- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Gary Bettman has apparently told some NHLPA members on Thursday that the some general managers have told him they regret some of the contracts they had previously handed out and would welcome the chance to “dismantle” their team to get below the $60 million cap limit the NHL is proposing. The players were angered and demanded to know which GMs said this.
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet: Sources are saying that a new CBA was close on Wednesday night but league sources say that the NHLPA “pulled the chute.” The PA said they didn’t nothing. Talks have leveled off the last couple days, and hope of a deal getting done by the 5th with the season starting on the 12th, are now gone. If they could have reached a deal and started on the 12th, $130 million in revenue may have been generated. That’s $65 million for the players, averaging about $100,000 per player. If a deal gets done and the season starts on Jan. 19th, the players will have lost approximately $700 million since Nov. 2nd, or about $1 million per players on average.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Despite the positive tone leaving in the last couple days, both sides have made some progress.
• The NHLPA agreed to go to 10 years in CBA length, finally matching the NHL’s desire on term for the deal (although the NHLPA has an opt out after Year 7 while the NHL would prefer one after Year 8).
• The NHLPA asked the NHL to up its compliance buyout to two per team, up from one per team before the 2013-14 season. The league agreed.
• The NHL upped its salary variance rule to 30 percent, up from the 5 percent and then 10 percent demands it had had in previous offers.There are still 7 or 8 issues that are unresolved, with the most meaningful ones being the salary cap for next season, max term on player contracts and the players pension.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: The mediator went back and forth yesterday trying to find a middle ground on their unresolved issues. LeBrun was told that both sides have told the mediator that they have a bit of room to move on some issues.
- Renaud Lavoie via twitter: For the NHLPA to agree on a 10 year CBA, they have a couple conditions: an opt out after 7 years and a minimum salary of $800,000 in the 9th year.
- Tom Gulitti via twitter: The players had asked for 2 compliance buyouts. The players are not apparently upset at how GMs would use the buyouts to get rid of contracts they regret.
- Darren Dreger via twitter: Dreger noted that the NHL owners won’t be returning to the CBA negotiations.
- NHLPA: Players attending yesterday’s meetings: Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Andrew Ference, Ron Hainsey, Jamal Mayers, George Parros, Kevin Westgarth.