Bill Daly
Bill Daly
William "Bill" L. Daly III is an attorney and the current Deputy Commissioner and chief legal officer of the National Hockey Leagueunder Commissioner Gary Bettman. He is also a Hockey Hall of Fame Board Member and former NHL Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. Before joining the NHL front office he worked for the New York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP. He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree from New...
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Not that a luxury tax would work, but we're not going to walk away from the table just because there's one in the offer. What we're looking for is a legitimate effort by the union that we feel addresses our issues.
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While the immediate 'rollback' of 24 percent offered by the union would materially improve league economics for the 2004-05 season, there is virtually nothing in the union's proposal that would prevent the dollars 'saved' from being redirected right back into the player compensation system, such that the league's overall financial losses would approach current levels in only a matter of a couple of years.
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We are very frustrated and concerned over where we are in this process. The union is engaged in a charade. It is clear to us that union leadership has no interest in negotiating or making a deal to save the start of the season. Union leadership is stalling, doing everything in its power to ensure this collective bargaining negotiation is not resolved in a timely manner.
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The way it appears, union leadership now will make a last-minute proposal, possibly as late as September 14 or 15, and characterize it as its 'magnanimous last and best effort to save the season,' ... I am doubtful that the proposal will be a meaningful, bona fide effort to address our problems, which threaten to deprive our fans of a prompt start to the season. If the proposal consists of a repackaged 'status quo' system, it will not work - and will not be acceptable - and union leadership knows it.
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Now that we are into late August, union leadership recognizes that it no longer can get away with avoiding a more aggressive meeting schedule, ... So it has found a different way to stall, talking about individual team situations that have already been discussed in detail over the course of the last five years and matters, quite frankly, that should have been discussed months ago if the union truly was interested in them.
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We really have no expectations at this point. This meeting is about seeing where we are, and what the parties' thoughts are about where we go from here. It remains our objective to reach a new agreement with the union at the earliest possible date.
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The fact that only one of the six proposals actually contemplated a salary cap exposes the union for its true motivation - to do everything necessary to precipitate a fight in an attempt to preserve the status quo.
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The union seemed amenable to giving the matter serious consideration, but indicated that there still existed fairly significant resistance from their membership. They wanted the opportunity to use this season to further vet the issue with their players before they would agree to take the step of implementing a mandatory visor rule.
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Injuries are also an issue and a concern of our clubs and our players.
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In a lot of respects, the litigation was the sole remaining vestige of a year-long labor dispute that was difficult for us and for our fans. It was time to turn the page and move on.
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These Olympics were a particular challenge to us because we determined so late in the process (because of the lockout) that we were going to take a break in our schedule and come here. Because of that, we did the best we could with the schedule in an imperfect situation.
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I'm afraid our gas prices aren't helping things. We certainly can't blame the weather. The attendance is a little light.
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It's important that we distinguish between legalized gambling and illegal gambling. I want to emphasize that we don't condone any form of illegal gambling. But when it comes to legalized gambling, the question is where do you draw the line? You are talking about limiting the rights of a hockey player to participate in a legal activity.
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It's certainly a decision that will benefit NHL players and participating officials. But most importantly, it's great for the game and for our fans. I think Rene realizes that what we're experiencing in the NHL right now is the game the way it was meant to be played. We're very pleased.