- Chris Johnston in the Winnipeg Free Press: The NHLPA was questioning the NHL’s motives when team owners and GMs were given a 48 hour window to speak with their players about the NHL’s offer last week. Team employees were told they were allowed to answer players question until midnight last Friday. Since the lockout started, team employees were forbidden to talk to players.
“Most owners are not allowed to attend bargaining meetings,” said Steve Fehr, the NHLPA’s special counsel. “No owners are allowed to speak to the media about the bargaining. It is interesting that they are secretly unleashed to talk to the players about the meetings the players can attend, but the owners cannot.”
- Nick Cotsonika via twitter: “Source: NHL issued memo to owners, GMs, telling them they could answer questions about proposal but not lobby players to get a deal done.”
- Greg Wyshynski and Nick Cotsonika of Yahoo! Sports: The NHL’s memo, obtained by Yahoo! Sports, that was sent to teams last week.
We understand that some of you are being contacted by one or more of your Players and that your inability to respond substantively is creating some awkwardness in your relationships.
Accordingly, and only between now and 11:59 pm (local time) on Friday night (10/19), the NHL By-Law 17.17 prohibition will not be applied to conversations that result from you being contacted by your Players — PROVIDED, THAT ANY SUCH CONVERSATIONS ARE STRICTLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH IN THIS MEMORANDUM. A failure to follow these rules can both set us back in our effort to resolve this work stoppage and cause serious legal problems and will be deemed a violation of NHL By-Law 17.17 (subject to appropriate penalties).
Therefore, please read these rules carefully and be certain that you adhere to them without exception. They have been designed in light of the fact that the NHLPA is, in fact and in law, the sole collective bargaining representative of the Players and that any effort to motivate the Players must be to have them act through their union, not instead of or in opposition to it.
As a matter of labor law you are permitted to express the views and opinions of the Club and the League concerning the proposal currently on the table.
YOU MAY NOT: “Negotiate” with a Player. This means you may not explore alternatives or variations to the proposals on the table from either side because that would be prohibited “direct dealing”. You may not ask “What do you want?” or “What do the Players want?” or “What should the League propose?” If a Player tells you that he or others are trying to find a different approach, he should be told that all ideas and suggestions should be presented to the Union and not directly to you or anyone else in the League except through the Union. You may not ask him what he or others have in mind.
If he volunteers what he has in mind you should not respond positively or negatively or ask any questions but instead refer him to the NHLPA. Likewise, you may not suggest hypothetical proposals that the League might make in the future or that the League might entertain from the Union.
- Tim Panaccio via twitter: Flyers GM Paul Holmgren confirms that he hasn’t talked to any players about the CBA, and has remained distant from all players.
- Wayne Scanlan via twitter: Senators GM Bryan Murray, “no contact was made by either side.”
- Renaud Lavoie via twitter: No Canadiens players were contacted last week.
- Randy Sportak via twitter: Flames player rep, Matt Stajan, said he didn’t have any contact with team employees, nor knew of any players who did.
- Sarah McLellan via twitter: Coyotes Shane Doan said there wasn’t any communication between players and management last week.