In a world before the COVID-19 pandemic, July 1 symbolized the opening of the NHL freelance market. There was a host of negotiations between the players and the owners to attract the biggest fish available.
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July 1, 2020 once again gave rise to negotiations, but in a different form. The two main players were the NHL and the Players’ Association.
After a night of negotiations, the two clans continued discussions on Wednesday in the hope of refining the plan to revive activities with phases 3 (the camp of the 24 teams involved) and 4 (the start of the matches). In addition to these two issues, the agreement would also cover the extension of the collective agreement and participation in the 2022 and 2026 Olympic Games.
Two Canadian bubble cities
There would still be details to be settled, but the two clans would approach an agreement in principle. This is at least the information that circulated among the various NHL broadcasters, namely TSN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
“It’s very big, it’s not fair to settle the last files for a return to the game,” said a player from a team from the Western Association. We are moving in the right direction, but we must also take our time. There are important issues. From my understanding, there is an agreement on the table, but the two parties still embroider things around. The players will then have to vote to ratify the agreement.
“As is often the case, the sinews of war will remain the economic issue,” said our source in the Journal. With the pandemic, there are losses of several million for homeowners. And the teams will still have difficulty without the supporters returning to the arenas. We understand this reality, but we cannot cut our wages too much. There will be a limit of almost 20% for escrow (money placed in trust by players). “
After weeks of speculating, the NHL leaders would have made their choice for the two bubble cities. Gary Bettman and Bill Daly would trust Toronto and Edmonton.
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The NHL and the Players’ Association are about to agree on several topics. Thus, the two bubble cities chosen would be Edmonton (photo) and Toronto.
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Las Vegas and Chicago, the two other cities involved in the race, will ultimately not have won due to the increase in cases of coronavirus in the United States.
The 12 Eastern Association teams would therefore play in Toronto, while the 12 Western teams would be in Edmonton.
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The 12 Eastern Association teams would therefore play in Toronto.
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Stable ceiling
Sportsnet colleague Elliotte Friedman said the NHL salary cap would remain stable at $ 81.5 million for the next two seasons. There would be a slight increase of one million for the 2022-2023 season.
A team like the Canadiens, which has had plenty of leeway under the ceiling in recent years, would find themselves benefiting from an almost complete spending freeze over the next three seasons.
Back to the Olympics
Absent in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, the NHL would return to the Olympic Games for the next two editions, in 2022 in Beijing and in 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
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The NHL and the Players ‘Association would agree to players’ participation in the 2022 and 2026 Olympic Games. Sidney Crosby could therefore once again represent Canada at these two major events.
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“There is always a desire to participate in the Olympics among players,” said our western team player. We want to see the best players in the world on the biggest stage. It’s good to take on the Olympic torch even if it affects a small percentage of the 600 or 700 players in the NHL. “
Without Romanov
For the qualification series 3 of 5 between the Canadian and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marc Bergevin and Claude Julien should mourn the young Russian defender Alexander Romanov. Bob McKenzie said on Twitter that the NHL leaders would not open the door for Romanovs, Kirill Kaprizov (Wild)
or Ilya Sorokin (Islanders). The three players signed deals after May 1.
“There are still discussions on this subject,” Dan Milstein, Romanov’s agent, said during a telephone interview. There are still three options: allow players to play, prohibit players from playing, but burn the first year of the agreement and outright ban on playing without spending a contract year. “
A hope like Romanov would be better off burning the first year of a three-year pact faster. It could thus renegotiate upward its agreement at the end of the 2021-2022 season instead of 2022-2023.
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