players at two-thirds the cost of their remaining contract, which would not count against the salary cap. Bought out players could not re-sign with the same team. Effect on NHL and NHLPA NHLPA Executive Director and General Counsel Bob Goodenow, seen by many as the biggest villain in the lockout because of his hardline stance against a salary cap, resigned from his position five days after the agreement was ratified amid criticism from many of his constituents. He was replaced by Ted Saskin, formerly senior director of business affairs and licensing for the NHLPA. Saskin was officially named executive director of the NHLPA on November 25, 2005, after the players' vote of confidence was confirmed by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly was promoted to deputy commissioner after the lockout. Both Saskin and Daly had played a key role in brokering the current agreement. The lockout did help franchises better manage their finances and increase their value. Combined with finally receiving a stable national television rights deal in the United States with NBC and Versus (which later became sister networks due to the Comcast NBC merger) and the launch of the NHL Network, 26 of 30 NHL franchises saw an increase in value since before the lockout. Leading the way would be the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team cited even before the lockout to benefit from a lockout due to financial problems related to former team owner Howard Baldwin deferring player salaries in the 1990s (leading to the team's second bankruptcy in 1998) and former star player Mario Lemieux (who became the team's owner due to also being the team's largest creditor) dictating that the team cut costs in order to eliminate the debt from the Baldwin era. Since the lockout, the Penguins' value increased by a league-high 161.4%, due in no small part to the changing financial landscape of the NHL as well as winning the "Sidney Crosby sweepstakes" after the lockout ended and the construction of the Consol Energy Center to replace the aging Mellon Arena. The only teams that have lost value from before the lockout are the Phoenix Coyotes (whose financial problems since the lockout have been well-documented), New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche. Europe The majority of players who agreed to play in other professional hockey leagues were playing in Europe. During 2004–05 season, 388 NHL players