Representatives from the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association are meeting Friday for a fourth straight day of negotiations geared toward establishing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The most recent meeting, Thursday afternoon, lasted about five hours. The NHL and NHLPA met for seven hours Tuesday and for nearly six hours Wednesday, bringing the total meeting time between the two sides to roughly 18 hours this week.
"We've met with the Players' Association for the last three days and we are planning on meeting again [Friday]," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "But, I am not going to discuss the negotiations or the substance of what we're talking about. I really don't think that would be helpful to the process."
Added NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr: "We (have) had meetings the last couple of days and this afternoon. There have been discussions over a wide range of topics. We're recessed for the night and we will be getting back together [Friday], the exact time is not yet certain. But I do expect we'll be getting back together [Friday]. I am not going to comment on the substance of the discussions."
Prior to this past Saturday, when NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA Special Counsel Steve Fehr met one-on-one at a private location, the negotiating groups hadn't gotten together face-to-face since Oct. 18. The NHL and NHLPA have been without a CBA since Sept. 16. The League has already cancelled the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through Nov. 30 and wiped out the 2013 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic along with the accompanying Hockeytown Winter Festival.
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