There was no burst of excitement in Steve Konowalchuk’s voice Wednesday as he discussed news of a tentative collective bargaining agreement between NHL players and owners.
No popped champagne corks were heard in the background as he spoke by telephone from a vacation spot in British Columbia.
“There are definitely mixed feelings,” said the Avalanche’s veteran left wing. “The hockey player side of me is excited that this could be behind us in the next week. But then there are the other things that are bugging me, like that I missed a whole year of my career for a deal we could have had last year. I was set to play on a team that had as good a chance as anybody to win a Stanley Cup.”
He said the team threw that opportunity away “for nothing.”
Konowalchuk would have made $2.5 million last season, the first year of a three-year deal. He will make $1.9 million this coming season if, according to reports, the CBA has a 24 percent rollback on existing contracts.
Konowalchuk said he was troubled by the lack of foresight on the players’ side, resulting in a deal regarded as a resounding victory for the owners.
“I think where the mistake we made was we should have been prepared five years ago to take a (salary) cap,” Konowalchuk said. “We were prepared to not take a cap. … But that (no-cap) mentality came from the leadership on down.”
He said his feelings should not be taken as a call for NHL Players’ Association director Bob Goodenow to step down.
“I don’t care who’s there and who’s not there (in Goodenow’s position),” he said. “I mean, as a guy you have to stop looking back. My biggest hope is that (the Avalanche) doesn’t have to dismantle the team, the kind of team I worked so hard to get to in my career.
“But now you’re looking at a situation where you’re going to have to dismantle some good teams, teams that will have to be dismantled by a lawyer.”
Avalanche defenseman Bob Boughner, a member of the NHLPA’s executive committee, said the new deal isn’t nearly the defeat players might think based on media reports.
“Actually, I’m pretty excited to see the guys next week and show them some of the finer points of the deal,” Boughner said. “In a way, I thank God we didn’t take a deal last January when we could have. I think we worked very hard on this.”
Avs defenseman Rob Blake, a former NHLPA executive committee member, said he thinks Colorado will have a formidable team under the new CBA. With a 24 percent rollback, the Avs would have a current payroll of $21,305,309. With a reported $39 million cap, that would allow nearly $18 million to spend on unsigned players such as Adam Foote, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, David Aebischer and Peter Forsberg.
Hard choices would have to be made by Avs president and general manager Pierre Lacroix. But more face Detroit’s Ken Holland, whose Red Wings would have a current payroll of $38,193,800 after the rollback, without unsigned players such as Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Steve Yzerman.
Blake said he supports Goodenow. He said he believes the deal will be ratified by players when they meet Tuesday – although he won’t be surprised if there are some strong feelings against it.
“It’ll be an interesting meeting, I’m sure,” Blake said. “We’ll have some time in the next five or six days to go over the deal. But we’ve put a lot of trust in the (NHLPA) executive committee. With the approval of the committee, I think it’ll go a long way with the rest of the players.
“I’m with (Goodenow) still. I have been 100 percent of the way through. I think entering this whole situation for the last five years, he’s had us as well prepared as anybody.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
