Lockout inevitable

The current CBA expires this Saturday, but the NHLPA and the Owner’s still have not come to an agreement. Which is just fantastic for all hockey fans to hear. Things are not looking good for the NHL right now. The negotiations to establish a new CBA actually went to a standstill last weekend and the two parties refused to talk to each other. Luckily they came back together this week, especially yesterday when new proposals were throw out in an attempt to prevent a potential work stoppage.

The NHLPA started in on the talks yesterday with another proposal. Which the owner’s promptly shut down with a counter. Commissioner Bettman claims the reason it was rejected was because it was too similar to the NHLPA’s original proposal. Translation, the owners are still not getting the money they want. The proposal is meant to speed up the process and get the two parties to a deal before the weekend is over and the expiration date of the current CBA comes up.

Bettman has stated that he doesn’t want a work stoppage and this proposal is an attempt to prevent that. That’s all well and good but he has also said that he has no intention of opening the season without a new CBA. So there’s definitely not going to be a pre-season while these two parties continue to agrue over money.

The question if there is a lockout, which is looking more and more likely, how long will it last? This isn’t really a question anyone can answer right now, we just all have to hope that hockey comes back even if it’s delayed a few weeks or even months. The one thing that the NHL can’t thrive on is another cancellation of seasons. Some bloggers are even predicting that the lockout will be announced Monday afternoon. Let’s hope they are wrong.

BallHyped Sports News Network will be keeping fans as up to date as possible on the ongoing on these negotiations as they occur. Stay tuned hockey fans.

I am a recent graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where I hold a BA in English with a minor in creative writing. My career aspirations lie mostly in novel writing, but I also have an interest in sports journalism. I wrote soccer and hockey articles for my University's student newspaper and I currently write for two other sports blogs in addition to Ballhyped. I am the NHL beat writer for Ballhyped, and pretty much live and breathe for the sport of ice hockey.