Comments on: Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier won’t bolt for Europe…yet

By: id4joey

id4joey — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:46:52 +0000

The owners have a right to protect their invested dollars. The union is there to ensure players working conditions are adequate and they are sufficiently compensated. A 7 or 10% decrease in salary is not an interesting proposition for any employee. Is it worth losing a full year’s salary?

By: sampa71

sampa71 — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:39:16 +0000

tampabayirish…Vinny is making $10m per year (7th highest in the NHL) although cap hit is $7.7m thanks to his front end loaded 11 year contract. He will be 40 when his contract expires. I’m all for limiting contract length to 5 or 6 years. Besides the fact that these contracts were designed to get around the cap, they are risky for the teams and players seem to lose steam when mega income is guaranteed for the rest of their careers. Vinny is a good (or bad) example of this

By: joeyashwi

joeyashwi — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:31:51 +0000

“take it or leave it” deal…that says it all. The owners never had any intention of “negotiating”. To those of you hating on the players, don’t watch them! Instead marvel at how nice the pompous owners look in their luxury suites making money off the blood and sweat of their “cattle”. Better yet, watch the Dow or NASDAQ numbers since it’s obvious that you are much more interested in business than hockey.

By: matt8204

matt8204 — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 04:02:18 +0000

Exactly, and it was the point I was trying to make. No one is asking these guys to take a vow of poverty. They’ll still make more than 99 percent of the population. And again…the PR war is kind of silly. Do you think the average fan cares who “wins” this battle? They just want to see hockey.

By: tampabayirish

tampabayirish — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 02:00:59 +0000

If I remember correct, wasn’t Vinny making something like $6 million or $8 million per year thanks to that long term deal he signed awhile back?

By: Mike Halford

Mike Halford — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:11:05 +0000

Thank you, thank you. /takes bow

By: stakex

stakex — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 23:42:22 +0000

Actually it would be more like “Haha, you only make $2.6 million instead of $3 million”, and thats before you get into the “make whole” aspect.

Which just helps highlight the fact just how little money they are fighting over right now.

By: jaybertx

jaybertx — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 23:33:16 +0000

I miss watching these guys every night.

By: matt8204

matt8204 — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 23:03:59 +0000

When did I say that? I just think that if it came down to simple math, they’d have figured it out by now. If you don’t think this is a battle of egos (at least to some extent), I think you’re a bit naive. Look at all the rhetoric coming from both sides.

By: tbbolts91

tbbolts91 — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:58:35 +0000

You think you’re more informed than Vinny Lecavalier?

By: hockinj25

hockinj25 — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:47:52 +0000

Haha, “bolt for Europe.” You guys are so funny.

By: id4joey

id4joey — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:39:33 +0000

Though I grossly overestimated the intellectual capacity of the players to make a deal in Oct or Nov, I remain optimistic that they will soon come to their senses. What I believe to have estimated accurately was the owners resolve to get the “take it or leave” deal they want.

By: matt8204

matt8204 — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:51:09 +0000

Math and mentality are two different things, Vinny. Both sides are still at each other’s throats and want to stick it to each other. They’re still more interested in scoring PR points and one-upping the other side. Like the fans give a damn who “wins”. Do you really think the fans will taunt you on your return if you make concessions? What are they going to say? “Haha, you only make $2 million a year now instead of three?”