After a couple weeks of literally no movement in the NHL lockout, things have started to heat up between the league and the players association in regards to getting back to hockey.
The NHL and the players union met on Tuesday in Toronto where the league presented a "surprise" offer to the players that offers a 50-50 split in hockey revenue. The deal also called for an 82-game regular season that would begin on Nov. 2.
"We very much want to preserve a full 82-game season and in that light we made a proposal, an offer really," Commissioner Gary Bettman said, according to ESPN.com and NHL.com. "It is our best shot at preserving an 82-game regular season and [Stanley Cup] Playoffs."
According to ESPN.com, the union will hold a conference call with players and the union's executive board to discuss the deal.
"(The offer) is not short, and there were some explanatory documents that we still have to wade through,'' NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr told the assembled media at the union head office.
The league already cancelled two weeks of regular season games extending from Oct 11. through Oct. 24.
Fehr continued: "So the process that we're going to engage in now is to make sure we read it completely and fully, that we understand it ... then obviously what we will do is discuss it internally with our own negotiating committee and executive board and then get back together with the NHL."
According to ESPN.com, Fehr said the deal is "at least six years in length."
Bettman explained some parts of the deal, including no salary rollbacks and "no changes to the definition of hockey related revenue."
Economics have been the large sticking point between the two sides in the lockout.
The league generates $3.3 billion in yearly revenue, 57 percent of which goes to the players based on the last agreement. The league previously wanted the players to lower the number to between 49 percent and 47 percent.
According to ESPN.com: "The NHL has backed down from earlier proposals for some systemic changes to player contracts, league sources told ESPN.com. Tuesday's offer also reopened the possibility of salary arbitration and called for unrestricted free agents to have at least eight years' service time (or be 28 years old), according to the sources."
The league locked out the players on Sept. 16, which was when training camps were scheduled to begin. Commissioner Gary Bettman is overseeing his third lockout since 1993.
In 1992 the players missed 30 days, while the 1994-95 lockout had 468 games lost. The lockout in the 2004-05 lost the entire NHL season and resulted in 1,230 games lost. During the last stoppage, the two sides did not meet to start bargaining until three months into the lockout.
"Feels like I'm going to practice without a purpose, and I hate it," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said a few weeks ago on Twitter. "Don and Gary, figure this one out!"
According to ESPNNewYork.com, due to the new progress in the lockout, Lundqvist will put off playing overseas in his home country of Sweden.
Many other players have decided to play overseas and expect the lockout to continue for most of the year, including New Jersey Devils' star Ilya Kovalchuk, who signed a contract with SKA St. Petersburg and superstar Evgeni Malkin, last season's MVP award winner, who signed with Mettalurg of the Kontinental Hockey League.
New Rangers star Rick Nash, who was traded from Columbus in the offseason, and San Jose captain Joe Thornton agreed to play in Davos, Switzerland .
Other players who have signed contracts or agreed to play overseas include New York Islanders defenseman Mark Streit, who will play in Switzerland with his hometown team in Bern and Philadelphia Flyers winger Ruslan Fedotenko to HC Donbass in Russia.
"If the league (NHL) continues to insist on their (demands), then it will take a full year. That's because we are not going to cave in," said Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to the Associated Press a few weeks ago. "Then I will spend the entire season in the KHL. It's an absolute reality."
News of the deal also prompted Yahoo! Sports to look into the idea of Canadian expansion, which has been talked about around the league for a few years.
According to Jason Kay of The Hockey News on Twitter:
"There's strong speculation the NHL could announce two expansion teams for Canada once CBA deal struck: Quebec & Toronto. More in Oct. 29 THN"
The Yahoo article cites reasoning for the expansion would be due to Canadian television rights deals that would come in 2014. The new teams would create new revenue streams, more jobs and bring hockey to a country that is crazed for it.
While some in the past few years have called for a contraction of teams due to financial struggles, bringing more hockey to Canada could turn out to be a positive move for the league. Canadians are passionate about the sport and adding two more teams to the mix could create a much-needed buzz for the NHL.
The Yahoo article offers some interesting takes on expansion from writers around the country.
From Jonathan Willis of Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal:
"In some ways, this isn't a surprising comment. It's been more than a decade since the NHL's last wave of expansion, and there have been a number of hints that the league sees itself at 32 franchises eventually - including the attempted realignment to four divisions this past year. There's a new arena being built with public money in Quebec City and in Pierre-Karl Peladeau there's a rich man well-positioned to own a team. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs are far and away the league's most profitable franchise - at least based on Forbes' estimates - and there is no question that the market could sustain a second profitable team (though it likely would impact both the Leafs' and the Buffalo Sabres' bottom line)."
Obviously the idea of two more teams is not on the direct agenda, but with the lockout possibly coming to an end, it's something to consider.
