Following stalled negotiations between the league and the players association, it's looking more and more likely that the NHL lockout is here for the long haul.
The latest proposal set a deadline to preserve an 82-game schedule, but according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, time is running out for the players.
"Unfortunately, it looks like an 82-game season is not going to be a reality," Bettman said at a news conference from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, according to ESPN.com. Bettman made the comments while announcing the move of the New York Islanders to Brooklyn following the 2015 season.
According to ESPN: "Bettman painted a bleak picture on the state of negotiations with players and said the union 'has chosen not to engage on our proposal.'"
The latest offer from the league was made on Oct. 16 and surprised players with a 50-50 split in hockey revenue. The deal also called for an 82-game regular season that would begin on Nov. 2.
At the time, Bettman said: "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."
Economics have been the large sticking point between the two sides in the lockout and continues to be the main reason why a deal cannot be reached.
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 proposal gave some optimism to the whole lockout situation, but it was quickly diminished by the union after they looked over the deal. The union responded with three counterproposals that the league has not found sufficient.
According to ESPN.com: "Fehr said two of the union's proposals would have the players take a fixed amount of revenue, which would turn into an approximate 50-50 split over the term of the deal, provided league revenues continued to grow. The third approach would be a 50-50 split, as long as the league honored all existing contracts at full value."
Following the counter offers, the NHL responded to the union.
"The so-called 50-50 deal, plus honoring current contracts proposed by the NHL Players' Association earlier today is being misrepresented," said Deputy commissioner Bill Daly. "It is not a 50-50 deal. It is, most likely a 56- to 57-percent deal in Year One and never gets to 50 percent during the proposed five-year term of the agreement."
According to ESPN, the league tried to schedule more talks with a formal meeting on Tuesday, but the union refused the offer. Bettman spoke about what would be needed for the two sides to come back to talking.
He said there needed to be "a reason to get back to the table. There's always a reason because, of course, we want to be playing, but in terms of the negotiations themselves, as we indicated, we made our best offer to save an 82-game season and it was not something that the players' association demonstrated any interest in. We suggested they could talk to us about what we proposed or make on offer of (their) own and they declined to do either."
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr responded to his comments on Wednesday night.
"The players made multiple core-economic proposals on Thursday that were a significant move in the owners' direction," he said in a statement. "We are and continue to be ready to meet to discuss how to resolve our remaining differences, with no preconditions. For whatever reason, the owners are not. At the same time they are refusing to meet, they are winding the clock down to yet another artificial deadline they created."
All the new quotes and developments come a week after the NHL announced they were cancelling all games through Nov. 1. The cancellations bring the total games lost this season to 135, with more cancellations likely to come this week.
The recent events are starting to show similarities to the previous lockout that for the league to miss an entire year in 2004. 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.
Things between the two sides really do not look good.
"We made our very best offer, and that offer was contingent upon playing an 82-game season, for better or for worse," Bettman said, "so I think things, in some respects, may get more difficult."
According to ESPN.com, the league may have to decide soon on cancelling the massively-popular outdoor game held on New Year's Day. This season the game will be at Michigan Stadium with the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Asked about when that would happen, Bettman said, "very soon."
The NHL recovered greatly from the 2004 lockout that wiped out the entire season, creating more offense and a solid revenue plan for players and the league. But as this new lockout drags on, the league will alienate fans that were looking forward to an exciting 2012 season.
