With no collective bargaining meetings scheduled between the NHL owners and players and with speculation swirling that the NHLPA is considering decertifying, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr joined Hockey Central @ Noon Friday to discuss their respective sides' current position.
Daly, who reminded listeners of his background in law, said the idea of the PA decertifying does not scare him, but that such a tactic would probably spell the cancellation of the entire 2012-13 season.
"I wouldn't view an antitrust lawsuit to be anything but an unfortunate development," said Daly, who appeared on the program before Fehr. "It would likely lead to the end of the season."
Daly explained that although the owners had hoped for a better proposal from the players than the one they rejected on Wednesday in New York, the players did move in the NHL's direction by putting a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue on the table.
Daly: "I underestimated the magnitude of the gulf between us on a lot of issues."
"It's not a philosophical negotiation; it's a negotiation over money," Daly said. "This process has played out not as we had hoped or expected. We wish we were in a better place."
Daly said he was open to mediation but does not believe it is the best option at this point.
"We're still planning on having a season," he said, though he expressed doubt that the union's leaders share the goal of getting deal done in time.
Fehr responded to Daly's comments by saying: "of course we want to get a deal done," adding the players doubt whether the owners do.
Fehr admitted that the owners have moved on some aspects of the CBA, but not significantly when it comes to core economics.
"If it was Thanksgiving dinner, they gave us the relish tray but no turkey," Fehr said. "In term of dollars, the parties are $182 million apart over five years."
Fehr called NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's deadlines, "artificially created," adding that the owners' "make whole" clause a misnomer; he believes they should be called "transition payments" instead.
Fehr would not comment as to how much research and preparation the NHLPA has invested into decertification. He said he doesn't expect the current break in talks to go in for much longer.
S. Fehr: We're available to meet anytime but don't have any new proposals for them. "We moved a couple miles; they moved a couple inches."
Although Fehr said the two sides remain in regular contact, no new meetings have been scheduled.
The league announced the cancellation of the 2013 All-Star Game and the first two weeks of December's regular-season games on Friday afternoon.
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