This notion just hit me, the cap CEILING has grown to $56 plus million. The mid point is $48 million. Forty-eight million dollars times 30 teams is collectively what we can all spend on salaries. This means the NHL has grown dramatically in its revenues and the cap has controlled spending by the very biggest, most profitable big market teams.

In any other world or industry, when revenues increase and the employees get a disproportionate percentage of the revenue increase in payroll, management is looked at as being “benevolent” and is well-liked and respected.

Why is it though that there are media reports that the players’ union is upset with the league? What is there to be upset about in terms of revenue growth and salary cap increases?

In real business, to grow revenues in the double digits and then to give more of the revenues as a percentage back to the employees would be seen as a very positive gesture. Sometimes I just don’t get it.

The real world is hard yet the players get paid more and more money. I think at times they should be happy that the league is doing so well even in very tough economic times. We should be re-embracing our fan base and saying thank you more to our fans. We are in partnership and the partnership must be doing something right.

I live in such a weird dichotomous world. Today, I am working with 100 homeless people serving them lunch and dinner and taking them all to a movie. At the same time, I am trying to give some players literally tens of millions of dollars; begging them to take our money; and hoping that at least some one somewhere will be grateful that they are getting paid a lot of money to play such a wonderful game as hockey. Today truly puts some things in perspective for me.