Deal by September 15th, or else.
That was the message Gary Bettman told the NHLPA through the media on Thursday, make a deal with us or we lockout the players. Bettman pulled no punches while talking to reporters and the commissioner made it perfectly clear to Donald Fehr and the NHL Players Association that the owners are absolutely unwilling to play under the old collective bargaining agreement as was suggested earlier in the week by Fehr. Both men indicated that revenue sharing issues need to be worked out ASAP. Fehr mentioned that the two sides are a "meaningful gulf" apart on that issue. He also said that the NHLPA will submit their formal counter-offer next Tuesday. Sources speculate that the union's proposal will include a baseball-style luxury tax system, instead of the "hard salary cap" that is in place now.
While I've made my opinions known on twitter about the whole situation, I have become more and more pessimistic about the season starting on time, let alone if it gets going at all. As a hockey fan, you have to hope Thursday's developments light a fire under the leadership of both parties to compromise and get a deal in place for hockey this October. As I've been saying since the start of negotiations, as long as the two sides continue to talk there is some optimism. But any hiccups along the way will spell disaster not just for this season, but possibly the NHL as a whole.
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