Cory Schneider hasn’t cast an absentee ballot for the U.S presidential election Tuesday because the Massachusetts native knows his state is a stronghold for incumbent Barack Obama.
“Massachusetts is heavily Democratic, so it doesn’t matter and I probably won’t vote this time around,” the Vancouver Canucks goaltender said Monday following a UBC practice with the Thunderbirds. “I’ve watched all the debates and have been paying attention to all the coverage. I enjoy it. It all impacts us.
“It’s not necessarily picking sides for me, it’s who you feel is best to run the nation and represent your country.”
As a member of the 31-player NHL Players’ Association negotiating committee — which maintained guarded optimism following a conference call Monday in advance of high-level negotiations resuming Tuesday — Schneider was asked which presidential candidate would make a better league commissioner than Gary Bettman to end the 51-day lockout
“Good question,” he chuckled. “Obama. He seems more likeable, but [Mitt] Romney is a better numbers guy, so you never know.”
What Schneider does know is NHL owners and players are approaching make-or-break territory to resolve the revenue split, settle contracting issues and salvage a season that has already lost the Winter Classic. With games cancelled through Nov. 30, significant collective bargaining agreement traction in the next two weeks would ensure a shortened schedule could commence next month. It could mean 64 games for the Canucks — six against division rivals (24) and four games versus each of the remaining Western Conference teams (40) — but it won’t mean anything unless there’s legitimate CBA progress. And while some was made Saturday with a marathon session at a secret location, it’s hard to put a lot of stock into it until Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr meet face-to-face.
“It wasn’t that secret, everyone knows about it,” said Canucks winger Daniel Sedin. “I feel better, for sure. At least they’re talking and it seems like they made some progress, too.”
Especially now that the slower portion of annual gate receipts has passed for many U.S. franchises?
“Baseball season is over,” pointed out Daniel Sedin. “It’s tragic if that’s the case.”
Still, the fact that Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk broke Bettman’s silence code last week by stating that play should have commenced by now and owners of financially-challenged franchises should be miffed at two clauses in the league’s latest CBA pitch may be encouraging. Reportedly, teams wouldn’t be allowed to count bonus money toward reaching the salary cap floor — $43.9 million US in the league’s Oct. 17 proposal — and all salaries above $105,000, even those in the minors, would be included in the cap count. Canucks centre Andrew Ebbett has a $600,000 cap hit at the NHL level, but his two-way deal is paying $300,000 with the Chicago Wolves and would be added to the cap count. You’d think that alone would make a lot of owners howl in protest.
“It depends on which owners control the power,” countered Schneider. “This is why we would love to have more come to the table. We’d love to hear all their opinions as opposed to four or five of the more wealthy ones. You can see why people don’t like the cap. It forces [lower-budget] teams to spend more than they normally would and caps [higher-budget] teams who want to spend more because they can.”
It’s not just the 50-50 division of the revenue pie and how to get there on a sliding scale to protect current contracts that concerns players. In the league’s proposed $59.9 million cap ceiling, entry-level deals would move from three to two years to create a greater gap before arbitration. And eight years of eligibility for unrestricted free agency move those who entered the league at 20 to age 28 from 27.
“Any leverage you have or any position you can be in to become a free agent or shop your abilities around becomes so much more important when there’s less to go around,” stressed Schneider.
Schneider is still weighing a European playing option in Switzerland should the lockout persist because he has dual citizenship and wouldn’t be classed as an import player. Staying put is staying optimistic.
“I like to keep my optimism and pessimism in check, but it’s getting down to the point where something has to happen one way or another,” he said. “They [owners] understand the players want to play and a majority of the owners would love to be playing. They didn’t purchase hockey teams to not have a business and sell entertainment. I’m sure some are more demanding on what they want [in the CBA], but I’m sure they want to win more than anything.”
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