The NHL and the players’ union agreed to a collective bargaining agreement extension in June, but the situation has changed, and the start of the season may be pushed back from Jan. 1 to sometime down the road.
Two new proposals have been sent to the union, which would result in a pay deduction for the players, and that’s not going over well. Montreal newspapers are reporting Canadiens goaltender Carey Price’s salary would be chopped from about $9.5 million annually to $5.6 million (all figures US), according to one of the NHL scenarios, and that means training camps likely will not be opening in mid-December as scheduled.
It my view this is stalling tactics by Commissioner Gary Bettman, who has no intention of opening the season on Jan. 1. The Stanley Cup ratings were the lowest since 2007 and with no revenue from the closed rinks, Bettman may be waiting for a more opportune time, such as when the vaccine finally arrives.
Unlike the NFL and NBA, which have massive TV deals, the NHL deals are very modest, and the league needs the gate revenue to make operations work financially. The salary cap and the players’ salaries are based on an even split of all revenues between owners and the union, and those numbers were projected and finalized at the June extension. Since those scenarios were agreed upon at that time, there should be no surprises now, unless of course, we see it for what it is – a stalling tactic.
I can understand why the players would be upset with the owners crying hard times. The owners will get a big chunk of the $650-million Seattle franchise fee in the spring and the league is heading into the final year of a 10-year deal worth $200 million per year with NBC. A new deal could double, or triple, as was the case recently when Major League Baseball signed a $750-million deal with Turner Sports, a hefty increase of more than 50 per cent from the previous contract.
Toronto
If you’ve been following the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors off-seasons there have been head-scratching moves in recent weeks.
The Jays keep talking about outfield help, but that should be the least of their worries. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randy Grichuk and Teoscar Hernández are very good offensively and acceptable defensively. It’s not the outfield defence, but the infield D and terrible fundamentals and baserunning that need help.
Toronto is said to be interested in the Chicago’s Kris Bryant, but he’s another right-handed hitter on a team that’s loaded on that side of the plate, making them easy pickings for a good right-handed pitcher.
There are two players I would go after, lefty Blake Snell from Tampa Bay (unlikely since it’s a trade within the division) and all-star shortstop Francisco Lindor, a switch-hitting superstar who solves multiple base-running and defensive woes.
On the basketball front, the Raptors lost two big boys in Serge Ibaka, who joined Kawai Leonard with the L.A. Clippers, and Marc Gasol, who went to the L.A. Lakers. The Raptors also added three players in New Zealander Aron Baynes, Montreal’s Chris Boucher and DeAndre Bembry. Are they as strong as last year, we shall see.
Harness racing
Live harness racing continues today at 12:30 p.m. with an 11-dash card at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The $2,600 top class has a field of eight, including the tough Mick Dundee as well as Revenant, Pillage and Burn. The $2,300 top trot features Mile Hill Willie, Daisy River, Cheeky Little Minx and four others. Racing continues Sunday afternoon here with a 10-dash card and the feature is the $2,500 open mares.
Charlottetown’s Mark MacKinnon, who handles a string on his own and formerly with Casie Coleman, got off to a good start Nov. 20 at Mohawk when his Reagan Blue Chip posted a sharp 1:51-and-change score for James MacDonald. The horse is in to go again tonight as well as top three-year-old MacKinnon-trainee Indictable Hanover. The win was one of 10 for MacDonald during the Thursday-Saturday period. Also Nov. 20, Mark MacDonald took the $20,000 open trot at The Meadowlands with Hi Revadon in 1:53:2.
Tuesday night at Dover Downs, Anthony MacDonald won the $100,000 Delaware two-year-old trot final with the stable.ca-owned Jazzy Judy in 1:59:4.
Sunday at Pompano, Wally Hennessey bagged three winners and a trio of seconds on the 11-dash card. He was also second by a nose in the $11,500 top class won by Ideal Feeling in 1:50:4. P.E.I. native John MacDonald was third in this one with Loud Splash. Wally also posted a hat trick on Wednesday’s card. It’s nice to see afternoon golf hasn’t hurt his game.
Last week at Harrahs, Philadelphia, Simple Kinda Man posted a sharp wire-to-wire 1:50:4 score for trainer Lou Pena and driver Simon Allard. The horse is owned by Don MacRae of Orwell.
Pigskin picks
Here’s a look at a few Week 12 games.
- Seattle Seahawks (7-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-6-1) – The Seahawks played their best defensive game of the season and they’re chasing first place in the NFC. Eagles QB Carson Wentz has been feeling the heat with his erratic play and he’s outclassed here by Russell Wilson. Seahawks easily cover the five-point spread.
- L.A. Chargers (3-7) at Buffalo (7-3) – I seldom bet the warm weather teams coming east in late November or early December, but it will be 50 F in Buffalo Sunday. L.A. will make it close. The Chargers can score with star QB Justin Herbert, but they can’t stop anybody. Bills cover the 5.5 points.
- Miami Dolphins (6-4) at New York Jets (0-10) – The Fish really disappointed last week and they’re on the road against the winless Jets, who are seven-point home dogs. Forget last week’s game, a big rebound is in the works for the Dolphins.
- Cleveland Browns (7-3) at Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9) – The Browns are sneaky good, but they’ll be without all-star defender Myles Garrett again this week. Browns QB Baker Mayfield has been very good, does not turn the ball over and relies on the Browns great run game. The Jags were clobbered 38-3 last week, I’ll give up six points and take Cleveland.
- New York Giants (3-7) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-7-1) – How about those football Giants? New York papers hammered QB Dan Jones early in the season, now he’s the darling of Gotham. The Giants are 5.5-point favourites at Cincinnati, who is without star rookie QB Joe Burrow. I love the G-men coming off a bye week.
- If you’re looking for possible upsets, here’s a couple of maybes. Denver could upset New Orleans Saints while Kansas City visits a very hungry and fired up Tampa Bay Bucs club, which lost a tough one at home to the L.A. Rams Monday.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
