With the opening of NHL training camps drawing ever nearer business is certainly starting to pick up around the league. 

In recent days we’ve seen several trades (see my most recent posts since August 29th) and now we’re starting to see some movement in the free agent market.

The big news today comes out of Los Angeles, where the Kings announced the signing of forward Jarret Stoll to a four-year, $14 million contract.

Stoll was acquired by the Kings from the Edmonton Oilers earlier this summer in exchange for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.

His new contract breaks down as $3.5 million per season against the Kings salary cap, a significant raise over the $2.2 million per season he earned over the last two years with the Oilers.

Stoll got that contract thanks to a 22-goal, 68-point performance in 2005-06, but a concussion the following season and the lingering after-effects hampered his performance since then, with 39 points (in 51 games) in 2006-07 and 36 points in 81 games last year.

The Kings may be taking a chance on Stoll regaining that 68-point form as it appears he hasn’t been the same since the concussion, but if he can round back into form he’ll be worth that kind of coin.

At least cap-wise the Kings are now a little closer (now less than $10 million closer) to the NHL’s minimum cap of $40.7 million.

In Detroit meanwhile comes a signing that surprises no one, that of Chris Chelios returning for another season at a very affordable $850K.

The ageless Chelios is obviously not the great defenseman he once was but is still capable of playing 14-16 solid minutes per game and has proven to be a valuable member of Detroit’s defense corps.

However, that move will likely come at the expense of another Red Wings d-man, as GM Ken Holland recently suggested he’ll likely need to pare down between $100K-$300K from his payroll and could look at shipping out a defenseman to do it.

It certainly won’t be the 46-year-old Chelios.

And finally, after some speculation that Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray was perhaps interested in bringing in a veteran free agent winger, comes the announcement the Sens have signed Brad Isbister to a one-year, two-way contract.

For those Senators fans hoping that Murray was looking at Brendan Shanahan, Glen Murray or Mark Parrish, please try to contain your disappointment.

Fact is, Murray doesn’t have a lot of cap space to play with, and with this signing combined with his recent acquisition of winger Ryan Shannon from Vancouver, it’s clear at this point he’s going for affordable depth rather than squandering precious cap signing an aging veteran to a one-way contract.  

Various reports since Sunday claim the NHL Players Association’s selection committee is expected to unanimously recommend the hiring of lawyer Paul Kelly as their new Executive Director.

As reported by TSN.ca:

“Kelly is the former U.S. assistant district attorney who tried to have NHLPA founder Alan Eagleson extradited to the United States to face charges of fraud and embezzlement.”

If Kelly is hired as expected, what does it mean for the PA, the NHL and future labor negotiations between the two sides?

The first consequence is the end of over two years of infighting and disarray in the NHLPA. His hiring won’t be under the questionable circumstances as that of his predecessor, Ted Saskin, meaning there shouldn’t be any divisions within the PA ranks over it.

Second, forget about any cozy relationship between Kelly and league headquarters that continues to dog Saskin since his dismissal as well as NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. Kelly’s being hired to represent the players, and given his resume that’s exactly what he’ll do.

Now it remains to be seen if he’ll become “a Bob Goodenow clone” which some observers are likely to paint him, but given his work in corporate law he’s expected to be a tough negotiator.

How well this sits with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Daly (who did the heavy lifting on the league’s behalf during the last lockout) remains to be seen. If they don’t know what to expect in Kelly will be rest assured they’ll begin the feeling-out process soon.

Third, despite the dire warnings from some pundits we can likely expect over this both now and in the future, Kelly’s hiring doesn’t mean the PA will re-open labor talks with the league in 2009 as they’re allowed to do under the current collective bargaining agreement.

For one thing, Kelly has to get settled into his new role and gauge the lay of the land before plunging ahead into any serious negotiations or plans. He’s first got to meet with the PA membership, heal the rifts within its ranks, encourage the younger members to engage more actively in association business and determine the direction the membership wants to take in the coming years.

Some pundits have painted Chris Chelios, Dwayne Roloson and the other dissidents who led the charge in ousting Saskin as power brokers within the PA ranks, who’ll try to maneuver Kelly into cashiering the current CBA and re-opening labor talks with the league in 2009.

As George James Malik observed this summer:

“Chelios never intended to run the NHLPA--first, and foremost, he’s very busy both managing two successful restaurants and playing hockey for the Detroit Red Wings, which he plans on doing so for at least a few more years. Moreover, he never wanted to stage another lock-out--Chelios wanted to get Saskin’s butt kicked out of office, and he wants the NHLPA to act and operate as an honest, open, and accountable union. That’s all.

Chelios has his beefs with the collective bargaining agreement, there’s no doubt…but undoing the salary cap is not a fight Chelios or anyone else can win at this point.”

Assuming for a moment that Kelly is Goodenow incarnate or is actually a front man for Chelios and his hordes who supposedly want to undo this cap, they’d first have to convince the PA membership that this is a fight worth having.

That’s not an easy sell. For one thing, players salaries are now as high or higher than they were in 2003-04, the final year of the last CBA. It’s awfully hard to rile up the membership when they’re doing as well as they ever have and could be poised to earn more.

But the biggest hurdle is convincing a currently fractured PA membership weary of the internal politics and possibly apathetic regarding association business that it’s worthwhile to return to the labor war trenches.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the majority of the members of the NHLPA lack the stomach for another fight with the league only four years after the last lockout ended.

Not because they’re cowards, but because right now they’d rather play hockey than risk possibly losing another season or part of one to a potentially contentious work stoppage.

With salaries consistently rising, escrow payments as yet having no serious consequences and the cap adversely affecting only past-their-prime veterans and marginal players who’d otherwise be career minor-leaguers if not for bloated NHL rosters, there’s really not an impetus there for a return to the bargaining table in 2009. To convince the players otherwise would take a sell job for the ages on Kelly’s part.

The earliest to expect labor talks again is 2011, when the current CBA is due to expire, or 2012 if the PA votes to extend it by another season.

Things could be different by then and perhaps the players will want a new deal, but considering how it’s been the league and the team owners who’ve brought about the last two work stoppages by locking out the players trying to get a deal they want, that doesn’t seem likely.

If there’s another lockout within the next five years, it’ll be the league and the owners doing, not the players.

By that time, the league should expect to face a more unified NHLPA, with a more involved membership, led by an executive director who could prove to be one tough, savvy negotiator.

Bettman recently said he believes in a strong NHLPA, and he might’ve received his wish, possibly to his regret.

As for the NHLPA, another chapter in their history has closed and another soon to begin, one they hope will have a better ending than the previous chapters.

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News and Stan Fischler of MSG Network recently suggested that the NHLPA could be preparing for another labor war with the NHL in two years time, depending on who the PA hires to become its new executive director.

The PA is presently cleaning up the mess left over by former PA director Ted Saskin, who was hired under questionable circumstances to replace Bob Goodenow, whose firing in July 2005 by the PA player executive sparked questioning by a small group of players ultimately leading to Saskin’s downfall.

PA player representatives like Chris Chelios and Eric Lindros are part of a search committee by the association (it’s not a union, folks, certainly not in the traditional sense) to find a new leader. Chelios and Lindros have frequently stated they weren’t in any hurry, would take their time assessing suitable candidates and wouldn’t allow themselves to be rushed by outside forces (read: the league).

It certainly doesn’t sound like the PA has any intention of stirring up labor trouble with the league, but that’s the suggestion made by Fischler and Campbell.

Fischler dismisses the upcoming result of the PA’s recent internal investigation into Saskin’s hiring, seemingly more concerned about Chelios becoming “the new, chief Association power broker” and suggesting there will be “another civil war” in two years time.

By that, Fischler means the NHLPA exercising its right under the current CBA to re-open negotiations with the league if the association considers the current agreement not beneficial to the players.

Campbell meanwhile points to a letter from Adam Larry, the NHLPA’s associate counsel, licensing, concerning the union’s Group Licensing Authorization Agreement (GLA), in which Larry cites the following:

“In addition to generating revenue for the NHLPA that can be used, among other things, to build a war chest for upcoming CBA negotiations, the GLA demonstrates union solidarity among its members.”

To his credit Campbell cites sources suggesting Larry’s comments were “likely more a poor choice of words than an indication of the union’s strategy”, but he also quotes an unnamed player agent suggesting otherwise, pointing the finger squarely at the dissident group of player led by Chelios:

“The (Chris) Chelios group, which is driving the bus, doesn’t like this agreement and on the management side we read all the time about how various people don’t like this agreement,” the agent said. “So where do you think we’re headed? It’s just a matter of time, unfortunately. There will not be a new CBA before this one expires, I think it’s fair to say.”

Campbell also cites some agents speculating that “the new PA executive director will strongly consider terminating the agreement, with the players’ approval, particularly if the salary cap stops going up.”

So should we all brace for another labor war between the league and the NHLPA in two years time?

I might be wrong in saying this, but no, I don’t think it’ll happen.

First, those in the PA who might not like this current agreement will have to convince the membership to approve terminating the agreement in 2009, something I don’t believe the majority of players will do.

It’s only been two years since the season-killing lockout ended, four years by 2009. The majority of players simply won’t have the stomach for another labor war so soon after the last one.

We also don’t have a firm number of how many people within the PA actually hate this agreement and want to end it. The dissidents within the PA ranks obviously exist since it was their efforts that brought down Saskin, but we don’t know how many there are.

It could be fifty, sixty, a hundred or two hundred. Even so, that number wouldn’t win any vote right now for terminating the agreement, and I doubt their ranks will swell in two years time to have any significant impact on swaying the rest to vote for another battle with the league.

Campbell suggests the new PA director, whoever it is, could consider terminating this CBA, but I’m of the opinion that whoever gets the job would likely prefer more time to improve things within the PA ranks first. They’ll also likely take time to fully evaluate the CBA as well as gauge the attitude of the owners and the league’s potential negotiators before charging blindly in a labor war.

We also cannot assume that Chelios, Lindros and company will push for terminating this agreement. Sure, they weren’t happy with it and along with Edmonton’s Dwayne Roloson and former player Trent Klatt openly criticized the deal, but it’s premature to assume their intention is to hire some sap whom they can influence into breaking this CBA.

Campbell also suggests the players might approve such a bold move if the salary cap stops rising, but if the past two seasons and the upcoming one are indications, that’s not going to happen over the next two years.

Heading into this season, eight NHL clubs (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Minnesota, San Jose, Buffalo and the NY Rangers) are raising ticket prices and every one of those teams are in cities where hockey is popular.

Philadelphia, another strong hockey town, aren’t raising prices but have announced higher season ticket sales this year compared to last.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks raised their ticket prices for this coming season back in March, and recently announced they’ve not only reached their season ticket goal of 15,000 but have now introduced a wait list for season tickets for 2008-09.

The New Jersey Devils are moving into a new arena this coming season and more than doubled the cost of season tickets.

Meanwhile, the NHL's new television contract with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada starts next season, which sees the network paying the league an estimated $100 million per season for six seasons until 2013-14, a significant increase over the previous contract which paid the league $65 million per season.

Then there’s merchandise sales, which the league recently announced have shown a steady increase in recent months; an increase that’s bound to continue with the unveiling of the expensive new RBK hockey uniforms.

Given all this, revenues are bound to be higher next season and in 2008-09, which in turn will push the salary cap higher. Conservative estimates suggest it could reach $52 million for the 2008-09 season, but it’s also possible it could go as high as $55 million.

Even if the cap increases slow (likely) or stop (which it won’t), it’s doubtful that’ll convince a significant majority of players to put the kibosh on this CBA.

Sure, there may be aging veterans who aren’t seeing the big money they used to under the previous CBA. Some that are unable to land NHL contracts are probably unhappy. Perhaps some marginal players stuck on two-way contracts that pay them considerably less when they’re demoted could be grumbling.

But the majority are and will be those in their twenties and early thirties, either approaching or within their prime earning years, earning salaries comparable to those under the previous CBA.

Indeed, a trend appears to be emerging whereby younger players (thanks to the lower UFA eligibility age) are earning more lucrative contracts under this CBA than under the previous one; a trend likely to occur with more frequency by 2009. Why would those players want to break a CBA that's paying them better than the previous one?

With the average salary already above 2003-04 levels and the median salary creeping upward, it just doesn’t seem possible that a minority of disgruntled players, agents and PA executives can sway the majority into giving up a deal that’s been good to them so far.

My sympathies have always been with the players in their labor wars with the league, as the league has always used the players as scapegoats for problems created by owners, plus made misleading statements to fans during the last lockout (and how are you all enjoying those affordable ticket prices under a salary cap?).

If the PA were actually dumb enough to terminate this current deal in 2009, they won’t have my sympathy. Sure, this deal isn’t perfect, but as we’ve seen and which Campbell alluded to, it’s not just some players and agents grumbling about it. We’re now hearing rumblings of unhappiness from some small market US-based teams over their struggle to keep pace with the cap floor.

There’s legitimate media-generated concern this summer that the gulf between big and small-market teams is widening again, despite the cost certainty that was supposed to level the playing surface and allow all thirty teams regardless of market to be competitive.

So unless the new PA director starts saber-rattling next summer or next season, I just can’t buy into this theory of a new uncivil civil war in the NHL in 2009.

For more, check out the latest (here and here) from George James Malik of Snapshots.

- I can’t believe I missed this one earlier in the week, but the ageless Chris Chelios will be back for another season with the Detroit Red Wings.

Chelios recently re-signed a one-year contract with the Wings, thus ensuring the 45-year-old defenseman will be the oldest active player in the NHL.

There’s nothing strange or sentimental about this move, as Chelios once again proved he was capable of playing big minutes and filling a key role, especially on the Wings blueline during the playoffs after Mathieu Schneider was knocked out of the lineup due to injury.

Chelios stepped up big time, finally getting the extra playing time he’d been bugging head coach Mike Babcock for, and didn’t disappoint, and his solid play  and leadership was a key reason the Wings pushed the eventual Cup champion Anaheim Ducks so hard in the Western Conference Finals.

He’s also a physical freak of nature, whose extreme training methods are legendary, most notable being his stationary biking inside a hot sauna, otherwise known as “desert rides”. Those who’ve tried that training method rarely stick with it.

He’s still got a long way to go to break Gordie Howe’s NHL record, as “Mr. Hockey” was 51 when he finally packed it in, but as long as Chelios can keep playing at a high level and as long as the Red Wings will keep him on the roster, don’t expect any retirement announcements from Chelios anytime soon.

- The Tampa Bay Lightning made their second significant player acquisition in as many days, signing forward Jan Hlavac to a one-year contract.

Hlavac, a former member of the Rangers, Flyers, Canucks and Hurricanes, spent the last three seasons playing in Europe.

Lightning GM Jay Feaster envisions Hlavac as a top six forward and stated his hope that Hlavac will mesh on Brad Richards’ line.

Hlavac is a skilled player but also had a reputation for inconsistency and lacks a physical edge. His best season was in 2000-01 when he scored 28 goals and 64 points.

It’s obvious Feaster is bolstering his forward lines by finding the best bargains he can find either throughout the league or in Europe.

That worked out somewhat for Feaster last season when he signed goalie Johan Holmqvist, who beat out Marc Denis for the starting goalie job, but it remains to be seen if Hlavac will be that top six forward Feaster believes him to be.

If he does play well with Richards, it’ll make Feaster look smart for plucking another affordable gem out of Europe. If it doesn’t, Hlavac will be used as yet another example of the Lightning’s folly of sinking too much money into the contracts of Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle.

Another way this might work out for Feaster is that it allows him to fill gaps up front while keeping some payroll space available to perhaps bring in another starting goalie. As things stand right now for the Bolts, they’ll have Holmqvist, Denis and Karri Ramo battling for the two spots in their goalie tandem, and their stats from last season doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Feaster re-signed Holmqvist for next season so he’ll obviously be back. Denis appears to have lost the confidence of head coach John Tortorella but his big salary and poor performance means they won’t find any takers in a trade. They can however demote him to the minors for the season, which will strike his salary off their NHL payroll.

They could go with a Holmqvist-Ramo tandem but that won't bolster their chances to return to Cup contention. That suggests either a trade or a free agent signing in the near future, which will be costly but can be done if other glaring holes in the roster can be affordably filled, hence the Hlavac signing and the Gratton acquisition.

I don’t think Feaster’s done dealing, and I think a goaltender acquisition is in the works, possibly as early as the draft weekend.

- Finally, the Colorado Avalanche re-signing impending UFA enforcer Scott Parker to a one year, $475K deal.

It’s an affordable signing to retain a bit of muscle for the Avs, but it remains to be seen if Parker still has what it takes to get the job done in that role, as he’s been plagued by injuries which has hampered his effectiveness.

The NHL Players Association announced Thursday they were terminating the contract of Executive Director Ted Saskin.

“TORONTO (May 10, 2007): Following a conference call with the Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) on Thursday afternoon, the NHLPA announced that the Executive Board voted to terminate the employment of Ted Saskin as Executive Director and General Counsel, effective immediately. The Executive Board is considering its options with respect to Ken Kim.

As this is an internal matter, the NHLPA will not be making further comment at this time.”

The reason for Saskin’s termination was his role in conducting what was described as “wholly improper” surveillance of players’ e-mails.

The question now is who becomes the NHLPA’s Executive Director.

The PA’s previous directors have had a mixed record, with all of them meeting unseemly job termination. The first director, Alan Eagleson, was eventually convicted of defrauding the players pension plan for his own gain.

His successor, Bob Goodenow, ushered in a period of unprecedented wealth for the players, but he was also partially responsible for the contentious atmosphere that poisoned labor negotiations between the PA and the league, resulting in a strike and two lockouts.

Ultimately, he lost the support of the players during the last lockout, as they agreed to accept a salary cap. Once the new CBA was ratified and implemented, Goodenow either re-signed or was fired (depending on who you talk to), paving the way for Saskin, his chief lieutenant, taking his place.

But there were questions as to the method of his hiring and the hefty salary he was given, which several dissident players, led by Chris Chelios, Dwayne Roloson, Eric Lindros and former player Trent Klatt, claimed circumvented the PA’s charter and by-laws. It was their efforts that resulted in the PA membership agreeing to launch an internal investigation into Saskin's hiring.

Still, Saskin probably could’ve survived this, as he had the overwhelming support of the membership, and had done a good job in landing the players a much better deal than originally perceived by the PA's critics when the CBA was implemented in July 2005. His concern about the dissidents, however, spurred him into taking the sel####estructive step of spying on his players’ e-mails.

It remains to be seen who the PA brings in to replace Saskin, but whoever it is will not only have to benefit the players in future labor talks with the league but must also negotiate without rancor with the league .

The NHL cannot stand another lengthy work stoppage when the current CBA expires in 2011. There must be more willingness for positive negotiation in a timely manner between the owners and players. Another work stoppage could cause irreparable harm to the NHL, especially in the American sports market.

The PA reportedly has a search list of twenty potential candidates to replace Saskin, and they’ll obviously take their time to screen those candidates before hiring a suitable replacement.

It won’t do the players any good to bring in someone who’s a “Goodenow clone”, as that'll send the wrong signal to the league that the next round of labor talks could be every bit as vicious as those in the recent past.

Conversely, the players don’t want a glad-handing backslapper, who’ll climb into bed with the owners for his personal benefit. Neither do they need a milquetoast, someone who’ll only put up token resistance if the league takes a hard line in the next round of talks.

And as Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail noted, the players also have to take more responsibility to take more interest into their affairs, rather than trusting a small cabal of players, lawyers and agents to make the decisions for them.

In short, the players need a savvy negotiator capable of uniting the players, keeping them informed as well as interested in labor issues, but won't raise the hackles of the hard-liners among the NHL team owners. He’ll have to be willing to negotiate with the league yet bring the players a beneficial deal.

Whoever the PA chooses as their new director could have a significant impact on the course of the next CBA negotiations, and in turn, perhaps the future of the NHL itself.