NHL Owners, Players Could Be Headed For Long Lockout Period
Tuesday October 2, 2012 : NHL Betting – NHL Owners, Players Could Be Headed For Long Lockout Period
The National Hockey League and its players met again this past weekend for three-straight days of solid talks. The result is that the two sides are no closer to getting a deal done than they were before the weekend began, with no firm plans to resume negotiations this week. While most fans feel they are making progress and should resume talks later this week, the fact that they are breaking without announcing any progress on the key fundamental issues that have kept the two sides apart on a new CBA should be a concern. Neither side has shown any urgency and that is a strong sign that we could be headed for a long lockout period.
The owners certainly would like to get a deal done, but clearly they feel as if they have too much to gain here for the future by forcing the players in to submission now. With so many players signing new multi-million dollar deals, the owners have the leverage of those contact years becoming void and the players losing millions of dollars that they will not get back. To this point the league has shown no interest in making concessions in that department, and it would seem as though NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and his owners feel that the players will eventually crumble under the pressure of losing money and career years that they will never be able to get back.
As for the players, it is hard to feel bad for a group that has been as divided and selfish as this group has been. As much as the players have said some of the right things and acted like they are in this together, the divide has seen some of the better and younger players without families head to Europe where they will at least continue to make money during the lockout, while the rest of the players are stuck here losing millions of dollars. The fact that these players moved overseas so fast and with so little hesitation is a sign that they are not united on the NHL front, and if they can find a replacement league to play in so easily, than what right do they have to criticize the league for considering them no more than a product of their great game.
While this lockout is destined to hurt both sides at least in the short term, each passing day makes it that much more likely that the NHL owners will get the deal they want while the players will be forced to make nearly all of the concessions. The waiting game certainly doesn’t work in the favor of at least some of the players, who are losing a ton of money while their teammates and fellow union members are overseas making money. The NHL and its players have created an unnecessary and unfortunate situation for the fans, and those employees that don’t actually play the game, and it could be some time before they get a deal done. For all of the latest NHL news, check out the best online betting site.
