from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,
Since both sides acknowledge their latest offers show there is a deal to be made, that a 50-50 share of revenue is now the admitted goal, the solution is going to lie with the moderates among the owners and players. They have to start nudging, well, pushing really, the hard-liners among them to a deal.
At this point, the argument is about how fast the owners and players get to a 50-50 split and how much of the cost of going from the players’ previous share of 57 per cent to 50 will come out of their pockets. So far, the owners insist it has to happen today and most of the cost will come from the players in the form of escrow on existing contracts and the shrinking of their portion in the future. The players want their contracts to be paid in full right now and to hit 50 per cent three years from now, according to two of the three offers they made last week, or go to 50-50 right away but with a provision to ensure all existing contracts are paid in full.
At this point, the only contact between the NHL Players’ Association and the owners is by telephone. The old “We’re-still-here-but-not-bargaining” call. Maybe they’ll get together in New York this week and maybe not.
That is the frustrating part of the owners’ latest lockout. They have managed to get a deal in sight but somehow have spent so little time actually negotiating in a sense it remains as far away as one did in those hopeless days in 2004-05 when weeks would go by with no communication of any kind between the owners and the union.
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