Are they or aren't they?

The FAN 590 -- in its 20/20 Sports Updates -- at first reported that the NHL and the PA were meeting "covertly" in or near Niagara Falls, NY, which was the site of last night's meeting. Now they are reporting that rumors are surfacing that there haven't been any meetings and that nothing is scheduled. Other reports suggest that yet another counter proposal is in the works. UPDATE (7:12 pm): TSN.ca is reporting that no meetings took place at all today, and that Commissioner Gary Bettman has made a "final offer" to the Players' Association that ups their cap offer to $42.5 million and also includes a deadline of 11:00 AM tomorrow morning to accept or reject the offer. Here is the full text of the letter Bettman sent to Bob Goodenow containing this offer: Dear Bob: We attempted to reach out to you with yesterday's offer of a team maximum cap of $42.2MM ($40MM in salary and $2.2MM in benefits) which was not linked to League-wide revenues. As Bill told Ted, "de-linking" a maximum team salary cap from League revenues and total League-wide player compensation has always been problematic for us, especially since we cannot now quantify the damage to the League from the lockout. This presents the risk we will pay out more than we can afford. As you know, if all 30 teams were to spend to the maximum we proposed, and if the damage to our business is as we discussed at our meetings in New York, then the League would continue to lose money. I know, as do you, that the "deal" we can make will only get worse for the players if we cancel the season - whatever damage we have suffered to date will pale in comparison to the damage from a cancelled season and we will certainly not be able to afford what is presently on the table. Accordingly, I am making one final effort to reach out to make a deal that will let us play this season. We are increasing our offer of yesterday by increasing the maximum individual team cap to $44.7MM ($42.5MM in salary and $2.2MM in benefits). This offer is not an invitation to begin negotiations - it's too late for that. This is our last effort to make a deal that's fair to the players and one that the Clubs (hopefully) can afford. We have no more flexibility and there is no time for further negotiation. If this offer is acceptable, please let me know by 11:00 A.M. tomorrow, in advance of my scheduled press conference. Hopefully, the press conference will not be necessary. Sincerely, Gary B. Bettman Commissioner UPDATE (10:23 PM): TSN.ca is now reporting that the Players' Association has rejected the owners' offer -- see above update -- and have sent the NHL a counteroffer that lowers their salary cap level to $49 million. Here is the full text of the letter Goodenow sent to Bettman with this offer: Dear Gary, Yesterday afternoon, Bill Daly presented us with an offer from the League that, for the first time, was not linked to League-wide revenues. We appreciated your willingness to adjust your position and we worked to respond in kind. By evening, we had fashioned and reached out to you with an offer from the PA that included, for the first time, a team maximum cap. This offer built upon the 24% rollback and other changes in favour of clubs, which were presented by the Players on December 9, 2004. As you know, and as Ted told Bill, our offer of a team cap represented a radical step for the PA. We took this step because we too believe that our sport will be damaged greatly by the cancellation of this season and the continuation of the lockout through next season. We wish that the NHL had offered a no linkage proposal before yesterday so that negotiations in that arena could have commenced sooner. However, we recognize that they did not and we agree that time is short. In that spirit, and in a final attempt to reach an agreement, we are adjusting our offer of yesterday in two respects. First, we are reducing the maximum individual team cap to $49 million in salary, which does not include the $2.2 million per team in benefits due. Second, we will adjust our exception provision so that it is available to teams only twice during the six year term and for up to only 10% over the limit of $49 million (to $53.9 million), at the tax rate of 150%. The exception provision is important so that a successful team does not have to arbitrarily dismantle its roster after it has achieved particular success or is in a unique phase of its player roster cycle. I have attached a short summary of the main deal points discussed by Bill and Ted yesterday, as modified above. I can be reached at the usual phone numbers. Regards, Robert W. Goodenow Executive Director & General Counsel NEW CBA DEAL POINTS 1. Term - 6 full seasons (through 9-15-11). 2. CBA System Incorporation of NHLPA December 9, 2004 proposal into the recently expired CBA, with indexing of financial provisions (per diems, etc.) at 2% per year, with the following additional changes requested by the NHL yesterday: (a) Increased salary arbitration rights for Clubs -- to be agreed upon. Salary arbitration available after Player leaves Entry Level System. (b) Cap on Exhibit 5 Individual B Performance Bonuses -- to be agreed upon. (c) Replace NHLPA Revenue Sharing Plan with NHL Revenue Sharing Plan to share at least $88M in each year of the Agreement. Clubs may credit any payroll taxes paid against their revenue sharing contribution. 3. Team Payroll Limit - $49M in salary and bonuses 4. Minimum Team Payroll - $25M (each team can fall no more than 10% below only twice during term). 5. Minimum Player Salary - $300K (as per NHL Proposal) 6. Payroll Taxes - $40M - $43M (25%) $43M - $46M (50%) $46M - $49M (75%) $49M - $53.9M (150%) only twice per team during 6 year term 7. Indexing of Tax Rates and Payroll Minimums & Maximums All dollar amounts would be in place for 2004-05 (pro-rated) and 2005-06. Dollar levels for tax rates, payroll minimums & maximums for subsequent years either constant or increased by % change in greater of either hockey related revenues or only the gate receipts and broadcasting segments of hockey related revenues from the 2005-06 base year. 8. 2005 Playoffs 55% of playoff revenues to be paid to Players for the 2005 playoffs.