ducks
12-03-2004, 11:07 AM
NHL, union to return to bargaining table
By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer
December 3, 2004
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AP - Dec 2, 10:07 pm EST
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NEW YORK (AP) -- If next week's labor negotiations go as well as the NHL general managers' dinner meeting, there might be hope for a hockey season after all.
The NHL and the players' association agreed Thursday to return to the bargaining table for the first time since talks broke off Sept. 9, triggering the lockout that threatens the entire NHL season.
Early in the 78th day of the lockout, players' association executive director Bob Goodenow sent a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, inviting the league back to the negotiating table. The letter also said the union was working on a new offer.
``Almost three months have passed since the players made their last proposal, and we have yet to receive a counteroffer from the league,'' Goodenow said. ``We have been working hard at other creative solutions and believe our new proposal will provide a basis to end the owners' lockout.''
The NHL accepted the overture, and negotiations will take place Dec. 9 in Toronto. If progress is made, the sides will continue discussions the following day.
``I'm pleased that the union has finally decided that it makes sense to go back to the bargaining table, but beyond that let's see what the offer looks like before we speculate or attempt to draw any conclusions,'' Bettman said after meeting with 26 of the 30 general managers. ``We'll get the offer, we'll evaluate it, we'll respond appropriately. We hope it's a good one.''
The NHLPA stole a little thunder from the GMs by making its pitch just hours before the group came to eat with Bettman at a Manhattan restaurant. Because of a league-imposed lockout gag order, the general managers had more to say about the food than the labor situation.
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The union's offer will remain a secret until it is formally given to the league.
``In fairness to the collective bargaining process, we will not be discussing our proposal publicly until after it has been communicated to the NHL,'' NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said.
Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said the NHL had not been preparing to make a new offer. The players' association rejected six concepts put forth by the league before the union's previous proposal.
The most recent offer by the NHLPA was a luxury tax-based deal that was rejected by the league, and the lockout began one week later. As of Thursday, 334 regular-season games, plus the 2005 All-Star game, had been wiped out.
Bettman has said that a luxury tax won't work because teams are losing money at a pace that makes it impossible for the league to survive without ``cost certainty.'' The union says that is tantamount to a salary cap -- a solution it refuses to accept.
``We are looking for a proposal that's meant to move the process along,'' Daly said. ``It's fair to say that the Sept. 9 proposal was nothing more than a public relations stunt in terms of moving us into a lockout situation. We're looking for a more meaningful proposal.''
Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, a radio broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the team's former GM, wasn't sure an agreement will be reached quickly.
``I think it's a great sign to tell you the truth, but I'm not optimistic,'' Esposito said. ``It's not a matter of giving in. I just don't see these two guys doing the right thing.''
The league has been operating under the same collective bargaining agreement since 1995, when the last lockout -- lasting 103 days -- ended and a truncated 48-game schedule was held. That deal was extended twice.
NHL arenas have been given the go-ahead by the league to release dates previously reserved for hockey on a 45-day rolling basis, which as of now means there won't be any NHL games before the middle of January.
Bettman said teams combined to lose more than $1.8 billion over 10 years, and that management will not agree to a deal without a defined relationship between revenue and salaries. Owners claim teams lost $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season.
An economic study commissioned by the NHL found that players get 76 percent of all league revenues -- far more than the percentage for the other major team sports. The players' association has challenged many of the league's financial findings.
By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer
December 3, 2004
Photo
AP - Dec 2, 10:07 pm EST
More Photos
NEW YORK (AP) -- If next week's labor negotiations go as well as the NHL general managers' dinner meeting, there might be hope for a hockey season after all.
The NHL and the players' association agreed Thursday to return to the bargaining table for the first time since talks broke off Sept. 9, triggering the lockout that threatens the entire NHL season.
Early in the 78th day of the lockout, players' association executive director Bob Goodenow sent a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, inviting the league back to the negotiating table. The letter also said the union was working on a new offer.
``Almost three months have passed since the players made their last proposal, and we have yet to receive a counteroffer from the league,'' Goodenow said. ``We have been working hard at other creative solutions and believe our new proposal will provide a basis to end the owners' lockout.''
The NHL accepted the overture, and negotiations will take place Dec. 9 in Toronto. If progress is made, the sides will continue discussions the following day.
``I'm pleased that the union has finally decided that it makes sense to go back to the bargaining table, but beyond that let's see what the offer looks like before we speculate or attempt to draw any conclusions,'' Bettman said after meeting with 26 of the 30 general managers. ``We'll get the offer, we'll evaluate it, we'll respond appropriately. We hope it's a good one.''
The NHLPA stole a little thunder from the GMs by making its pitch just hours before the group came to eat with Bettman at a Manhattan restaurant. Because of a league-imposed lockout gag order, the general managers had more to say about the food than the labor situation.
ADVERTISEMENT
The union's offer will remain a secret until it is formally given to the league.
``In fairness to the collective bargaining process, we will not be discussing our proposal publicly until after it has been communicated to the NHL,'' NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said.
Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said the NHL had not been preparing to make a new offer. The players' association rejected six concepts put forth by the league before the union's previous proposal.
The most recent offer by the NHLPA was a luxury tax-based deal that was rejected by the league, and the lockout began one week later. As of Thursday, 334 regular-season games, plus the 2005 All-Star game, had been wiped out.
Bettman has said that a luxury tax won't work because teams are losing money at a pace that makes it impossible for the league to survive without ``cost certainty.'' The union says that is tantamount to a salary cap -- a solution it refuses to accept.
``We are looking for a proposal that's meant to move the process along,'' Daly said. ``It's fair to say that the Sept. 9 proposal was nothing more than a public relations stunt in terms of moving us into a lockout situation. We're looking for a more meaningful proposal.''
Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, a radio broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the team's former GM, wasn't sure an agreement will be reached quickly.
``I think it's a great sign to tell you the truth, but I'm not optimistic,'' Esposito said. ``It's not a matter of giving in. I just don't see these two guys doing the right thing.''
The league has been operating under the same collective bargaining agreement since 1995, when the last lockout -- lasting 103 days -- ended and a truncated 48-game schedule was held. That deal was extended twice.
NHL arenas have been given the go-ahead by the league to release dates previously reserved for hockey on a 45-day rolling basis, which as of now means there won't be any NHL games before the middle of January.
Bettman said teams combined to lose more than $1.8 billion over 10 years, and that management will not agree to a deal without a defined relationship between revenue and salaries. Owners claim teams lost $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season.
An economic study commissioned by the NHL found that players get 76 percent of all league revenues -- far more than the percentage for the other major team sports. The players' association has challenged many of the league's financial findings.