With all proper credit to ESPN.coms Pierre Lebrun, who acquired a copy of the NHLs latest comprehensive proposal that was sent out to each of the 30 owners, here are the terms for a 300-page document that should rekindle CBA talks, with a January 19 deadline day to cancel the season:
The highlights:
Ten-year agreement (through 2021-22 season). Parties have mutual opt-out right after eight years.
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50-50 revenue split between clubs and players with current Hockey Related Revenue accounting.
300 million in make-whole payments (outside the system) to compensate players for the reduced value of player contracts in the early years of the new CBA.
No contractual roll backs of player salaries.
Clubs can operate with an effective cap number of 70.2 million in 2012-13, but must come into compliance with a 60 million cap for the start of the 2013-14 season.
Each club will be entitled to execute up to one Compliance Buy-Out prior to the 2013-14 season. Payments made to the player will not be charged against the teams xap, but will be charged against the players' share.
Establishment of a Defined Benefit Pension Plan that will provide maximum permissible benefits to players upon retirement. The plan will be funded with contributions out of the players share. 50 million of the make-whole payment amount of 300 million will be allocated and set aside to fund potential underfunding liabilities of the plan at end of CBA.
Rules for entry-level system, salary arbitration and Group 3 unrestricted free agency will remain unchanged.
Maximum contract length of six years, subject to a clubs ability to re-sign its own player for a term of up to seven years (provided the player played his last full season with the re-signing club). In addition, year-to-year salary variability will be limited (up or down) to no more than 10 percent of the value of the first year of a multiyear contract.