Agreement In Principle, Season Could Be ‘Uncancelled’ Tomorrow

Reports have just surfaced that a meeting has been schedule for tomorrow evening in New York City between the NHL and NHLPA where it is expected they will put the signatures down on paper to formalize a new CBA that has apparently been agreed to in principle. A source close to the league said when asked whether he expects a deal to get done, “I don’t see any way it wouldn’t.”

The proposed deal would include a $45 million salary cap; a number that many believed would have got a deal done earlier in the week. Secret talks have been ongoing since yesterday when a group of influential owners and players expressed deep concern with the direction the league was heading in. It has been reported from numerous sources that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux played key roles in sparking dialogue between the two sides that have led to this agreement in principle on a new CBA.

I have said all along that canceling an entire season would be a decision worthy of an ‘idiot award’ because there is no way to predict the massive damage this would inflict on the game. I always believed that if the people in charge had the slightest bit of intelligence, they would realize how destructive a cancelled season would be. Finally, it seems they may have come to their senses.

On Wednesday, when Gary Bettman delivered the formal cancellation of the season, this was likely not an announcement to signal the end of the season but rather an announcement to make clear to the NHLPA just how serious the economic problems are with the league. It is likely the NHLPA did not believe the NHL would come out and cancel the season. In response, the NHL did just that to drive home how serious the league is about the problems that they are having. At that point the NHLPA probably realized that the NHL means business and there is no way the players will get their way this time.

After canceling the season, both the NHL and the NHLPA likely went through a feeling of shock before they both realized just how incorrect a decision was made. It was that realization that likely brought the sides back to the bargaining table to give it one last shot. Hopefully by tomorrow, we will be using hockey terms like teams, players, games, schedules and season instead of financial terms like cost certainty, salary caps, and revenue linkage. I think everyone has heard enough of those.