Some Players still optimistic about Labour Talks despite more Cancellations -NHL Lockout Special
While most of the National Hockey League (NHL) and its players have totally lost hope over the lengthening lockout situation and how the most optimistic point of talks shockingly collapsed earlier in the month of December, there are still some out there,
though not as many, but enough to keep fans listening.
Those NHLers who have not gone abroad to play with foreign teams, might not be beginning to regret their decisions of not doing so earlier like many of their colleagues, but are participating on a more local level. Most are doing it for charity while an
added benefit of staying sharp is also present that keeps them interested, other than keeping fans happy in the process as well.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Jamal Mayers is one of those players that has seen a lockout in the past as well. With this one being the second in less than a decade, he is still hopeful that better days are right around the corner and that there is no hope in giving
up now after all that they have been through.
"I went through it in 2004. I understood it how far apart we were. I don't have that feel that we're far apart," Mayers said, according to ESPN. "I'm still an optimist. Hopefully, they come back to the table and realize it's not worth it."
"We made a lot of progress," Los Angeles Kings’ Kevin Westgarth, is also believed to have said. "It's pretty clear that we're not that very far apart. It's unfortunate that's the reaction we got."
The players that chose to stick around home during the lockout have been actively taking part, while all might not be in the negotiation process, they are definitely listen and keeping up-to-date along with contributing when the need arises.
Talks between the players and team owners directly without any mediators from the league and labour union was definitely a moment when everyone watching was hoping for a deal to be done right then and there and seeing how everything fell apart in the follow
up just killed it for a lot of people. But that happens and for Mayers, it is part of the negotiation process.
"To be honest, it was never a take-it-or-leave-it offer they gave. I was in the room. That may have changed now; that wasn't how it was presented," Mayers added. "They pointed out those elements that were important to them. We came back and addressed every
single one of them."
While optimism might be at an all time low, there is still enough to keep fans interested and many still hoping for a turnaround soon. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of days and whether hockey will get back on primetime
television with the welcoming of the New Year.
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