Mediator could Salvage Talks between League, Players' Association -NHL Special
What the league needs now more than ever is a mediator in order to salvage talks between the National Hockey League (NHL) and Players’ Association and save what remains of the 2012-2013 NHL regular season.
According to the Post-Gazette, the labour union would welcome the decision, as said by some representatives, but it is a known fact that the league is no looking forward to bringing a third party into the process and are want to decide the fate of the sport
on their own.
"I think we would welcome it because I think if you look at the situation objectively, there's no question we're making all the concessions," NHLPA representative and Pittsburgh Penguins forward, Craig Adams, said. "I wouldn't be afraid of it, but I'm not
holding my breath that's going to happen."
A number of players, who decided to stick around during the negotiation process instead of head off into foreign territory in order to continue playing, are slowly getting fed up with how the league has been handling their side of the story. It seems strange
to them that they are not willing to consider any single proposal made by the side, of which an example was when the league denied to even look at three straight deals offered by the players.
"Certainly, they've made steps in our direction based on their original proposals," Adams added. "But, if you compare it to anything we have in [the expired] agreement, we're not gaining anything. It's just a question of how much are we giving up. We've
offered to give up a lot already. They feel that's not enough. At some point, we're not going to give up any more."
According to ESPN’s Katie Strang, there is a renowned mediator that is willing to offer their services in order to break the deadlock between both stakeholders.
There is no confirmation at this point whether either side has talked about or even expressed the fact a mediator is coming into play, but it is one thing that the league and Players’ Association could use to work out a fair deal and get the puck to drop
as soon as possible.
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