- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: An interview with Don Fehr explaining the players side,
QMI: Were you very disappointed in what happened Thursday and the way the meeting transpired?
FEHR: “I try to not get excited and not get disappointed. I’ve learned from long experience that all that does is burn my hormones. You sort of have to ride every day, take it where it is. If works out good, that’s a good day. If it doesn’t work out so good, that’s a day that isn’t so good and you try to figure out a way to do a better one tomorrow. That’s what I try to do. It’s clear the players are really disappointed. Here we are after massive concessions (in 2004-05) in the billions of dollars, followed by revenue growth that Gary and the owners have taken a lot of credit for, that the response is to say, ‘We should have another round of concessionary bargaining and you should give us back more billions of dollars.’ That oversimplifies the negotiations a little bit but not very much. The fact the players are willing to negotiate something in which they take a lower share going forward was a major move in the owners’ direction and the owners have only moved away from the players. It’s a disappointing set of circumstances. I don’t go in for the very dramatic ‘I am very disappointed’ press conferences that other people engage in.”
Click here for entire interview.
- Nick Cotsonika via twitter: Don Fehr said that Gary Bettman told him that he could call about “make whole.” It looks like the NHL could bend a bit. If Fehr doesn’t call Bettman, why?
- TSN: Alex Ovechkin talking to reporters yesterday,
“The NHL gave fans and media hope. But in reality it is a deception,” said Ovechkin. “The league is trying to show that it is working to try and save the season, but they are not offering anything new. It’s all the same.
“Owners and players are at war,” Ovechkin continued. “Bettman is under heavy pressure and trying to protect himself from criticism. Yes he made an offer and said it was good. But good for who, for Bettman?”
“I said it before, before I sign a contract, if the league decides to cut our salaries and cut our contracts for what they want, I don’t know how many guys will be coming back,” Ovechkin said on the conference call.