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NHL Players Most Worried About Escrow In Upcoming CBA Talks

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The NHL and NHLPA both have an opportunity to opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement at different dates in September, which could begin the clock towards another work stoppage. There are many issues that the players are concerned about when looking at re-negotiating a new CBA, but according to the Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno, the players biggest bargaining issue is some of their money being taken away from them and being placed in escrow.

Under terms of the CBA, the owners and the players divide hockey-related revenue 50/50, but if player salaries exceed that split, then a certain percentage is placed into escrow and the league gets some of that money to keep the revenue even. However, Whyno reports that the players have lost almost 10 percent of their salary to escrow over the past seven years and the players would like to see that change. In fact, the Associated Press surveyed 25 of 31 player representatives, who said that escrow is the biggest worry among players. Chicago Blackhawks representative Jonathan Toews, when asked the two biggest issues in labor talks, said “A. escrow and B. escrow.”

There are a number of other secondary issues the players would like to tackle in negotiations, including Olympic participation, what the definition of hockey-related revenue is, post-career health care, and the concern that young players are squeezing out older players due to cap constraints. However, the loss of salary concerns players the most, according to NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr:

Obviously it’s an irritant to players and from time to time it can be a big one. But the question is how you do it. I mean, you can fix escrow by cutting salaries. I don’t think players are interested in doing that. So it has to become something that you address in a manner which makes sense for the players and addresses their concerns.

Fehr added that escrow has been discussed with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and more talks are expected, but there is no easy way to fix the problem without making major changes to the sports’ economics.

 

Competition Committee Submits Rules Recommendations

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The NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement this evening outlining the changes recommended by the Competition Committee, which wrapped meetings today. The players’ side, led by NHLPA Special Assistant Mathieu Schneider, included Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk. The league side, led by NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Opertations Colin Campbell, included Craig Leipold, David Poile, Ken Holland, Doug Wilson, and Steve Yzerman. Together, the group came up with some intriguing ideas for consideration.

The most notable suggestion, as well as the most expected one, was expanded access to video review and coach’s challenges. Few details were disclosed as to the specifics of expanded review, other than allowing referees to use video review to review calls on the ice. However, after a postseason in which incorrect calls has drawn so much media scrutiny, it’s fair to assume that changes are coming to review procedures to help remedy that situation.

Another suggested rule change bound to draw some attention is a change to the the tie-breaking procedures used to determine final regular season rankings. While the joint release did not outline the proposed changes, Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman believes that the preference of the Competition Committee is to use simply regulation wins rather than “ROT”, regulation and overtime wins, as the primary tie-breaker. If adopted, this rule change could very well see more teams looking to end games in regular time as opposed to playing for overtime, especially late in the season in a tight playoff race.

Other suggestions included changes to face-off locations based on icing, pucks out of bounds, power plays, intentionally knocking the net over, and goalies unnecessarily freezing the puck, as well as a rule that would require players to leave the ice if their helmet is knocked off during play.

These rules suggestions still need to be approved by both the NHL’s Board of Governors and the NHLPA’s Executive Board, and many of the proposed changes will require more detailed presentations, as well as considerable discussion. After suggestions are adopted, the language will be formalized and they will officially be indoctrinated into the NHL rule book. Stay tuned for further updates on these possible rule changes when these governing bodies meet later this summer.

Snapshots: Competition Committee, Imoo, Byron

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When the NHL/NHLPA Competition Committee convenes tomorrow in Toronto, the players’ side will be represented by some of the biggest names in the game. The NHLPA has announced that Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk will be the players in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. McDavid and Tavares obviously stand out as two of hockey’s top talents and players whose inputs will be highly valued. Hainsey is a respected veteran who has always been involved with the players’ association. Hellebuyck will seemingly be there to represent all goalies, while – maybe unintentionally – van Riemsdyk will be the only player from an American team in attendance. The group will have a lot to talk about, as officiating concerns have only increased over recent weeks and the discussion of changing or expanding review will almost certainly be on the table.

  • The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reports that Los Angeles Kings goaltending development coach Dusty Imoo is headed overseas. The goalie whisperer is set to join the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star in a similar role and Dillman notes that it is a major loss for the Kings. She writes that Imoo was part of a strong tandem with goalie coach Bill Ranford that has worked with Jonathan Quick for years, helped to resurrect the careers of Peter Budaj and Jack Campbell, and have been working with promising prospect Cal Petersen. Fortunately, goaltending is one of the few areas where L.A. found success last year and, even with the loss of Imoo, still have the talent and depth to stay strong in net.
  • Blaine Byron has re-signed with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, the team announced. It’s a one-year re-up for Byron, who just completed his second season with the Thunderbirds. Byron was a standout at the University of Maine and was expected to draw NHL interest as a college free agent in 2017, but instead signed with Springfield. He failed to impress in his first pro season, but after a 25-point campaign this year, it would not have been a surprise to see the Florida Panthers look into a two-way deal for the well-rounded forward. Instead, Byron returns to Springfield and will look to improve again next year.

Snapshots: CBA, Johansson, Canucks

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In September, both the NHL and NHLPA hold opt out clauses for the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which could eventually lead to another work stoppage in 2020. A stoppage would be a nightmare for fans, but apparently is also not what either side is hoping for this time around. John Shannon of Sportsnet was on 630 CHED in Edmonton today discussing the upcoming negotiations, and told host Bob Stauffer that he is confident a deal will get done:

There will be no work stoppage. There will be no strike. There will be no lockout. Both sides have done too well with this last CBA. What we’re talking about now is tweaks, we’re talking about improving the plight of both sides—and I’m being a little facetious when I say “plight.” This is one where the owners would be thrilled to continue to have this CBA, but they realize that in order to get some harmony with the players they’re going to have to give up a little bit, and in turn the players are going to have to give up something.

Shannon goes on to explain that there will be no compliance buyouts in the next agreement, given that there will be no work stoppage this time. He also suggests the length of contracts may be limited even further, perhaps down to even a five-year cap. While none of this is certain at this point, we’ve been hearing for months that there has been good progress made towards a new agreement.

  • Marcus Johansson has rebuilt his free agent value according to a new piece by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) which examines the potential market for the Boston Bruins trade deadline addition. LeBrun notes that the Bruins have “begun to discuss the merits of bringing him back” and speaks to both Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom and New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero, who both explain that they love the person as much as the player. Johansson has played just 87 regular season games over the last two seasons thanks to injury, but has been a real contributor to the Bruins playoff success and is set to hit the open market at just 28 years old.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have been rumored to be in the market for a defenseman this offseason, and now Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweets out a few potential options. The reporter has heard that the team will go after Jake Gardiner or Tyler Myers, obviously depending on what happens with the two over the next month. Gardiner and Myers are two of the top options available on the free agent market this season, but provide different skill sets. Myers is a huge right-handed blue liner who recorded his best offensive season—48 points—a decade ago and hasn’t come close since, while Gardiner is just one year removed from a 52 point season from the left side.

Snapshots: NHL Olympic Participation, Pesce, Fleury, Brossoit

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The IIHF held its annual press conference shortly before the semifinals of the 2019 World Championships and the most interesting question asked of IIHF President Rene Fasel was about NHL participation at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Fasel said that much of that will depend on the NHL’s upcoming CBA negotiations, which is expected to expire in 2021-22 season, although either the NHL or the NHLPA can choose to opt out in September of this year.

“I had a short discussion with [NHLPA Executive Director] Don Fehr yesterday,” said Fasel. “It is important for the game of ice hockey, 100 per cent. We should show our product at the highest level. I’m happy that 119 NHL players are here (at the World Championships). And they don’t come for the money, they come to represent their countries and end the season in a good atmosphere.”

Fasel said that he would like to get confirmation of NHL participation as soon as possible, but has not set a deadline.

  • Now that the Carolina Hurricanes season is over, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 31 Thoughts column reports that one player who was unhappy and wanted a trade was defenseman Brett Pesce. The 24-year-old blueliner was unhappy earlier in the season when he was seventh on the team in ice-time, playing 1:31 minutes less than his 2017-18 totals. However, his ice time increased after New Year’s Day as he averaged 21:20, which was third on the team only behind Jaccob Slavin and Justin Faulk. His playoff numbers were even higher, which has appeased Pesce and should end any trade talk. Friedman adds that the team will most likely trade defenseman Haydn Fleury instead this summer as he is no longer waiver-eligible and the team would almost guaranteed lose him if he couldn’t win a roster spot.
  • The Winnipeg Jets locked up their backup goaltender, restricted free agent Laurent Brossoit, to a one-year, $1.225MM contract earlier today. After struggling in an earlier stint in his career in Edmonton, the goaltender said that signing with the Jets was a priority due to his friendship with fellow goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. “There’s only one other guy that you can relate to on a full level,” Brossoit said (via Jets’ TV host Jamie Thomas). “For it to be with a friend, same age, similar interests and we get along very well. Just makes a season that much more enjoyable.”

NHLPA Announces Ted Lindsay Award Finalists

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The National Hockey League Players’ Association has named the three players up for their most prestigious honor. The Ted Lindsay Award is presented each year to the “most outstanding player in the NHL”. Unlike the Hart Trophy though, the Ted Lindsay is voted on by the candidates’ peers themselves, the NHLPA’s member players. This year, the three named as finalists are the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, and the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

McDavid is no stranger to the Ted Lindsay; the Oilers’ superstar has won the award in each of the past two seasons. Generally, the players put less stock into team success than do voters for the Hart, making McDavid an easy choice despite Edmonton’s struggles. The last player to win the award before McDavid was none other than Kane, who took home the honor in 2015-16. Not only has Kucherov never won the award, he is a first-time finalist.

Yet, Kucherov would seem to be the favorite to receive the title this year. Tampa’s top scorer led the league in scoring with 128 points, 12 more than McDavid and 18 more than Kane. He also finished first in assists and power play points by a wide margin, as well as among the league’s best in goals, plus/minus, and shots. Also, if team performance does come into play in voting, Kucherov’s Lightning had a record-setting regular season, winning the President’s Trophy with 128 points, 21 more than the next-best team. Kucherov seems to have on overwhelmingly strong case for the Ted Lindsay (and Hart), but the final result won’t be revealed until the NHL Awards on June 19th.

NHLPA Files Suspension Appeal On Behalf Of Slava Voynov

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As expected, the NHL Players’ Association will appeal the suspension of defenseman Slava Voynov that was handed down by the NHL on Tuesday. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report than an appeal has been filed and the case will be heard by a neutral arbitrator. A date for the hearing has not yet been announced.

Voynov, 29, was suspended for the entire 2019-20 season and 2020 postseason by the league yesterday for “unacceptable off-ice conduct”, with a conditional date of reinstatement set for July 1st, 2020. Voynov received a lifetime ban from the NHL in 2014 following an incidence of domestic violence and subsequent arrest and conviction, shortly after which he fled to his native Russia. However, the league’s recent decision at least opens the door to a return for the talented blue liner, who spent three years playing abroad in the KHL and sat out the 2018-19 season while awaiting a decision on his NHL reinstatement.

Yet, the league’s leniency was not enough in the eyes of Voynov and the NHLPA. It took only 24 hours for this appeal to be filed as the player’s side tries to shorten the suspension. The NHLPA has had great luck of late in front of an arbitrator; both Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson had highly-publicized long-term suspensions reduced by arbitrator Shyam Das this season. If Das is to again be the one to hear the case, the odds of a reduction are in Voynov’s favor. While the NHLPA does not necessarily condone the actions of Voynov or any other disciplined players, they have a duty to fight for the players’ rights.

The appeal was also likely supported by the Los Angeles Kings, who still own Voynov’s NHL rights. Whether or not the Western Conference’s last-place teams wants to bring the veteran defender back or instead trade him away, a quicker reinstatement is of value to the Kings. The team has still declined to comment publicly on Voynov’s reinstatement, but have no doubt talked with the player, league, and players’ association throughout this process.

Snapshots: Playoffs, Chisholm, Dellow

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The NHL and NHLPA have reached an agreement to extend the current playoff format for another season, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The format was set to expire, but both sides agreed to keep it the same for the 2019-20 season and revisit it in the future.

There has been plenty of ire directed at the league for the current format, that is designed to stoke the flames of division rivalries by pitting teams against each other year after year. Last year saw the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators meet in the second round despite having the best two records in the NHL, while this season will see the Boston Bruins (currently 3rd in NHL) take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (5th) in the first round.

  • According to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun the Manitoba Moose have signed Declan Chisholm to an amateur tryout after his season came to an end with the Peterborough Petes. Chisholm was selected in the fifth round last June and will get a chance to show what he can do at the professional level for at least a little while. The Winnipeg Jets will hold Chisholm’s exclusive rights until 2020 and will get a better handle on whether he’s worth an NHL contract before committing. The 19-year old defenseman recorded 48 points in 67 games this season.
  • The New Jersey Devils have hired Tyler Dellow as Vice President of Analytics, ending his run as a staff writer for The Athletic. Dellow is well known in the hockey community for his in-depth examinations of hockey analytics, and with the league rolling out more player and puck tracking technology more teams will be investing in their data departments. Dellow previously worked with the Edmonton Oilers as a consultant, but will now lead the Devils department.

NHL Reinstates Nashville Predators’ Austin Watson

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The NHL today announced, in cooperation with the NHLPA, that Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson has been reinstated from his suspension and has been “returned to available status”. Watson was suspended from play indefinitely in late January after an “alcohol-related relapse” and entered Stage Two of the joint Substance Abuse and Behavioral Program. Watson was cleared to return to action by officials from the league and players’ association, but will remain under supervision by the guidelines of the program.

The Predators have also announced that “consistent with the recommendations” of the program, Watson has returned to active status for the team. The only additional comment the team makes is that he will continue with the “follow-up phase” of the program while returning to play. Due to the “personal nature” of Watson’s suspension and ongoing cooperation with the program, Nashville will not comment any further on the topic.

Nashville will be happy to have the 27-year-old forward back in the lineup, though. Watson missed the first 18 games of the season due to a suspension related to off-season domestic assault charges, a stretch that was reduced from the original 27-game sentence. He then missed another 21 games in his latest absence. This has left him with just 34 games and 13 points to show for the season, just one year removed from a career high in production. The Predators hope that Watson can get back to full speed quickly, as they look to solidify their spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina reports that Watson is expected to re-join the team immediately for morning skate on Tuesday, but there is no time table for his return to game action.

Gary Bettman Upholds Jakub Voracek Suspension

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The NHL commissioner has reviewed the facts and conducted a hearing with Jakub Voracek and his NHLPA representatives, but does not believe the two-game suspension was unwarranted. Gary Bettman released his decision today to uphold the ban, given to Voracek for an incident with Johnny Boychuk in a game on March 9th. Voracek has already missed one game for the Philadelphia Flyers, and will be forced to sit out tomorrow night as well. He will also forfeit more than $88K in salary. From the decision:

While I accept Mr. Voracek’s explanation that he thought Mr. Boychuk was going to initiate a check, the video makes it clear that it was Mr. Voracek who initiated the contact. At the hearing, it was acknowledged that Mr. Voracek had other options available to him, but instead Mr. Voracek moved into Mr. Boychuk’s path by taking a step to the left and driving upwards into Mr. Boychuk. The onus was on Mr. Voracek to avoid causing a significant blow to Mr. Boychuk’s head. The force was significant enough to cause Mr. Boychuk to require medical attention on the ice and he did not return for the balance of the game. It is worth acknowledging that during his long career in the NHL, Mr. Voracek has maintained a strong character and a clean record with no prior supplemental discipline history. However, that does not absolve Mr. Voracek of the responsibility to play this game in a safe manner in accordance to the applicable rules.

The decision also explains how Voracek would not have appealed a one-game suspension, and that he was seeking a reduction to that level. These kind of short-term suspensions are never appealed in this manner and as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet points out, they can not be taken to an independent arbitrator now that Bettman has made his ruling. Obviously Voracek believed he was being unfairly punished, especially given his lack of discipline history.

Philadelphia will now have to hope they can take down the Washington Capitals tomorrow night without one of their key offensive pieces, a task that quite literally could decide their season. The team is currently sitting five points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card spot and can’t afford to slip any further in the standings.

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