The NHL season will be cancelled if the league and players' union can't make progress on a new collective bargaining agreement by this weekend, commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday.[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]<!--<TABLE BGCOLOR="#ebf2f5" ALIGN="right" WIDTH=150 CELLPADDING=5> -->
The announcement came after the players' association rejected the league's most recent offer at a secret meeting in Toronto.
"It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document memorializing our agreement this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of the season," Bettman told a news conference. "That was the message that I conveyed to the union this afternoon."
The league initiated Wednesday's talks so it could offer a new proposal it called a "compromise."
Under the league's offer, the new collective bargaining agreement would begin with the NHLPA's Dec. 9 proposal of a 24-per-cent salary rollback and luxury tax. It would later evolve into the league's Feb. 2 proposal of a salary cap, should the NHL believe the union's model didn't save the owners money.
Four so-called "triggers" would decide when the collective agreement would switch from the players' proposal to the league's:
The trigger points idea didn't work for the NHL PA.
"The trigger points are just really reflections of their salary cap proposals," NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow said during a Wednesday night conference call. "Even after our 24-per-cent rollback, and before clubs would sign any new players, we forecast over three teams would be over the $42-million level.
"So just at first blush, a trigger would be met," Goodenow added.
Bettman said the union invited he and Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president and chief legal officer, to remain in Toronto to continue discussions.
More talks were planned, possibly for Thursday, in the hopes of reaching a last-ditch agreement.
Bettman said the NHL could ice a 28-game season, with each team playing a home-and-home series against its conference rivals, should this season be saved. The playoff format would remain unchanged.
The NHL and the players' association have struggled to find common ground on a new collective bargaining agreement since the league locked out the players 147 days ago.
Since the beginning of the lockout, both sides have been entrenched in their respective positions.
The NHL has maintained cost certainty – a salary cap – is the only way to ensure future financial stability and parity.
The NHLPA, meanwhile, refuses to accept a salary cap but is willing to discuss a luxury-tax system in which teams are penalized a certain rate if their payrolls exceed a determined amount.
Should the NHL season be cancelled, it would mark the first time one of North America's four major professional sports leagues has scrubbed an entire regular-season campaign because of a labour dispute.
The possibility also exists that the Stanley Cup may not be awarded for the first time since a Spanish flu epidemic wiped out the 1919 finals.
Through Wednesday, 813 of the 1,230 scheduled games had been cancelled.
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The announcement came after the players' association rejected the league's most recent offer at a secret meeting in Toronto.
"It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document memorializing our agreement this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of the season," Bettman told a news conference. "That was the message that I conveyed to the union this afternoon."
The league initiated Wednesday's talks so it could offer a new proposal it called a "compromise."
Under the league's offer, the new collective bargaining agreement would begin with the NHLPA's Dec. 9 proposal of a 24-per-cent salary rollback and luxury tax. It would later evolve into the league's Feb. 2 proposal of a salary cap, should the NHL believe the union's model didn't save the owners money.
Four so-called "triggers" would decide when the collective agreement would switch from the players' proposal to the league's:
- If the league pays out more than 55 per cent of its revenues on salaries.
- Should any three teams have a payroll exceeding $42 million US.
- If the average team compensation surpasses $36.5 million US.
- Should the average payroll of the three highest-spending clubs be more than 33 per cent higher than the average of the three lowest-spending teams.
The trigger points idea didn't work for the NHL PA.
"The trigger points are just really reflections of their salary cap proposals," NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow said during a Wednesday night conference call. "Even after our 24-per-cent rollback, and before clubs would sign any new players, we forecast over three teams would be over the $42-million level.
"So just at first blush, a trigger would be met," Goodenow added.
Bettman said the union invited he and Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president and chief legal officer, to remain in Toronto to continue discussions.
More talks were planned, possibly for Thursday, in the hopes of reaching a last-ditch agreement.
Bettman said the NHL could ice a 28-game season, with each team playing a home-and-home series against its conference rivals, should this season be saved. The playoff format would remain unchanged.
The NHL and the players' association have struggled to find common ground on a new collective bargaining agreement since the league locked out the players 147 days ago.
Since the beginning of the lockout, both sides have been entrenched in their respective positions.
The NHL has maintained cost certainty – a salary cap – is the only way to ensure future financial stability and parity.
The NHLPA, meanwhile, refuses to accept a salary cap but is willing to discuss a luxury-tax system in which teams are penalized a certain rate if their payrolls exceed a determined amount.
Should the NHL season be cancelled, it would mark the first time one of North America's four major professional sports leagues has scrubbed an entire regular-season campaign because of a labour dispute.
The possibility also exists that the Stanley Cup may not be awarded for the first time since a Spanish flu epidemic wiped out the 1919 finals.
Through Wednesday, 813 of the 1,230 scheduled games had been cancelled.
edmonton.cbc.ca[/font]
