Today Peter Adler in Edmonton put out a story
Recess is over: NHL and NHLPA talks resume behind the scenes in which he states:
"You didn’t believe for a moment that as soon as Labour Day is over, someone from either side would pick up the phone, call somebody from the other side and utter words to this effect: “Hey, let’s compare notes and see if we can get ourselves out from the mess we’re in?”
I heard very similar things yesterday afternoon in texts I was getting from sources on the PA side of things and I feel that Adler is correct on one level.
The sides have indeed communicated since their rather ceremonious break up last week. They have even discussed some framework issues. But, to be honest, I wouldn't go quite so far as to call these "secret meetings" as much as I would call them the kind of standard discussions between sides which occurs between negotiating face to face.
Now on one hand you might say I am throwing water on the optimistic "idea" that the sides would continue talks in secret towards getting a deal done, and while I don't believe in this case these phone conversations are going anywhere fast I do believe they are newsworthy. They are even more relevant when taking in context and they are furthering my belief that any lockout we have will be very temporary.
Here's why: The elephant in the room of this labor dispute is obvious.
Is the NHL willing to cancel another season to win a few percentage points?
Is the NHL willing to lose 3 billion to save the $300 million per year they would save in even their dream scenario? Think about that... If the NHL were to cancel this season they would only break even if they got their best case, 10 year deal. (as an aside: The NHL wants 10 years for a reason. Comcast/NBC has a ten year deal with them. They want stability or they are highly unlikely to re-up.)
The answer to the question is then: No, the NHL isn't willing to cancel a season again.
I can already hear you thinking, "But they did it before, so why not again?"
The difference here, and why the Adler story is indeed reason for optimism, is the lines of communications weren't open to these kinds of phone calls in '04-05. The respect level the PA has for the NHL negotiators and the NHL has for the NHLPA negotiators is on an entirely different level this time around. And that is HUGE.
In '04 remember, Bob Goodenow refused to even attend a negotiation session if Gary Bettman wasn't there. Bettman was fine with Goodenow not attending so he sent Bill Daly instead. In '04 the NHL had to get a salary cap, but they ALSO had to rid themselves of Goodenow, whom even players felt was out for his own interests. The missed season of 04-05 was much more of a war of core fundamentals than we have seen this time around.
Bettman and Fehr aren't at war on a personal level. As much as some of the super agents and media may want to think so, Bettman and Fehr aren't enemies. Bettman and Fehr are negotiators doing what negotiators do. Each side knows what they have to get and each side already knows where the common ground likely will be.
Don't get me wrong. There will be more gamesmanship, more tough talk, even name calling but its all very calculated. A means to an end. Both sides get that and both sides are fine with it.
The crime in my opinion is they both feel the need to make things desperate to get the best deal and are willing to miss some of the season. It is just a negotiation tactic and unfortunately the NHL has an amount of time they are willing to miss in order to make more money over the term of the deal and the NHLPA has an amount of time they are willing to miss to show they are once again a solid union fronted by strong leadership.
The NHL wants more money and hopes the players panic The NHLPA wants more money and hopes the owners panic. And the NHLPA wants the respect they feel they lost last time around.
So, yes, it stands to reason that they are talking about some issues on phones (off the radar) as they prepare and brief their respective sides on the only big issue -- money. This would usually be par for the course, but given the history here this is very good news.
This never would have happened in '04 and it tells me this: The NHLPA is actually getting some of the respect back they desire and the NHL is figuring out the magic point where they will get into a room and resolve this.
More to come...
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