NHL Labor Issues: Who Is Being More Greedy, the Players or the Owners?

As the pages get pulled off the calendar and the hockey world braces for a potential lockout Sept. 15, the issues between the NHL and the NHLPA come into greater focus.

There is a significant financial gap between the league and the NHLPA concerning the finances of the game. Specifically, the NHL would like to see a smaller percentage of its revenues paid to players in salary.

The NHLPA, through its chief negotiator Donald Fehr, has said it understands the financial stresses of the game that owners are under and that it has proposed a revenue-sharing plan that would make life easier for the teams that are struggling financially.

From a public relations stance, the NHLPA is clearly winning the battle at this point because Fehr seems calmer and more in control than NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who has said the league will lock out players if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached by September 15 (source: CBC.ca).

Fehr is not about to scare or panic. He represented the Major League Baseball Players Association for many years after serving as the second-in-command to Marvin Miller. He has seen and been through it all.

Earlier in his career, Fehr would have been happy to flex his muscles and bellow in front of the media while castigating the other side's negotiating techniques. Fehr no longer seems to get upset or hot under the collar—at least in public. He calmly recounts the issues and states his case.

He comes across as having a long-range view of the NHL as well as the best interests of his clients. Bettman comes across as a confrontational negotiator who wants to "beat" the NHLPA.

Score one for Fehr in maturity.

Fehr may be winning the public perception battle, but which side is being more greedy in its negotiations?

The NHL imposed a 24 percent salary rollback that the NHLPA accepted following the lockout that cost the league its 2004-05 season.

The league's current proposal asks the NHLPA to accept a revenue reduction that would take them from receiving 57 percent to 43 percent of hockey-related revenue (source: CBC.ca).

Basically, the NHL wants to impose back-to-back 24 percent revenue reductions on the players.

The NHLPA presented the league with a proposal that included a smaller percentage of revenues over the next three seasons that would amount to $465 million. It also included expanded revenue sharing to help the struggling teams.

Bettman's response to the NHLPA proposal was that a "wide gap" remained between the two sides.

In this case, perception is reality. Fehr appears to be looking out for his players and is also concerned with the long-term health of the sport. Bettman appears to be focused on maximizing the bottom line for the owners and nothing else. He does not appear to be concerned with the players.

Unless Bettman changes his tone and suddenly starts to understand things from the players' perspective, it's the owners who will force this lockout.

With Bettman at the helm, it appears that greed is the driving factor.