Kris Letang: A new NHL-NHLPA CBA is 'what’s the best for the game'
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has seen things get ugly between the NHL and NHLPA.
He was among a group of Penguins players who worked out at the team’s former practice rink in Canonsburg for the better part of four months during fall 2012 while lawyers bickered over escrow and the definition of “hockey related revenue.”
That lockout, which delayed the the start of the 2012-13 season, even prompted Letang to briefly sign with SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s KHL before returning to North America.
So the significance of the NHL and NHLPA agreeing to a four-year extension of the current collective bargaining agreement during a pandemic isn’t lost on Letang, the team’s current representative to the NHLPA.
“When you look this situation, both sides need to really look at what’s the best for the game and at the same time, keep both sides happy,” Letang said during a video conference call with reporters. “There’s compromise on both sides with the uncertainties coming ahead of us. With the negotiations, escrow and everything around it, we finally agreed on some numbers. But the main goal was to make sure we grow our game and make sure the game of hockey is going in the right direction.”
While MLB’s negotiations with the MLBPA to salvage the 2020 season got flat out ugly, the NHL and NHLPA seemingly worked in harmony to figure out a way to complete the 2019-20 campaign.
“This is all uncharted territory on both sides,” said veteran forward Patrick Marleau, who endured the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season as well as the 2012-13 stoppage. “From what I understand, negotiations went fairly well with both sides. We’re glad to have that deal done and ready to get back out on the ice.”
Added Letang: “The main goal was to what is right for our game and make sure we keep growing the NHL. Hockey has a long way to go in the world of sports, of major sports. The best thing to do was to work together and agree on something that will help us continue to grow the game.”
Schultz’s future
The CBA extension calls for the NHL’s salary cap to remain flat at $81.5 million going into next season. While that’s probably not ideal for any pending restricted free agents, it could have been a lot worse considering the NHL is bound to lose money from lost ticket revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
As recently as March 4 — a little more than a week before the NHL went into stasis March 12 — deputy commissioner Bill Daly suggested the cap could have gone up to $88.5 million for the 2020-21 season.
Regardless, a player such as Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz, who is in the final year of his contract, has an idea of what the economic landscape will look like once he becomes a free agent in the offseason.
Not that he’s looking that far ahead just yet.
“You definitely think about it,” Schultz said. “Obviously, it’s my future. But I’m just coming here just trying to help this team win a Stanley Cup (title). If I do that and I play well, that will all take care of itself.”
Schultz, 30, is in the final year of a contract with a salary cap hit of $5.5 million. As a right-handed shot, he figures to be in demand, even after a difficult 2019-20 regular season in which injuries limited him to 46 games and 12 points (three goals, nine assists).
He realizes a strong playoff could help make up for a rough regular season.
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Schultz said. “We’ve got a great chance here to win a Stanley Cup (title). That’s the main priority.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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