So much for "the hill we will die on."

Remember that one from Deputy Commish, Bill Daly?

And how "insulted" he was by the players response back on December 6?

And how Commish Gary Bettman was "livid" after NHLPA Executive Donald Fehr went to the podium basically saying that the sides were pretty close?

Remember Daly and Bettman at the podium "disappointed beyond belief?" And how they couldn't understand where Fehr got this idea that they were "close" to a deal when "[Fehr] knew there was a major gulf between them [and the owners]?"

Do your remember all that crap? (if not, you can refresh your memory by clicking here and here. Or get a more opinionated view of the events by clicking here.)

Daly's "hill to die on" wasn't really a hill. Nor did they die on it. Maybe it was more like a sand dune and they wanted to play "king of the mountain."

Friday's offer to the players has the NHL moving from five to six years on maximum contract length and from 5% to 10% on contract variance, amongst other things.

Plus, remember that Daly pulled the $300M "make whole" agreement off the table in text to NHLPA Counsel Steve Fehr on that same night? You know, when the owners were so outraged at what Donald Fehr had done?

It's back. In it's entirety.

And, let's go way back to the early counter offer by Fehr and the players.

The original B.S. proposal by Bettman and the NHL had the players share dropping from 57% to 46%. (Tweet from Adam Proteau:  "The moment the proposal was presented, every player in the room knew Gary had just written off 1st 3 months of the season." - an NHL agent.)

Fehr's counter was that the owners should fix the problems they themselves created by enhancing league-wide revenue sharing that could possibly reach as much as $250M. The latest offer has the owners increasing revenue sharing from $150M to $200M, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

There were a lot of lunkheads and their lemming followers/owner lovers who said on numerous occasions that the players should take the offer and be happy.

There were many instances where the NHL said--or implied--that this is as far as they would go.

And there were many instances where Fehr knew they were bluffing.

Bettman said that there is a drop dead date for the season--it needs to start Jan. 19 for a 48-game season and it would seem as if they've finally gotten it through their heads that 50/50 was huge and that the players aren't willing to give much more. Take that revenue split along with a cap on contract length and variance and the owners clearly won.

But, not to the point where it was Dresden with the union totally destroyed.

In fact Fehr has done his job remarkably well, as the Hockey News', Ken Campbell writes, and has salvaged more for the players than anyone, including hardline owners, could have imagined.

Did Donald Fehr go too far with his latest move?

Or did he land a stunning counter punch?

Well, there's no discounting the theatrics of this past Thursday. "Gold, Jerry, gold."

The league had another "take it or leave it" offer on the table--three cornerstones, "not to be cherry-picked" according to Deputy commish Bill Daly--after two days of players/owners discussions.

And out comes NHLPA Director Donald Fehr saying that the two sides are real close, close enough to get 'er done and that they've submitted a counter offer.

The response was from the NHL was, "What?"

And so Fehr heads up to the podium again and says that, ummm, they've left a message saying that the talks are off and their taking the latest contract off of the table.

Bill Daly (l) and Gary Bettman (r)
didn't take too kindly to the events
of Thursday evening.

Daly and his boss Commish Gary Bettman take to the podium livid. They, obviously, thought they had it in the bag. That either they'd got what they wanted or could begin fashioning a public relations onslaught against a union--and it's leader--as the reason the there's still a lockout.

Maybe they haven't figured out that with Fehr, there's no deviance from the plan. He's still negotiating and until both sides can come to an agreement.

But, did he go too far?

Maybe. There's a butt-load of opinions out there suggesting that the players sign the deal so that the business of hockey can get going again. And there are a ton of reasons why this lockout should end, or should have ended already.

That Fehr is loathed by Bettman and the owners is a given. During the players/owners sessions, there seemed to be progress, but when it was mentioned that Fehr be included as the players representative to close the deal, the owners response was that the mere presence of Fehr is considered a deal-breaker.

Not surprising. Ownership consists of shrewd, powerful businessmen who are no strangers to contracts and the legalities therein. And they're lead by a New York Lawyer who's one of the best in the business.

The players play hockey. They need legal counsel.

That's why they hired Donald Fehr, who happens to be the best at what he does.

"NHL commissioner Gary Bettman came to the microphone after meeting with the NHL Players’ Association Thursday afternoon and if you looked closely enough, you could see traces of smoke coming out of his ears."

That was written by the Hockey News' Ken Campbell after the league rejected the NHLPA's tri-offer on October 18.

Everyone thought that plenty of progress had been made, optimism was high, hope reigned supreme. But doom and gloom followed the quick, 10 minute rejection by the NHL.

“It’s clear we’re not talking the same language,” said Bettman, uttering the kind of rhetoric nobody likes to hear in a dispute. “The proposal that was made today, things are not progressing. To the contrary - the proposal that was made by the players’ association was a step backward.”

BAM! That's the sound of reality come crashin' down.

At the time the issue was honoring existing contracts after a 50/50 split with a salary roll back in play. Well, the "make whole" provision appeared and after six weeks of negotiating they seemed to come together on the issue with the NHL putting $300M into the provision.

One should remember that, at the time, there was a large segment of the hockey community who felt that the players should take what they were offered, just like right now. And there was a large Fehr-bashing contingency as well.

But, why did the NHLPA hire Donald Fehr? Because this is what he does, and he does it well.

So when player executive Mathieu Schneider says “It’s just been a moving target,” in regards to how the owners are negotiating, this is something that Fehr knows.

It's understandable when Schneider says he's truly baffled, “I cannot for the life of me understand why they want to be further apart each time."

Fehr understands it. He's seen it before.

This is the example Schneider offered as to why he's baffled (related to length of the new CBA, one of the "three cornerstones" the owners arent' budging on)--"Their first offer was five years. We were at three and an option. We moved up to five years, they moved to six. In this last negotiation this past week, we moved up to six, they moved up to 10. There’s no rhyme or reason for it. The first time we heard 10 was about a week and a half ago when Murray Edwards threw it out at the end of one of the sessions. He said, ‘We’re willing to do a 10-year deal, guys, we think we should do a 10-year deal’."

Oh, Mathieu, there is a rhyme and a reason. They're trying to get the most they can out of a good hearted, well meaning Canadian like yourself. Just remember the reason you all hired Donald Fehr.

"And Don (Fehr) said, ‘You think you should do a 10-year deal because it’s a great deal for you’. (Edwards) didn’t really have any response for that.”

BAM! In your face.

And what about another "cornerstone," the "hill that the owners are willing to die on?" The five year contract limit with a 5% salary variance year-to-year?

Adam Proteau of the Hockey News answered that by saying "the league wants not simply to get a larger piece of its revenue stream, but to effectively tie down the union’s ability to control how its membership splits their 50 percent.

And he quotes an email from a player agent. Said the agent, 'The players have agreed to go to 50-50 for the last "x" number of years of the deal. Shouldn't that be all that matters? Why does the league have to "die on the hill" on an allocation of dollars issue? It's the PA’s 50 percent, the PA should dictate who gets what. Why does the league care and how does the allocation jeopardize franchises?'

As of right now the NHLPA has not addressed the "three cornerstones" directly. And is seems as if the hockey community will do it for him.

In extracting extreme emotion from Bettman and Daly, Fehr got them to express, in no uncertain terms, exactly where they stand and expose just what kind of control freaks he's dealing with.

But, of all the stupid things that Bettman and Daly said on Thursday, the "die on the hill remark" is probably the most damaging.

Sure, the owners in haste and disgust pulled everything off the table, but they're really willing to scrap everything because they want more control over the players share?

Really?

So, in fact, Fehr really didn't go to far. He did what was necessary.

That Bettman has a counterpart equal to himself in this process has left him angry and somewhat bewildered. Just look at the reaction from Thursday night.

Katie Baker of Grantland, writes an insightful piece on Bettman and just how strong he is as a negotiator.

Baker touches upon the greatness of Bettman and his negotiating, using a quote from Leafs GM Brian Burke from "The Art and Analytics of Negotiation" panel he was on:   'There's smart--and then there's Bettman smart. He's a very three steps ahead guy.

But here's why Donald Fehr is so reviled by ownership. He's getting Bettman to slip up. She culls a quote from an interview back on Nov. 19 concerning the leagues first offer (from Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free press interview)

Free Press: Was the aggressive nature of your first offer to the players a mistake?
GB: I think the view some have of our first offer is fairly naive as it relates to collective bargaining. A sophisticated negotiator would have looked at it and said, 'Obviously they want a 50-50 split.' If we're at 57 and they propose 43, they must be telegraphing where they want to end. If your intention was to use it in an inflammatory way, you could do that. If your intention was to make a deal, you could pretty much chart out what the course should be.

She follows that up:

"His candor made me think of something else Burke had said during the Art and Analytics of Negotiation panel at the SSAC: 'My theory is, make the first meeting as short and unpleasant as possible," he said. "Sometimes it's better to just punch the guy in the face.'

Burke was hamming it up a bit for the audience then, but it's a good reminder of how much of this lockout is scripted. It's easy to read everything into a rejected offer or delivered ultimatum, but sometimes all it means is that a negotiation is going on.'

A script written by the owners (actually written by law firm Proskauer Rose for the NBA followed by the NHL) with "a pretty obvious ending, too. Before any irreparable harm, the [NBA] owners backed off their draconian demands, and the players agreed to take a smaller piece of the overall pie."

And it was a course charted by the owners  (in the words of former NHL GM, Doug Maclean) “knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out until December 1st, and then at December 1st getting a deal done.”

That was until Thursday night (December 6th, a little later than planned) when Fehr did not follow the script. And worse, by improvising beyond anything the "Bettman-smart" league prepared for, he created a melee' of emotions from the NHL.

Said Baker, "It's alarming when you start to see emotion creep into the boardroom, especially from executives who ought to know better."

That's what happens when the doozy of a counter punch by Fehr landed squarely on the chin of Bettman.

The league will need to give on the "three cornerstones" if they want a deal done. If they don't, then Fehr still has the George Forman right hook to unleash--decertification.

If that lands, all hell will break loose.

Other links:

Jonathan Willis, the Edmonton Journal, on when it makes sense not to make a deal.
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/12/06/nhl-lockout-when-it-makes-sense-not-to-make-a-deal/

Peter Adler, the Edmonton Journal, on player dissent beginning to bubble
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/12/07/nhl-players-starting-to-ask-uncomfortable-questions-of-fehrs-leadership-peter-adler-reports/

Ed Tait, Winnipeg Free Press, on the theatrics of Thursday with quotes from some Jets players
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/nhl/uncomfortably-numb-182643171.html

Ray Ratto, CSNBayArea, the battle is between Fehr and Jacobs, not Fehr and Bettman
http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/ray-ratto/nhl-labor-dispute-about-nothing-more-jacobs-vs-fehr?awid=8205779091953272754-766
Sean Conboy, Pittsburgh Magazine, with a historical parallel from the 1959 steel strike
http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/Pulling-No-Punches/December-2012/The-Lost-City/

Jeremy Rutherford, St. Louis Post Dispatch, David Backes called the Thursday night drama, "a kick in the groin"
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/backes-spells-out-players-position-in-nhl-talks/article_94d8e547-1982-5d8a-8b2b-f20c86a32fb7.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Jen Floyd Engel, Fox Sports, the NHL is like Lindsay Lohan--from a cute, little red head to a train wreck
http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/lockout-labor-talks-halted-nhl-self-destructing-like-lindsay-lohan-scale-120712

Joe Haggerty, Comcast Sportsnet Northeast, on the owners disdain for Donald Fehr how close the sides are
http://www.csnne.com/12/08/12/Haggerty-Two-sides-remain-so-close-so-fa/nbcsportsbruins.html?blockID=811401&feedID=10428

Mike from Attleboro, CSSNE, on why fans should really hate the owners/why Fehr should (have) capitulate (d).
http://www.csnne.com/hockey-boston-bruins/bruins-talk/Losses-piling-up-for-Fehr-NHLPA-in-losin?blockID=811111&feedID=3352

I love what Donald Fehr is doing

To have NHL Commish stomp to the podium like a little boy spurned by a girl is, in the words of Seinfeld's Kramer, "Gold, Jerry...Gold."

Nearly everything in these negotiations has been settled upon, according to CBC's Elliotte Friedman, save for "three cornerstones" which are: 

• a 10-year deal with a mutual re-opener after eight seasons
• a five-year term limit on contracts (seven years for your own player) -- player contract length is the "hill we will die on," according to [Deputy Commish, Bill] Daly.
• no compliance buyouts or caps on player escrow as the NHL and NHLPA transition from the old CBA to the new one.

Daly also pointed out that its all or none, there will be "no cherry-picking."

The piece by Friedman is a real good read, from a well respected journalist. Amongst the intricacies of the process he points out is this segment:

During his media conference, the commissioner was annoyed when one reporter suggested the two sides didn't trust each other.

"I don't understand what that word means," Bettman said, claiming they were just "hard negotiations."

I was surprised at that, because other members of the league's negotiating team throughout this process have sensed otherwise.

"Some of [the players] trust us, but not all of them," one said. That is one reason things went from "it might be the best day so far" (Steve Fehr on Tuesday) to an 18-car pileup 48 hours later.

Ideological differences

That negotiator said there are obvious ideological differences and that "Fehr has given them a philosophy and they've bought into it."

Apparently, part of that is trying to convince the owners they need "lubrication in the system" -- which is sort of a code for being able to circumvent the cap. If you were a player, you'd want that too.

Quietly, the NHL has mounted an anti-Fehr smear campaign. If the players had any doubt about how angry he's made the league, it dissipated Wednesday, when the NHL made it clear "the inclusion of Fehr was a deal-breaker," said Ron Hainsey, referring to the players' wish to bring their lead negotiator back to the table. 

The "anti-Fehr smear campaign" that the NHL has mounted against Donald Fehr is in full swing and it's monstrous. Some blogs from another site:

• Enough is Enough--"I know that the players want what’s best for the game, the problem is, they are being led by a person that had to “learn the game” and while he may have learned it... he doesn't understand it. This mess… this I lay at the feet of one person. Donald Fehr."
• Players should fire Fehr--"Some 19 years after a Fehr-led labor dispute essentially ruined baseball (for me and many others), I have become increasingly more and more convinced that Fehr is a rat; he does not operate in good faith. He will scorch the earth and ruin the game itself in the name of destroying the opposition."
• At least we know who the problem is--"What has occurred here is absolutely disgusting. Donald Fehr might be the worst person ever involved with the NHL. If the season is done, it's his fault. Not the owners, not the teams, not Bettman or Daly...I don't even completely blame the players involved with the PA, whose biggest sin is that they're acting like naive children following their leader blindly. Fehr is the Puppetmaster, and quite obviously, he's sick between the ears."

That's not even getting into the comments section of any online article or blog which were by and large anti-players to begin with.

Sorry disappoint, boys. But, to paraphrase Sabres owner Terry Pegula, "Fehr ain't goin' nowhere."

Y'all think the players hired Fehr to buckle like their previous "leadership?" Fuggedaboudit.

He's been through this movie before, he knows the inner workings of a CBA, he knows who he's dealing with across the table and, like a great chess player, he's thinking two, three, four moves in advance.

And he couldn't have played this one any better. Just look what it did to Bettman:

• [Don] Cherry, 'I've never seen Bettman so livid'
• Union head Donald Fehr driving NHL owners nuts over lockout

It was such a heart-breaking gut-punch to Bettman that he finally let some previously gagged owners speak.

This is great stuff and this is why I love that Donald Fehr is on board with the players, the guy is sharp and in control and put the NHL ownership hacks in there place. This is what Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell was saying when he penned, Owners shouldn’t underestimate the Fehr factor.

Just looked at how the Fehr brothers played this one out. (with help from theprovince.)

Negotiations ended, Donald Fehr heads to the podium with optimism. Bill Daly is listening and saying, whoa, wait a minute, that's not what we're thinking.

He calls Steve Fehr who, doesn't answer (LOL), and proceeds to leave a voice mail saying the offer is unacceptable and that everything that was agreed upon is now off the table.

Donald Fehr heads back to the podium (17:00-mark.)

"It looks like this is not going to be resolved in the immediate future," he said. "Previously we didn't think we were nearly as far apart as the owners did, but i think it's clear now after the positions the players took today that there doesn't seem to be much room, certainly not unbridgeable room."

BOOM!!!  Bettman and Daly are left flustered and angry that they did not get their way. (Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, the dynamic duo Q&A)

"Gold, Jerry, Gold"

Y'all can hate on Fehr all you want, but the guy is good, scary good.

I highly doubt that the players are in the dark on all this.

And don't think that there are any amongst the 18 players at the table who are weak like Roman Hamrlik. Pretty sure he hand-picked clutch players to go up against the owners for two days.

He gave them the play...

the NHLPA just tied the score with less than a minute to play.



edits: 

--A very even-keeled post by an excellent writer, Bill Meltzer, concerning the events of yesterday, complete with wrestling analogies.
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Bill-Meltzer/Meltzers-Musings-CBA-Works-and-Shoots-Friday-Fix/45/47840

--some player reactions, from tsn

--Sportsnet.ca's Stephen Brunt on Bettman facing off against his twin across the table in his piece 30 minutes of madness.

--It's "owners" (WGR's Jeremy White) vs. "players" (the Buffalo News' Jerry Sullivan) in a heated debate over the NHL lockout. Great stuff.

--Sportsnet's Michael Grange on "bad boyfriend" Gary Bettman.

--Sabres d-man Robyn Regehr on the lockout

--Cam Cole of the Edmonton Sports Journal:  NHL's sorry game takes another downward turn.

Donald Fehr's the man, plus touching upon possible NHLPA decertification

Granted, he's no angel, but the NHLPA did well hiring him.

Yeah, the haters can let loose and talk about baseball and the loss of the 1994 World Series, but has there been a work stoppage since?

And for those who say the players should just take what's been offered and get back to playing, put a sock in it...

and get a life.

Sorry that you have no focal point for you docile life now that hockey's gone, but that's not the fault of hockey. There's plenty of hockey outside of the NHL to watch as the AHL is stronger and the minor leagues offer glimpses of future NHL greatness.

Oh, you're not interested in that? Not interested in what those have to offer? Won't pay to see second and third-rate hockey?

Thank you. You justified why the players make what they do. The average AHL attendance for last season was 5638. The Phoenix Coyotes, whipping-boy for everything that's wrong with Commish Gary Bettman and the foibles of NHL owners, had an average home attendance of 12,420.

"The players are spoiled millionaires," you say, "while I bust my ass just happy to have a job and make what I make."

Dump that thought.

Once again, any comparisons between professional athletes and "Average Joe" need to stop immediately and y'all need to get your head straight. Nobody in their right mind would spend money to watch "Average Joe" unload a truck, crunch numbers at an accounting firm, design a building, or flip a cheeseburger. About the closest thing is watching a "Cocktail"-like bartender ply his trade or a Japanese chef swirl his knives while cooking your dinner. In which case, there's no admission charge as the entertainment is paid for by tips. (btw, the better the bartender or chef, the more they make which might be construed as a Pro athlete/Average Joe comparable)

So get over yourself. Sidney Crosby should never be compared to "Joe Schmoe." Nor should the NHL be compared to any other business in the "real world."

Jeremy White is a world-class owner apologist whenever the lockout comes up on WGR. "The players are paid well, they should take their cut and play hockey," he says. And he also says that there is no partnership, the owners own the business and they're in charge.

White, like many of us "Average Joe's," doesn't fully understand the relationship of owners, players and U.S. anti-trust laws either.

A caller on The Hockey Hotline yesterday laid out the relationship very well, and here it is in a nutshell:

• There are anti-trust laws in the U.S. that say there cannot be a monopoly in an area of business.
• The NHL (like the other major U.S. sports) have a monopoly on their sport.
• They dictate the professional life of an NHL player from being drafted, to the minors to his entry-level contract, to restricted free agency to the point of unrestricted free agency.
• They also, as a group, the owners say how much a player can make on his entry-level contract and through the cap, at all stages of his career.
• The NHL is in complete control, and it would be illegal in the United States except for the existence of the players union and the negotiated collective bargaining agreement between the two sides.
• Through that agreement, the players allow the league that control as long as they are compensated (in their eyes) fairly.

The fact is, there is a partnership between the NHL and NHLPA and it exists because of the CBA. If the NHLPA union decertified, like the NFLPA did a little while back, the NHL would be in violation of United States anti-trust laws in terms of monopolizing a business. (*quick note, those laws seem to be softening in favor of the owners)

I'd bet that most fans never even considered the aforementioned partnership of pro sports ownership and their respective unions.

As for Fehr, he knows what he's doing. He knows how to decipher offers, how to bargain (if the other side is ready to sit down at the table) and he's a great communicator with his constituents.

From the get-go, he knew what was coming and told the players to put money away (two years salary) as the owners were serious about this lockout.

From the first offer made by the NHL, he explained to the players what the offer was and how it would affect their career (not that much needed to be explained with that nonsensical offer.)

He's a shrewd negotiator and has kept his agenda on the table, much to the consternation of the NHL, knowing full well where the NHL wants to be.

Fehr keeps the players informed and will travel anywhere they want him to as evidenced by his trip to Minnesota in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

But, through all of this, his biggest task will be to keep his 700 constituents together as one. Right now, any cracks in the union are hairline, as the players won't feel the full affects of the lockout financially until next month when there will be no income coming in ( they just received their one and only escrow check.)

Fehr was in Minnesota briefing players on the lastest developments and sat down with Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist Mike Russo (via CBSSportlsine's Brian Stubitz) and admitted that there are some fractures in the union but said, 'it doesn't mean you make a bad deal because of it.'

He also knows (and has always known, one would think) that there eventually be a 50/50 split of revenues between the NHL and the players. How they end up there remains to be worked out as well as a bevy of other "smaller issues" that are on the table, but he is willing to work and to keep the best interests of his constituency in mind.

Former NHLPA reps Bob Goodenow and Paul Kelly opened the door to the salary-cap world in 2004. With that in place the owners seem hell-bent upon wringing everything they can out of the players, not only to increase revenues but also to cover their own foibles and constant missteps.

With those salary-cap floodgates open, Fehr is trying to place the responsibility of the owner's problems in it's proper place, right on their laps, not where the owner's want to place it, with the players.

If there ever was a negotiator to get the job done on behalf of the players, it's Donald Fehr.



http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/48812-NHL-finally-getting-serious-at-bargaining-table.html

Addendum from the Washington Post, November 21, 2012 by Thomas Boswell on Donald Fehr
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/capitals/nhl-lockout-owners-shouldnt-underestimate-the-fehr-factor/2012/11/21/7529ec82-341b-11e2-bb9b-288a310849ee_story.html