Artemiy Panarin’s MVP game this season led to him receiving a lot of attention on social media, but on Thursday Breadman generated a stir for a different reason. The Rangers’ star forward released a statement on Instagram that he later shared on Twitter regarding the league’s comeback plan, core cities, escrow, and more.
As of this writing, the league is still mulling over where the season will resume, and a resolution on central cities is expected to come soon. New York City, which was a hot spot at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, was not part of the league’s initial list of core cities.
This is where things are according to Pierre LeBrun.
Since the Vancouver Hub city offer was hit by a setback in talks with interim health authorities, sources confirm that the NHL has begun more detailed talks with the Edmonton and Toronto offers to see where that is going. Vancouver is not entirely out, but the focus shifted 1/2
– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 25, 2020
Panarin also mentioned the concept of escrow, and players who don’t want to show up to camp without having an established agreement. The concept is one that is talked about a lot and is also misunderstood.
Blueshirt Banter’s own Shayna Goldman addressed this topic, and more, in Hockey-Graphs.
Essentially, the league collects a percentage of player salaries in a deposit account throughout the season. All active players who are still under a standard player contract are subject to this collection. The rate collected is determined at the beginning of the regular season and is subject to three adjustments, at the end of the first, second and third quarter of the season.
Teams retain a specified amount of a player’s accumulated salary and bonuses in each pay period (players are paid every two weeks, equivalent to 12 pay checks per season), which is calculated by multiplying a player’s winnings for the applicable deposit percentage for that period. However, the trust is not directly deducted from the payment of a signing bonus, the amount owed on those bonuses is deducted from salary payments throughout the season.
Guarantee funds are still withheld on purchases, but not on deferred wages or deferred bonuses. Performance bonuses are evaluated separately, and deposit deductions are made based on how likely they are to be earned.
Throughout the season, the deposit continues to accumulate; then, at the end of the season, the deviation between the projected and actual HRR is determined, so that the funds in custody can be dispersed to the players or owners so that a 50/50 revenue split is achieved.
Given the way the league operates, not finishing the regular season, playing the playoffs on empty arenas, and potentially having no fans in the stands to start the 2020-21 season will not be good for HRR, and therefore players will contribute a greater part of the funds in custody to maintain the balance of 50-50 between them and the owners.
It sucks for gamers, but the mechanism is something that has been around for years.
According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the NHLPA will soon vote on a proposal that could change this division 50-50.
Full NHLPA membership will vote on a comprehensive return-to-play proposal that would include a CBA extension, as well as coronavirus-related protocols for training camp (Phase 3) and the projected Stanley Cup summer tournament (Phase 4) once the ongoing negotiations between the league and the union concludes, The Post has learned.
Later in history Brooks writes;
Sources have indicated that the CBA proposal includes a limit on the escrow in an unrelated flat limit that is expected to reach around $ 83 million for at least three seasons as the parties try to deal with the economic problems caused. Because of the pandemic. That number may be subject to change. We are told that the excess would build up over the first two to three years, but that a maximum deposit limit would gradually apply over the life of the extension.
This is of great interest to someone like Panarin, as he is one of the few reputable players to receive a massive bonus on July 1.
There is some pressure for owners and players to have a framework in place considering the millions of dollars owed when signing the bond, primarily on July 1. Panarin, Matthews, Marner, Bobrovsky among those with strong signing bonuses. #NHL #NHLPA https://t.co/WbQZPxEbiT
– Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) June 23, 2020
There is no doubt that players would probably prefer to pay their trust for several years instead of a giant down payment, but that is something that is probably still being discussed.
The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NHLPA will expire after the 2021-22 season, and there are a number of major events that will play a role in the negotiations. The league’s new American television deal, and Seattle joining the league are two major financial events, and the ones that could ultimately offset some of the revenue lost due to COVID-19 rather than what was expected to be a economic gain. All of these factors could change the way the NHLPA decides to negotiate the next CBA and, more specifically, what elements they decide to prioritize.
With that said, I’m interested to see if other players talk, if the New York Rangers have an answer of any kind, and what comes next, especially given the report that players could extend the current CBA.
