im not sure but i heard they only have 5 players under contract
right now and none of them are key players
--- In thebruinsden@yahoogroups.com, "Kenneth Porter"
<kbporter463@m...> wrote:
> By Ira Podell, AP Sports Writer | July 13, 2005
>
> NEW YORK --The NHL and the players' association reached an
agreement
> in principle Wednesday on a new labor deal, ending a lockout that
> wiped out last season.
>
> Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts The
sides
> met for 24 hours starting Tuesday afternoon to hammer out the
> collective bargaining agreement that will return the NHL to the
ice.
> In February, commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, making
> the NHL the first North American sports league to lose a year
because
> of a labor dispute.
>
> Both sides still need to ratify the deal, which is expected to
> contain a salary cap. That process is expected to be completed
next
> week, the league and the union said in a joint news release.
>
> It took all night and then some for the final round of
negotiations
> to produce an agreement.
>
> The sides met for 10 straight days in New York, and it became
clear
> Wednesday morning -- the 301st day of the lockout -- that they
> weren't going to leave the room without an agreement in hand.
>
> The expected salary cap will likely have a ceiling approaching $40
> million and a minimum somewhere between $20 million and $25
million.
>
> Player salaries will not exceed 54 percent of league-wide revenues.
>
> Some players in recent days have voiced their displeasure over
what
> will be included in the new agreement.
>
> Bettman warned in February when he canceled the season that the
> offers the union passed up were better than any it would see once
a
> year of hockey was lost.
>
> Just days before the season was wiped out, the players'
association
> said for the first time it would accept a salary cap if the league
> dropped its desire to link player costs to revenues.
>
> Bettman promised "cost certainty" in the form of a hard salary cap
to
> the owners and he has gotten it.
>
> The landscape of the NHL will be quite different than it was back
in
> June 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning skated off with the Stanley
> Cup in the league's last game before the lockout.
>
> Now when the league relaunches in the fall, it will do so with a
> brand new salary structure that keeps high-spending teams such as
> Toronto, Philadelphia and the New York Rangers in line.
>
> The first order of business after the deal is ratified will be to
get
> a majority of the players signed. The belief is that last season's
> contracts will be wiped from the books, leaving many players
without
> deals.
>
> Those who are still under contract will have their salaries
reduced
> by 24 percent, a concept first proposed by the union last December.
>
> There will also be several rules changes that could run the gamut
> from the size of goaltender equipment to the installation of a
> shootout to eliminate tie games.
>
> A draft will also have to be held soon, replacing the June event
that
> was the last casualty of the lockout.
>
> Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby is the consensus choice to be the
No. 1
> pick. Where he goes will be determined by a draft lottery that
will
> give each team an opportunity to snag him.