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The One Question The Players Can Ask the Owners That Will End The Lockout |
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The players are negative because they are so frustrated and so little in control of this mess. They have worked their entire lives to get here and you certainly cant blame them one iota for looking around and saying the season is doomed. When you can't control a situation you quickly protect yourself and brace for the worst. I can hear some of you out there saying, "but the players DO control this situation. They could accept a deal and be back on the ice." While I do believe Fehr would listen to them, the players still believe Gary is in control and the only way back is to just take whatever Gary says. While I personally do believe they SHOULD in fact accept the monetary deal and then negotiate the contractual issues (much of which they could in fact win on if the owners knew the security was there) the players loyalty is keeping them from doing that. I will say this again. The NHL realizes this and has taken Gary out of it and the players are very interested in the idea of negotiating without Gary there.
My mantra for this lockout now is "Accept a 10 year Deal and Let the Owners Throw Money at you for a decade." Players shouldn't be wasting their time with all the minutia that remains. The check missed on December 15th will cost them more than they will win if they negotiate a deal December 16th...and of course after that they are just throwing money away.
Make less of a deal with Gary so you can get way more out of your owner...players would much rather negotiate a deal with the guy who has paid him and treated him well and with respect.
I am not saying punt on the contractual issues. I am just saying this...
Remember the question Fehr "reportedly" asked Gary...
If Fehr actually HAD ask Gary "If we accept the monetary structure would you negotiate all the contractual issues" I am told Gary's response wouldn't have been "No" but would have been, "So are you accepting the monetary structure?"
I believe that. But Fehr asked something slightly different. There has been much confusion over what exactly was said because the statement came when the whole conference room was falling apart. It was during a time when essentially all the people in the meeting had paired off in separate side discussions/arguments. The owners frustrated that Fehr was 6 hours late to the meeting, the players frustrated and feeling "talked down to" by Gary.
One described it to me as a bench clearing brawl. Some heard Fehr say "something like that" while others said to me, "I know what the report is referring to, but that's not exactly what went down."
Regardless, I have been told over and over again that these contractual issues aren't deal breakers to the owners by a long shot. Not even close. More than one team person has told me they wouldn't miss a single practice over 90% of them.
If the players do meet the owners one on one this is what I would say. One simple sentence.
"If we accept the best 50/50,. Make Whole, and Rev Sharing Deal you put on the table, what is the best you can do for us on the contractual issues"
And then the players should realize they aren't negotiators and not say another word. Don't offer anything to them owners on the contractual issues. Let the owners negotiate among themselves just how important thee contractual issues really are to them? Let the owners come back with the best of what they can do. I believe by listening to what the owners come back with the players will find out what contractual issues matter to the owners and what don't.
And I believe a deal can be struck quickly on any of the small contractual negotiations the players and owners work out. Trust me. The owners will talk contractual issues once they know their overall stability is there.
There is a deal to be made.
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