No Meeting Scheduled between League, Players Association yet -NHL Lockout Update
According to sources close to ESPN, the National Hockey League (NHL) and Players’ Association are yet to schedule a date to meet again to continue the negotiation process and bring the lockout to an end, but one could be held sometime later on this week.
With the Thursday deadline fast approaching, which would save the whole 82-game regular season if both sides can finalise a deal by then, fans are getting impatient with the whole process, as are the players as more and more begin to take off to foreign
leagues in order to continue playing.
"Don't know," NHL Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly, told ESPNNewYork.com via email. "We will see what happens in the next couple of days."
Frustration levels are rising in North America as many players had decided to wait out and see how the talks work between the two sides, but now seeing how the prospects only get dimmer of having a new deal by November, leaving for Europe seems to be the
only proper option.
Players are beginning to take out their frustration by terming NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to be responsible for the mess and seeing how this is the third lockout of his tenure, it is not hard to see why.
"We want to play, we're the ones who are doing the show in the NHL, but Bettman thinks (it's him)," Boston Bruins David Krejci said. "It is unfortunate that the NHL has such a guy. It's a shame for the entire hockey world. (He) treats us like animals."
If nothing significant comes out of talks held later on this week, fans should expect more regular season related cancellations to come about. The annual NHL Winter Classic, which is scheduled for the New Year between Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red
Wings in Michigan, is also on the verge of being cancelled despite being mostly sold out, as Bettman has set November as the deadline in order to make that decision.
Updates and developments should be expected in the next 24-48 hours on whether the league and Players’ Association will schedule a meeting to save the regular season or not.
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