[SmithL]

I know some of you care about such matters. But I'm not finished with Football, yet.

[mike182d]

Give 'em salary caps. If I was Detroit or New York, paying millions upon millions of dollars for an all-star line up that cannot perform while a team like the Lightning are able to utilize new, younger, non-superfamous talent (Andrychuck doesn't count) to win the Stanely Cup, I would be screaming: "WHAT THE HECK AM I PAYING YOU FOR AND WHY ON EARTH DO YOU WANT MORE MONEY TO DO IT?!"

[akorahil]

Pinging...

[thackney]

NHL????

Didn't that used to be a hockey league?

[OhMike]

They're not playing? Gee, I hadn't missed them.

[Minn]

I can't decide whether I prefer hockey this season, or the money the Wild will refund to me soon if there is no season.

[Chad Fairbanks]

[airborne]

Owners want to break the union, not settle.

That's what the plan has been all along. This is a meeting set up by the NHLPA. The owners are just playing along.

Bottom line - no NHL this year.

[isom35]

I'm pretty much rooting for no hockey at all. maybe that would free up the tv schedule for more texas poker, or even billiards.

[airborne]

Associated Press
A look at key points of NHL Players' Association six-year proposal to the NHL:


Salary rollback
Immediately cuts 24 percent off all existing contracts. NHLPA says that will save teams $270 million in the first year and $528 million over three years. The previous offer of Sept. 9 offered a 5 percent rollback.


Salary restraints
Would restrict rookie contracts to $850,000 a year for three years, down from last season's $1.2 million level.There would also be reductions in qualifying offers to restricted free agents, and would give clubs the chance to elect arbitration in a system similar to one used in baseball. The union estimates clubs will save $400 million over the next six years and reduce the aggregate qualifying offers due to restricted free agents by $285 million over three years.


Luxury tax
Would penalize teams 20 cents for each dollar they spend between $45 million and $50 million. The penalty would increase to 25 percent the second year and 30 percent in the third. Teams spending between $50 million and $60 million would be taxed 50 cents on the dollar the first year, 55 cents the second year and 60 cents the third. Those with payrolls above that would have to pay 60 cents for every dollar the first year, 65 cents the second and 70 cents the third year on each dollar over the threshold. Includes a revenue-sharing plan to bring the bottom 15 teams within 30 percent of the revenues of the top 15 teams.


Joint player-club committees
Committees would be designed to ensure improvements in the game, its marketing and its revenues. The players proposed to play in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.