Brooks Orpik, who serves as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ union representative, doesn’t think we’re headed for a strike or lockout. Although there hasn’t been a lot of reported progress towards a new CBA, Orpik is optimistic going forward.
“We’ve had quite a few meetings the last two or three months, which almost the whole team attended,” Orpik said. “I know a lot of that hasn’t been publicized.
“I think there’s been more communication between the two sides than people are aware of. I think both sides are pretty optimistic something will get done. I think there’s too much to lose after the last one we had to have another work stoppage.”
It’s certainly hard to picture another stoppage like the one that claimed the 2004-05 campaign, but then, until we get a new CBA we can’t know for sure. The two sides do not appear to be close to reaching an agreement, but the current CBA doesn’t expire until September, so they still have plenty of time to get something done.