How the CBA could derail Erik Karlsson's future on the Sharks

Share

A little-commented-upon feature of the Erik Karlsson trade that has made the San Jose Sharks a legitimate Stanley Cup frontrunner and general manager Doug Wilson the designated genius of the day is that it might really be a win-now-or-forever-hold-your-peace move.
 
And the reason is that no good deed ever stays good.
 
The Sharks, like the other 30 National Hockey League teams, are mindful and preparing for a potential player opt-out of the current collective bargaining agreement, which can be renewed and extended to 2021-22. Both owners and players must agree to do so, though, and if either side chooses to opt out of the current agrrement, the players can exercise their option to terminate the deal. Given the way the owners worked the players in the last deal, the players are looking for redress, especially on escrow and Olympic participation.
 
Escrow is the amount of money withdrawn from every player’s paycheck and then redistributed to ensure a 50/50 split of revenues. Last year 11.5 per cent was withheld, meaning that players collected 88.5 per cent of their published salaries, and with only a small portion likely to be refunded once the dollars are balanced. 
 
The Olympics was the other sticking point. The owners decided not to schedule an Olympic gap in their schedule, effectively preventing player participation in the last winter games in PyeongChang, South Korea. They then decided to leverage permission to play against extending the owner-friendly CBA, which sat poorly with players.
 
There is some speculation that owners might also want to impose term and bonus limits, especially since the Los Angeles Kings just dropped an eight-year, $88 million contract on defenseman Drew Doughty, and more spectacularly the Edmonton Oilers tied down Connor McDavid, the new face of the sport, got eight years and $100M (figures courtesy CapFriendly.com). The bonus limits are immediately problematic because according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.ca, 78 players will collect $252 million in 2021 to alleviate the loss of pay in case of a lockout/walkout, a clear indication that players are at best guarded about agreement.
 
Put simply, the players and owners are steeling for a protracted fight, and the Sharks acknowledging that their time to win a Stanley Cup is immediate means a work stoppage does significant damage to that plan.
 
Owner Hasso Plattner, who was considered a conciliator in the last round of negotiations, now has a more pressing on-ice motivation to want the doors kept open. The Sharks stopped being an automatic sellout a few years ago, and the Karlsson acquisition presumably would in time gin up television ratings and visibility as well. The Sharks have never been a hotter item conceptually in their history, and to lose that over an early CBA termination would make 2018-19 an all-or-nothing proposition in a very real legal and economic sense.
 
Urgency can be a great motivator, but motivation alone does not win a Stanley Cup. Good seasons from good players, good health to good players, good matchups and good luck all conspire to make or break Cup runs, and the Sharks have had all those items in their cart only once in team history. If a work stoppage looks likely, there may not be a second crack for this team if the first goes awry.
 
But if you need the silver lining here, at least they’re in a position to have a CBA screw them. There are lots of teams in the current amalgamation that haven’t any such aspirations at all.

Contact Us