Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

[du78]

Tough labor negiotiator and former head of the MLBPA Donald Fehr is reportedly to become the new head of the NHLPA. The current CBA expires after the 2011/12 season. There is an option to extend it one year by the players. With the potential hiring of Fehr there could be some major battles over a new CBA.

NY Daily News Story

The current CBA changed college hockey by setting salary caps for rookies, team salaray minimums and caps, and reduced the time a player needed to play to reach free agency. Teams are able to sign young players, even the budding superstars, to relatively low salaries for the initial parts of their careers. With the free agency age having been lowered, teams are signing young players to get them in their system and get as many years out of them as possible at the low initial salaries. If a player doesn't pan out, there is no big dollar loss to the team as there was under the previous CBA that had no salary caps. Donald Fehr kept the salary cap out of baseball and it would not surprise me that his potential hiring by the NHLPA would have the goal of drastically changing the current CBA. It will be interesting to see how all of this shakes out and what effect it will have on college hockey in the future.

Here is a quote from the NY Daily News article by former player Jason Woolley and now agent about the current CBA.

As Jason Woolley, then a defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings and now an agent, told the Daily News on Thursday, "We got our asses handed to us."

 

[Happy]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

I see no reason for a new cba to help out college hockey. the teams really like signing all these young players for cheap, and the union members really don't care about guys that are not even union members yet. The battle will be over the salary cap, and the union will let the teams have this area they way they want it, it isn't worth fighting for.

 

[Larch]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

I see no reason for a new cba to help out college hockey. the teams really like signing all these young players for cheap, and the union members really don't care about guys that are not even union members yet. The battle will be over the salary cap, and the union will let the teams have this area they way they want it, it isn't worth fighting for.

I'm not saying you are wrong, because I'm really not sure, but the flip side of the argument is that these young cheap guys are taking the place of the older union member players, players that would like to be protected a little more. Now that the owners have it, I don't believe the salary cap is going anywhere, unless the players are willing to stick together and take the NHL through another long(er) hiatus, which is something that haven't showed they are able or willing (work cohesively) to do as of late.

I will say that for the product on the ice, it's probably better that we get some of those young guys, but when you are an executive and can have a young guy for 1 million or less and old guy for 3 million, even if the old guy is willing to take the 1 million, that executive is likely taking the young guy in a heartbeat. Don't think the veterans haven't noticed and are willing to fight for that a little bit. There are a number of older guys on the outs this year, that I'm sure would like to see that changed.

 

[MadCityRich]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

Hello work stoppage in 2012.......

 

[Red Cloud]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

I'm not saying you are wrong, because I'm really not sure, but the flip side of the argument is that these young cheap guys are taking the place of the older union member players, players that would like to be protected a little more.

Bingo. For every underclassman that has left college early this offseason, there's one or two veteran players who are still without a job. Guess which one costs less?

 

[Happy]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

I'm not saying you are wrong, because I'm really not sure, but the flip side of the argument is that these young cheap guys are taking the place of the older union member players, players that would like to be protected a little more. Now that the owners have it, I don't believe the salary cap is going anywhere, unless the players are willing to stick together and take the NHL through another long(er) hiatus, which is something that haven't showed they are able or willing (work cohesively) to do as of late.

I will say that for the product on the ice, it's probably better that we get some of those young guys, but when you are an executive and can have a young guy for 1 million or less and old guy for 3 million, even if the old guy is willing to take the 1 million, that executive is likely taking the young guy in a heartbeat. Don't think the veterans haven't noticed and are willing to fight for that a little bit. There are a number of older guys on the outs this year, that I'm sure would like to see that changed.

You have a very valid point. I was thinking of the very good players, who can sign a long term contract, but a journeyman player, getting a little long in the tooth, must hate being replaced that cheaply. There might be hope after all.

 

[du78]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

You have a very valid point. I was thinking of the very good players, who can sign a long term contract, but a journeyman player, getting a little long in the tooth, must hate being replaced that cheaply. There might be hope after all.

I think we are now seeing a lot more veteran NHL and career AHL players heading for Europe as they get older as the young uns are taking their jobs. I don't think the NHLPA is trying to hire Fehr to keep things staus quo although they may extend the current CBA for a year to get all their ducks in a row for a battle.

 

[vizoroo]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

Did Fehr oversee the MLB strike?

 

[du78]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

Did Fehr oversee the MLB strike?

Yes he did.

 

[HarleyMC]

Re: Donald Fehr Replacing Paul Kelly as Head of NHLPA to Negotiate New CBA

IMO it's very likely Fehr will take the job when the offer is presented next month. Fehr has apparently been acting as an unpaid advisor to the PA for the past year, and is very familiar with the union issues that need to be addressed. Squaring off with Bettman for long term veteran contracts, benefits and salary caps within the context of renegotiating the CBA is a welcome battle from a college hockey fan perspective. I'd like to see Wayne Gretsky as the face of the PA with Fehr dictating the script. That's a nightmare scenario for Bettman and NHL owners.