Ovechkin: Ask my accountant

 This is what Alex answered to SovSport journalist when he was asked about financial crisis and how it could affect him. Ovechkin is not alone, Damien Cox writes that players never saw this hit coming:

MONTREAL-Zach Parise is 24 years old, one of the brightest young stars in the NHL and a pro athlete pulling down millions of dollars in annual pay.

Yet as of yesterday, Parise seemed unaware he was already out almost $170,000 in salary for this season, with another $310,000 or more still to lose.

NHL players may be facing a jump in the percentage of their salary that is held back as insurance that the league hits its revenue projections.

For the last three years the players received their money back, this season the spiralling economy will likely hit the players hard because the players' share of overall hockey revenues can't exceed 54-56%.

Over the first half of the season, 13.5% of player earnings have been held in the escrow account. For the second half, that figure could jump to 25%. That means for the whole season the escrow payment would be 19.25% and this money could be gone.


NHL - Highest Player Salary Cap Numbers For 2008-09 Season - Top 5

Player        Team                Salary     Deduction  Actual Salary
Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals $9,538,000 $1,836,065 $7,701,935
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins $8,700,000 $1,674,750 $7,025,250
Brad Richards Dallas Stars        $7,800,000 $1,501,500 $6,298,500
Dany Heatley  Ottawa Senators     $7,500,000 $1,443,750 $6,056,250
Zdeno Chara   Boston Bruins       $7,500,000 $1,443,750 $6,056,250

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