The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The NHL owners and the NHLPA have less than a month to reach a new collective bargaining agreement before a season-threatening lockout will be imposed. Although the two sides have met three times in the past six weeks (the latest being this past Wednesday), they are no closer to an agreement than they were when the process began. While NHLPA directors assure they are working hard to come to an agreement, they formally rejected six proposals that were put forth by the owners in the two previous meetings. The rejection caused a virtual breakdown in talks, and shifted the focus of the discussion to the league's economic picture, rather than finding a solution to the labour dispute. The NHLPA rejected the last six proposals, saying that each one contains a salary cap, something the players refuse to accept, or even discuss. The NHL claims that not all six proposals included a salary cap, siting philosophical differences in what constitutes a salary cap. The two sides will meet again next week in Ottawa for two days, and again on August 30 and September 1 in Montreal, the site of World Cup of Hockey games on those nights. The two week tournament ends on September 14, and the current CBA expires on September 15. The current deal was a result of a 103-day lockout nine years ago, and has been extended twice.
