After rejecting the Players Association’s CBA counter-proposals Thursday, the NHL on Friday cancelled another week of games, running through Nov. 1.
Friday’s cancellation makes it 135 games scratched, although the NHL still hopes for a full 82-game season if it begins Nov. 2.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he was “thoroughly disappointed” as he and the league delegation left union headquarters in Toronto. Bettman said that the owners’ proposal was the “best that we could do” and added that the sides are still far apart.
“None of the three variations of player share that they gave us even began to approach 50-50, either at all or for some long period of time,” Bettman said Thursday. “It’s clear we’re not speaking the same language.”
No new talks are scheduled.
If next Thursday’s deadline passes, more games will likely be cut, and the New Year’s Day Winter Classic will be the next big event in danger of being lost. The Detroit Red Wings are slated to host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the outdoor extravaganza at Michigan Stadium.
Union executive director Donald Fehr said two of the union’s proposals would have the players take a fixed amount of revenue, which would turn into an approximate 50-50 split over the term of the deal, provided league revenues continued to grow.
The third approach would be a 50-50 split, as long as the league honored all existing contracts at full value.
None of it made any positive impression on the NHL.
“This is not a good day,” Fehr said Thursday. “It should have been.”
The players’ association didn’t have any immediate comment following the latest cancellations.
With AP