Last Thursday, Gary Bettman made a proposal. Not CBA proposal but a proposal nonetheless. Bettman suggested a CBA meeting featuring players and owners only. Today, the NHLPA agreed to it. The meeting will take place Tuesday with neither Gary Bettman nor Donald Fehr in attendance. Instead, Bill Daly and Steve Fehr will be there to represent their sides.
The meeting will consist of six owners and presumably six players. The NHLPA hasn’t yet decided what players will attend, but the NHL will be sending in a few new faces. Ron Burkle (Penguins), Mark Chipman (Jets), Larry Tanenbaum (Maple Leafs) and Jeff Vinik (Lightning) will be present. To this dismay of some, so will hardliners Jeremy Jacobs (Bruins) and Murray Edwards (Flames).
Press release from Donald Fehr:
“The NHLPA has agreed to a meeting on Tuesday in New York that should facilitate dialogue between Players and Owners. Neither the Commissioner nor I will be present, although each side will have a limited number of staff or counsel present.
There will be Owners attending this meeting who have not previously done so, which is encouraging and which we welcome. We hope that this meeting will be constructive and lead to a dialogue that will help us find a way to reach an agreement.”
According to TSN’s Aaron Ward, the NHLPA offered to bring a mediator into the players-owners meeting, but the NHL declined.
