The NHL and NHLPA ended their talks on Friday without scheduling another meeting. It looks like talks have stalled, but Chris Phillips, who is part of the union’s negotiating committee, still thinks a lockout can be avoided.
“We’re moving in the same direction, which is good,” said Phillips. “I’m hopeful. We’ll see how things progress. We’re starting to speak the same language and that makes things a lot easier to come to an agreement.”
In the face of the less than encouraging news that has come out following Friday’s negotiating session, including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr’s press conferences, any voice of optimism will likely be welcomed by the fans.
That’s especially true given that the current CBA is set to expire in less than two weeks.
TSN’s Darren Dreger recently suggested that the real negotiations will start at or around Sept. 10. We’ll see how quickly the two sides can move if things play out that way.