It’s been over a month since the beginning of the NHL lockout.
Today, however, it appears as though the end of the lockout may be in sight.
With the latest meeting having wrapped up in Toronto, Twitter has been buzzing with news that the NHL has submitted yet another offer to the NHLPA.
This time, the revenue split would be 50-50 between the players and owners.
TSN’s Darren Dreger had this to say just before noon today:
NHL makes much needed proposal. 50-50 split in rev.More details will surface. Await NHLPA response.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 16, 2012
ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun had this to add with regards to how the revenue split would be implemented:
League offer of 50/50 split would begin in Year 1. No phasing in
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) October 16, 2012
With the NHL now willing to hand over another three percent of hockey related revenues to players, it’s time for Donald Fehr and the NHLPA to be reasonable and either accept this deal and get the season going, or come back with a serious and substantive counter-proposal that will give everyone involved with the sport hope that the 2012-2013 NHL season still has a chance to be played.
Throughout this entire process, the NHLPA seems to be riding an anti-Gary Bettman wave to getting what they want out of these negotiations.
While the NHL has been busy writing and submitting proposals, the NHLPA has done nothing other than play hardball and reject everything the NHL brings their way.
Whether you support the players or owners, you must acknowledge that the NHLPA has been far from proactive and has done almost nothing to end this lockout.
If the NHL regular season is going to be salvaged any time soon, it’s the NHLPA that will need to alter their approach in these negotiations.
Hopefully the NHLPA can put aside their grievances, take the olive branch the NHL is extending today and help send thousands of people back to work, including the players they represent.
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