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  CBA: Talks will continue Friday

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Talks between the National Hockey League and the NHLPA in New York stretched from Thursday afternoon into late Thursday evening and will continue on Friday.

The talks, which involved the first formal meeting between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive Director Bob Goodenow since the middle of December, began at an undisclosed location about 1:30 p.m. EST. At about 10:30 p.m. the two sides adjourned for the night.

Earlier in the evening, the league released this statement:

"A collective bargaining meeting between representatives of the National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association began Thursday afternoon and continued into Thursday night. In deference to the process, there will be no comment, and no further update is expected tonight."

Bettman was joined on the league side by NHL executive vice-president Bill Daly and outside counsel Bob Batterman. Goodenow brought along NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin and outside counsel John McCambridge.

The reason for the length of the meeting was the source of much speculation, but the general consensus was that talking is better than not talking.

"I talked to the PA a little while ago and it was neither progressive nor regressive," a player told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "But the feeling was it can't be anything but positive if they are still involved, still talking in the same room together."

An NHL general manager agreed.

"I don't know why you wouldn't look at it as anything but positive," the GM, who requested anonymity,  told The Canadian Press. "A deal is only going to get done by the two bodies working at it.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out the alternative if they're not in the room talking."

That alternative would be the cancellation of the season. There were reports about that on Thursday even as the two sides were meeting. ESPN quoted an NHL owner who wished to remain anonymous as saying that, barring a major turnaround, he expected the league to cancel the season as early as Friday.

But with the length of the talks on Thursday and the fact they will continue Friday,  many people still hold out hope that a deal can still be reached, possibly salvaging the season and sparing the league the ignominious distinction of becoming the first North American sports league to lose an entire season due to a labor dispute.