stars can retire to the lap of luxury. Fourth-liners can work until they die like the rest of us.
Major League Soccer’s average crowd is higher than the NHL’s. Hockey is sixth among the four major sports, maybe lower.
Reality is knocking. Somebody answer the door.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).
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