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NHL`s Opportunistic Fight With The NHLPA
by PuckStopsHere on 11/04/09 at 10:48 AM ET
Comments (2)
The NHLPA is in a shambles. The NHL is using this weakness to launch an attack on the NHLPA, as the NHLPA is not in a position to defend itself well. This summer, Dany Heatley, then an Ottawa Senator, demanded a trade. Heatley then declined to be traded to the Edmonton Oilers, as he had a no movement clause in his contract. This allowed him to deny any trades (despite the fact he requested one). Ottawa spent most of the summer dealing with the Heatley drama until they finally traded him to the San Jose Sharks. Heatley and a fifth round pick were traded to San Jose in exchange for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick. So far, this trade has favored San Jose as Heatley has 17 points by himself and Michalek and Cheechoo have combined for ten points in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is unhappy with the situation. He is upset at the fact that Heatley`s contract called for him to be paid a $4 million bonus on July 1st that Melnyk could have avoided paying if the Oiler trade had been approved by that date. Melnyk has filed a grievance that will likely be heard by an arbitrator to try to make Heatley pay back the bonus. This move is unlikely to be successful, but if it has any chance of succeeding it is when the NHLPA is at its lowest point and unable to mount a solid defence.
Everything Heatley did was well within his rights as stated in his contract. His no movement clause is clearly stated in his contract. The details of his compensation are clearly stated in his contract. There is nothing to say that Heatley cannot request a trade or cannot be requested to waive his no movement clause and there is nothing to force either side to accept those requests. Ottawa may not be happy about the events that transpired, but that doesn`t change the fact that the rules as set out in the contract were followed.
From a greater NHL standpoint, this is an attempt to reduce player costs. Player costs are set as a percentage of league revenue in the CBA. For a given league revenue, nothing changes the player costs. Signing an extra player to a contract does not change the overall player costs, it merely shuffles them. The money paid to the new player comes out of reduced payments to the other players under contract. These costs can be shuffled from team to team (in that the team with the new contract will pay more than they otherwise would have), but on a leaguewide basis the player costs are the same. This changes if there is a mechanism to clawback money from players for various reasons (such as Heatley`s refusing a trade). This could reduce overall player costs below what is specified by the CBA. The NHL wants to set a precedent to clawback player salaries. That is the goal of the Dany Heatley case.
The Ottawa Senators are not happy with Dany Heatley. They have no reason to be happy with him. That doesn`t change the fact that his contract was followed in the events of the summer. There is no reason to clawback money paid to Heatley. There is no case whatsoever for the path Eugene Melnyk is following. It wouldn`t be happening if there was a strong NHLPA. This is an attack on a weak NHLPA. Most likely, the NHL will not get their wishes in arbitration, but they will get some people on their side who don`t like the selfish way Dany Heatley behaved. The illwill created might help in a future labor fight between the NHL and NHLPA. The NHLPA does not have the strength to show that they are being attacked by the NHL with nuisance cases. They will not successfully use this as a rallying point in any future labor battles. The NHL is attacking while the NHLPA is down. As a result, they are willing to attack in ways they wouldn`t with a strong opponent.
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Tags: Dany+Heatley, Eugene+Melnyk, NHLPA, Ottawa+Senators, San+Jose+Sharks,
Comments
In my opinion, this would have happened if the NHLPA was as functional as it is currently dysfunctional because Melnyk simply wants his money back.
Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 11/04/09 at 02:28 PM ET
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I think this civil war within the NHLPa will only putter out after everyone is fired or quites. That is not in the best interests of the players, but Cheli’s determination to take control of the PA at all costs will gut the union further in its ability to mount a defence. What is his next move? Move the PA to Detroit or Chicago where he can ensure that he can run the operation under his finger better?
Posted by JBlake from Scarborough on 11/04/09 at 12:30 PM ET