Include NHL players in the group not happy with the soaring Canadian dollar and weakened U.S. dollar. For years, Canadian players were quite content about the lower Canadian dollar because their salaries were paid out in U.S. currency. The European players also found their bank accounts had more value when they returned home for the summer.
There was the odd player, who was paid in Canadian currency, but not after the most recent collective agreement that was put in place in August 2005.
11.17 of the current collective agreement reads: Currency. All standard player contracts must provide compensation in U.S. currency for NHL salaries and bonuses. Minor league compensation may be in the native currency of the NHL club.
Although it’s difficult to feel sorry for Jason Spezza, the skilled Ottawa Senators forward who signed a seven-year, $49-million extension last week, he took a hit because of the strong Canadian dollar. Spezza, who lives in downtown Toronto during the off-season, will make $8-million in each of the first five years of the deal, $5-million in 2014-15 and $4-million in 2015-16.
“We keep waiting for [the Canadian dollar] to come back down, but it keeps climbing,” said Montreal Canadiens forward Christopher Higgins, who hails from Smithtown, N.Y.
“I remember the days when we would come up here to Montreal for minor-hockey tournaments, exchange our money and say `wow, look at all this money we got back.’”
