After six hours of negotiations on Wednesday, the National Hockey League (NHL) and the NHLPA decided to continue talks on Thursday as well.
The present situation is still better, because both the sides are at least facing each other at the bargaining table and trying to find common points to reach towards some kind of agreement on hockey related revenue sharing.
Earlier, both the parties were not even ready to meet for negotiations. Players rejected the leagues' proposal on hockey related revenue sharing and came up with their three proposals. The NHL rejected them and scrapped games through November.
After that no talks happened, until last Saturday, when the NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and the players' union special counsel Steve Fehr also met to discuss the issue. It was the first meeting between the two parties since Oct. 18.
"The NHLPA and the NHL met today (Wednesday) to discuss many of the key issues," NHLPA executive director Donald Fehrs' statement said. "We look forward to resuming talks (Thursday).''
No details of these meetings have been made public so far. Nobody, except the concerned parties, know about the outcome of 13 hours long talks during the last two days.
"We do not intend to comment on the substance or subject matter of today's negotiations," Daly said in an email to The Associated Press. "Not providing any specifics on today's meetings."
On Tuesday Fehr had made it clear that players wanted a larger share.
"The issues the players are concerned about remain the same," Fehr said Tuesday. "The players haven't seen any need to go backward, given the history of the last negotiations and given the level of revenue increase since then.
"Player-contracting rights are very important to them. Before we have any agreement, both sides have to see everything on paper and make sure that they all understand it right. That's about all I can say about it at this stage. I don't want to prejudge or indicate that I have any particular impressions or expectations.
"That's what the meetings are for."
But on Wednesday both the parties issued brief statements. It is believed that the main points of their discussion are hockey related revenue sharing, players' contract term limits and free agency. Both sides have strong and different views on these points..
The danger of the entire hockey season being scrapped is hovering and both, the NHL and players, would definitely want to come sort of agreement sooner rather than later.
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