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NHLPA rep Adams: Bettman says CBA “needs to be closer” to NFL, NBA model

craig adams

There’s a significant gap between the NHL and NHLPA in labor negotiations -- and one union member knows what that gap entails.

Pittsburgh’s Craig Adams, one of the 31 players on the NHLPA’s negotiating committee, says commissioner Gary Bettman wants a collective bargaining agreement similar to football and basketball, especially with regards to revenue sharing.

“From the owners’ perspective I don’t know how they view those other CBAs,” Adams told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I know Gary has mentioned to the press that he looks at those two, and the NHL needs to be closer.”

More, from Rob Rossi of the Trib:

The NHL is believed to crave a revenue split similar to those inked by the NFL and NBA players in the last 12 months.

NFL players are guaranteed only 47 percent of revenues on the 10-year CBA reached last summer. NBA players received a 50-50 split of basketball income on its 10-year CBA that was agreed upon after a work stoppage that wiped 16 games from the last regular season.

“Certainly for the league it behooves them to look at the players’ share in football and basketball and say, ‘We want to be closer to what they’ve done in those sports,’” Adams said.

If the NHL is to go the way of the NFL and NBA, an elongated labor dispute could be on the horizon.

In terms of work stoppages, the NBA delayed starting the 2011-12 season from Nov. 1 to Dec. 25, reducing the regular season from 82 to 66 games.

The NFL didn’t miss any regular season action, but all offseason activity was halted from Mar.11-Jul. 25. There was no free agency or training camp.