NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who is not a part of the current rounds of discussions between the National Hockey League and the players' association, asserted he was ''pleased with the process'' of the latest round of talks.
The players' association executive director Donald Fehr and Bettman issued a brief statement Wednesday to throw light on the two hour-long meeting of the league's board of governors. They did not reply to questions asked by the reporters. On Tuesday night, the two representatives had an eight hour-long meeting.
"We are pleased with the process that is ongoing, and out of respect for that process I don't have anything else to say," the Associated Press quoted Bettman as saying.
New Columbus Blue Jackets president John Davidson was happy that the negotiation process is sending out positive vibes.
"We feel good about the information we got," Davidson said.
Toronto Maple Leafs' Larry Tanenbaum was also positive about the outcome of the current talks.
"We're going to continue to talk up until we get a deal," said Tanenbaum, who is one of the six participating owners in negotiation talks. "All I can say is as long as we're talking we're hopeful."
New Jersey Devils president and general manager, Lou Lamoriello, said he was hopeful of starting the season soon.
"I've always been hopeful there would be a season," Lamoriello said. "Right now we just have to leave it in the hands of the people that are talking."
The bargaining process has already stretched so long, so both the sides are trying not to have another session and to come to a quick agreement. It is in the best interests of both the involved parties to resume the hockey season.
The NHL was the first North American major league to lose a complete season because of labor disputes in 2005. The NHL has already scrapped games through Dec. 14 and two important events in the NHL's calendar -- the New Year's Day Winter Classic and the All-Star game. So the players and the owners, both want to end the now 81 day-long lockout.
"We had a long day," Steve Fehr said Tuesday. "We thought it was a constructive day. We had a good dialogue.
"In some ways I'd say it might be the best day we've had, which isn't too overly optimistic of a picture. There is still a lot of work to do and a lot to be done."
Daly also said positive things about the negotiation process.
"I appreciate the efforts of the players," he said. "Everybody is working hard. I think everybody wants to get a deal done, so that's encouraging. We look forward to hopefully making more progress."
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