Hockey

As deadline looms, NHL talks break off

Neither the league nor the union says it plans to initiate negotiations that must occur to save the season.

By TOM JONES
Published February 11, 2005

All that remains is for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to pull the plug.

The NHL did not cancel the season Thursday. Not officially, anyway.

But barring an unforeseen development, the NHL will become the first North American sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute.

It could happen this weekend or early next week, but all signs indicate a last-minute agreement will not be reached to end the lockout.

"We'll see what happens in the next couple days, but at this point, we're kind of out of tricks," Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said. "There's no further creativity left on this side."

The league and union broke off a second day of talks Thursday in Toronto after four hours. Bettman and Daly headed back to New York, and no further talks are scheduled even though Bettman said if an agreement wasn't being drawn by the weekend, the season would be canceled.

"We're not going to pick up the phone this weekend," union senior director Ted Saskin said. "We're done."

Asked if the union might come up with another proposal, Saskin quickly said, "Absolutely (there is) no new offer coming."

The NHL made what it said was its final proposal Wednesday. The union rejected it but invited the league to continue talks Thursday. Daly called Thursday's meeting "pointless."

"Quite frankly, I don't know why they asked us to stay overnight," Daly said. "I don't know what their agenda was. I just know there was no progress."

The hangup continues to be a salary cap. The owners say they need one while the union says it will never accept one. Each side seems more entrenched than ever and spent Thursday sniping at the other's negotiation tactics.

"I don't know I'd say I'm surprised," Daly said. "I'm disappointed. I hoped that at the end of the day that reason would prevail, that we'd be able to find common ground and that we'd reach an agreement. That hasn't happened."

The chance of that happening is slim, if not impossible.

"I think it has been very clear from Day 1 that this has never been about having a negotiation," Saskin said. "They have made it clear they have only one way of doing things, and that's through their hard-cap system.

"There are clearly other ways to reduce player costs, but they have not been prepared to look at any other way. The writing has been on the wall for some time."

Even mediators haven't been able to break the logjam. Daly said mediators have been involved behind the scenes since last fall and as recently as last week. The league and union are doubtful, however, mediators can help.

"This isn't a negotiation that failed due to a lack of understanding," Daly said. "This is a negotiation that has failed for other reasons. I don't think a mediator would help in this process."

The only hope the season can be saved is if one side reaches out this weekend. Neither seems willing, and that leaves only one move left: the cancellation of the season.

"Since no material progress has been made," Daly said, "and we're within days of having to cancel the season, you're hit with the realization of what you have to do."

[Last modified February 11, 2005, 00:52:18]