The minutes are peeling off the clock, which means the NHL is getting ever closer to its midnight shutdown.
The collective bargaining agreement expires tonight, and the last day of the deal has started slowly. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the second in command for the NHL and NHL Players' Association, Bill Daly and Steve Fehr, respectively, will talk this morning and set the course of action. Dreger also says neither side expects much.
The players are well-aware the league is willing to lock its doors on its employees given the past history. Commissioner Gary Bettman had a temporary lockout in 1994 and a seasonlong shutdown in 2004.
"We know the lengths that the owners and Gary are willing to go, so it is intimidating," Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller said. "All we have is our bond and how strongly we stick together and how strongly we feel about the agreement that we can work out. We strongly feel right now that our proposal is a good proposal, and what they’re proposing is not going to work for us as it’s written right now."
---John Vogl
