Lockout 2012: Formal Talks Close, No Progress Made
By jer
May 20, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance before the Los Angeles Kings play against the Phoenix Coyotes in game four of the Western Conference Finals of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE
We learned last week that formal CBA negotiations were to resume this past Friday (September 28th), and talks did in fact resume. Surprisingly, the talks lasted not only the entire weekend, but also cut into this week, as negotiations continued up until this morning. Not so suprising, both sides are reporting that no progress has been made, with the NHL insisting that the NHLPA’s stance is still too far off from the NHL’s lofty demands. Five days of fruitless negotiation, and true to form, no further talks are planned at this time.
The regular NHL season is set to start on October 11th, but with no progress being made, many are anticipating a first round of cancellations for regular season games. Puck Daddy points out that the Sports Business Journal’s Chris Botta expects this cancellation to come sooner rather than later:
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/ChrisBottaNHL/status/253169713780256769″]
What are your thoughts? How many games do we lose in this anticipated first round of cancellations?
Or is there a miracle out there yet to save the start of our season?
Jer is praying for the miracle that will save this season. Follow him on Twitter @JerMeansWell.