RODIER'S RAMBLINGS

Introduction There is no doubt that Players arguing they should be paid more irritates the fans. However, closer analysis shows that NHL Players grew up dedicated to one goal, worked toward it and sacrificed for many years. They outperformed their peers to get an opportunity as adults for a potentially lucrative, but very short, career.   They are the best hockey players in the world.   This does not mean they are entitled to a certain salary, but they should be entitled to a fair system for determining that salary.   The current system is not fair at all….it is rigged against the Players.   Under Gary’s triple hard cap collective bargaining agreement (the "CBA"), the Players have no practical response to the Owners demanding a bigger and bigger share of the revenue pie. This will only get worse for the Players unless they abandon the counterproductive construct of unions and the collective bargaining process.   As we have seen, HRR is only a tiny portion of the financial

  In my previous blogs we have now seen how in the next few seasons: Players’ Compensation will be squeezed hard in contract negotiations during the rest of the current CBA, Many Players will lose their roster spots or be squeezed out of the League entirely and replaced by younger, cheaper Players……the John Klinberg example,  Now let’s see how the Owners have been doing financially since 2012 when the current CBA was signed.   The Owners’ profits are not only derived from the 50/50 split of HRR with the Players.   The Owners have many more profit sources In fact, if one looks at the big picture, the Owners’ 50% share of HRR is relatively insignificant. The Owners’ make their really big money from the rapid increase of franchise values, the tax shelter benefits of franchise ownership, and the profits from the Owners’ ancillary businesses which includes (but is not limited to) real estate development around the arena and profits derived from managing arena operations, not one penny o