Game on? Not quite yet, apparently. Despite published reports to the contrary, both the NHL and the NHLPA are denying that a collective bargaining agreement has been reached to end the lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-2005 season. Both the league and the union say they are close to an agreement but deny a report published by the 'Los Angeles Times' saying the two sides have already reached an settlement.
'The report is inaccurate,' players' association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon told the Associated Press.
In an e-mail statement, NHL vice president of communications Bernadette Mansur added, 'The media report that the NHL and the NHLPA have an agreement in principle is simply not true.'
According to the story published in the 'Los Angeles Times' which cited an anonymous source close to the negotiations, a hard salary cap will be put into place linked to 54 percent of league revenues. There will also be a 24 percent salary rollback on current salaries with existing contracts. The report also said that no one player could take up more than 20 percent of a team's salary cap.
The report claims that the salary cap for 2005-2006 would be $37 million per team and would not include pension, medical or dental benefits.
Each team would have an equal chance at a lottery to determine this year's draft order. The league would also not hold an All-Star game in 2006 but would allow players to participate in the Olympics in Turin, Italy.
The article also claims there will be a meeting of the NHL board of governors Monday in New York to vote on the agreement.
'There is no BOG (board of governors) meeting scheduled at this time,' Mansur told the Associated Press.
The league and the union have been quietly negotiating for weeks now and are rumored to be close to a deal. The fact that there isn't a deal seems to be the only thing the union and the league have agreed upon over the last few months. Hockey fans hope that will soon change.
