As we mentioned earlier tonight, opinions are all over the place about just how negotiations will go from here after the NHL shot down all three NHLPA offers on Thursday. One guy who is feeling conflicted, however, is NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr.
Fehr tells The Canadian Press that while he feels there’s a deal on the table to be made between both sides, he’s not expecting the NHL to go changing anything up anytime soon.
“There are multiple frameworks for a deal on the table,” said Steve Fehr, the NHLPA’s special counsel. “We gave them three good ones on Thursday. Each moves toward a 50-50 split of [hockey-related revenue] that the league wants. Each allows the contracts in place to be honored.
“Unfortunately, after considering these proposals for about 10 minutes the league rejected them and essentially said that they are not moving off their last proposal.”
Keep in mind that the NHL’s offer was the second in a row brought to the table from the owners. The players’ union basically got Gary Bettman to negotiate against himself -- don’t expect that to happen again.