{coyotes} NHL could start canceling games this week

 

The NHL is expected to begin canceling regular-season games this week as the lockout of players enters its third week with no resolution in sight.

Owners and players did hold three days of negotiations over the weekend on secondary issues such as drug testing, safety issues and pensions, but they did not address the key economic issues that are at the heart of the stalemated negotiations.

"The meetings we had over the last three days are part of the process," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "I wouldn't characterize them beyond that."

Both sides are expecting to resume talks this week, but there was nothing scheduled as of noon Monday. NHL Players' Association executive director Donald Fehr was scheduled to have a conference call with players this afternoon.

The regular season is scheduled to start Oct. 11, and players would need seven to nine days of training camp to prepare to play. The league hasn't said how it will proceed with the cancellation announcements, but based on how they handled preseason games, it would likely seem they would cancel the games a couple of weeks at a time. The first cancellation could come at any time.

"We need for the union to show some willingness to move off its initial proposal," Daly said in an email. "The union has evidenced no willingness to negotiate. And as a result, we are kind of stuck now."

The core economic issue is owners' desire to significantly decrease players' share of hockey-related revenues downward from the 57% they were receiving in the expired collective bargaining agreement. The owners' latest contract proposal was a six-year offer with players share being reduced to 49% and then 47% over the length of the contract. The players' position is that they don't want any immediate salary rollback, but they are willing to take less of anticipated revenue growth over the next three seasons. In their latest proposal, they offered the option of extending that from three years to five years with additional revenues.

Neither side has been willing to negotiate off the other side's proposal, and the owners say the players' offers have essentially been minor tweaks of the same offer. Players view their proposal as thinking outside the box to address the problems of financially distressed teams. Their proposal includes their concessions going to increased revenue sharing targeted to teams in need.

Teams are starting to give out their ticket refund policies. For example, the Buffalo Sabres are offering season-ticket holders two options. They can receive refunds at the end of each month for games canceled or keep their money with the team and earn 4% interest on the games lost.

Some teams are giving more interest and some are giving less. The Minnesota Wild are offering 10% interest.

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