The N.H.L. may have reached the brink of canceling the 2012-13 season, with an announcement Thursday that it had scratched another two weeks’ worth of games, through Jan. 14.
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Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said on Toronto radio Wednesday that the point of no return for saving the N.H.L. season was “sometime in mid-January.”

In 1994-95, the N.H.L. played a 48-game schedule after settling a lockout on Jan. 11 and resuming play Jan. 20. Commissioner Gary Bettman said this month that to have “a season of integrity,” he could not imagine playing a schedule of fewer than 48 games.

No negotiations were scheduled between the league and the N.H.L. Players’ Association as of Thursday afternoon. The sides had not met since the previous Thursday.

Donald Fehr, the union’s executive director, said that the players wanted to renew negotiations but added that “the owners have not indicated a desire to resume.”

Last Friday, the union announced that players would vote to authorize its executive board to disclaim interest and essentially dissolve the union, opening the way for players to file possible antitrust suits against the N.H.L. The N.H.L. responded by filing suit in federal court in New York arguing that its lockout was legal, and filing a claim before the National Labor Relations Board that the union was bargaining in bad faith.

A five-day-long electronic vote by players on the disclaimer authorization ended Thursday. The players were expected to approve authorization.

The latest N.H.L. announcement brings the number of canceled regular-season games to 625, or 50.8 percent of the season.

The previous N.H.L. lockout caused the cancellation of the entire 2004-5 N.H.L. season. It remains the only major North American sports season to be entirely lost to a labor dispute.

The league has now canceled 2,323 games in three lockouts since Bettman became commissioner in 1993, about 10 percent of the games originally scheduled during his tenure.

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Seems that Bettman kinda bites at his job eh?

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Seems that Bettman kinda bites at his job eh?

 dogma wrote:

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
Seems that Bettman kinda bites at his job eh?

That depends on who you talk to. Under Bettman the NHL has generated fantastic amounts of revenue growth.

 Rainbow Dash wrote:
eh hockey is dead to me, a bunch of greedy people wanting more money from other greedy people

djones520 wrote:

Under Bettmen they've also lost fantastic amounts.

djones520 wrote:

I say it's time for him to go. Both sides are certainly to blame here, but he has overseen a lockout everytime the bargaining agreement has come back up for renegotiation.

 dogma wrote:

djones520 wrote:

Under Bettmen they've also lost fantastic amounts.

Mostly on his instance to expand to small markets, which has been his greatest sin; with Phoenix being the obvious example.

djones520 wrote:

I say it's time for him to go. Both sides are certainly to blame here, but he has overseen a lockout everytime the bargaining agreement has come back up for renegotiation.

I agree with that, though I would also argue that it is the general desire of the ownership to break the NHLPA, especially after it contracted Fehr. From my perspective Bettman is attempting to push for greater contract restrictions in order to enable small market teams to compete, which is fine if it isn't so blatant as the Owner/NHL current demands are.

The NHL lockout has had a “minimal impact” on players because of the worldwide market for their services, the league says in a 43-page class-action complaint now before a New York court.

The league also claims player contracts will be voided should they go ahead with threats to disband their union because, in the NHL’s view, all existing agreements would cease to exist.

The NHL made these claims Friday in a move widely viewed as a pre-emptive strike to prevent players from seeking damages under antitrust, or anti-competition, laws.

On Sunday, players are expected to begin a five-day online vote on whether to give the union executive power to seek decertification, with a two-thirds majority required. It’s believed such a move would lead to players filing antitrust cases, which have been used in recent years in the NBA and NFL to force leagues back to the bargaining table, resulting in more favourable settlements.

The NHL, meanwhile, is asking the courts to declare the lockout, entering day 92 on Sunday, legal and therefore not in violation of any antitrust laws. The league has also filed an unfair practices complaint with the National Labour Relations Board to prevent the union from dissolving.

The class action complaint — which names 36 players, including the entire NHLPA negotiating committee — contends the lockout doesn’t violate antitrust law because more than 100 locked-out players are earning income from professional leagues in Russia, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere.

“These professional leagues are viable substitutes for the NHL, as evidence by the fact that NHL players routinely elect to play in a European league instead of the NHL,” the complaint states. “More than 100 players are currently playing abroad and during the NHL’s previous lockout more than 400 players elected to play in Europe. For this reason, the impact of the NHL lockout on the market for their services is minimal.”

By filing a “disclaimer of interest” to dissolve the union, should voting players decide that is their next step, NHLers hope to gain leverage in their continuing labour dispute. Another vote would be necessary for players to officially decertify, telling the league that the NHLPA no longer represents them.

If that happens, players would be free to file lawsuits and seek an injunction to end the lockout or win monetary damages. Under U.S. law, owners/employers can’t lock out employees who aren’t in a union, with penalties equal to triple lost wages.

Last week, several players said publically that they were 100 per cent behind NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr in search of an end to the lockout, which began Sept. 15.

The league contends the pending vote is simply a ploy to secure a more favourable collective agreement — backing up its claim with examples of players’ public comments, including on Twitter.

In response to the league’s move, the union said the NHL’s claims are “completely without merit."

 Chowderhead wrote:
Boston will riot w/o the schadenfreude from the Bruins.

It will rain cats and dogs, mass hysteria, etc.

 mega_bassist wrote:
Blues hockey is the only thing I like about winter....Gah, It just blows my mind that they can't reach any sort of agreement. I keep hearing that talks are getting "promising"...but nothing ever happens. So frustrating...

 Alfndrate wrote:

 Chowderhead wrote:
Boston will riot w/o the schadenfreude from the Bruins.

It will rain cats and dogs, mass hysteria, etc.

Don't forget the beans that were baked in boston. The streets will run red with the blood of the innocent, and they shall be interred by the thick sludge of boston baked beans..

Alfndrate wrote:

 Chowderhead wrote:
Boston will riot w/o the schadenfreude from the Bruins.

It will rain cats and dogs, mass hysteria, etc.

Don't forget the beans that were baked in boston. The streets will run red with the blood of the innocent, and they shall be interred by the thick sludge of boston baked beans..

 SoloFalcon1138 wrote:
good. maybe people will see sports in a different light now. the teams don't care about the fans, their paychecks are already written. for a normal union to have struck for this long, you'd see guys quitting and getting new jobs as their families are now homeless and hungry.

I'm sorry, I know athletes go through a lot to get to be professional, but seriously, I'd love to be able to whine that I'm only making $1.2 million to play a game...

 CIsaac wrote:

 SoloFalcon1138 wrote:
good. maybe people will see sports in a different light now. the teams don't care about the fans, their paychecks are already written. for a normal union to have struck for this long, you'd see guys quitting and getting new jobs as their families are now homeless and hungry.

I'm sorry, I know athletes go through a lot to get to be professional, but seriously, I'd love to be able to whine that I'm only making $1.2 million to play a game...

It's a lockout, not a strike. The players were more than willing to come to work, but the owners aren't letting them.

Aside from that, today I'm wearing my Dallas Stars jersey in commemoration of their undefeated season! Nevermind that every other team has the same record.

KalashnikovMarine wrote:Seems that Bettman kinda bites at his job eh?

 SoloFalcon1138 wrote:
good. maybe people will see sports in a different light now. the teams don't care about the fans, their paychecks are already written. for a normal union to have struck for this long, you'd see guys quitting and getting new jobs as their families are now homeless and hungry.

I'm sorry, I know athletes go through a lot to get to be professional, but seriously, I'd love to be able to whine that I'm only making $1.2 million to play a game...

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:

So you watch no sports at all then?