Players united behind Donald Fehr as Labor Deal talks intensify with league -NHL Update
It looks like all those hockey pundits who predicted a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) coming into play before the current contract between the National Hockey League (NHL) and Players’ Association was to come to an end are retracting back into their
hiding spots.
As the league and players’ union decided to stand guard on each of their demands and wants, it seems like a looming lockout has become an even more clear reality, with neither side telling what may happen in the upcoming days.
One thing is for sure now that not only is the NHL not budging on their position, but so is not the Players’ Association, which has clearly stated that they are behind executive director Donald Fehr at all costs and will not compromise on anything they do
not think is fair.
Of course, the only thing required is mutual contribution from both sides and the intention to work out a fair deal, but surprisingly, the league at the moment is the one that does not seem like they are wanting to work something out.
"If there is a mutual will to get this done, if we can find a common platform around which to construct an agreement, then obviously there is plenty of time in which to do that," he said.
For free agent defenseman, Chris Campoli, the main factor which has led both sides into reaching their boiling points is the fact that they should have started before hand and slowly progressed towards this part, but instead, the two sides are just having
too many topics to discuss on.
"There is so much to cover and there are different subcommittees to hit every area if you will," Campoli said. "So, this is a different area. They're all important equally. Every issue is important to the players and we're involved in them all. As you can
see, we're here today working with them again and things went well."
There is no telling what might happen in the upcoming days, but a new labour deal does not look like it will come out of it all just yet.
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