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Hull: Just cancel the season

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Phoenix Coyotes forward Brett Hull says the NHL should just cancel the season, work out a deal and hit the ice next season. As far as a cancellation of this season, speculation is that Hull may soon get his wish.

There is a belief that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will set a drop-dead soon on when the season would be scrapped if the league and the NHLPA are not anywhere close to an agreement. Stan Fischler of the MSG Network reported the date could be February 14, while the Canadian Press speculated that day be late this week or early next week.

That would be fine with Hull, who told Canada's TSN that he thinks a shortened season just wouldn't be worth it at this point.

"It would be ridiculous," Hull told TSN. "Both sides have come this far and battled so hard on what they believe needs to be done. The game has suffered so let's just call it a wash and start next year.

"We should just cancel (the season) now, get this thing done and let the teams prepare their staff, their season ticket and PR people and be ready."

Debating the merits of a shortened season may be moot at this point. There appears to be little hope of the two sides reaching an agreement to salvage this season. There was apparently no communication between the league and the PA again on Tuesday. 

Since talks broke off last Friday, there have apparently been no phone conversations between the two sides and just one informal e-mail exchange between the NHL's Bill Daly and the NHLPA's Ted Saskin.

It appears if negotiations are to resume it will up to the league to get them started. The NHLPA, which apparently believes the season is already down the drain, has no plans to invite the league back to the negotiating table.

It's a negotiating table where nothing has been accomplished because neither side has moved off its position. That's something New York Islanders captain Michael Peca said he's seen coming for a long time and that's why he is not surprised by where things stand right now.

"Really, I was resigned to the fact there wouldn't be a season way back in the summer time," Peca told The Canadian Press Tuesday "It was obvious what was going to happen throughout the negotiations where both sides staked their claims early, on what was going to be acceptable and what wasn't going to be acceptable and you kind of knew where it was going to go from that point."

Where it's going -- unless there is some major breakthrough soon -- appears to be nowhere.