How fast the sloth?
Jun 10, 2005
Like the three-toed sloth, NHL and NHL Players’ Association negotiators move forward.
The only problem is that nobody can tell that there REALLY is movement.
After another week of intense meetings – some small, some full-size – both sides in the Civil War at least agree on one thing; they are still talking.
Sometimes, they even talk the same language.
At the end of Friday’s session, NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly went so far as to describe the interplay as “healthy dialogue.”
That includes Vitamins A (Advancing) D (Developing) and E (Envervating.)
“Progress continued to be made on many operational issues relating to a new collective bargaining agreement,” adds Daly.
And to show that he wasn’t kidding, Daly states that meetings will resume “early next week.”
Meanwhile, there has been a disturbing – make that VERY disturbing – media tendency to presume that the CBA only needs some gift wrapping and a neat ribbon; each of which should be available in the next couple of weeks.
Nonsense.
My informants – who never have been wrong so far – continually reaffirm that considerable work must be done and, like it or not, the work moves with sloth speed.
“There’s still plenty to do,” one of the insiders tells me. “because, in effect, what we’re doing is – in a hockey, legal sense – re-inventing the system.
“Drafting these documents takes time.”
Ah, but how much time?
My absolute, latest target date for completion is July 15, if advertisers, broadcasters and schedule-makers are to be satisfied. Not to mention the fans.
Is July 15 possible?
“We can always hope,” my insider allows. “It’s possible….”
Then, a cautious pause: “Then again, it may not be!”
Virtually everything hinges on the ability of the NHLPA executive committee to not only take the reins from union czar Bob Goodenow but to KEEP them from him.
There have been suggestions that this dynamic has been in the works for a week or two.
Speaking to Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Morrison did everything but hoist a white flag for the NHLPA.
If you read between the lines Morrison is simply saying that the war is over and that Goodenow—like General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House—should gracefully surrender and sue for and honorable peace.
“As negotiations progress, scenarios change,” Morrison told Pap. “To get a deal done, a lot of times you have to make sacrifices. I guess it boils down to what’s best for the game—and what’s best for the game is to get back on the ice and play. So if that means us maybe taking the brunt of the sacrifices, it looks like that’s what we’re willing to do.”
A militant on the NHLPA executive committee, Bob Boughner suddenly sounds conciliatory in an interview with Rick Sadowski of the Rocky Mountain News.
“I talked a lot to the guys who went to Europe, and even though they had fun and saw the world, it’s still not the NHL," said Boughner. "We’ve played our whole lives and it’s a dream to be where we are. When you can’t play, it (stinks).”
Translated, Boughner’s words can be interpreted three ways;
*WAY ONE; A couple of guys made big bucks overseas but overall, European hockey stinks
*WAY TWO; Goodenow told a lot of players to consider going back to Europe next season. Surely he can’t be serious.
*WAY THREE; There are no five-star hotels in Gdansk!
In a rare burst of optimism that you don’t normally hear from the union side, Boughner went on to tell Sadowski, “So far, so good, I would say.”
One thing I’ve learned from this excruciatingly long CBA is that optimism seems to be frowned upon from the NHLPA side.
That explains the sage comment from Detroit Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano to Dave Waddell of The Windsor Star.
“Do you hear Bob Goodenow saying we’re close to an agreement or that he’s happy with the progress being made?” says Devellano. “I’ve never heard that, so why should we be hopeful when only one side is saying it? It’s going to take two sides to make the deal.”
One element that is becoming increasingly clear is that players have finally come to realize that Goodenow erred in thinking that the owners would fold between January and what should have been playoff time.
“There’s no question the owners have shown a lot of solidarity throughout the whole scenario,” Morrison said. "I think they’ve done a good job of this negotiation. Right off the bat, they set guidelines and they’ve stuck to them pretty well.
“I guess hindsight is always beautiful and it’s easy for people to now say, 'Why weren’t you guys just resigned to this deal at the beginning of last year?' Well, nobody knew it was going to play out this way.”
Actually, nobody really knows how this NHL-NHLPA endgame will finish.
Stay tuned for further developments on Monday!
