NHLPA trying to chase Gary Bettman's moving target...

As much as labour negotiations are probably more painfully dull and detail-oriented than they are invigorating, sometimes I think it would still be fun to be a fly on the wall, as it were, when the NHL and the NHLPA are meeting- as they have on at least two or three occasions this week. While, as "reality TV" fare, the overall program would be dreadfully boring to watch non-stop, certain moments would surely be must-watch television.

I mean, as much as I find player salaries absurdly high these days and have zero sympathy for the players when they try to sound hard done by (what's the average NHL salary nowadays, two and a half million a year?), what can Gary Bettman possibly be telling Donald Fehr that would make the PA want to give much more back to the owners?  Are we to believe that the last time, when the owners got the cap they wanted, they somehow also believed the new deal would place a cap on their own stupidity?

The owners, clearly, have moved the target yet again.  Last time, all we heard from their side was the absolute need for a cap to ensure what they called “cost certainty”.  They got the cap, and somehow that didn’t solve their problems.  Now they want more- not that it would trouble me if players had to, say, struggle to get by on max contracts that could only last five years.

I get that owners face the pressure to be competitive.  If you put a winning team on the ice, more fans are apt to buy tickets, even in non-traditional hockey markets like Phoenix, Carolina, Florida, etc..  So often, all it takes is one GM or owner every summer to open the vault because they need to make a splash and invigorate their comatose fan base, and others join the feeding frenzy.  The players can’t help but think, hey, if the owners are willing to pay that kind of insane money, they obviously can afford it.  So the cycle never stops.  Kids will usually take as much candy as you give them, right? And if you stop providing a never-ending supply, they get cranky.

And in layman's terms, that's partly where we are right now in these negotiations.  Both sides want every cent they can get their hands on, but they want to make the rest of us think they are doing everything they can to end the stalemate.

Unfortunately, players now really and truly believe they are actually really worth every cent they get in their not-very-realistic fairy-tale world, and in some capitalistic sense, they are.  Not to me, but they are, I guess, in the sense that the so-called market seems to suggest individuals in the sports and entertainment industries are owed- and should make -what the "market" is willing to pay.

So while I’m not a “pro-player” guy, I also find following the bouncing ball that the owners have been playing with since the mid’-90s wholly disingenuous.

The two sides deserve each other.  I don’t believe either truly is trying to do what’s “best” for the sport, the game, or the fans.  (I particularly find the role of agents in this greed-fest detestable.  If it’s possible, I believe the agents who speak out on these issues less credible than even Bettman, the owners or the players.  Not that the credibility bar is very high to begin with….)

This all said, I’ll take reports that the two sides have moved a bit closer together with more than a grain of salt.  While I don’t doubt some owners could live with a lockout for a few months, I can’t believe most owners don’t want to play with their “toys” this season. Too, these are competitive people, who like to win.  And, they like to make money.  While a few franchises may “lose less” by not playing, most won’t benefit if the teams don’t play.

Surely none of us thought they would have this wrapped up by now.  I still think we’re facing a shutdown until January.  But I’ll gladly entertain the notion that the two sides are at least speaking the same language now, and they may somehow work their way through the negotiating maze and produce an agreement by September 15.