|
|
||
|
|
Red Wings Hockey Won't Be the Same with
Salary Caps
By Jack B. Tany Review Sports Columnist Hockey, as we have known it, is history.
And, the way we've known Detroit Red
Wings the past handful of seasons, is also a thing of the past.
You can thank National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman for the new labor agreement between the owners and the players. In addition, there are new rules which are intended to help open up the game.
First things first - the money. A salary
cap of $39 million has been placed on team payrolls. There's also
a salary floor. I've been involved in sports one way or another for 40
years and I've never heard of a salary floor. It's a total payroll that
teams can't go under. The salary cap will hurt free-spending
teams such as the Red Wings. Their total payroll is $32
million - a whopping $5 million over the cap. And that's just
for the 12 players they currently have under contract.
In addition, every player in the league
will take an automatic 24 percent pay cut. How'd you like to explain
that to your wife? The players, however, will get their hands in the
proverbial cookie jar when they get a share of league revenues.
Red Wing management has already begun
unloading high-priced players, as Derian Hatcher, Darren McCarty and Ray Whitney
all were shown the door. Ironically, all three are 33-years-old. Others
who could follow include netminder Curtis Joseph and defenseman
Chris Chelios.
The Wings will indeed have a new look
without the gritty McCarty - best known for his pummeling of
Colorado's Claude Lemieux in the infamous 1997 brawl. And they don't
get any steadier along the blue line than Chelios. Steve Yzerman,
the heart-and-soul of the Motor City icers since he was a teenager, will
talk to general manager Ken Holland about a one-year deal. If
Yzerman doesn't come to terms with Holland (meaning will he take a pay
cut?), look for him to retire instead of playing for another team.
The biggest rule change is when a game
ends in a tie after regulation. There will be no more ties. After a five
minute four-on-four overtime period, if no one scores the teams will go
to a three-on-three shootout - which will make for exciting finishes.
The other big change involves the people
between the pipes and what they wear. By having goalkeepers use smaller
"regulation" equipment, it should make for more scoring. At times some
goalies resembled the Michelen Man with their puffy pads (and
jerseys).
Another subtle change that won't be so
noticeable will be the additional four feet, which will be added to each
offensive zone to help increase scoring. The neutral zone will be
reduced from 54 feet to 50. Most hockey aficionados won't even notice
the difference.
Expect the whistle to blow a little more
than in previous years since the referees have been instructed to clamp
down interference, holding, hooking and obstruction. And forget about
fisticuffs. Fight instigators in the last five minutes of a game will
receive a game misconduct and an automatic one-game suspension.
One drawback to the upcoming season is
the Wings won't be playing three of the Original Six teams. Under
new NHL scheduling, Detroit won't play Toronto, Boston,
Ottawa, Montreal and Buffalo. Instead, the Wings will
play Nashville and Columbus eight times each. That really
congers up that old Red Wing/Blue Jacket rivalry . . . NOT!
Luckily for the Red Wings that have some
promising young players coming through the pipeline.
If the league wants to lure the fans
back to the rink, all they have to do is simply lower ticket prices 24
percent. It'd be a wash for the owners since they've reduced the
salaries of every player that same amount anyway.
|
|
|
|
||
