{coyotes} NHL says it's trying to look out for small markets

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The Nashville Predators are an important component of the NHL lockout, as a small, nontraditional market team that has achieved some level of success.

So the league is trying to look out for Nashville's interests in the next collective bargaining agreement, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an interview with The (Nashville) Tennessean.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association are scheduled to meet again Wednesday, starting at 11 a.m. They're trying to agree how to divide $3.3 billion in hockey-related revenues.

The NHLPA also has pushed itself as having the best interests of smaller-market teams at heart. It has proposed revenue sharing of $260 million — with $120 million designated for "troubled franchises" to be doled out at the commissioner's discretion.

The NHL proposal is $190 million but could grow during negotiations, Daly said.

As for hockey-related revenue, the league is proposing it be shifted from 57% in the players' favor (in the final year of the last CBA) to 49% (in the first year of the league's proposal).

Daly said a smaller percentage also would lower the salary cap, which is $70.2 million. The cap is tied to league revenues per the old CBA.

The issue? A lower cap probably would mean lower salaries. And after taking a 24% pay cut at the end of the 2004-05 lockout, that's something the players probably won't want.

Here are excerpts from the interview with Daly:

How does your proposal help smaller markets?

"We instituted as part of our last collective bargaining agreement a pretty comprehensive revenue sharing program. That program will produce about $150 million in revenue sharing this past season.

"Our proposal that's on the table now would increase that pool fairly significantly up in the neighborhood of $190 million, and depending on how the negotiation ultimately plays out, probably more than that."

How does a higher percentage of hockey-related revenue for the league help the Predators?

"By definition, the smaller percentage will lower the cap, which by definition will lower the floor. We've also talked about the concept of changing the structure creating the payroll range.

"The payroll range is currently constructed with a midpoint, and then building kind of room off the midpoint in equal directions to have a top end and a bottom end.

"We're suggesting using less room on the top end and more room on the bottom end as a way of constructing the range that's more friendly to small markets, but also creates a dynamic where there will be less player escrow, so there will be less dollars at risk for the players."

Does your proposal address the signing bonuses and long-term contracts that hamper smaller markets?

"Well certainly both those elements are elements we've put across the table to the Players' Association. I can't say we have resolution on any of those issues, but they certainly know how we feel about some of the extreme front-loaded long-term contracts."

Does this lockout hamper smaller, non-traditional markets more than an established, older market?

"I'm not sure I would buy that. I think it's important for all markets, I think it's important for the league, I think it's important for the Players' Association, I think it's really important for the players.

"I think the really unfortunate part of where we are is not only the fact that we've done significant damage to this season's revenues, but the bottom line is, by missing games, by missing training camp, by being in a labor dispute and a work stoppage, we're certainly risking and threatening a slowdown to some of the momentum that we've had or been able to generate — some of the popularity we've been able to build throughout the league, including in some of the non-traditional markets.

"And I think the longer-term impact of that dynamic is as scary as anything else to us, and something we jointly should have an interest in trying to minimize at this point."

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