Stars align in case of Lockout IV
Matthews, McDavid, Hall see players more ‘united’ on complex labour front
It almost sounds like a Hollywood horror flick. You know, use that deep announcer’s voice in your head: “Coming soon … Lockout IV. Just when you thought it was safe to watch hockey.”
The possibility of the fourth lockout during NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s tenure is two years away, but conversations about the issues that could lead to a shutdown are well underway.
“It’s already started,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid says. “Everyone is talking about it amongst the players. I think you’ve got to feel that sense of a union. That’s the only way you get stuff done. I think the players are united.
“I don’t think anyone wants a lockout. Everyone wants to play. I don’t think anyone wants to miss a season, or half a season. I think hockey has a bit of momentum and we don’t want to ruin that.”
The league’s young stars — including McDavid and Toronto’s Auston Matthews — have the most to gain or lose if there’s another lockout. They understand the need to be aware of the issues.
“It’s definitely on your radar,” Matthews says. “For myself and all the young guys coming in, it’s good to be informed and get ahead of the curve and learn the CBA side of the game.
“When these meetings come, you’re prepared. You kind of know what they’re talking about.”
Those young stars will rely on the players who have been through it before, such as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, who has experienced two lockouts.
“It goes so fast,” says Bergeron. “You have to make sure guys are educated. I’ve been through it. It’s not fun. Hopefully we can have an open dialogue with the league and avoid it. But you have to make sure people are aware of what’s going on, and also what it is to be locked out and not be able to play, and make sure you do fight for what is right.”
Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, meets up to three times a year with each team, keeping players informed about the most contentious issues.
“Communication is key,” says former player Mathieu Schneider, Fehr’s special assistant.
The current contract, agreed to in 2013 after a119-day lockout that cut the season to 48 games, officially expires in 2022, but both sides have the power to terminate it on Sept. 15, 2020. The league must decide on any intention to reopen talks by Sept. 1, 2019. If the league decides to pass, the players can decide by Sept. 15, 2019.
“The owner process is an ongoing process. We talk about the CBA all the time,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says. “We talk about what has worked well. We talk about what can be improved. The owners know where we are from a collective bargaining standpoint.
“We have a very open dialogue with the players’ association. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t deal with the players’ association in some form or fashion. It’s not like there are any walls up between the organizations. If and when they’re ready to engage and want to engage, we’ll engage.”
It’s a bit early to read the tea leaves, but indications are that Bettman is happy with the current arrangement — with the salary cap and a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue between the owners and players as the centrepieces. He essentially asked for labour peace until 2022 in exchange for accommodating the players’ wishes to participate in the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, throwing in a couple more World Cup of Hockey tournaments — an offer that was turned down.
“It’s fair to say the last two lockouts, we made some concessions as players,” Devils winger Taylor Hall says. “We don’t want to do that again. I think we can all agree there are some things that we’d love to get back. The owners seem pretty intent on keeping the CBA the way it is. They offered the Olympics for continuation of the CBA. They’re obviously pretty happy with how it’s going. No one wants to be locked out, but you want to make a fair deal.”
The players are more likely to have issues.
They might like, for example, to revisit what constitutes hockey-related revenue, from which the salary cap is calculated. The players got no part of the $500-million (U.S.) expansion fee for the Vegas Golden Knights, for example.
Also, the players aren’t fans of escrow — the percentage of their salary that is held back from every paycheque and redistributed to the owners if (and this happens most seasons) hockey-related revenue fails to meet projections. It’s the owners’ protection for the 5050 split, but losing that escrow — it varies year to year — doesn’t sit well with NHLers.
“I don’t care how much money you make or who you work for, if you put the work in you’ve earned that contract,” says Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. “Aside from what you’re paying (in taxes), which is the inevitable part of life, I think both sides should uphold what they’ve agreed to in the contract.”
Other issues include terms of deals, length of contracts, signing bonuses and suspensions, for on-ice infractions and office behaviour.
And of course there’s the future of NHL participation in international hockey, especially the Olympics.
“It matters to a lot of guys, including myself,” says Matthews.
“If you talk to anybody who’s been part of the Olympics, there’s nothing like it. You can play in world championships, World Cup of Hockey, world junior, (but) there’s nothing quite like the Olympics. I know for myself and the other younger guys in the league, they want to experience that.”
Missing the last one in South Korea still gnaws at players.
“It would have been a very special time of hockey, with the mix of young guys coming in and the veteran guys that are still playing at a very high level,” McDavid says. “They missed out on what would have been an amazing Olympics.”