There will be no last-ditch attempt to avoid another NHL lockout.
With just hours remaining on the collective bargaining agreement, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told several media outlets that he didn't expect any formal negotiations to take place before it expired at midnight on Saturday.
"We spoke again today, and in light of the fact that neither party has indicated an intention to move off of its last proposal, we have decided that there is no point in convening a formal bargaining session," he said. "We will keep in close contact in the coming days and if anything changes, I am sure we will be in touch."
"We spoke again today, and in light of the fact that neither party has indicated an intention to move off of its last proposal, we have decided that there is no point in convening a formal bargaining session," he said. "We will keep in close contact in the coming days and if anything changes, I am sure we will be in touch."
The NHL and NHL Players' Association let the final three days of the CBA pass without returning to the bargaining table. The league says it informed the NHLPA in November that it was unwilling to play past the expiration of the current contract and it never wavered on that view.
Steve Fehr, the NHLPA's special counsel, indicated the union requested a formal meeting with the league in New York before the "owners' self-imposed deadline" but was rebuffed.
"Don Fehr, myself and several players on the negotiating committee were in the city and prepared to meet," Steve Fehr said in a statement. "The NHL said that it saw no purpose in having a formal meeting. There have been and continue to be private, informal discussions between representatives of both sides."
CBC reporter Teddy Katz, who is also in New York, said, "It almost seems like the lockout has already begun."
"They had a discussion to try to see if the players' association had a new proposal, according to Daly. They didn't have a new proposal for the league, so Daly is saying there is no sense trying to sit down and have any formal bargaining at this point in time. It's not going to achieve anything. So he's more or less saying that it's not going to happen before that midnight deadline. In essence the lockout has already begun it appears."
Hockey Night in Canada commentator Elliotte Friedman doesn't believe the sides will get back to the bargaining table any time soon, and projects the lockout to end by late November.
"It’s going to be a little bit of a sit and wait," Friedman told CBC News. "I think things may get a bit harsh towards each other before they get better. It’s a situation where both sides will sit in there and wait to see if anyone else buckles first."
No formal announcement about a lockout was expected at midnight. The sides last sat down together on Wednesday, with each tabling a proposal, and commissioner Gary Bettman indicated he expects the next move to come from the union.
"We made the last offer and we haven't gotten a formal response to our proposal," Bettman said Thursday. "I hope we get one and one that recognizes that we made yet another meaningful move and we're trying to engage in a negotiation."
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