|
|
An intrepid reporter from north of the border replied, "Gary Bettman, do you know who he is?"
The New Yorker’s shoulders slouched, and a frown crept across his mug and said, "No, I thought it was somebody important."
Exactly.
The posturing between Bettman and Players Association Executive Director Bob Goodenow, suggesting that neither side will budge from their stance on the issues that are keeping hockey from being played this season, are nothing more than the two of them showing off their own individual bravado to each other.
Meanwhile, the rest of North America has drifted into the couldn’t-care-less stage.
"I think there’s been some confusion," Bettman said following the dinner. "Just because fans aren’t following the collective bargaining with as much intensity as they would follow the sport only says that collective bargaining isn’t all that interesting."
Maybe that’s why the two sides didn’t meet for three months.
But now they will. Bettman received an invitation from Goodenow Thursday, inviting the league back to the negotiating table in Toronto next week.
Until Thursday, the NHLPA insisted it wasn’t in the process of putting together a new proposal, and yet, it was doing just that.
Following the dinner, both Bettman and chief legal officer Bill Daly insisted the league had no clue what could possibly be in the latest proposal and that we would all have to wait for the Toronto meetings to find out for sure.
"Why don’t we all just relax and take a few days off and wait to see what happens next week," Bettman said to the gathering media.
Maybe that’s because he didn’t want us to find out that he and Goodenow were having a secret lunch meeting in New York Friday.
Now, far be it from me to speculate what they could have been chatting about, but my guess is Bob and Gary weren’t planning on lacing up the skates for a quick spin on the rink at Rockerfeller Center.
The fact remains that the league is drowning in its own ineptitude and it may never fully recover without a drastic overhauling of the league we once knew.
People in the U.S. don’t care about hockey. I know that’s a generalization, but it’s a pretty safe one. Sure there are pockets of hardcore, diehards who are salivating at just the thought of the two sides talking again, but really, does anybody who deems themselves a sports fan -- meaning they follow all sports, not just their favorite -- really miss October, November and now December hockey?
Show of hands?
Thought so.
In the best hockey cities like Philadelphia, Boston and Minneapolis, the focus of fan attention is the Eagles, Patriots, Vikings and Timberwolves.
In Canada, fans are disappointed, but they’re not yearning for the sport all that much. Case in point, the CFL drew more fans for their playoff games than they had in the past decade.
And in the secondary U.S. markets like Nashville, Atlanta, Miami and Raleigh, N.C., the fans are still recovering from the convoluted, yet exciting, finish to NASCAR’s Nextel Cup.
In short, the NHL, which was already an afterthought in most places, is nearing extinction in the minds of casual fans.
So, while the league makes pretend fans are still interested and will return after having the game taken away from them for the second time in 10 years, they know in their heart of hearts that a resolution needs to come about soon.
That’s why the union is making such serious concessions with the new proposal. While nothing is official, it appears they are willing to set a luxury cap threshold at $38 million, a significant reduction from the $50 million they have supported for the past 18 months.
That’s why Daly didn’t exactly denounce the idea of a luxury tax when questioned about it Thursday. The NHL may not like it, but instead of holding out for a salary cap in sheep’s clothing, it’s a solution that can work and would bring the game back quicker.
That’s why the two power brokers had a private lunch Friday.
That’s why they’ll meet in Toronto next week.
That’s why Colorado Avalanche union representative Bob Boughner said the new proposal would be "fair to everyone involved and will benefit everyone involved. We feel it’s a great proposal that solves everyone’s concerns."
That’s why the league will return with a counter-proposal next Friday that the players will chew on for a few days before coming back with another proposal.
And that’s why the stalemate for negotiating is now over, and serious talks will be had through the holidays.
Will there be a resolution? Sure, eventually. But, will that resolution come in time to save the 2004-05 season?
We’ll all have to wait for the final act to find out.
o
For those of you who like to keep tabs on former Flyers players, prospects and/or draft picks, we bring you the following tidbits:
- Former Flyers coach Pat Quinn, who now is the head man in Toronto, has been told he needs to cut his salary if he wants to keep his job.
Quinn is currently the highest paid coach in the NHL, making $2 million a year, $500,000 more than the next highest paid coach -- the Flyers Ken Hitchcock.
Quinn’s salary was set prior to him relinquishing the reigns as Toronto’s General Manager to John Ferguson in August, 2003.
The Leafs want to keep Quinn as the highest paid coach, but want to close the gap between he and Hitchcock.
But a decision needs to be made soon as Quinn has a clause in his contract that would force the Leafs to pay him $500,000 if the contract isn’t extended by Jan. 15.
- Remember Shjon Podein? Well, his career in the NHL fizzled out, but he still wants to remain closely involved in the game of hockey.
Reports out of Tokyo say Podein is interested in purchasing the Nikko Ice Bucks of the eight-team Asia League.
"We have had numerous discussions with him and hope he is genuinely interested in our team," said team spokesman Kazuyasu Sato.
The 36-year-old spent 13 seasons in the NHL and played with Edmonton, Colorado and St. Louis besides the Flyers.
To contact Anthony SanFilippo,
e-mail asanfilippo@delcotimes.com
