The NHLPA and NHL plan to go through with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s proposal for the players and owners to have a meeting without the Donald Fehr or Bettman present.
The meeting will happen on Tuesday and include owners Ron Burkle of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins, Mark Chipman of the the Winnipeg Jets, Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Murray Edwards of the Calgary Flames, and Jeffrey Vinik of the Tampa Bay Lightning, based on a statement from NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.
On top of that, Daly will also be present, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Both the NHL and players were reportedly allowed to pick one “staff” member to be present at the union’s request. The NHL opted to have Daly serve as their staff member and McKenzie speculated that the union will counter with Steve Fehr, although he stressed that it hasn’t been confirmed.
It also remains to be seen which players will be in attendance.
This meeting will take place in the aftermath of the NHL and NHLPA’s discouraging meetings with federal mediators. The mediators spoke with the two sides for only two days before they concluded, in Daly’s words, “that the parties remained far apart, and that no progress toward a resolution could be made through further mediation at this point in time.”
There’s also been increased talk lately about the possibility of the union decertifying. Those discussions might amplify if no significant progress towards a new CBA is made in the near future.
