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Owners Directed Bettman to End Lockout, Players Must Do the Same with Fehr

December 29, 2012, 2:04 AM ET [673 Comments]
Eklund
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This weekend is huge.

A few key people have told me they believe the NHL has put out a CBA that is more player-friendly than either the NBA's or the NFL's. I talked to a few people at the NBA and NFL who were in the legal world representing the players in both situations and the NBA and NFL guys agree that Fehr has done a strong job here to get a better deal for the players in the NHL.

I also talked to a few people within the NHL who want the players to make a grand gesture here and counter with a deal close to this one -- not because the NHL wouldn't perhaps give a little more but because the owners realize very clearly that "the Players are the game" they sell to the public.

The owners gain nothing by making the players out to the bad guys here. The fans loving the players is what makes this machine go, and the owners want to begin that healing process, well, yesterday.

One owner said to me, "It would have been great if the players had made the proposal to save the season. Most of us would have preferred it come from them. The polls show fans have never had a lower opinion of the owners and the players then they do right now. I don't care if they hate me, but I want them, I need them, to love my players..."

There is still a good chance that this negotiation goes to the wire of season cancellation. Many feel the closure will drag into January. But getting an agreement this weekend and NOT putting the fans through another week to ten days of hell over the minutia of the deal would be a REALLY good idea.

The owners sometimes kill themselves with tough talk. Using terms like "we won't negotiate" end up biting them in the face. These words are constantly quoted by Fehr when addressing the union rank-and-file. The owners' have unwittingly kept the players far more united than they were at a similar stage of the 2004-05 lockout. I have never understood why the NHL has continued to take that tact.

However, if you look at what the NHL says in public vs. what they actually do:

The NHL has done almost nothing BUT negotiate for the past several months, although maybe not in the meetings with the players. It has been the NHL who have continually put increasingly conciliatory deals on the table, not the NHLPA. I would argue that after giving up the 50/50 months ago, the NHLPA has really hardly negotiated at all.

The NHL owners really don't care about the media saying they are negotiating against themselves or that Fehr was right about the longer you wait the better the deal will get. It does get better. It HAS to get better. The NHL wants to make a deal. In fact, make no mistake, the NHL needs to make a deal, because the consequences of another lost season would be disastrous to the business.

So the question has never been "will the deal get better?" by waiting. The question is "will the deal get so much better to make up for what players are losing now?" If there's no NHL hockey until next September, the answer is absolutely not. In fact, even by holding out on an agreement as long as the PA already has, it's hard to argue that the best financial interests of the vast majority of NHL players have been served.

If you ask me, I still stand by the deal in early December was worth taking versus the money lost in these last two paychecks. That point has already been surpassed.

The owners surprised us last night by going much further than anyone thought they would. The buyout provision is a huge step.

In my opinion, it is time for the players to surprise us this weekend and accept at least most of this CBA offer, and then counter quickly with a similar one containing minor tweaks. If that NHLPA submitted, similar CBA is close to this, doesn't introduce anything new, and is COMPLETE (so the owners know the WHOLE deal) I fully believe the owners will push it to a vote and approve it.

And then the deal can come from the players. And that benefits the game in a big way.

The owners showed today they really want to play. A lot of pride was swallowed today by the owners.

The players need to act like hockey players act and do the same...and they need to direct Fehr to make this deal the owners directed Bettman. It is time to realize this is NOT about Bettman and Fehr. This is NOT their deal. This deal belongs to the players and the owners.

No more playing games. The only surprises left should be pleasant ones in terms of things getting done before New Years instead of closer to January 10 or 12. It all must start with players' acceptance of most of the NHL's offer and a quick, reasonable counter offer.

It is time to end this.

A big thanks to Molson Canadian for sponsoring the site this month!

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