It's 3 full season's into the NHL Salary Cap Era, is the league 100% safe now from another lockout?

Question

Will the NHLPA fight to get rid of the Salary Cap or maybe look to raise the cap floor and cap celling?

Does the NHL have something new in mind that could lead to a new conflict between the owners and the players?

Right now I haven't seen anything in the news that could led of to another lockout but there still plenty of time (about 4 years) left of the CBA which expires on (9/15/11).

Answer 1

no its not really safe

Answer 2

H, E, double hockey sticks no!

If anything, they are more likely to strike over an impasse every time the owners and NHLPA have to negotiate a new contract.

Answer 3

The league is extremely safe.  The last CBA guaranteed players a minimum percentage of league revenues, and as long as the teams meet that guideline, the players have no issues.  The salary cap ceiling and floor calculations were agreed upon by the NHL and NHLPA and an external auditor enforces them.

Where things will get tense is when revenues start dropping (and with it the salary cap).  There are provisions in the CBA to protect against this, but a long term decline in revenues could be an issue (although the NHL has not had a season where total revenues revenues have declined since 1963).

As for Hossa's salary - he has the perfect salary (and Devellano has been trumping this recently - Hossa's the 14th highest points p[er game, and the 16th highest salary).

Keep in mind, if the players don't think the Cap is working (and Kelly does have a lot of issues), the players can re-open negotiations at the end of 2008-2009 season,  the owners do not have this right at any point in the contract..

Answer 4

The more money the league makes, the higher the salary cap will get.

Last season is was 52 million dollars for every team but since the NHL made more money they moved the salary cap up to 56 million

Answer 5

Not at all. Have you seen the contracts given this year?