Even the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services couldn't bring the NHL and NHLPA any closer to a new collective bargaining agreement. The 2012-13 season now seems like all but a lost cause, and the abject failure by both sides to reach a compromise to this point shows how much distance there really is in negotiations.
That assertion was further fortified by Canadian Press lead hockey writer Chris Johnston, who quoted NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who gave an update on how the mediators felt the process went:
Daly: "After spending several hours with both sides over two days, the presiding mediators concluded that the parties remained far apart."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 29, 2012
Hockey-related revenue is the biggest hang-up in the negotiations, because the league suddenly wants a 50-50 split as opposed to the 57 percent that the players enjoyed raking in based on the 2004-05 CBA (h/t ESPN).
Originally down to 46 percent of the players' share in the initial offer, the NHLPA has managed to gain an even split. But the league refuses to fork over $393 million to the players in fixed payments over the n ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Matt Fitzgerald
NHL Lockout: Failure of Federal Mediation Shows Distance Between Two Sides
November 30th, 2012 by Matt Fitzgerald Leave a reply »
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