Hockey

[SFMIKE]

Since I am 0 for 2 in recent threads I have started, both of which turned into pissing contests and were removed/locked down, I have thought long and hard about what I can ask here that will not cause so much controversy.

Voila: Hockey.

I recall a while back that players on the 6 Canadian franchises have their contracts in USD. If I am wrong about this, please correct me.

When many of the current players signed said contracts it was done mainly to protect their own interests (what else?). But, now, what recourse do they have, if any, with the nosedive of the USD? This is probably a problem for players with the US franchises as they are most likely paid in USD also.

Pity the poor European players with contracts in USD, as they will now get far fewer Euros for their dollars.

Wait, what am I saying? Screw them, what about me and my fellow pooners who come north for a little R & R? We are the ones everybody should feel sorry for, eh? Can anyone spare a poor Yank a Loonie or two?

 

[Oldfart]

Maybe some enterprising SPs or AMPs should start advertising that they accept US dollars at par.

 

[ThighMan]

Great thread idea SFMIKE.

My understanding is that all players get paid in USD regardless of where they are. The reason for this was so that a player's salary wouldn't change if he was traded from a US team to a Canadian team and also, so that players (especially free agent ones) wouldn't refuse to play for Canadian teams when the USD was worth significantly more. Of course USD were used because 1-there are more US teams and 2-it was worth more at the time. As far as I know the USD salary issue is in the collective agreement so I think the players are out of luck if they want to be paid in CAD. So for the time being at least the Canadian teams have a little bit of an advantage in that a lot of there revenue is in CAD but the player salaries are in USD.

As far as this thread not turning into a pissing match however, don't bet on it. Before it is finished I predict it will be hi-jacked and turned into a "Canucks are crappy vs Canucks are great" debate or a "what's wrong with the NHL" debate.

Finally, as far as lending you some additional US Pesos when you head north, sorry I cannot help you there.

 

[4ByFish]

I don't think it will be a problem for American based teams. Work in the US, get paid in US. Other than the difference in exchange for their hotel stays north of 49 , shouldnt

Where I think you will find the benefit, is the owners of the Canadian teams collecting revenue in CDN$, and shelling out salaries in US$.

Now I could be totally wrong , not knowing what the deals are within the league structure regarding revenue sharing and all that.

 

[SFMIKE]

Thanks, Thighman

All that you have said makes sense to me, and confirms what I had suspected.

I hope you are wrong about the thread being hijacked and this turning into another pissing match, but then again, this is PERB.

Your comment about US Pesos is hilarious. The dollar is falling rapidly, but Mexico has not caught up yet. Maybe next month?

 

[threepeat]

Apparently supermodels are also asking for payment in anything but US$ these days: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCs.keWwNdiY&refer=home

Funny how times change. A few years ago I was in New York and had only a toonie to tip the cabbie and got a look from him like I pulled it out of a Cracker Jack box.

As for pro athletes, it looks good on some of the overpaid NHLers to have their salaries bled off a bit. I feel better for the blue-collar CFL guys who have to send money home to their families in the States for whom a few extra thousand dollars goes a long way.

 

[Quarter Mile'r]

I hope you are wrong about the thread being hijacked and this turning into another pissing match, but then again, this is PERB.

You just knew I wasn't going to fail ya eh Mike? LOL!!

Bean town, home of the Irish abroad.......hmmmm.....yah!

I think the Montreal Canadians SUCK!! Always have, always will.
Being I'm a Bruins fan what else would you expect?

There, that should do it.


..............QM'r

 

[bonanzabob]

US Dollar Capitulation

Highjacking thread in 3.2.1..........For me, this is fascinating stuff....

We are now witnessing nothing less than the removal of the greenback from global dominance. A combination of US government overspending in Iraq, high personal debt loads, low consumer savings rate, and a widening trade deficit.

The weakening of the us$ represents a large pay-cut for all americans, as a result of the above.

The comment by the Chinese that they are going to unload some of their us bonds in favor of other currencies is really two-faced. The Chinese have pegged their currency to the USD and allowed it to float within a limited trading range. Hence they articificially make Chinese exports even more attractive. So the Chinese are in essence saying that because the americans have engineered a decline in their currency, reaching the same result as the Chinese orchestrated, then the Chinese will now play ball in some other currency.

Anyway.... interesting stuff.... I wish I was an economist.

 

[MissingOne]

... Can anyone spare a poor Yank a Loonie or two?

Hey Mike, I live in Canada but most of my revenue is in USD. I got caught way long on US funds. Maybe we can pick a good street corner somewhere in Vancouver and work opposite sides, holding our caps out, begging for loonies to poon with.

 

[ThighMan]

More on Currency

Your comment about US Pesos is hilarious. The dollar is falling rapidly, but Mexico has not caught up yet. Maybe next month?

My comment on the "US Peso" was based on comments I heard back when it cost 1.50 CAD for 1 USD. At that time some people were calling it the Canadian Peso.

We are now witnessing nothing less than the removal of the greenback from global dominance. A combination of US government overspending in Iraq, high personal debt loads, low consumer savings rate, and a widening trade deficit.

Further along the line of "How weak is the US Dollar" the table below shows what you can get for 1 US Dollar.

............................ 01 Jan 07 ... Today

Canadian Dollar .......... 1.166 ..... 0.914 ..... Down ... 21.6%
Mexican Peso ............ 10.82 ..... 10.81 ..... Down ... 0.1%
Euro ........................ 0.758 ..... 0.682 ..... Down ... 10.0%
Japanese Yen ............ 119.1 ..... 112.8 ..... Down ... 5.3%
British Pound ............. 0.511 ..... 0.475 ..... Down ... 7.0%
Swiss Franc .............. 1.219 ..... 1.131 ..... Down ... 7.2%
Australian Dollar ......... 1.269 ..... 1.07 ....... Down ... 15.7%
New Zealand Dollar ..... 1.421 ..... 1.276 ..... Down ... 10.2%
Russian Rouble ........... 26.33 ..... 24.48 ..... Down ... 7.0%
Chinese Yuan ............ 7.818 ..... 7.432 ..... Down ... 4.9%
Taiwan Dollar ............ 32.59 ..... 32.32 ..... Down ... 0.8%
South Korean Wan ..... 939.7 ..... 909.4 ..... Down ... 3.2%
Philippine Peso .......... 49.15 ..... 43.41 ..... Down ... 11.7%
Thai Baht ................. 35.95 ..... 31.78 ..... Down ... 11.6%
Iraqi Dinar ................ 1382 ..... 1254 ...... Down ... 9.3%

Interesting how even the Iraqi Dinar has risen against the US Dollar considering that US military spending, largerly as a result of the war in Iraq, is probably the single greatest factor contributing to the increasing US deficit.

 

[SFMIKE]

The most I ever remember getting was $1.62 CDN for USD. Maybe 4-5 years ago. I almost felt like I was pooning for free. Now, when I come up there next time I will feel poon-poor.

QM: It has been one great year for Boston. Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and now the Celtics picked to be on top. But, don't forget Boston College is also near the top though they were recently knocked off a bit. Then there is also one of the very best shows on TV: Boston Legal.

MissingOne: Just tell me the corner and I will be there. people will feel really sorry for me as I hold out my A's cap.

 

[Quarter Mile'r]

Next NHL strike.......

I wonder if the NHL players association will lobby for a change over to
Canadian dollars via their next strike date if the Loonie continues on
a long surge.

Wouldn't surprise me if the players go on strike over this debate next.

OK, back on track eh Mike?

.............QM'r

 

[ThighMan]

I wonder if the NHL players association will lobby for a change over to Canadian dollars via their next strike date if the Loonie continues on a long surge.

Wouldn't surprise me if the players go on strike over this debate next.

It wouldn't suprise me if they did either, what with how greedy both the players and owners are. However, I think the current CBA is for 5-years so I am sure there is at least 3 more seasons before that could happen.

Of course, you do realize that if the Loonie is still higher than the US buck at that time and if they players push for and get their salaries in Loonies, then the Loonie will probably drop sometime after that and then the players will be pushing to get paid in US bucks again. Thats the problem with greed, you can never win over the long haul. Of course you cannot expect the players to understand that otherwise you would have to credit them with more intelligence than they actually have.

 

[littlejimbigher]

I wonder if the NHL players association will lobby for a change over to
Canadian dollars via their next strike date if the Loonie continues on
a long surge.

Wouldn't surprise me if the players go on strike over this debate next.

OK, back on track eh Mike?

.............QM'r

Well the players need something to whine about.

 

[poonmiester]

If I may add, one corner of this NHL USD versus CAD, when the loonie was at an all time low, Canadian teams operation cost were all CAD, except for players contracts, and managing personel, we all know that nothing has changed in that perspective, except the rise of the mighty loonie as well as the rise of operation costs.

Maybe Canadian franchises may have a bit of an edge but overall it isn't that drastic considering the diff in the greenback and the loonie fluctuates between 7 and 10%


P...........................

PS QM'r I agree Boston is a great team, they are due to win a cup, lets see when ....was.....the.......last....... time......?, I'll get back to you on that one I have to sort out, all my HABS numbers and dates out of the way to find out when Bruins won last. LOL

 

[ThighMan]

If I may add ... when the loonie was at an all time low, Canadian teams operation cost were all CAD, except for players contracts, and managing personel, we all know that nothing has changed in that perspective, except the rise of the mighty loonie as well as the rise of operation costs.

Not only were operating cost (except for players salaries) in CAD, so were almost all of their revenues. The only US Dollar revenue would have been there portion of US TV and their portion of US League revenues (ie. US card sales, logo related sales, etc.). And of course players salaries represent a significant portion of the costs while ticket sales represent a significant portion of the revenues.

 

[poonmiester]

Quite Right there TM, forgot about those.
Overall Canadian teams will not be ahead, but certainly reduce the existing gap there was with their US counterparts in the past.

P..........................

 

[wilde]

I think the Montreal Canadians SUCK!! Always have, always will.
Being I'm a Bruins fan what else would you expect?

If by SUCK you mean winning lots of Stanley Cups and beating your beloved Boston Furballs in the process, then yes the Habs suck big time.

.

 

[SFMIKE]

Speaking of the greed of the NHLers, how about Scott Boros, A-Rod's agent? He says the starting price to even talk to him is $350,000,000.

So, here's a thought I suspect many of you will like, some will loathe: Why don't the Blue Jays make him an offer, in Loonies. Right now, with the fall of the USD, that might end up being his best offer over the long haul.

 

[totravel]

More on the subject in this thread.

https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=77193
I doubt the current exchange rate difference will last very long, since it isn`t the strength of the CAD, but the weakness of the USD that is causing it.
We could see parity for awhile, then back to a (smaller than in the past) premium for the USD. (After the `08 US election).

It`s probably a good time to invest in USD, they won`t go much lower.

(I`m not an economist, so don`t take the above as financial advice. )