An NHL Story

Hockey is back. ‘Bout time.

This whole lockout thing has left a bad taste in my mouth and frankly, I was intending to express my bitterness when I sat down to write this.

But I’m not all that bitter. I’m a little pissed off the way this dragged on for so long, that’s for sure. The biggest carrot for the league in this deal (besides eight to ten years of labour peace) was the seven per cent give-back by the players to make revenue split an even 50/50, and that offer was made in September.

The players, which gave up an awful lot here, didn’t get what they really wanted – a much sweeter pension deal – until the wee hours of Sunday morning.

We, the fans, should have been presented a deal much earlier than Day 133. Gary Bettman and his team could have and should have been more conciliatory earlier in the negotiations: there was a strong ‘hawk’ segment, remembering the NHLPA’s tough-minded approach from eight years ago, that wanted to really stick it to the players. Don Fehr, for his part, could have and should have adopted a strategy other than ‘wait the bastard out.’

If there is anyone involved in the process who is smelling like fresh-cut roses, it’s federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who is worthy of an enormous amount of credit for facilitating the process.

So yah, not bitter but a bad taste.

There has been a lot of resentment about the NHL brand in the 133 preceding days, but I think that will dissipate pretty quickly, especially in this market if the Leafs get off to a good start.

The same would apply to the other Canadian cities as well as the traditional U.S. markets such as Detroit, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.

There might be some negative pushback in the weaker centres, but up here it will be business as usual.

In a nutshell, it’s a 10-year deal with an opt-out for either side after eight, and the two sides will split revenue right down the middle, with US$300-million in make-whole money to cover contracts already signed. The players get a healthier pension (with the majority of responsibility placed on the NHL) and the league will see term limits on player contracts for the first time, with players limited to seven-years if they sign with another team, and eight years with their own team. And the two compliance buyouts per team clause is expected to provoke more player movement.

Teams can spend up to US$70.2-million this year (pro-rated), with the cap dropping to US$64.3 million next season. The floor will be US$44-million.

Training camps will open Monday and a compressed 48-game schedule will kick off January 19, so it is urgent that teams hit the ground running. Anything can happen in a short schedule.

‘Anything’ also means that the Leafs have their best chance to make the playoffs in years. The lockout may have lasted 133 days but Toronto’s playoff drought sits at seven seasons. If the Leafs can bring playoff hockey back to this market, all will be forgiven.