The National Hockey League has presented the players with a proposal that will have teams back on the ice by November 2nd if it is accepted.
League Commissioner Gary Bettman laid out the proposal on Tuesday saying that the NHL would split all hockey-related revenue 50-50 and he promised that players would not see a rollback on current agreements.
The league and the NHLPA met at the player's association offices in Toronto in the morning and the players held a conference call in the afternoon to go over the details of the new offer.
The NHLPA says they need time to consider the proposal.
“We're always happy to receive a proposal. We’re always gonna study it. Gary indicated to me and I suspect he indicate to you that they would still like to get a full 82 game season in. We of course share that view and would like to get a full 82 game season in,” said Donald Fehr, NHLPA Executive Director.
Bettman says he hopes to see the puck drop on a new season as early as Nov. 2. The offer proposes that each team hold one additional game every five weeks to accommodate a full season.
“We believe this was a fair offer for a long term deal and it's one that we hope gets a positive reaction so that we can drop the puck on November 2nd,” said Bettman.
Members of the Calgary Flames were practicing at COP and would not say if they support the proposal but they did say that negotiations are moving in the right direction.
“They made a substantial closer to or at 50-50, I don’t know how may years, I don’t know all that stuff but I think it’s important that there’s movement right? That’s what we were hoping that both sides got together and there was going to be some movement and so that’s a good thing and the idea that there could still be 82 games, I think would be great. I think it would be great for the fans. I think it would be good for us as players too, we wanna play, and everyone else involved,” said Flames Captain, Jerome Iginla.
“I'm excited, I think it shows that they want to play. That’s one of the things, we weren't sure to what point what do they want to do exactly. You know, they're the owner, they run the show so to speak, we want to play and I’m excited to see that they came to a deal, I’m not sure what the deal is but just by the 50-50 it’s certainly much closer than what it was the first few times around and we’ll see where it goes from here,” said Alex Tanguay.
A deal between the league and the players would come as welcome relief to many local bars and sports stores that rely on the games to bring in business.
Many are getting through the lockout by showing other sports on the big screens and by rearranging their merchandise.
Fans are also adapting by watching other sports and spending their entertainment dollars elsewhere.
“Because they can't get anything done I think we're kind of moved on for now. I know there's a lot of people who aren't too impressed and when it does come back I’ve heard about some people boycotting,” said sports fan, Curtis Hudson.
“I'm also into the arts as well, so going to see theatre, and musical shows, live shows and other things. So it's nice to know I can put my support toward other people who aren't gonna lockout,” said fan Matt Brault.
The last lockout during 2004-2005, led to the cancellation of the entire season and the economic impact was felt by many.
One Calgary bar on the Red Mile reported a 30 percent cut to revenues that year.
The NHLPA says it looks like the current proposal would be good for at least six years.
