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NHLPA disputes report of agreement on salary cap formulaFriday, August 31, 2007 The NHLPA said no agreements have been reached in talks between NHL and NHLPA negotiators, who continue to meet in New York. The NHLPA was responding to a report in the Toronto Globe and Mail that the two sides had agreed to formula on a salary cap system. "The NHLPA and NHL discussions this week continue to cover a range of issues such as controls on team salaries, revenue sharing, Olympic participation, the amateur player draft and player retention rights. While the parties continue to have discussions to reach a common ground, no agreements have been reached," NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon was quoted as saying by USA Today. The Toronto Globe and Mail reported on its web site Wednesday afternoon that the two sides have agreed to a salary cap system that will be based on team-by-team revenues. It's not clear how each team's salary floor and cap will be determined, but it will be based on some kind of formulated percentage of the team's revenues, according to the Globe and Mail. Based on next season's projected revenues the newspaper reported that the salary floor is expected to be $22-24 million and the salary cap will be $34-36 million. TSN's Bob McKenzie questioned the Globe and Mail report in a commentary Wednesday night, saying a $36 million cap based on individual team revenues doesn't add up. "To put it bluntly, if the NHL teams with the highest revenues can't spend any more than $36 million on player costs, you can be sure the new economic system is not based on individual club revenues, which is the premise of the Globe and Mail story," McKenzie said. "Now, if all the Globe is actually saying is that big revenue teams will get to spend at the top of end of the $36 million range and small revenue teams will have to spend near the bottom end, well, that's a different story because one suspects those salary range numbers were determined by a percentage of league-wide revenues, such as the 54 per cent figure the league has wanted for a long time." The Globe and Mail reported the cap is expected to include not just payroll, but benefits and signing and performance bonuses as well and that there is also expected to be a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax that will kick in at the midpoint between the floor and the cap, which could put in in the $28-30 million range. The two sides have apparently moved on to other key issues, but some believe negotiators could go back to the cap issue and rework the numbers based on settlements on those other issues. Those other key issues include salary arbitration, free agency, qualifying offers and the entry-level system.
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