League Requests Players Association for Formal Proposal -NHL Lockout Update
Talks resumed, between the National Hockey League (NHL) and Players’ Association on Monday, November 19, 2012, but nothing significant really came out of it except for one thing. According to insiders, the league has asked the labour union to submit a formal
proposal, one they think would be final in every regard and aspect of negotiations.
This was the first meeting between both sides for the first time since the previous week as a deadlock persisted and lasted for less than two hours. A few issues have been said to have come into discussion, including the ever so crucial contracting rights
and core economics that have hindered progression in talks ever since they kicked off earlier in June.
"It's our position (that) we've made a couple comprehensive proposals in a row. We'd like to know where they are on all the issues and we asked them to think about putting together a comprehensive proposal for us to consider," NHL Deputy Commissioner, Bill
Daly, said.
While the league has already made a number of offers that deal with core economic issues, they are still waiting on the labour union to make some of their own.
"We've never heard a full proposal from them. We've heard their proposal on economics -- they're still suggesting that they're moving in our direction on economics," Daly added. "Until we know exactly where they stand on economics ... we think it's all tied
together. We'd like to hear it all together."
Special Counsel for the NHLPA, Steve Fehr, may not have made any proposal of their own during the meeting, but it is believed that the labour union is now working on a deal to make the next time they meet, which could be as soon as Wednesday.
There were a number of players present at the occasion, including some fresh faces like Vincent Lecavalier along with Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards.
Frustration is something that is now common in the league as fans and players are pushing hard to get a new deal done and have the puck drop as soon as possible. It will be interesting to see how the next session plays out.
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