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While the NHL and the players' association stay away from the negotiating table, discussions have taken place behind the scenes in an effort to restart talks as a lockout deadline looms.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr have discussed procedural details that could soon lead to a continuation of negotiations that broke off last week — perhaps as early as this week.
The current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association expires on Sept. 15, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he will impose a lockout then if a new deal hasn't been reached.
"From our perspective, there has been a sense of urgency all summer," Daly said in an email to The Associated Press, "but, obviously, it becomes more real as we get closer to September 15 with no meaningful progress being made."
The first NHL preseason games are scheduled to begin Sept. 19, with the regular season slated to open on Oct. 11 with four games.
The NHL canceled the entire 2004-05 season and playoffs before the current deal with the union was finally hammered out in July 2005.
Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association, told The Canadian Press that he stopped drawing a salary on July 1.
"It's both a measure of solidarity and uniformity of interest," Fehr told CP on Thursday. "You want the players to understand you're in the same boat they are. You don't have interests different than they do. We think it's important."
Talks broke off last week when the NHLPA responded to an offer from the NHL with changes to an earlier proposal.
Read More: Labor negotiations could resume soon | buffalo, nhl, owner - NHL Capsules - Brownsville Herald
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr have discussed procedural details that could soon lead to a continuation of negotiations that broke off last week — perhaps as early as this week.
The current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association expires on Sept. 15, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he will impose a lockout then if a new deal hasn't been reached.
"From our perspective, there has been a sense of urgency all summer," Daly said in an email to The Associated Press, "but, obviously, it becomes more real as we get closer to September 15 with no meaningful progress being made."
The first NHL preseason games are scheduled to begin Sept. 19, with the regular season slated to open on Oct. 11 with four games.
The NHL canceled the entire 2004-05 season and playoffs before the current deal with the union was finally hammered out in July 2005.
Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association, told The Canadian Press that he stopped drawing a salary on July 1.
"It's both a measure of solidarity and uniformity of interest," Fehr told CP on Thursday. "You want the players to understand you're in the same boat they are. You don't have interests different than they do. We think it's important."
Talks broke off last week when the NHLPA responded to an offer from the NHL with changes to an earlier proposal.
Read More: Labor negotiations could resume soon | buffalo, nhl, owner - NHL Capsules - Brownsville Herald
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Representatives from the NHL and the players' association held informal negotiations on Friday at the league offices.
With the expiration date on the current collective bargaining agreement - Sept. 15 - drawing near, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, and his top assistant and brother, Steve Fehr, sat down with Commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy, Bill Daly, for a status check after a week of little to no communication. The two sides last held formal discussions last Friday, but those ended with Donald Fehr telling reporters the talks were in a "recess."
Players have often flanked the Fehrs for support in the process, and Friday was no different. Winnipeg defenseman Ron Hainsey, Minnesota forward Zenon Konopka and Buffalo defenseman Robyn Regher were on hand in New York.
The league has said it will lock the players out if a new deal isn't reached by the 15th.
"(We're) trying to find a way to bridge the gap," Donald Fehr said. "That's always the intent."
Negotiations, throughout the summer, have taken breaks during weekends. But with the deadline nearing, there's a good chance the two sides meet on Saturday.
Read more: NHL CBA talks resume as lockout looms - NHL - SI-com
With the expiration date on the current collective bargaining agreement - Sept. 15 - drawing near, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, and his top assistant and brother, Steve Fehr, sat down with Commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy, Bill Daly, for a status check after a week of little to no communication. The two sides last held formal discussions last Friday, but those ended with Donald Fehr telling reporters the talks were in a "recess."
Players have often flanked the Fehrs for support in the process, and Friday was no different. Winnipeg defenseman Ron Hainsey, Minnesota forward Zenon Konopka and Buffalo defenseman Robyn Regher were on hand in New York.
The league has said it will lock the players out if a new deal isn't reached by the 15th.
"(We're) trying to find a way to bridge the gap," Donald Fehr said. "That's always the intent."
Negotiations, throughout the summer, have taken breaks during weekends. But with the deadline nearing, there's a good chance the two sides meet on Saturday.
Read more: NHL CBA talks resume as lockout looms - NHL - SI-com
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They met in a restaurant in New York on Wednesday. They reported to their bosses on Thursday. On Friday, deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA counsel Steve Fehr accompanied their bosses, commissioner Gary Bettman and executive director Donald Fehr, at an informal gathering in NHL’s offices in New York.
Someone (neither of the four gentlemen) hinted the foursome could meet again Saturday, more formally, to continue negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement. That didn’t happen. Daly and Steve Fehr touched base again on Saturday (by phone, one assumes), and word among the cognoscenti is they might repeat the exercise Sunday.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking and the Sept. 15 deadline for a lockout is becoming more and more ominous.
What takes them so long? Can’t they just add up the figures and find a split?
If only it were THIS simple.
As Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos observed the other day, this is no longer about dollars and cents. This is about who runs the ruddy ship.
Kypreos has got it right.
You don’t believe for a moment the NHL has got over the slap in the face administered by the NHLPA last season? The league was thinking of realignment. Easier and cheaper travel, fewer transcontinental crossings, and so on. The NHLPA, if you care to recall, went up in arms. First, they said, nobody consulted with us. They were stretching the truth a bit there, but who’s counting. Besides, the NHLPA argued that a realignment would change its members lifestyles, their daily routines, even, and who do the owners think they are to do so without getting an OK from their union?
The league could have taken the NHLPA to court right then and there. It didn’t. First of all, nobody knew if they would have won. Secondly, it would take time, what with all kinds of appeals available to each side. The league must have figured out, ah, what the heck, we would be negotiating a new CBA by then, might as well include provisions covering such scenarios there once and for all. Or, at least, till the time to establish another CBA rolls around.
Read More: NHL moves to get back control of the league from players, Peter Adler writes | Edmonton Journal
Someone (neither of the four gentlemen) hinted the foursome could meet again Saturday, more formally, to continue negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement. That didn’t happen. Daly and Steve Fehr touched base again on Saturday (by phone, one assumes), and word among the cognoscenti is they might repeat the exercise Sunday.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking and the Sept. 15 deadline for a lockout is becoming more and more ominous.
What takes them so long? Can’t they just add up the figures and find a split?
If only it were THIS simple.
As Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos observed the other day, this is no longer about dollars and cents. This is about who runs the ruddy ship.
Kypreos has got it right.
You don’t believe for a moment the NHL has got over the slap in the face administered by the NHLPA last season? The league was thinking of realignment. Easier and cheaper travel, fewer transcontinental crossings, and so on. The NHLPA, if you care to recall, went up in arms. First, they said, nobody consulted with us. They were stretching the truth a bit there, but who’s counting. Besides, the NHLPA argued that a realignment would change its members lifestyles, their daily routines, even, and who do the owners think they are to do so without getting an OK from their union?
The league could have taken the NHLPA to court right then and there. It didn’t. First of all, nobody knew if they would have won. Secondly, it would take time, what with all kinds of appeals available to each side. The league must have figured out, ah, what the heck, we would be negotiating a new CBA by then, might as well include provisions covering such scenarios there once and for all. Or, at least, till the time to establish another CBA rolls around.
Read More: NHL moves to get back control of the league from players, Peter Adler writes | Edmonton Journal
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After the first face-to-face meeting in a week between the NHL and the players' association, the sides spent a relatively quiet weekend apart as the clock ticks down toward another potential lockout.
With less than a week remaining before the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players runs out, no new negotiations took place after an informal return to the table Friday.
There was hope that negotiations would resume Saturday or Sunday, but the communication between the sides was limited to phone and email instead.
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, and his top assistant and brother, Steve Fehr, sat down with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Friday for a status check after a week of little to no communication. The sides last held formal discussions on the previous Friday, but those ended with Donald Fehr telling reporters the talks were in a ''recess.''
The current CBA expires Saturday, and Bettman has said the league will lock out the players if a deal isn't reached by then. The preseason schedule is set to begin on Sept. 19, and the regular season is supposed to start on Oct. 11.
The expiring deal has been in place since 2005 following the previous lockout that forced the cancelation of the entire 2004-05 season and playoffs.
Read More: NHL labor talks on hold during quiet weekend - Yahoo! Sports
With less than a week remaining before the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players runs out, no new negotiations took place after an informal return to the table Friday.
There was hope that negotiations would resume Saturday or Sunday, but the communication between the sides was limited to phone and email instead.
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, and his top assistant and brother, Steve Fehr, sat down with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Friday for a status check after a week of little to no communication. The sides last held formal discussions on the previous Friday, but those ended with Donald Fehr telling reporters the talks were in a ''recess.''
The current CBA expires Saturday, and Bettman has said the league will lock out the players if a deal isn't reached by then. The preseason schedule is set to begin on Sept. 19, and the regular season is supposed to start on Oct. 11.
The expiring deal has been in place since 2005 following the previous lockout that forced the cancelation of the entire 2004-05 season and playoffs.
Read More: NHL labor talks on hold during quiet weekend - Yahoo! Sports
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A lockout involving all 30 NHL teams became less of a certainty Monday even though the league and the players haven’t reopened collective bargaining talks.
A scheduled Tuesday morning hearing with the Alberta Labour Relations Board — where the NHL Players’ Association was to argue that locking out members of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames would be unlawful — ended up being cancelled Monday night. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly had been expected to travel to Edmonton for the hearing and told The Canadian Press in an email: “This is a joke.” However, after the NHL withdrew its claim with the labour board, Daly said he felt the league still had the legal authority to impose a lockout in Alberta.
The union disagreed, with general counsel Don Zavelo saying in a statement that he felt it would not be permitted. Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, took issue with Daly’s characterization of the process.
“At this stage of the bargaining I wouldn’t be treating anything as a joke,” said Fehr. “The proceeding in Alberta is a proceeding that they instituted and then abandoned.”
Read More: NHL enters final days under current CBA - The Globe and Mail
A scheduled Tuesday morning hearing with the Alberta Labour Relations Board — where the NHL Players’ Association was to argue that locking out members of the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames would be unlawful — ended up being cancelled Monday night. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly had been expected to travel to Edmonton for the hearing and told The Canadian Press in an email: “This is a joke.” However, after the NHL withdrew its claim with the labour board, Daly said he felt the league still had the legal authority to impose a lockout in Alberta.
The union disagreed, with general counsel Don Zavelo saying in a statement that he felt it would not be permitted. Donald Fehr, the NHLPA’s executive director, took issue with Daly’s characterization of the process.
“At this stage of the bargaining I wouldn’t be treating anything as a joke,” said Fehr. “The proceeding in Alberta is a proceeding that they instituted and then abandoned.”
Read More: NHL enters final days under current CBA - The Globe and Mail
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A lost NHL season might mean lost revenue for a host of businesses connected with pro hockey, but equipment manufacturer Bauer says doubling down on social media investment will soften any financial blow a lockout might deliver.
Or even eliminate it completely.
While players, fans and the league scramble to figure out just what role social networks will play in resolving the contract dispute that threatens the upcoming NHL season, Bauer CEO Kevin Davis says an expanded presence on networks like Facebook and Twitter will keep the brand visible even if its highest-profile spokespeople are sidelined this winter.
“There are 650 or so guys and 6 million kids playing around the world,” said Davis, pointing out that traffic to Bauer’s website has more than tripled since 2008. “We have a very robust social media (campaign) are part of what we do with kids… We try to focus our energies where the kids live, which is online and in (local) rinks.”
Social media were unheard-of when a lockout cost the NHL the 2004-2005 season, but this time out players, fans and sponsor hope social networks can either influence the outcome of negotiations or mitigate the damage a work stoppage might cause.
Davis says a lockout would limit the company’s ability to use team logos in marketing campaigns, but points out 25 Bauer-sponsored NHL stars recently converged in Atlantic City to record the content that will engage fans on the company’s Facebook page this fall and winter, whether or not the upcoming season takes place.
Read More: NHL Lockout: Work stoppage looms, players, fans, sponsors look to social media for answers - thestar-com
Or even eliminate it completely.
While players, fans and the league scramble to figure out just what role social networks will play in resolving the contract dispute that threatens the upcoming NHL season, Bauer CEO Kevin Davis says an expanded presence on networks like Facebook and Twitter will keep the brand visible even if its highest-profile spokespeople are sidelined this winter.
“There are 650 or so guys and 6 million kids playing around the world,” said Davis, pointing out that traffic to Bauer’s website has more than tripled since 2008. “We have a very robust social media (campaign) are part of what we do with kids… We try to focus our energies where the kids live, which is online and in (local) rinks.”
Social media were unheard-of when a lockout cost the NHL the 2004-2005 season, but this time out players, fans and sponsor hope social networks can either influence the outcome of negotiations or mitigate the damage a work stoppage might cause.
Davis says a lockout would limit the company’s ability to use team logos in marketing campaigns, but points out 25 Bauer-sponsored NHL stars recently converged in Atlantic City to record the content that will engage fans on the company’s Facebook page this fall and winter, whether or not the upcoming season takes place.
Read More: NHL Lockout: Work stoppage looms, players, fans, sponsors look to social media for answers - thestar-com
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Many Winnipeg hockey fans and business owners are bracing for the possibility of the NHL locking out its players, which could affect the Jets’ second season back in Manitoba.
The league and the NHL Players’ Association are in talks surrounding a new collective bargaining agreement this week, in the hopes of avoiding a work stoppage.
The current contract is set to expire just before midnight on Saturday, and the owners have said they will enact another lockout if a new agreement isn’t reached beforehand.
If the lockout goes ahead, it would be the league’s fourth work stoppage since 1992.
It could also dampen the spirits of Winnipeg Jets fans who have been celebrating the return of NHL hockey to Manitoba by packing the MTS Centre for sold-out home games throughout the 2011-12 season.
“When you’ve got 15,000 people coming downtown 41 nights of the year to watch hockey games, that has an impact on restaurants, hotels, and retail and cabs,” said Chuck Davidson of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
Officials with True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Jets franchise, told CBC News they would not comment on the potential NHL lockout unless it actually happens.
Read More: Winnipeg braces for possible NHL lockout - Updated News
The league and the NHL Players’ Association are in talks surrounding a new collective bargaining agreement this week, in the hopes of avoiding a work stoppage.
The current contract is set to expire just before midnight on Saturday, and the owners have said they will enact another lockout if a new agreement isn’t reached beforehand.
If the lockout goes ahead, it would be the league’s fourth work stoppage since 1992.
It could also dampen the spirits of Winnipeg Jets fans who have been celebrating the return of NHL hockey to Manitoba by packing the MTS Centre for sold-out home games throughout the 2011-12 season.
“When you’ve got 15,000 people coming downtown 41 nights of the year to watch hockey games, that has an impact on restaurants, hotels, and retail and cabs,” said Chuck Davidson of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
Officials with True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Jets franchise, told CBC News they would not comment on the potential NHL lockout unless it actually happens.
Read More: Winnipeg braces for possible NHL lockout - Updated News
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We still don't know if there will be a National Hockey League season this year, but if the league and its players can come together on a labor agreement the oddsmakers at Bovada feel that the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the top Cup contenders to unseat the champion L.A. Kings.
Sign up at Bovada NOW and deposit for your 50% Free Bet Bonus up to $250.
The Rangers and Penguins sit tied atop the Stanley Cup futures at Bovada right now at 8/1 odds to win the 2012/13 NHL title. The league is poised to impose a lockout on its players this weekend as the collective bargaining agreement between the two sides expires Saturday at midnight.
Both New York and Pittsburgh made significant trades this summer, with the Rangers adding star winger Rick Nash from Columbus and the Penguins dealing away center Jordan Staal to the Hurricanes in exchange for center Brandon Sutter and prospects.
The Vancouver Canucks are then at 10/1 on the odds to win the Stanley Cup, and they've been widely expected to make a deal as well – but goaltender Roberto Luongo remains on the team's roster. That could lead to an uncomfortable situation in Vancouver if NHL camps open, as Luongo would be expected to take a backseat to Cory Schneider in the crease.
The defending champions are then at 12/1 on those NHL futures, with the Kings returning their winning roster from last season mostly intact. The Flyers (13/1), Blackhawks (14/1), Red Wings (15/1), Bruins (16/1), Blues (16/1), and Wild (18/1) round out the top tier of contenders on the odds to win the Stanley Cup heading into the year.
Minnesota made the biggest splash in the offseason, plucking both forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter out of the free-agent pool for a combined cost of $196 million.
The Sharks are then at 20/1 odds on that list, with the Hurricanes at 22/1, each of the Sabres, Predators, and Capitals at 25/1, and the Lightning and Devils both at 28/1. The up-and-coming Oilers are at 30/1 odds, with the Maple Leafs at 35/1 to win the Cup.
Each of the Ducks, Avalanche, Panthers, Canadiens, Senators, and Coyotes are listed at 40/1 at Bovada on the Stanley Cup futures, with the Flames and Stars at 50/1, the Jets at 60/1, the Islanders at 75/1, and the Jackets at 150/1 as they start life without Rick Nash.
Sign up at Bovada NOW and deposit for your 50% Free Bet Bonus up to $250.
The Rangers and Penguins sit tied atop the Stanley Cup futures at Bovada right now at 8/1 odds to win the 2012/13 NHL title. The league is poised to impose a lockout on its players this weekend as the collective bargaining agreement between the two sides expires Saturday at midnight.
Both New York and Pittsburgh made significant trades this summer, with the Rangers adding star winger Rick Nash from Columbus and the Penguins dealing away center Jordan Staal to the Hurricanes in exchange for center Brandon Sutter and prospects.
The Vancouver Canucks are then at 10/1 on the odds to win the Stanley Cup, and they've been widely expected to make a deal as well – but goaltender Roberto Luongo remains on the team's roster. That could lead to an uncomfortable situation in Vancouver if NHL camps open, as Luongo would be expected to take a backseat to Cory Schneider in the crease.
The defending champions are then at 12/1 on those NHL futures, with the Kings returning their winning roster from last season mostly intact. The Flyers (13/1), Blackhawks (14/1), Red Wings (15/1), Bruins (16/1), Blues (16/1), and Wild (18/1) round out the top tier of contenders on the odds to win the Stanley Cup heading into the year.
Minnesota made the biggest splash in the offseason, plucking both forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter out of the free-agent pool for a combined cost of $196 million.
The Sharks are then at 20/1 odds on that list, with the Hurricanes at 22/1, each of the Sabres, Predators, and Capitals at 25/1, and the Lightning and Devils both at 28/1. The up-and-coming Oilers are at 30/1 odds, with the Maple Leafs at 35/1 to win the Cup.
Each of the Ducks, Avalanche, Panthers, Canadiens, Senators, and Coyotes are listed at 40/1 at Bovada on the Stanley Cup futures, with the Flames and Stars at 50/1, the Jets at 60/1, the Islanders at 75/1, and the Jackets at 150/1 as they start life without Rick Nash.
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With N.H.L. teams on track to begin a lockout at midnight Saturday, the league engaged in a bevy of activity almost everywhere except the bargaining table. The highly regarded free-agent forward Shane Doan re-signed with the Phoenix Coyotes, and the N.H.L. Players’ Association appealed to the labor relations boards in Quebec and Alberta to block the lockout in those Canadian provinces.
Still, nothing seemed likely to derail the lockout. On Friday the league and the union had contact on certain procedural matters, but there were no new negotiations.
On Thursday, the N.H.L. Board of Governors gave Commissioner Gary Bettman a unanimous vote of support to shut down the league when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Saturday.
“The league is not in a position, not willing to move forward with another season under the status quo,” Bettman told reporters after the board meeting at a Midtown Manhattan hotel.
A lockout would be the third Bettman has called since becoming commissioner in 1993. The last one, in 2004-5, cost the entire season and resulted in a 24 percent pay cut for the players.
Read More: www-nytimes-com/2012/09/15/sports/hockey/nhl-nears-lockout-as-shane-doan-re-signs-with-coyotes-html?_r=0
Still, nothing seemed likely to derail the lockout. On Friday the league and the union had contact on certain procedural matters, but there were no new negotiations.
On Thursday, the N.H.L. Board of Governors gave Commissioner Gary Bettman a unanimous vote of support to shut down the league when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Saturday.
“The league is not in a position, not willing to move forward with another season under the status quo,” Bettman told reporters after the board meeting at a Midtown Manhattan hotel.
A lockout would be the third Bettman has called since becoming commissioner in 1993. The last one, in 2004-5, cost the entire season and resulted in a 24 percent pay cut for the players.
Read More: www-nytimes-com/2012/09/15/sports/hockey/nhl-nears-lockout-as-shane-doan-re-signs-with-coyotes-html?_r=0
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In the middle of the night, when Saturday turned into Sunday, the NHL went dark.
The NHL locked out its players — as it had in 2004-05 — upon the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement at midnight. No formal negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA took place on Saturday.
The disagreement centers on the players’ share of league revenue.
The NHL reported $3.3 billion in gross revenue in 2011-12. In the final year of the expired CBA, the players received 57 percent of hockey-related revenue. In its latest proposal, the NHL offered a six-year term, with player share designated at 49 percent in the first season. Players would not be subject to salary rollbacks to existing contracts, but they would cede money via escrow.
The players are unwilling to accept a decrease. They have proposed limiting salary growth and partnering with the large-market teams in revenue sharing. The NHL has not accepted revenue sharing as a principle for the next CBA.
With the sides deadlocked over the primary economic sticking point, they have not found common ground over secondary negotiating points, either. Those issues include arbitration rights, length of entry-level contracts, and service time required to reach free agency.
Training camps were scheduled to open on Friday. The Bruins’ first preseason game was scheduled for Sept. 25 against Washington. The NHL should begin canceling preseason games shortly.
Under a lockout, players will not be allowed to use team facilities. Normally, the Bruins would have skated at Ristuccia Arena to prepare for the opening of camp. Instead, they will skate at an undetermined rink.
Read More: NHL puts lockout in play - Hockey - Boston-com
The NHL locked out its players — as it had in 2004-05 — upon the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement at midnight. No formal negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA took place on Saturday.
The disagreement centers on the players’ share of league revenue.
The NHL reported $3.3 billion in gross revenue in 2011-12. In the final year of the expired CBA, the players received 57 percent of hockey-related revenue. In its latest proposal, the NHL offered a six-year term, with player share designated at 49 percent in the first season. Players would not be subject to salary rollbacks to existing contracts, but they would cede money via escrow.
The players are unwilling to accept a decrease. They have proposed limiting salary growth and partnering with the large-market teams in revenue sharing. The NHL has not accepted revenue sharing as a principle for the next CBA.
With the sides deadlocked over the primary economic sticking point, they have not found common ground over secondary negotiating points, either. Those issues include arbitration rights, length of entry-level contracts, and service time required to reach free agency.
Training camps were scheduled to open on Friday. The Bruins’ first preseason game was scheduled for Sept. 25 against Washington. The NHL should begin canceling preseason games shortly.
Under a lockout, players will not be allowed to use team facilities. Normally, the Bruins would have skated at Ristuccia Arena to prepare for the opening of camp. Instead, they will skate at an undetermined rink.
Read More: NHL puts lockout in play - Hockey - Boston-com
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The clock struck midnight, and the NHL turned into another sports league closed for business. Unable to reach agreement on a new labor deal, the National Hockey League locked out its players at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, the third major pro sport to impose a work stoppage in the last 18 months, behind the NFL and NBA.
The action also marks the fourth shutdown for the NHL since 1992, including a year-long dispute that forced the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season when the league successfully held out for a salary cap.
That fight ended with the latest collective bargaining agreement, and when it ended Commissioner Gary Bettman followed through on his longstanding pledge to lock out the players if no deal was in place.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the shutdown was in effect. The union said it would have no comment.
The sides were so far apart in their discussions that they didn't even meet face-to-face for negotiations on Saturday.
The core issue is money -- how to split a $3.3 billion pot of revenue. The owners want to decrease the percentage of hockey-related revenue that goes to players, while the union wants a guarantee that players annually get at least the $1.8 billion in salaries paid out last season.
Long before the clock struck 12, the lockout was considered a foregone conclusion.
"We talked with the union this morning, and in light of the fact that they have nothing new to offer, or any substantive response to our last proposal, there would be nothing gained by convening a bargaining session at this time," Daly said in a statement earlier Saturday. "I'm sure that we will remain in contact in the coming days."
The dispute is latest chapter in labor unrest that has vexed American professional sports. The NFL was locked out for much of the offseason in 2011 while the last NBA season was shortened from 82 games to 66 and began on Christmas.
Baseball successfully reached a labor deal and some have suggested that the fact MLB didn't have a work stoppage has to do with the fact that baseball has no salary cap, allowing for more wiggle room in negotiations.
Despite a third straight day of telephone discussions between Daly and players' association special counsel Steve Fehr, the brother of NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, hopes of face-to-face talks were dashed early Saturday.
Read More: On ice: NHL locks out its players | abc13-com
The action also marks the fourth shutdown for the NHL since 1992, including a year-long dispute that forced the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season when the league successfully held out for a salary cap.
That fight ended with the latest collective bargaining agreement, and when it ended Commissioner Gary Bettman followed through on his longstanding pledge to lock out the players if no deal was in place.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the shutdown was in effect. The union said it would have no comment.
The sides were so far apart in their discussions that they didn't even meet face-to-face for negotiations on Saturday.
The core issue is money -- how to split a $3.3 billion pot of revenue. The owners want to decrease the percentage of hockey-related revenue that goes to players, while the union wants a guarantee that players annually get at least the $1.8 billion in salaries paid out last season.
Long before the clock struck 12, the lockout was considered a foregone conclusion.
"We talked with the union this morning, and in light of the fact that they have nothing new to offer, or any substantive response to our last proposal, there would be nothing gained by convening a bargaining session at this time," Daly said in a statement earlier Saturday. "I'm sure that we will remain in contact in the coming days."
The dispute is latest chapter in labor unrest that has vexed American professional sports. The NFL was locked out for much of the offseason in 2011 while the last NBA season was shortened from 82 games to 66 and began on Christmas.
Baseball successfully reached a labor deal and some have suggested that the fact MLB didn't have a work stoppage has to do with the fact that baseball has no salary cap, allowing for more wiggle room in negotiations.
Despite a third straight day of telephone discussions between Daly and players' association special counsel Steve Fehr, the brother of NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, hopes of face-to-face talks were dashed early Saturday.
Read More: On ice: NHL locks out its players | abc13-com
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The National Hockey League (NHL) and its players are gambling once again that a work stoppage will not harm relationships with sponsors or rattle fan loyalty in a still-challenging economic environment.
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The NHL locked out players over the weekend after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement before the old pact expired, plunging the league into its fourth work stoppage in 20 years and making Friday's start to the preseason unlikely.
So instead of fans getting excited for the start of the NHL regular season next month, many were left downcast on Monday and wondering when, or if, they will see their favourite teams back on the ice this year.
Confronted with yet another showdown between millionaire athletes and billionaire owners, the NHL and its players will again roll the dice and test the loyalty of sponsors, business partners and fans suffering from lockout fatigue.
With memories of the labor dispute that wiped out the entire 2004-05 NHL season still fresh in their minds, fans have started looking for other ways to spend their entertainment budget while players search for work in foreign leagues and networks scramble to find alternate programming.
As negotiations drag on the grim impact of the lockout will hit home as the league and teams begin to announce layoffs while those who earn their living around the sport selling beer in arenas and supervising parking lots, will try to find ways to survive in a still sluggish economy.
"There is a lockout fatigue going on and no one is a winner in those situations," Jason Maloni, a sports crisis communications expert and a senior vice-president of Levick told Reuters. "It's always good to have goodwill with the public.
Read More: ANALYSIS-NHL-Owners gambling lockout will bring new riches - chicagotribune-com
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The NHL locked out players over the weekend after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement before the old pact expired, plunging the league into its fourth work stoppage in 20 years and making Friday's start to the preseason unlikely.
So instead of fans getting excited for the start of the NHL regular season next month, many were left downcast on Monday and wondering when, or if, they will see their favourite teams back on the ice this year.
Confronted with yet another showdown between millionaire athletes and billionaire owners, the NHL and its players will again roll the dice and test the loyalty of sponsors, business partners and fans suffering from lockout fatigue.
With memories of the labor dispute that wiped out the entire 2004-05 NHL season still fresh in their minds, fans have started looking for other ways to spend their entertainment budget while players search for work in foreign leagues and networks scramble to find alternate programming.
As negotiations drag on the grim impact of the lockout will hit home as the league and teams begin to announce layoffs while those who earn their living around the sport selling beer in arenas and supervising parking lots, will try to find ways to survive in a still sluggish economy.
"There is a lockout fatigue going on and no one is a winner in those situations," Jason Maloni, a sports crisis communications expert and a senior vice-president of Levick told Reuters. "It's always good to have goodwill with the public.
Read More: ANALYSIS-NHL-Owners gambling lockout will bring new riches - chicagotribune-com
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Russia's Ilya Kovalchuk became the latest high-profile player to join the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) by signing with big spenders SKA St. Petersburg on Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) on the heels of a National Hockey League lockout.
Kovalchuk, 29, joins NHL Most Valuable Player Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former All-Star defenseman Sergei Gonchar of the Ottawa Senators, who both signed for KHL rivals Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Sunday, in the Russian league.
The exodus of top NHL talent to Russia is widely expected to continue since the North American league imposed a league-wide lockout after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union over the weekend.
The ambitious KHL, formed three years ago with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has jumped at the chance to recruit some of the world's best players, hoping it would help the fast-growing league emerge from the shadows of the NHL.
For example, Magnitogorsk has given Malkin a hero's welcome despite the fact that the Russian defected to the United States during the team's training camp in Finland in 2006. The Russians then threatened to go to a U.S. court to seek compensation from Pittsburgh before settling the case with the NHL club.
Read More: Lockout forcing top NHL players to Russia for work | Sports | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere
Kovalchuk, 29, joins NHL Most Valuable Player Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and former All-Star defenseman Sergei Gonchar of the Ottawa Senators, who both signed for KHL rivals Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Sunday, in the Russian league.
The exodus of top NHL talent to Russia is widely expected to continue since the North American league imposed a league-wide lockout after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union over the weekend.
The ambitious KHL, formed three years ago with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has jumped at the chance to recruit some of the world's best players, hoping it would help the fast-growing league emerge from the shadows of the NHL.
For example, Magnitogorsk has given Malkin a hero's welcome despite the fact that the Russian defected to the United States during the team's training camp in Finland in 2006. The Russians then threatened to go to a U.S. court to seek compensation from Pittsburgh before settling the case with the NHL club.
Read More: Lockout forcing top NHL players to Russia for work | Sports | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere
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The NHL lockout is only a few days old but its effects are already being felt around the league.
With a number of big-name players continuing to head for Europe, NHL employees were informed Wednesday that their salaries are scheduled to be cut 20 per cent across the board. That will come into effect on Oct. 1, when full-time staff are reduced to a four-day work week.
The news was delivered by commissioner Gary Bettman during a Wednesday morning staff meeting.
The NHL also announced the cancellation of pre-season games through Sept. 30, as well as the postponement of the Kraft Hockeyville pre-season game scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ont., to the 2013-14 season.
Unlike in September 2004, when more than 50 per cent of NHL employees were laid off just days into the lockout, the league is trying to avoid cutting staff. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press over the weekend that there were no immediate plans for layoffs, although multiple sources who attended Wednesday's meeting said employees were warned that further cuts could be coming in the future.
Read more: NHL cancels pre-season games during lockout
With a number of big-name players continuing to head for Europe, NHL employees were informed Wednesday that their salaries are scheduled to be cut 20 per cent across the board. That will come into effect on Oct. 1, when full-time staff are reduced to a four-day work week.
The news was delivered by commissioner Gary Bettman during a Wednesday morning staff meeting.
The NHL also announced the cancellation of pre-season games through Sept. 30, as well as the postponement of the Kraft Hockeyville pre-season game scheduled for Oct. 3 in Belleville, Ont., to the 2013-14 season.
Unlike in September 2004, when more than 50 per cent of NHL employees were laid off just days into the lockout, the league is trying to avoid cutting staff. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press over the weekend that there were no immediate plans for layoffs, although multiple sources who attended Wednesday's meeting said employees were warned that further cuts could be coming in the future.
Read more: NHL cancels pre-season games during lockout
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Perhaps NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was having a bad day. Asked about the criticism on social media over NHL labour tactics, Daly said negotiating a new collective agreement (CBA) is still Job 1. “We do not intend to abdicate that responsibility in reaction to uninformed ramblings on Twitter,” he said in an e-mail.
Ah, the uninformed ramblings on Twitter, the fifth column of the NHL lockout. For those not scoring at home, Twitter did not exist in 2004-05. Facebook was a dating site. When Daly needed to herd the cats of public opinion last time, he needed only to round up the usual suspects of mainstream media, many of whom were NHL broadcasters or sponsors.
Now, as it orchestrates another controversial lockout narrative, the NHL is faced with a massed choir of players, agents, journalists, statisticians, humorists, cranks, idlers and outright liars vying for the last word on how the NHL is doing. To say nothing of sarcastic Taiwanese cartoonists, seen on YouTube.
Daly has estimated, “I think opinion on Twitter is 50-50 for the NHL/NHLPA.” Nice try. Almost everyone concedes that, because of social media, the NHL is running uphill in this PR battle compared to the lost season of 2004-05.
One day’s harvest on social media reveals NHL Lockout: 15 Reason Why Hockey Fans Hate Gary Bettman (Bleacher Report), 9 Ideas for NBC To Replace the NHL (because we couldn’t get to 10) on Awful Announcing and threats to boycott NHL sponsors on YouHaveTwoWeeks-com.
On Twitter, Anaheim star Teemu Selanne is calling Daly’s boss Gary Bettman “the most hated man in hockey.”
Read More: NHL losing the war on social media - The Globe and Mail
Ah, the uninformed ramblings on Twitter, the fifth column of the NHL lockout. For those not scoring at home, Twitter did not exist in 2004-05. Facebook was a dating site. When Daly needed to herd the cats of public opinion last time, he needed only to round up the usual suspects of mainstream media, many of whom were NHL broadcasters or sponsors.
Now, as it orchestrates another controversial lockout narrative, the NHL is faced with a massed choir of players, agents, journalists, statisticians, humorists, cranks, idlers and outright liars vying for the last word on how the NHL is doing. To say nothing of sarcastic Taiwanese cartoonists, seen on YouTube.
Daly has estimated, “I think opinion on Twitter is 50-50 for the NHL/NHLPA.” Nice try. Almost everyone concedes that, because of social media, the NHL is running uphill in this PR battle compared to the lost season of 2004-05.
One day’s harvest on social media reveals NHL Lockout: 15 Reason Why Hockey Fans Hate Gary Bettman (Bleacher Report), 9 Ideas for NBC To Replace the NHL (because we couldn’t get to 10) on Awful Announcing and threats to boycott NHL sponsors on YouHaveTwoWeeks-com.
On Twitter, Anaheim star Teemu Selanne is calling Daly’s boss Gary Bettman “the most hated man in hockey.”
Read More: NHL losing the war on social media - The Globe and Mail
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NHL fans should be focused on the free agency adds their teams made and how their roster looks headed into 2012/13 preseason games.
Instead of coming to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, the league and players have made unsubstantiated claims and drug their feet in labor negotiations.
The third work stoppage under Gary Bettman could very well lead to his second cancelled season. Unlike football and basketball to a lesser extent, hockey players have options in Europe that will keep them from caving on demands.
Here are five things that would have happened during the upcoming season, but fans won't get to see them, as the NHL will cancel their season instead of reaching a labor agreement.
Read More: NHL 2012-13 Predictions: 5 Things Fans Will Miss Because of Lockout | Bleacher Report
Instead of coming to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, the league and players have made unsubstantiated claims and drug their feet in labor negotiations.
The third work stoppage under Gary Bettman could very well lead to his second cancelled season. Unlike football and basketball to a lesser extent, hockey players have options in Europe that will keep them from caving on demands.
Here are five things that would have happened during the upcoming season, but fans won't get to see them, as the NHL will cancel their season instead of reaching a labor agreement.
Read More: NHL 2012-13 Predictions: 5 Things Fans Will Miss Because of Lockout | Bleacher Report
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After one week of the N.H.L. lockout, more than 60 N.H.L. players have signed or agreed to play in European leagues (player stats below; including hat tricks for the Rangers’ Rick Nash and the Oilers’ Lennart Petrell in their debuts). Sixty is a pretty significant number – but a far cry from the 200 who signed to play overseas after one week of the lockout in 2004-5.
There’s a reason for that.
In 2004 N.H.L. owners had been preparing for a full-season lockout for as long as four years, and the N.H.L. Players’ Association had been warning its players for two years that the season would probably be lost. Gary Bettman’s longstanding public complaints that the N.H.L. was hemorrhaging cash were buttressed by a league-financed audit, conducted by Arthur Levitt, the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Levitt’s audit showed that the league lost $273 million in 2003-4. That made it clear that the owners wouldn’t mind losing 2004-5 to make the players knuckle under and accept a salary-cap system.
This time around a full-season lockout is not expected – the N.H.L. generated a record $3.3 billion in revenue in 2011-12. The feeling among the players is that neither they nor the owners want to kill the golden goose, and some kind of compromise will be found that allows play to resume after a few weeks.
Bill Daly, the N.H.L.’s deputy commissioner, and the Players’ Association special counsel Steve Fehr will meet Monday in Toronto to discuss details related to the escrow checks the players are scheduled to receive Oct. 11. (The checks will be worth 8 percent of players’ 2011-12 salary.)
Read More: Early Returns Are in as N.H.L. Players Head Overseas - NYTimes-com
There’s a reason for that.
In 2004 N.H.L. owners had been preparing for a full-season lockout for as long as four years, and the N.H.L. Players’ Association had been warning its players for two years that the season would probably be lost. Gary Bettman’s longstanding public complaints that the N.H.L. was hemorrhaging cash were buttressed by a league-financed audit, conducted by Arthur Levitt, the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Levitt’s audit showed that the league lost $273 million in 2003-4. That made it clear that the owners wouldn’t mind losing 2004-5 to make the players knuckle under and accept a salary-cap system.
This time around a full-season lockout is not expected – the N.H.L. generated a record $3.3 billion in revenue in 2011-12. The feeling among the players is that neither they nor the owners want to kill the golden goose, and some kind of compromise will be found that allows play to resume after a few weeks.
Bill Daly, the N.H.L.’s deputy commissioner, and the Players’ Association special counsel Steve Fehr will meet Monday in Toronto to discuss details related to the escrow checks the players are scheduled to receive Oct. 11. (The checks will be worth 8 percent of players’ 2011-12 salary.)
Read More: Early Returns Are in as N.H.L. Players Head Overseas - NYTimes-com
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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly emerged from a meeting with the NHL Players’ Association on Monday afternoon to declare that the sides have a “tentative understanding on closing out the finances for last year,” and that players will get back most of, if not all of, the 8.5% of their salaries that was put into escrow.
As for actually trying to plan meetings regarding a new collective bargaining agreement, there was little discussion. Neither NHL commissioner Gary Bettman nor players’ association union boss Donald Fehr were at the meeting, but both were in attendance at an NHL alumni dinner on Monday night.
Yet no new bargaining discussions were planned as a result. Daly had been hopeful talks could resume this week.
Daly told a group of reporters, who had been lingering for several hours on the sidewalk outside the league’s
Bay St. offices, that the NHL is “100% focused on not missing any regular-season games.”
To which player agent Allan Walsh, who represents NHLers Martin Havlat, Patrik Elias and Marc-Andre Fleury, among others, said on his Twitter account (walsha): “Can you believe this cows---!”
Aren’t work stoppages wonderful?
At the snail’s pace that both sides clearly are willing to work, don’t hold your breath about meetings in the near future. Nothing substantial between the sides has been exchanged since Sept. 12.
Despite the lack of talks, Day figured the sides are “light years” ahead of where they were at this point on the calendar eight years ago, when a lockout eventually killed the 2004-05 NHL season. Back then, three months passed between meetings and the season was cancelled.
Read More: Still no date for NHL bargaining talks | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Sun
As for actually trying to plan meetings regarding a new collective bargaining agreement, there was little discussion. Neither NHL commissioner Gary Bettman nor players’ association union boss Donald Fehr were at the meeting, but both were in attendance at an NHL alumni dinner on Monday night.
Yet no new bargaining discussions were planned as a result. Daly had been hopeful talks could resume this week.
Daly told a group of reporters, who had been lingering for several hours on the sidewalk outside the league’s
Bay St. offices, that the NHL is “100% focused on not missing any regular-season games.”
To which player agent Allan Walsh, who represents NHLers Martin Havlat, Patrik Elias and Marc-Andre Fleury, among others, said on his Twitter account (walsha): “Can you believe this cows---!”
Aren’t work stoppages wonderful?
At the snail’s pace that both sides clearly are willing to work, don’t hold your breath about meetings in the near future. Nothing substantial between the sides has been exchanged since Sept. 12.
Despite the lack of talks, Day figured the sides are “light years” ahead of where they were at this point on the calendar eight years ago, when a lockout eventually killed the 2004-05 NHL season. Back then, three months passed between meetings and the season was cancelled.
Read More: Still no date for NHL bargaining talks | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Sun
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The NHL's collective bargaining talks are set to resume after a two-week hiatus and all of the issues are open for discussion.
Not only did the league and NHL Players' Association schedule a meeting for Friday in New York, but they also agreed to reopen negotiations on matters unrelated to the economic system that governs the sport.
It's a departure in approach from the weeks leading into the lockout, when the sides focused solely on core economics. They were about $1 billion apart after each tabling offers during the last bargaining session on Sept. 12, and a new plan of attack was developed by deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Steve Fehr, the NHLPA's special counsel, during a face-to-face meeting in Toronto on Tuesday morning.
"We agreed on an agenda that made sense and might produce some forward progress," Daly told The Canadian Press.
The lockout has already forced the cancellation of September's pre-season games and it's expected that the remainder of the exhibition schedule could officially be wiped out as soon as Wednesday. After that, regular season games will be next on the chopping block.
Despite stalled negotiations, Daly said earlier this week that the process was "light years" ahead of where it was at this point in 2004. The decision to return to the bargaining table is evidence of that. Eight years ago, the sides let three months pass after the lockout was enacted before resuming talks.
"We are pleased the league is willing to come back to the bargaining table and we look forward to Friday's discussions," Fehr said.
Read more: NHL, NHLPA to resume bargaining Friday
Not only did the league and NHL Players' Association schedule a meeting for Friday in New York, but they also agreed to reopen negotiations on matters unrelated to the economic system that governs the sport.
It's a departure in approach from the weeks leading into the lockout, when the sides focused solely on core economics. They were about $1 billion apart after each tabling offers during the last bargaining session on Sept. 12, and a new plan of attack was developed by deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Steve Fehr, the NHLPA's special counsel, during a face-to-face meeting in Toronto on Tuesday morning.
"We agreed on an agenda that made sense and might produce some forward progress," Daly told The Canadian Press.
The lockout has already forced the cancellation of September's pre-season games and it's expected that the remainder of the exhibition schedule could officially be wiped out as soon as Wednesday. After that, regular season games will be next on the chopping block.
Despite stalled negotiations, Daly said earlier this week that the process was "light years" ahead of where it was at this point in 2004. The decision to return to the bargaining table is evidence of that. Eight years ago, the sides let three months pass after the lockout was enacted before resuming talks.
"We are pleased the league is willing to come back to the bargaining table and we look forward to Friday's discussions," Fehr said.
Read more: NHL, NHLPA to resume bargaining Friday
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Graham won't even formally admit that he's involved. But ask him to discuss Saskatoon's suitability as an NHL market, and his face lights up.
"From what I've seen of the province -- the passion and the growth and the politicians and the people -- I think it can do anything," Graham, who fronts On Ice Management Group Inc., said Wednesday over lunch at a local restaurant.
And that anything, says Graham, includes supporting an NHL franchise.
Graham's belief in Saskatoon's NHL viability clashes with the opinion of many that the market is too small to ever bring a team to Credit Union Centre. He bristles at Conference Board of Canada projections that see Saskatoon as too small for the NHL.
"Though Saskatoon will have grown to 430,000 in 2035," the report's authors wrote recently, "the city will still be too small to sustain an NHL franchise."
Nonsense, Graham says.
"For (the Conference Board) to come out and tell me this can't work because of whatever reason . . . if we did that, this country wouldn't have been built," said Graham, who is town this week for meetings and a golf tournament. "I guarantee you the same guy saying that would have said you'll never build a railroad across a country this big. That's not what it's about. It's about doing things and making them happen. I'm by no means suggesting I'm smarter than the guy at (the Conference Board), but I like embarrasing guys who run numbers and don't do anything else but run numbers.
Read more: John Graham convinced Saskatoon is ready for the NHL