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Fehr: “Should the players decide that they don’t want to be in a union, there won’t be a union”

Donald Fehr: Sidney Crosby

Donald Fehr, left, executive director of the NHL players’ association, talks to reporters following collective bargaining talks between the NHLPA and the NHL in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. Players, from left, Detroit Red Wings’ Daniel Cleary, Edmonton Oilers’ Shawn Horcoff, Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Carolina Hurricanes’ Eric Staal and Phoenix Coyotes’ Shane Doan listen in the background. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

AP

NHLPA boss Donald Fehr appeared on Sportsnet’s Fan 590 radio Wednesday to discuss the possibility of the players’ union dissolving, and made one thing abundantly clear -- if the players want it, they’ll get it.

“Should the players decide that they don’t want to be in a union, there won’t be a union, so it will be the end of that,” Fehr explained. “We’ll be living in a different world. The owners will have to comply with the antitrust laws. Individual players will have whatever rights they have.”

Players are still in the midst of voting to authorize the NHLPA executive board to file a disclaimer of interest -- a vote NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly figured would pass “overwhelmingly” in a separate interview on Fan 590.

Daly said mid-January is the point of no return for canceling the NHL season and if the NHLPA does file, it could “prolong any resolution” to the lockout. He also suggested earlier this week that “Don is aiming towards a deadline showdown.”

Not true, says Fehr.

“In terms of a deadline, it’s only the NHL that has been setting deadlines,” he said. “Players have never done that. What could we do? Go on strike? If they see no point in talking and are perfectly happy not to have hockey, there isn’t a lot that we can do.”

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