NHL Labour Talks with Players' Association expected to get intense -NHL Update
It has been over a month now since the National Hockey League (NHL) and Players’ Association kicked off talks between each other on a new labour deal as the currently collective bargaining agreement is to come to an end soon, but unfortunately, no significant
outcome has been able to be seen as of yet.
The CBA will be expiring on September 15 later on this year, a date which many analysts are tipping off to be crucial that a new deal be met before than to ensure a smooth next regular season. If a new deal does not come into play by then, hockey pundits
have guaranteed a lockout on their part.
Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, when asked about when they will be making a proposal, answered by saying there is still time as the union is looking into the detailed documents provided by the league.
"The owners did flesh out their proposal a bit further," Fehr said. "Gave us some of the numbers which is very helpful. It will take us some time to review that information, digest it, bottle it and figure out what the appropriate response is."
"The players are not enamored with the proposals (the NHL) made that would restrict player bargaining power on individual contracts," Fehr added while talking to reporters in New York this week.
Surprisingly, the first batch of the paperwork handed by the league to the labour union consists of 76,000, with reports of their being much more to fulfil the demand of the NHLPA. They asked for a detailed report of all the teams financial history, so it
is exactly what they are getting.
Training camp is expected to begin in late September while the regular season is scheduled officially for October 11th. There is currently no telling whether a hockey year will continue smoothly like previous seasons under the deal but players
and the league are obviously taking their time.
According to insiders, a lockout cannot be ruled out in any case until a new deal is agreed upon and signed by both stakeholders. Before then, there is always the danger.
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