League, Players' Association meet with Federal Mediators on Wednesday -NHL Update
Wednesday was the first day that the National Hockey League (NHL) and Players’ Association that both sides met with federal mediators after reaching the decision to do so just days earlier. The two stakeholders are on the edge when it comes to wanting to
bring the lockout to an end, and have placed all hope on a third party mediator.
Location of the meeting, which lasted over six hours, was not disclosed by the two sides and it is reported that they are expected to meet again on Thursday as well without breaking the negotiation process.
"A small group of NHLPA staff and players met today with two experienced FMCS mediators. We expect that these discussions will resume Thursday," NHLPA executive director, Donald Fehr, said in a union-issued statement.
Nothing significant has been revealed by either side as of yet as to what was discussed in the lengthy meeting, but insiders are signalling towards showing hope and believe that tensions might finally come to an end in the upcoming days.
Key issues including the players’ share of team revenue along with player contracting rights are some points which the key mediators will need to help both sides reach common ground on if they hope to bring the work stoppage to an end.
It is also reported by some sources that the league and Players’ Association are not at all hopeful of a miraculous breakthrough in negotiations, keeping in view the past process which has ended up in a stronger deadlock between the two. They had to choose
outside mediators as a final source of review and may even take the matter to the court of justice if they see no end to the lockout after federal mediators intervene.
The mediators are experienced in dealing with various sports leagues around North America like the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). It will definitely be interesting to see how the
two sides take the final decision of the mediators, as it is not binding in any way on either stakeholder, but is rather a viewpoint of someone who is neutral and partial in the process.
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