Still a long way to go before new CBA terms Commissioner Gary Bettman -NHL Update
Just as fans were about to think that they would eventually get to see another National Hockey League (NHL), commissioner Gary Bettman played the role of the villain and came out to wash away everyone’s hopes and dreams.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, termed the two stakeholders in the talks for a new labour deal, the league and Players’ Association as being far apart from agreeing on mutual terms and conditions for the upcoming hockey years.
Insiders have regarded there to be a tight deadlock between the two parties and there is no certainty that people will get to see another regular season just yet. Bettman was talking to the media after attending another meeting with the labour union, this
time at the NHLPA offices in Toronto.
"I think there are still a number of issues where we're looking at the world differently," Bettman said. "So there's still a wide gap between us, and not much time to go."
The current collective bargaining agreement can only come into affect once the league and Players’ Association both agree on letting the season continue, but as the league is bent on having their demands fulfilled, they are not concerned about a potential
lockout coming into play or not.
For a new deal to come out of all these meetings, it is only but logical that both teams be ready to compromise as nothing can come about after forcing the other.
"It's not a circumstance in which the players are just going to say, 'OK, take everything from us,'" NHL Players’ Association executive director, Donald Fehr, said. "That's basically what it was: 'You had a 24 percent reduction last time, so let's have another
one.' That was their proposal. That's what created the gulf."
The NHL had given the first proposal in which they demanded the players to lose a number of their privileges present at the moment. From shares in total team revenue, a fair entry-level contract and a number of other features had the proposal under heavy
criticism.
Updates on the issue are expected in the upcoming days.
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