Wednesday was a major day for the 2012 NHL lockout. After what seemed like solid talks on Tuesday between the players and owners, the two sides reconvened before the Board of Governors meetings.
During the BOG, Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the media to inform that the process of negotiations was continuing.
"We are pleased with the process that is ongoing and out of respect for that process I don't have anything else to say and I'm not going to take any questions," said Bettman.
The owners and players then continued their meetings without the presence of Bettman or NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr.
According to NHL.com, the owners present at the meeting included Ron Burkle (Pittsburgh Penguins), Mark Chipman (Winnipeg Jets), Murray Edwards (Calgary Flames), Jeremy Jacobs (Boston Bruins) Larry Tanenbaum (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay Lightning). Representing the players were Craig Adams, David Backes, Michael Cammalleri, Chris Campoli, Sidney Crosby, B.J. Crombeen, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Ron Hainsey, Shawn Horcoff, Jamal Mayers, Manny Malhotra, Ryan Miller, George Parros, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, Jonathan Toews, Kevin Westgarth and Daniel Winnik.
After Tuesday's meeting, both sides were complementary of how the negotiations went. "I appreciate the efforts of the players, in particular we had 18 players in there [Tuesday] and six of our owners," said Deputy Commission Bill Daly. "I think everybody is working hard. I think everybody wants to get a deal done, so I think that's encouraging. We look forward to hopefully making more progress [Wednesday]."
Fehr added that "I thought it was a constructive day, we had a good dialogue," Steve Fehr said. "In some ways I'd say it might be the best day we've had, which isn't to paint too overly optimistic of a picture. There is still a lot of work to do and a lot to get done, but we'll be back at it [Wednesday] morning."
According to Eklund of Hockeybuzz.com, there is a commitment to keep working until the deal gets done. The website also indicates that the NHLPA has submitted a new offer and that the owners have reviewed and it seems that Bettman has placed a mandate that the CBA be done by Friday. Eklund states that the new deal includes a 10 year deal with an option on the final two and it seems that there is a committment to get the deal done by Thursday or Friday.
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