Bettman: Magoo, or Greenspan.....time will tell

Well for months now I've been bashing the NHLPA over the lockout, both in conversation and in blog posts, mostly because I've felt that between the two immovable sides that the players were acting with more stubborn pride than the owners.

Sure, the owners paid the salaries that got out of hand. Okay, that's in the past. The present holds the dilema: how do we make hockey work where both the players and the owners can make money? And the players had offered a meager 5% rollback in salaries and a small luxury tax in the last negotiating discussions. Again, that's weak. That's not going to erase a yearly $250 million loss for the owners.

And all the while I've felt that Bettman is mostly a jerk who has the benefit of the high ground in the debate over how to fix the sport's financial woes. He's been claiming there has to be "cost certainty" in order for the league to survive, and I'm inclined to believe him. There has to be, just using basic logic, some means to ensure that each team makes money. The trouble is that I'm beginning to worry that "cost certainty" in Gary Bettman's mind is a super-secret password for a salary cap.

Here you can read about the players new offer, that they made yesterday during a four-hour meeting with the league negotiators. I have to say that I was really impressed by what the players are willing to give up...floored really. They've increased their salary rollback from 5% to 24%, which might be enough in and of itself to help the problem. In addition, there's also a luxury tax included, whereby teams paying large sums in salary every year would pay between 20 and 50 cents on the dollar into a pool (depending on the exact dollar amount of their salaries) that would then be divided amongst the teams with lower salaries...to spread around the revenue. Basically it's a tax on spending like you own the Yankees. It evens the playing field a bit. Doesn't sound like much when you read it the first time, but that's between 20 and 50% of total salary being paid to the fund. So, if the Rangers want a 100 million payroll to help reach the playoffs...they'll be paying between 20 and 50 million into the pot. That should a) stop teams from overspending so much, and b) trickle down to teams like Nashville that could then afford an extra player or two at the trade deadline.

They've also proposed to lower the cap on rookie salaries from $1.2 million down to $850,000.
All in all, the players claim this six-year plan will save the league over $1 billion. That's $1 billion in six years. The league is claiming they lost $1.8 billion over the last 10-year CBA. So, this would be enough to help, right? I mean, assuming we don't think the players fabricated their estimates, this would provide the relief hockey needs to breath and keep the sport alive, right?

Sure sounds like it.

Now we get to see what kind of person Gary Bettman is. Is he really what he claims to be....a guardian of hockey....seeking merely a financial arrangement that enables each team to compete and make money? Or is he some sort of goblin, a Mr. Burns and Scrooge hybrid? Is he crazy? Does he have the words "salary cap" tatooed on his abdomen? Is his view so narrow that he will again cut off negotiations and hold out for a salary cap or nothing arrangement? I'm beginning to worry that the latter is the case.

The players yesterday clearly demonstrated a desire to work something out and get back to hockey. They made costly concessions that will effect every single player's income level. And I was firmly entrenched in the camp that blamed them for the stalemate until today...so I'm no NHLPA lover. But obviously they've bit the bullet and compromised more than they probably wanted.

Now....will Bettman do the same? Will he sacrifice his dictatorial vision of a salary cap in order to get the puck dropping again? Will he even see the proposal for what it is, or will his cloudy lense fog his senses?

Time will tell. Consider this hockey fan's fingers crossed. I'm ready to go back to the GEC and cheer on the Preds. But I won't have that chance if the owners can't convince Bettman that this is at least a start toward a good deal. This offer has no "salary cap," but seems to me to have a great deal of "cost certainty."

Let's hope hockey doesn't die over semantic debate or egomaniacal stubbornness.