Realities of a 'space' age
CBA option year calls for foresight
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Peter Schaefer may see the NHL light of day again, but given that this is what amounts to a "spacer" year in the league's collective bargaining agreement, it's a far better bet that the veteran winger will toil in Providence with the Wanna-B's for 2008-09. Come next June, and the league's annual two-week buyout period, he'll probably be bought out, his lingering footnote to be a cap hit of some $750,000 for the two seasons through 2010-11.
Had it not been for the "spacer," in play because the Players Association has yet to decide whether to extend the CBA beyond this season, Schaefer could have been kept on Boston's books. Perhaps his game would have improved, making him a vital member of the Black-and-Gold varsity, or more attractive as trade bait. Doubtful, but possible.
To call him back to Boston now, or any time this season, the Bruins run the risk of getting stuck with half his cap number (what would be $1.1 million) fixed to their bottom line for this season and next. Right now, with the payroll less than $1 million from the $56.7 million maximum, it's not a move that general manager Peter Chiarelli is allowed to consider.
Frankly, among the few positives of waiving Schaefer to the minors is the fact that his salary - though still paid by the Boston Professional Hockey Association - reads as $0.00 against the cap.
Meanwhile, the NHLPA is within its right to ruminate over the CBA decision. Let's not forget - as some grousing front-office folks have - that the owners signed the deal in the summer of 2005, fully aware that this could end up the uncomfortable, confounding business scenario for the 2008-09 season.
Sure, a good number of owners feel hamstrung if their payrolls are tucked close to the cap. Not knowing whether there will be NHL hockey in 2009-10 means that bonus clauses (i.e. performance bonuses) must be factored as full salary for this season's cap. In prior years, there was a 7.5 percent cushion, allowing for clubs to exceed the "hard" number. But with next season in question, the cushion is gone.
With . . . next . . . season . . . in . . . question.
Good grief. Yes, technically, it could happen again. It remains up to the players. They can take weeks or months to decide whether they want to decapitate the golden goose and push owners to consider Lockout No. 3 as a viable option as the means to craft a new CBA.
Truth is, another work stoppage is not a viable option, not one the owners or players should consider. The view here is that it would be nothing short of risible, not to mention irresponsible, for the players to issue their notification to terminate a deal that guarantees, at bare minimum, some $1.2 billion in salaries this season. If they did, would it not so infuriate the owners that they once again would play hardball hockey and attach 30 padlocks on their businesses?
It could be that a few players - maybe only a handful - bet that the owners would never be so dumb. Well, that's a bad bet.
Sure, a terminated deal could bring both sides to the table for a prompt negotiation and a new deal, the current pact nipped and tucked, in place well ahead of the start of the September 2009 training camps.
But anyone who has watched the angst, pain, and carnage of the prior work stoppages (one strike, two lockouts) wouldn't count on the process being carried along on fleet feet. Not with 30 angry owners, one broken deal, and a totally alienated fan base as some of the ingredients tossed into the pot.
What is the biggest change since the last lockout? Frankly, it's that the players have their best leadership in history, with the bright and articulate Paul Kelly at the helm as NHLPA executive director. Nothing much, if anything, has changed on the owners' side. They remain virtually the same motley, competitive lot.
The players themselves are only slightly more intent on understanding the business, their union, and how even an imperfect CBA (as all of them are) is better than a broken business.
All we know right now is that the players, at Kelly's urging, plan to inform the owners around Jan. 1 whether they'll live with this deal through at least the spring of 2012. If they say no - something that too often has been all but embedded in their DNA - they will officially become the laughingstock of all North America's pro athletes.
"I enjoy it more, watching live," Neely said, hours before the season-opening faceoff in Denver. "You see more."
Neely, at the urging of general manager Peter Chiarelli, recently spoke by phone with Red Wing great Steve Yzerman, who also is growing into a vital role in Detroit's front office.
"I've seen where it's been rumored that he'll be a GM someday," said Neely. "And I don't know if that's his plan or not, but I know that's not the direction I see myself going in.
"I like what I'm doing, getting involved in a number of different areas, both on the hockey side and the business side. I think I have an understanding of what our fans expect, especially the kind of players they like, and I really enjoy focusing on that aspect of the job."
On the business side, said Neely, "You don't really realize what goes on, day to day, until you get in there and experience it - things like season tickets, suites, sponsorships. All that's pretty interesting, too."
As for something Neely doesn't like about the executive life, it's meetings - especially when one leads to another, and ultimately all the action leads to . . . another meeting.
"Yeah, I jokingly say all the time, I think people would behave differently if you could drop your gloves, or even your computer, and maybe [all] you'd get for it would be a couple of minutes instead of a pair of handcuffs," he said.
"Meetings for the sake of meetings? All that circling back, it's not for me. From a player's standpoint, you play a game and at the end you've won or lost. Then what? You play again."
Pierre McGuire, longtime TSN analyst, has identified 42 players - 15 of them locks - to fill the Team Canada roster for the 2010 Olympic Games. Not a Bruin in the bunch. The effervescent McGuire considers ex-Bruin center Joe Thornton to be one of 15 candidates vying for one of the final three spots at forward.
Brain trust: Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, in his third season running the franchise, is more relaxed these days dealing with the media, in large groups such as the club's recent media day at the Garden and in one-on-one situations. "I think I am getting better," he said. "I was untrusting at first, and I came off guarded for that reason. And the more success you have, the easier the media is." Why the untrusting approach? "Some of it was the circumstances I came into the job with," he said, noting the awkward transition from Ottawa to Boston. "I didn't have time to get adjusted. I probably put up a wall, took a position of, 'Let me deal with [team matters], and I'll get to that later.' "
Clinical approach: Former Bruins winger and scout Tom Songin has begun his new duties as the club's youth hockey ambassador. The affable "Bomber" will be working the Massachusetts-Rhode Island-Southern New Hampshire region, mostly running on-ice clinics for kids ages 7-10. "I love the Bruins, and I love kids," said Songin, kidding that if he ever left the franchise he would have to buy a whole new wardrobe (at least jackets and sweaters). "So this is perfect for me."
Loose pucks: Chiarelli on Vladimir Sobotka, cut last week and back in Providence: "He was right on the cusp of making it, and it would surprise me if he's not back in short order." The salary cap dynamics, as in Peter Schaefer's case, played a part in Sobotka's demotion . . . Six goals for the Canucks on opening night in an embarrassing shutout of the Flames. Impressive for a squad that averaged only 2.52 goals per game (tied for 22d in the league) last season . . . Red Wings icons Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay joined in the festivities at the Joe Thursday night, helping to carry out the latest Stanley Cup banner (No. 11 in a series). Hard to get a full handle on TV, but once again, it sure looked like a lot of empty seats in the lower bowl at the Joe. And for a Cup champ, no less . . . Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal reports that the Bruins have increased season-ticket sales to 9,000 from last season's lowly 6,220 . . . Look for the Blackhawks, if Nikolai Khabibulin soon doesn't find work in Russia, to push their former No. 1 goalie to the minors, where he could be "Schaefered" for the season. The Bulin Wall is on the books for $6.75 million this season, and word around the United Center is that the Hawks were confident that agent Jay Grossman was about to find a deal last week for his client to play in the KHL. When that didn't come to fruition, GM Dale Tallon kept Khabibulin in Chicago, but soon that goodwill will go the way of all things in the Windy City - out the window. . . Cam Neely, in reviewing the size and skill set of Bruins rookie Blake Wheeler, said he couldn't remember a day when the Bruins had that combination at the wing. "Certainly not in my 10 years," mused Neely. "We had Muzz [Glen Murray] at the start of his career, but he wasn't as fast. Mike Knuble wasn't as fast. Blake is great along the board and in the corners, and I think he's only going to get better for us." . . . Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford told TSN last week that he wants his coaching and training staff to back off some drills. The ex-goalie is convinced that overtraining, specifically some strenuous drills, is hurting some players and leading to serious injury. To wit: forward Justin Williams, who tore his Achilles' tendon while out on a run prior to training camp. Williams could be out at least six months. "They're working out all the time," Rutherford told TSN. "It's like we're training for the Olympics." With the 2010 Games not far on the horizon, they are training for Olympus. But Rutherford's point is well taken, especially considering the grind of an 82-game regular season and the possibility of playing two months in the postseason.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
