Wednesday was an eventful day in the CBA negotiations, but we still don’t have a deal.
The players and owners still have some very fundamental differences when it comes to the core economic issues, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
“You can get bogged down with the #s, but all you need to know is NHLPA says won’t take an actual decrease to $ spent on salaries,” McKenzie tweeted, “and the NHL is asking for an immediate and significant reduction in the $ spent on player salaries. Not even in the same universe.
“Maybe that changes at some point but I seriously doubt it. I don’t think any of this is posturing at this point.”
In other words, if you’re hoping that either NHL commissioner Gary Bettman or NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr are bluffing and will blink at the eleventh hour, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. Based on McKenzie’s comments, it sounds like a lockout is probable, but of course it’s not a 100% certainty until it actually happens.