NHL, union to return to bargaining table

[ducks]

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.

[ducks]

NHL players ready to submit new proposal next week

NHL players ready to submit new proposal next week

December 2, 2004

TORONTO (Ticker) - Eleven weeks into a lockout, the NHL Players Association is ready to submit a new proposal.

The NHLPA announced Thursday that executive director Bob Goodenow sent a letter to commissioner Gary Bettman inviting the league's Negotiating Committee to attend a meeting in Toronto next week.

The letter also confirmed that the NHLPA is working on a proposal which it believes should provide the basis for a new collective bargaining agreement.

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"Almost three months have passed since the players made their last proposal and we have yet to receive a counter offer 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 and resume NHL hockey."

NHL executive vice president Bill Daly said Thursday he is looking forward to the meeting.

"We are hopeful that the NHLPA's offer will be a meaningful effort to address the league's economic problems," Daly said. "When we receive the proposal, we will evaluate it closely and respond appropriately."

No talks between the union and the league have taken place since commissioner Gary Bettman announced the players would be locked out on September 15.

While touring Alberta each of the last two days, Bettman insisted the league would not accept the luxury tax proposal the Players Association initially offered. He also proclaimed unless a new and improved collective bargaining agreement is reached with some sort of salary restriction, teams such as the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers would not survive.

NHL teams have been given the authority to clear dates in their arenas up to 45 days in advance, effectively canceling games through mid-January. As of Thursday, 638 contests have been wiped off the slate.

Players have missed out on four paydays thus far, as checks are issued twice each month. The 88th NHL season was scheduled to begin October 13.

[ducks]

Players, owners agree to meeting

Players, owners agree to meeting
Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News

The NHL Players Association, in an attempt to end the lockout and save part of the 2004-05 season, will make a new proposal to league officials next week in Toronto.

Commissioner Gary Bettman, who imposed the lockout Sept. 15 when the collective-bargaining agreement expired, on Thursday accepted union chief Bob Goodenow's invitation to have his negotiating team meet next Thursday.

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"We are hopeful that the NHLPA's offer will be a meaningful effort to address the league's economic problems," NHL vice president Bill Daly said.

"When we receive the proposal, we will evaluate it closely and respond appropriately."

The sides haven't had a formal meeting since Sept. 9, when the league rejected a union offer that included a 5 percent reduction in current player contracts, a luxury-tax system and revenue sharing.

"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 and resume NHL hockey."

That might be an optimistic view because Bettman wants a hard salary cap and reiterated this week he isn't interested in a luxury-tax system.

"That's what he's going for," Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote said. "There are things the players want to talk about that would make it better for the teams that they claim lost money. This isn't a players strike; it's a lockout. We went to the table before it happened and made concessions.

"I'm hoping that the next time the players come to the table that the owners will at least look at what we have to offer.

"The last few times there wasn't even anything looked at. If they want to look at it, there's a chance (for an agreement). If they're not going to look at it, it doesn't look great."

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[MannyIsGod]

You mean, they're not playing? Didn't notice.

[jalbre6]

players get 76 percent of all league revenues

Holy . No wonder the owners want a salary cap and laugh at the NHLPA's luxury tax proposal.

[T Park]

compromise and get the season going aholes.

[exstatic]