NHL talks stall as players reject ’50-50′ offer
Posted October 18, 2012 4:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hockey fans absorbed another disheartening blow on Thursday when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said labour negotiations had taken a “step backward” after the NHLPA balked at the league’s latest offer, which included a 50-50 revenue split and a proposed Nov. 2 start to a full 82-game season.
A dour-looking Bettman said the union countered with three alternate proposals on revenue sharing, which the league in turn has vehemently rejected.
“None of the three variations of player share that they gave us even began to approach 50-50, either at all or for some long period of time,” Bettman said.
“It’s clear we’re not speaking the same language.”
The players have been locked out since September 15, and Bettman said hopes for a full season were jeopardized by the latest setback.
“I am concerned based on the proposal that was made today that things are not progressing,” he said.
NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr responded, saying the league’s latest proposal represented a significant loss for the players.
Fehr said the league’s offer would represent a salary reduction of around 12.3 per cent.
“This would result in players’ salaries being lowered…about $1.65 billion,” he added.
“How could that be fair? How could that be balanced? What do we get out of this deal?”
Pittsburgh Penguin captain Sidney Crosby was hopeful that a deal could be struck Thursday, but later admitted the two sides were still very far apart.
“We came in here today with those proposals thinking that we could really make some progress and to hear those words kind of shuts that down pretty quickly. In a nutshell it doesn’t look good right now.”
No new talks are immediately scheduled.
