NHL Labor Talks - NHL, NHLPA agree on 10-year CBA term

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NHL, union still talking but not negotiating - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- While the NHL and the players' association are keeping the lines of communication open, they don't seem to be moving any closer to getting back to the bargaining table.

For the second straight day, representatives on both sides of the lockout had telephone conversations Sunday. None of those talks have yet led to concrete negotiations that could lead to an elusive collective bargaining agreement and get the delayed hockey season going.

''We had a conference call today to answer some of their questions,'' NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email Sunday. ''No bargaining. And no bargaining meetings scheduled.''

Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr also had discussions on Saturday. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and union executive director Donald Fehr didn't take part in Sunday's conference call, Daly said.

The lockout entered its 36th day Sunday.

Both sides said they made proposals this week that could provide the basis for an agreement.

''There are multiple frameworks for a deal on the table,'' Steve Fehr said Sunday. ''We gave them three good ones on Thursday. Each moves toward a 50-50 split of (hockey-related revenue) that the league wants. Each allows the contracts in place to be honored.

''Unfortunately, after considering these proposals for about 10 minutes the league rejected them and essentially said that they are not moving off their last proposal.''

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NHL rejects players' attempt to restart talks - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- The little hope that existed for a full NHL season appears to be gone.

Shortly after the players' reached out to the league on Tuesday night to restart stalled labor negotiations, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly rebuffed the union's attempt.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week, in presenting the league's most recent offer to the players, that if a new collective bargaining agreement wasn't reached by this Thursday, it would be impossible for a full regular-season schedule to be played.

No talks have been scheduled, and no last-minute discussions seem to be on tap.

''I don't anticipate any taking place for the balance of the week,'' Daly said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday night. ''The Union has rejected the proposal we made last Tuesday and is not offering another one. We see nothing to be gained at this point by meeting just to meet.''

Following a call for the union's executive board Tuesday night, the players' association informed the NHL it is willing to meet on Wednesday ''or any other date, without preconditions, to try to reach an agreement.''

"We hope to hear from them soon,'' NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon said.

The NHL's response wasn't what the union had hoped to hear.

The sides haven't met since the NHL turned down three counterproposals from the union on Thursday, two days after the NHL's offer that included a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue.

The developments on Tuesday night came hours after more discourse between the sides on the 38th day of the league's lockout.

While negotiators for the NHL and union kept conversations to a minimum, club officials had a brief window last week to discuss the league's latest proposal.

Those secretive discussions haven't produced any breakthrough, but they have inflamed an already unsettled atmosphere. The union hierarchy wasn't informed about the window then, and isn't happy about it.

''Most owners are not allowed to attend bargaining meetings,'' players' association special counsel Steve Fehr said. ''No owners are allowed to speak to the media about the bargaining. It is interesting that they are secretly unleashed to talk to the players about the meetings the players can attend, but the owners cannot.''

The NHL said Tuesday that team officials were able to have temporary contact with players, although there were parameters regarding what could be discussed.

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NHL to withdraw the 82-game proposal the players already rejected anyway | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports

The NHL's most recent offer was designed to save the 82-game season. It required that a deal be signed by this week, so teams could stage one-week training camps ahead of the Nov. 2 start date.

As you're probably well aware, this week is this week, and the deal has not been accepted by the players. Thus, the NHL will withdraw it on Friday. From ESPN:

"When we delivered the proposal last Tuesday, we told them it would be on the table through today," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com Thursday afternoon. "Having not reached agreement through today, I expect that we'll formally notify the union Friday that the proposal is no longer on the table. We're going to take it back internally and figure out where we go from here."

Daly was also quick to stress that he wasn't threatening the players in any way, but underlying what the league expressed to the NHLPA last week when it delivered the proposal.

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With no agreement in sight, NHL cancels games through November 30 | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports

Thursday's deadline for the NHLPA to accept the NHL's offer proposed last week to save the full 82-game schedule came and went off the table Thursday, so what was expected became official as the league canceled the schedule through Nov. 30.

From the NHL:

The National Hockey League announced today the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through November 30 because of the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players' Association and the NHL.

A total of 326 regular-season games — 26.5 percent of the season -- were scheduled for Oct. 11 through Nov. 30.

Two big dates on the NHL calendar that are now gone include the Nov. 9 Hall of Fame Game in Toronto three days before former Maple Leaf Mats Sundin is inducted along with Pavel Bure, Adam Oates and Joe Sakic, as well as the "NHL Thanksgiving Showdown" on Nov. 23 that was set to feature the New York Rangers visiting the Boston Bruins and a float in the Macy's parade the day before.

Surviving Thursday's cuts, for now, include the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium on Jan. 1 and, per Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, the 2013 All-Star game in Columbus scheduled for late January. Though rumors are swirling that both could be axed sometime next week.

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This is ridiculous.

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Lockout clock

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl-lockout/clock/

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NHL cancels 2013 Winter Classic in Michigan due to lockout; Big House gets next outdoor game | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports

The National Hockey League on Friday canceled a celebration of hockey that would have reverberated through the generations in Michigan and Toronto. It canceled what would have been the most lucrative event in League history. It canceled the one moment every season when the NHL gets it right, in the eyes of even the most ardent cynics in the U.S. sports media.

On Friday, the NHL canceled the 2013 Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, scheduled for New Year's Day at the University of Michigan's Big House.

The League began informing sponsors of the cancellation in the morning. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com had the first breaking news, via Katie Strang:

A source familiar with the league's plan had told LeBrun the decision to cancel the game was green-lighted after an internal meeting at NHL offices in New York Friday morning.

Although NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has stated that an entire 82-game season is no longer possible, the two sides can still broker a deal to salvage a shortened season.

A source confirmed to LeBrun that NHLPA special council Steve Fehr and NHL deputy commissioner have tentatively agreed to resume bargaining, however, no specifics about format, location and day have been agreed upon. The two sides have not traded proposals or met face-to-face for a formal bargaining session in over two weeks.

The NHL later announced that the next Winter Classic will still be held at the Big House at the University of Michigan, and that "Those who have purchased tickets for the 2012-13 events can either receive refunds or maintain their tickets for the future events. Ticket refund information for the 2013 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival can be found at: nhl.com/winterclassicrefund."

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NHL labor talks resume after more than 2 weeks off - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- After more than two weeks apart and the hockey season hanging in the balance, the NHL and the players' association are returning to the bargaining table Saturday after more than two weeks off.

The hope of a full season being played is already gone, and so is the popular New Year's Day Winter Classic. If real progress isn't made soon, the NHL could be looking at its second lost campaign since 2004.

For the first time since Oct. 18, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and players' association special counsel Steve Fehr agreed to meet at a secret location Saturday afternoon. The two have been talking by phone during the week and found enough common ground to get together face-to-face.

The lockout reached its 49th day Saturday, but at least there is a glimmer of optimism the season can be saved. There have already been 327 games canceled - including the outdoor Winter Classic that was wiped out Friday - and the NHL has said it will be impossible to play a full season.

The labor dispute, which began Sept. 16, forced all games from Oct. 11 through Nov. 30 to be called off. It isn't known if any of those games will be rescheduled if a new deal is reached soon, but an NHL deadline has already passed that would have allowed for each team to play all 82 games. The season needed to start by Friday for that to happen, but the only hockey activity that day was the cancellation of the outdoor game at Michigan Stadium between the host Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Losing that extravaganza, the biggest attraction on the regular-season schedule, was the biggest blow yet for the league and its players. The sides couldn't even manage to get together since the previous bargaining session in which the players' union countered a league offer with three proposals that were quickly rejected by the NHL.

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The NHL and NHLPA are scheduled to resume bargaining talks Tuesday in New York City, sources told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.


The NHLPA has also scheduled an internal conference call between the negotiation committee and the executive board for Monday, sources told LeBrun. No time has officially been set for the planned meeting, sources said.


The two sides returned to the bargaining table on Saturday with meetings lasting into early morning Sunday. Prior to the weekend's meeting, the two sides hadn't met in two weeks.


"We had a series of meetings (Saturday) and exchanged views on the most important issues separating us," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Sunday. "We plan to meet again sometime early this week."


The ongoing NHL lockout has already ruined any hopes of a full 82-game season and has forced the cancellation of the popular New Year's Day showcase, the Winter Classic. The outdoor affair was to be played at Michigan Stadium and feature the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.


The lockout reached its 50th day Sunday. The labor dispute, which began Sept. 16, forced all games from Oct. 11 through Nov. 30 to be called off.


The last proposal made by the league offered a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue. That proposal was rejected by the players' union, which countered with three proposals of its own. The NHL rejected each of those and has since pulled its offer off the table.


The two sides are also at odds over player contracts as the NHLPA would like for current deals to be honored by the league.

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NHL labor talks to resume Thursday - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- Negotiations between the NHL and the locked-out players' association ended after nearly six hours Wednesday. Just as they did a night earlier, the sides agreed to get right back to the bargaining table.

Representatives for the owners and players will resume talks Thursday, marking the third straight day they will meet face-to-face. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and union special counsel Steve Fehr also met alone Saturday when in-person talks restarted for the first time since Oct. 18.

The sides met for a total of about 13 hours over Tuesday and Wednesday at an undisclosed location in New York. Neither the NHL nor the NHLPA made any immediate statements after talks ended Wednesday night.

On the 53rd day of the lockout, the sides discussed revenue sharing between teams and held talks on the ''make-whole'' provision, which involves the payment of player contracts that are already in effect.

Those hot-button topics are scheduled to be on Thursday's agenda, too.

Eight players were in attendance for Wednesday's talks, but a handful of players - including Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby - who took part Tuesday left New York to try to avoid an impending storm that brought snow to the area, the union said.

There was already common ground before negotiations began Tuesday. The players' union adhered to the league's request to keep the meeting location a secret. With no outside distractions, the sides talked from afternoon until night.

Once they broke for the day, neither side gave any hint of what was discussed or if progress was made, but both pointed to the next round of talks.

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NHL, union to meet Friday for 4th straight day - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- The best that can be said about the ongoing NHL labor negotiations is that they are still going, and will continue for at least a fourth straight day.

The league and the locked-out players' association got back together Thursday and accomplished enough over five-plus hours to make plans to meet again Friday.

''I am not going to discuss the negotiations or the substance of what we're talking about,'' NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday on a wind-blown street corner. ''I really don't think that would be helpful to the process.

''We have work to do, and my hope is that we can achieve the goal of getting a long-term, fair agreement in place as quickly as possible so we can play hockey.''

Players' association executive director Donald Fehr didn't rule out talks stretching into the weekend, too.

''All I can tell you is we have been meeting, and we will be meeting again (Friday),'' he said. ''I can't say more than that. We haven't talked about (the weekend), but if there is something to talk about then I expect we will be.''

The lockout reached its 54th day, and this week is considered critical for the season to be saved. The work stoppage is threatening to force the second cancellation of an NHL season in seven years.

Even if an agreement is reached soon, it isn't clear if any of this season's games that have been called off through Nov. 30 can be rescheduled. The NHL has already said a full 82-game season won't be played.

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NHL talks on break; union holds internal meeting - Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL put the course of ongoing labor negotiations back in the hands of the players' association, and left union head Donald Fehr with ''some things to consider'' Friday night.

The fourth straight day of negotiations provided few details, and the sides broke up in the early evening without knowing if they would reconvene later Friday, during the weekend, or at some other point. The lockout has lasted 55 days and there is still uncertainty whether there will be a hockey season.

Players made a pair of proposals Wednesday, and the NHL responded with one Thursday. No new official offers were exchanged Friday, but there was give and take during discussions throughout the day. The last of three sessions was believed to have centered on the core economic issues keeping the sides apart, and it broke up after about two hours.

Fehr and his associates left the offices of the NHL's lawyers, where the negotiations took place, to conduct a conference call with the players' association executive board and negotiating team.

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NHLPA leader: Deal can be quick after breakthrough - Yahoo! Sports

TORONTO (AP) -- A new NHL labor deal might not be as far off as it seems.

Steve Fehr, special counsel to the NHL Players' Association, believes the collective bargaining agreement can be wrapped up in a hurry once the sides make a breakthrough in negotiations.

''One thing (deputy commissioner) Bill Daly and I agree upon is that when the moment is right the deal could be done very quickly,'' Fehr said Monday during a panel discussion at the PrimeTime Sports Management Conference. ''One day, three days or whatever.''

Asked later if he agreed with that assertion, Daly replied: ''I hope he's right.''

Representatives from the NHL and NHLPA have met seven of the last nine days, but no future talks are planned. Fehr told the panel that three issues remain to be solved: the split of money, player contract rights and who pays for the damage caused by the lockout.

The contract issue in particular has flared up recently, with Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby sounding off on that topic to reporters Monday. The NHL has proposed changes to entry-level deals, arbitration, free agency and contract limits.

''The question I'd ask is: Why would we change that?'' Crosby said. ''I think we all think it's the most competitive league in the world. So why would you go and change that - the way contracts go and the way teams can operate?''

Fehr and Daly discussed the player rights issue during a meeting Sunday afternoon, and the union leader doesn't believe it will ultimately keep them from striking a deal.

''We're not making any real progress in those areas,'' Fehr said. ''It's kind of hard to believe anyone's going to drive the industry bus off a cliff over things like that, but I've seen things before that surprise me.''

On a more positive note, he indicated that the sides were ''fairly close'' to an agreement on revenue sharing. It's believed the NHL is willing to bump the annual pot to $220 million from its current position of $140 million.

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NHL suggests 2-week break from negotiations - Yahoo! Sports

TORONTO (AP) -- Negotiations had already hit a wall in the ongoing hockey labor fight, and now the NHL has suggested the sides take an official two-week break before getting back to the bargaining table.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman floated the idea of a break to players' association executive director Donald Fehr. The union hasn't responded to the league yet, but the players maintained their position on Thursday night that they are ready and willing to meet at any time, and the only way to reach a deal to end the long lockout is to keep talking and negotiating.

''Gary suggested the possibility of a two-week moratorium,'' NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday night. ''I'm disappointed because we don't have a negotiating partner that has any genuine interest in reaching an agreement. Zero interest.''

The suggestion of a break was first reported by The Canadian Press on Thursday night.

With no new negotiations scheduled, and communication in general shutting down, the NHL appears to be getting closer to calling off more games, putting the entire hockey season in jeopardy.

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League, players set to resume lockout talks on Monday - Yahoo! Sports

(Reuters) - National Hockey League (NHL) and players' union officials will meet again on Monday in New York in a bid to resolve the bitter two-month-old labor dispute, the league said on Saturday.

Weekend discussions between NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) special counsel Steve Fehr led to the decision, Daly told Reuters via email.

Both Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr are set to join the session, the first between the two groups in a week.

"I expect (a) relatively small (meeting), but Don and Gary and players and owners will both be present," Daly said.

He did not, however, raise hopes for a solution to a new collective bargaining agreement that would end the work stoppage, which has left players locked out by the owners since September 15.

"I have no expectations with respect to the meeting at this point," Daly said, "including with respect to whether any progress toward an agreement can be made."

The meeting comes as speculation rises that the league could cancel more games next week if progress is not made.

Already the NHL has called off all games through November 30 as well as its showcase New Year's Day Winter Classic, costing the league millions of dollars in revenue.

The NHLPA did not respond immediately to questions about Monday's meeting.