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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 17, 2005 9:31:22 GMT -5
Saturday, July 16, 2005 Agenda heats up, beginning with buyoutsBy E.J. Hradek ESPN The Magazine Once the NHL and the NHL Players' Association ratify their new collective bargaining agreement, which is expected to happen Thursday, the agenda will heat up dramatically for club executives. According to multiple team sources, there will be several deadlines for franchises to meet in the days after the ratification leading up to the July 30 draft and the opening of the free agent market on Aug. 1. The first date of note is July 23, when a six-day window begins for clubs to initiate compliance buyouts. Beginning that same day: a five-day window to negotiate and sign 2003 draft picks; an eight-day period to tender qualifying offers; and a nine-day window for teams to negotiate with their own restricted and unrestricted free agents. If a team buys out a player during this six-day window of compliance under the new system, the club's buyout cost (two-thirds of the remaining contract value, minus the 24 percent rollback) will not be charged against the salary cap. After this window closes on July 29, clubs can still buy out players, but the cost will be charged against their cap number. If a team fails to come to contract terms with any of its 2003 draft picks during the five-day window, those draftees will become eligible for selection in the 2005 entry draft scheduled for July 30 in Ottawa. In accordance with the transition rules, 2003 draftees will be subject to the same entry-level system used in the previous CBA, with consideration of the 24 percent salary rollback. However, as a compromise, the signing bonus that the 2003 draftees, such as Flyers top picks Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, for example, can receive will be limited to no more than 30 percent of their annual salary in any given year. In other words, draftees who signed with their clubs before the expiration of the previous CBA have the opportunity to make a bit more money in bonuses. Restricted free agents who aren't tendered qualifying offers by their clubs during the eight-day window will become unrestricted free agents on Aug. 1. Under the new agreement, players earning less than $660,000 (after consideration of the 24 percent rollback) in their last contracted season must be qualified at 110 percent of that salary -- a 10 percent raise. Players earning between $660,000 and $1 million (after consideration of the rollback) in their last contracted season must be qualified at 105 percent of that salary -- a 5 percent raise. And, players earning more that $1 million (after consideration of the rollback) in their last contracted season must be qualified at 100 percent of that salary. According to league sources, lawyers representing the league and the players continue to craft the final document. They are hoping to complete their work and present a finalized CBA by Thursday. The schedule that teams will follow after the expected ratification: Saturday, July 23 • Period for initiating compliance buyouts begins • Period to negotiate and sign 2003 draft picks begins • Period to extend qualifying offers begins • Period to negotiate with own club's restricted and unrestricted free agents begins Thursday, July 28 • Deadline to exercise club and player options for the 2005-06 season • Deadline to sign 2003 draft picks (if not signed, 2003 draftees will re-enter the 2005 draft) • Deadline to make required bona fide offers to 2004 draft picks Friday, July 29 • Deadline for initiating compliance buyouts Saturday, July 30 • Entry draft Sunday, July 31 • Deadline to extend qualifying offers Monday, Aug. 1 • Free-agent signing period begins - sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2109696&type=story* Gentlemen: Good luck, and keep the coffee on! |
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Post by Cranky on Jul 17, 2005 9:40:13 GMT -5
"If a team buys out a player during this six-day window of compliance under the new system, the club's buyout cost (two-thirds of the remaining contract value, minus the 24 percent rollback) will not be charged against the salary cap. After this window closes on July 29, clubs can still buy out players, but the cost will be charged against their cap number."
I can see a FRENZY of teams tossing out the also rans and the overpaid. Teams like the Rangers, Leafs and Detroit can clear the house and not worry about what it cost them.
I hope Gainey has a well thought out game plan because what happens in the next 30 days can make or brake the team for the next few years. With pressure like this, the best managers should rise to the top and the amateur wannabes will show their true colors.
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Post by Habit on Jul 17, 2005 9:59:06 GMT -5
It's true that a GM's true colours will come out in the next 30 days or so. But with all that I have heard about this very complex CBA, a lawer (a good one) is going to be a GM's best friend and advisor.
Bob has assembled one of the best scouting, coaching and training staff in the NHL. I hope he finds a good CAP lawyer also.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 17, 2005 10:27:33 GMT -5
Bob Gainey Executive Vice President and General Manager
André Savard Assistant to the General Manager
Trevor Timmins Director of Player Personnel
Julien BriseBois Director of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs
Pierre Gauthier Director of Professional Scouting
Pierre Dorion Amateur Scouting Coordinator
Elmer Benning Amateur Scout - Western Canada
Gordie Roberts Professional Scout
Antonin Routa Amateur Scout - Europe
William A. Berglund Amateur Scout - Eastern U.S.
Trent McCleary Amateur Scout - Western Canada
Nikolai Vakourov Amateur Scout - Russia
Richard Green Professional Scout
Dave Mayville Amateur Scout - Central U.S.
Hannu Laine Amateur Scout - Finland
Patrick Allvin Amateur Scout - Sweden
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Post by Cranky on Jul 17, 2005 10:39:35 GMT -5
Bob Gainey Executive Vice President and General Manager André Savard Assistant to the General Manager Trevor Timmins Director of Player Personnel Julien BriseBois Director of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs Pierre Gauthier Director of Professional Scouting Pierre Dorion Amateur Scouting Coordinator Elmer Benning Amateur Scout - Western Canada Gordie Roberts Professional Scout Antonin Routa Amateur Scout - Europe William A. Berglund Amateur Scout - Eastern U.S. Trent McCleary Amateur Scout - Western Canada Nikolai Vakourov Amateur Scout - Russia Richard Green Professional Scout Dave Mayville Amateur Scout - Central U.S. Hannu Laine Amateur Scout - Finland Patrick Allvin Amateur Scout - Sweden Excuse me Sir but I believe you missed the Wannabe Manager and Coaches Category. Please add Mr. BadCompany as Cheif Wannabes Manager and Mr. Cranky as Chief Wannabe Coach. Thank you. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 17, 2005 10:57:01 GMT -5
Bob Gainey Executive Vice President and General Manager André Savard Assistant to the General Manager Trevor Timmins Director of Player Personnel Julien BriseBois Director of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs Pierre Gauthier Director of Professional Scouting Pierre Dorion Amateur Scouting Coordinator Elmer Benning Amateur Scout - Western Canada Gordie Roberts Professional Scout Antonin Routa Amateur Scout - Europe William A. Berglund Amateur Scout - Eastern U.S. Trent McCleary Amateur Scout - Western Canada Nikolai Vakourov Amateur Scout - Russia Richard Green Professional Scout Dave Mayville Amateur Scout - Central U.S. Hannu Laine Amateur Scout - Finland Patrick Allvin Amateur Scout - Sweden Excuse me Sir but I believe you missed the Wannabe Manager and Coaches Category. Please add Mr. BadCompany as Cheif Wannabes Manager and Mr. Cranky as Chief Wannabe Coach. Thank you. Actually, there are were some front office vacancies—but not any more! Finance - Mr Cranky Community Relations - Disgruntled70sHab Ticket Office and Building Operations - Doc Holliday Marketing - BadCompany |
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Post by Habit on Jul 17, 2005 11:31:45 GMT -5
You forgot one...
Director of Beer Purchasing: Habit
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Post by PTH on Jul 17, 2005 12:07:43 GMT -5
As per my post in the "introduce yourself" thread, I claim the "Vice president of ice bunnies, cheerleaders and beer salesgirls" position.
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Post by PTH on Jul 17, 2005 12:12:42 GMT -5
The real question for the Habs becomes, do you buy out Brisebois right away, for 3 million cash and say goodbye to him forever, or do you buy him out a week later, for 1 million and try to re-sign him, but both the original million and whatever salary he takes counts towards the cap.
Assuming Georgie can afford either option, I'd offer Brisebois 1 million in salary, if he turns it down, buy him out. I wouldn't want to spend more than 2 million of our cap on him.
That being said, if Gainey knows that our total salary will be way below the cap regardless, maybe he'll figure he's better off with Brisebois at 2 million (following a 1-million buyout) than with nothing at all after a 3-million buyout.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 17, 2005 12:24:38 GMT -5
It's true that a GM's true colours will come out in the next 30 days or so. But with all that I have heard about this very complex CBA, a lawer (a good one) is going to be a GM's best friend and advisor. Bob has assembled one of the best scouting, coaching and training staff in the NHL. I hope he finds a good CAP lawyer also. ... After all, the over-riding reason that was the backbone of the owners' lockout has not disappeared. The players provided the league with a perfectly workable system back on Dec. 9 and even offered to roll back salaries to the level that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had demanded. But Bettman turned down that offer for the simple reason that he couldn't trust the owners to use common sense. The starting point offered by the players is fine, Bettman said, but if left to their own devices, the owners will create an inflationary spiral that extends far beyond their ability to fulfill their commitments. He hasn't changed that view. He doesn't trust the owners the least bit, and therefore, when the new system is put into place, it must be idiot-proof. If his regiment of lawyers overlooks just one little loophole, just one little misplaced comma that would allow a team to take advantage of its "partners," his new CBA will be fatally flawed. The last CBA was roughly 100 pages and it covered every aspect of the game -- free agency, waivers, standard player contracts, arbitration, grievance procedures and on and on. So far, the two sides have 50 pages of the agreement in place on the salary cap alone. And no matter what you might have read in some of the other newspapers, they haven't come to terms on the numbers that will be used in that agreement. All they have are the concepts -- what you can do and what you can't. When this document is finished, it will be far beyond the comprehension of most general managers. They will have so many restrictions placed upon their transactions that trades will become increasingly rare. It is no coincidence that the league with the most complex salary-cap system, the National Football League, also is the league with the fewest trades. In time, if they haven't already, general managers will become virtually superfluous. The scouts will continue to make their evaluations of talent and inform the general manager of their opinions. The GM will conceive a trade and then put the matter to his most recently hired employee, the capologist. This will be a man with extensive legal training who, by definition, will be able to understand the CBA and be devious enough to try to find a way around its restrictions. He will then tell the GM what he can do with his trade proposal -- modify it, try to proceed with it, or stuff it. Then, the team with which the proposed trade is to be made will go through the same process. The people who do the real work and make the real decisions will be the scouts and capologists. The GMs will be nothing more than glorified clearing houses. And the fans? The fans won't have a clue what's happening. The complexities of the new CBA will be far beyond them. They will be told if a trade has been made, but they will have no idea why so many other trades failed or why their favourite team is incapable of addressing its shortcomings. The NHL has long been a league operated largely by lawyers. Now, it will be a league totally dominated by lawyers. No wonder the new CBA is taking so long to hammer out. The lawyers are busy creating their ground rules for the league they will run. - slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/2005/06/22/1099406-sun.html |
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Post by Bob on Jul 17, 2005 12:37:48 GMT -5
... After all, the over-riding reason that was the backbone of the owners' lockout has not disappeared. The players provided the league with a perfectly workable system back on Dec. 9 and even offered to roll back salaries to the level that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had demanded. But Bettman turned down that offer for the simple reason that he couldn't trust the owners to use common sense. How is a system perfectly workable if some participants can't be trusted to work within the system? |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 17, 2005 13:00:56 GMT -5
I can't think of a better time to have a man like Bob Gainey making executive decisions for the team.
There is nothing better than to have our fortunes in the hands of a man who knows hockey and men who can fathom the complexity of the CBA, buyouts, free agents and sliding cap.
Unless of course Sammy, Toe or Scotty were there to advise him. Lou is the only other guy I fear.
Bob, go get Glen and John Jr's lunch.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 17, 2005 13:01:30 GMT -5
... After all, the over-riding reason that was the backbone of the owners' lockout has not disappeared. The players provided the league with a perfectly workable system back on Dec. 9 and even offered to roll back salaries to the level that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had demanded. But Bettman turned down that offer for the simple reason that he couldn't trust the owners to use common sense. How is a system perfectly workable if some participants can't be trusted to work within the system? It's the people, not the system, that one must keep an eye on—the will to follow the rules, rather than to seek ways around, must take priority. If one is determined to beat the "system" in order to beat one's "partners" at the game (of winning the Stanley Cup), it hardly matters what agreement is in place—as long as it can be used to one's perceived advantage. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 19, 2005 13:53:26 GMT -5
An update: The union did e-mail agents a 21-page document Monday detailing most of the transitional and free-agent issues that will affect their clients this summer. Also included in the document, obtained by The Canadian Press, is a list of critical dates:
- July 23: Buyout period begins; also begins the period to negotiate with 2003 draft picks and teams' own free agents.
- July 28: 5 p.m. EDT deadline for signing 2003 draft picks (otherwise they re-enter 2005 draft); deadline for exercising club/player options for 2005-06 season.
- July 29: 5 p.m. EDT deadline for player buyouts.
- July 30: NHL entry draft in Ottawa. Modified version with only top prospects invited and cut down from nine to seven rounds.
- July 31: 5 p.m. EDT deadline to extend qualifying offers to clubs' own free agents. Qualifying offers are needed to retain rights of restricted free agents.
- Aug. 1: Official free-agent signing season begins.
- Aug. 10: Players notify teams whether they've elected salary arbitration.
- Aug. 11: Clubs notify players whether they've elected to bring them to salary arbitration.
- Aug. 12: NHL and NHLPA schedule arbitration cases.
- Aug. 15: Qualifying offers expire automatically.
- Aug. 22-Sept. 1: Salary arbitration hearings.- www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=130828&hubName=nhl |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 19, 2005 14:27:16 GMT -5
An update: The union did e-mail agents a 21-page document Monday detailing most of the transitional and free-agent issues that will affect their clients this summer. Also included in the document, obtained by The Canadian Press, is a list of critical dates:
- July 23: Buyout period begins; also begins the period to negotiate with 2003 draft picks and teams' own free agents.
- July 28: 5 p.m. EDT deadline for signing 2003 draft picks (otherwise they re-enter 2005 draft); deadline for exercising club/player options for 2005-06 season.
- July 29: 5 p.m. EDT deadline for player buyouts.
- July 30: NHL entry draft in Ottawa. Modified version with only top prospects invited and cut down from nine to seven rounds.
- July 31: 5 p.m. EDT deadline to extend qualifying offers to clubs' own free agents. Qualifying offers are needed to retain rights of restricted free agents.
- Aug. 1: Official free-agent signing season begins.
- Aug. 10: Players notify teams whether they've elected salary arbitration.
- Aug. 11: Clubs notify players whether they've elected to bring them to salary arbitration.
- Aug. 12: NHL and NHLPA schedule arbitration cases.
- Aug. 15: Qualifying offers expire automatically.
- Aug. 22-Sept. 1: Salary arbitration hearings.- www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=130828&hubName=nhlI assume that Bob Gainey will postpone his summer vacation? |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 19, 2005 21:01:39 GMT -5
You forgot one... Director of Beer Purchasing: Habit Er, did someone mention beer??? Moosehead Lager ... that's the ticket. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 19, 2005 21:03:33 GMT -5
As per my post in the "introduce yourself" thread, I claim the "Vice president of ice bunnies, cheerleaders and beer salesgirls" position. I think the position you're applying for is "Morale and Welfare Representative."Always necessary. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 19, 2005 21:09:05 GMT -5
The real question for the Habs becomes, do you buy out Brisebois right away, for 3 million cash and say goodbye to him forever, or do you buy him out a week later, for 1 million and try to re-sign him, but both the original million and whatever salary he takes counts towards the cap. Assuming Georgie can afford either option, I'd offer Brisebois 1 million in salary, if he turns it down, buy him out. I wouldn't want to spend more than 2 million of our cap on him. That being said, if Gainey knows that our total salary will be way below the cap regardless, maybe he'll figure he's better off with Brisebois at 2 million (following a 1-million buyout) than with nothing at all after a 3-million buyout. It's hard to say but I think Gainey will make it worthwhile for Brisebois to come back. And, I don't think he'll dangle a carrot in front of his face either. I think the offer will be reasonable, based on what Brisebois brought/can bring to the club. I honestly think if such an offer were given, Brisebois would do it if only to retire a Hab down the road. Then again, will Bob just say "here's-your-cash-thanks-for-coming-out?" Again, it's hard to say, but he has done it in the past without even batting an eyelash. That said, Brisebois isn't like those three. He's been a Hab his entire career and probably wants to remain one. Nothing wrong with that. Cheers. |
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