NHL Labor Talks Back Underway

After weeks of stalled conversation and the cancellation of more games, the league and the NHL Players’ Association are negotiating once again

By Tyler Piccotti

Hockey fans: I come to you with a message of hope amidst the turbulence of the NHL lockout. League officials and the players union are once again actively discussing the current labor dispute.

Do you know what that means? We may actually have a season after all!

I apologize for the overly optimistic point of view, but I can’t help but be encouraged by the fact that the two sides still seem interested in solving the predicament. As ESPN New York’s Katie Strang reported on Friday afternoon, both sides met for the fourth day in a row. Unlike during past meetings, they actually talked about the “meat and potatoes” issues behind the disagreement. These issues included revenue sharing, the “make-whole” provision to honor existing player contracts, and a variety of other contract issues.

New to the discussions was the topic of player pensions. A few of the league’s owners even appeared as a result. Among those that showed up were Ted Leonsis of the Washington Capitals and Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins.

A few high-profile members of the NHLPA also made the trip to New York. Brad Richards, Chris Campoli, George Parros, and other players came to listen in on the discussions. Earlier in the week, the union’s executive director, Donald Fehr, reportedly sent the players a letter that told them to curb any extreme sense of optimism. Still, ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the NHLPA had made two offers on Wednesday pertaining to both revenue sharing and the aforementioned “make-whole” provision.

In the end, Donald Fehr is probably right. It is not a good idea to get too excited about the possibility of an agreement within the coming days. The two sides are still pretty far apart on a variety of topics, and a labor dispute isn’t something that normally shifts from a complete stalemate to an agreement phase within the span of a week.

Still, it is encouraging to see the league and players’ union take the initiative to resume their talks. This is especially true after the NHL recently decided to cancel this year’s Winter Classic at the University of Michigan. It is obvious that a full season is a lost cause at this point. However, the NBA proved last year that a shortened season could still provide plenty of drama and bring in the television viewers. For starved hockey fans, any season would feel like a full season at this point.

Again, I caution you to not read too much into this week’s discussions. They are certainly encouraging, but they are just one step on the road to a resolution. In the coming weeks, we should have a better understanding of what the final verdict will be for this NHL season that, so far, has yet to begin.

As dreary as the lockout has been, there is still hope. That’s all that matters.