Puzzled by the events of a bizarre day in the contentious labor battle between NHL owners and players, Ducks winger Dan Winnik didn?t want to wait and read about why the league rejected the latest proposal put forth by his union.
Ducks winger Dan Winnik (center) is flanked by Winnipeg?s Ron Hainsey and free agent Chris Campoli as the three listen in on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman?s press conference Thursday.
As NHL commissioner Gary Bettman steamed in ticking off the reasons why a deal wasn?t reached to end the lockout, Winnik and other players slipped into the back of conference room full of reporters at a New York City hotel to hear it directly from the source.
In short, Winnik was taken aback at the assertion from the Bettman that the players? association doesn?t want to reach an accord.
?They asked us to address their three main issues,? said Winnik, who?s been part of the NHLPA?s negotiating committee from the beginning. ?And that?s what we thought we were doing today. We didn?t know by us not completely agreeing to what they want was that?s it.
?I should say we didn?t think it would lead to that.?
Bettman told assembled media that most elements of the owners? offer were now off the table. It included their willingness to?beef up their amount?in deferred payments to fulfill existing player contracts?from $211 million to $300 million.
Owners also offered to keep eligibility for free agency at 27 years of age and salary arbitration rights. But the NHLPA had to accept a 10-year deal ? which both sides could opt out after eight ? and limit players? contracts to a maximum of five years.
The union countered Thursday with an eight-year agreement and contracts to last no longer than eight years but the NHL ? after apparent progress made over two days ? wanted a deal struck Wednesday night and was angered when one wasn?t made.
For now, it appears the only path to a new deal is if players are willing to accept the owners? terms. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the five-year contract limit is ?the hill we will die on.?
?This is clearly their boldest move they?ve made,? Winnik said. ?And to think that if everything?s off the table and everything that was done since June or the first time we met is all gone, it is insane to me.
?That?s just insane to think that any progress we made is gone because we refused to accept those contracting rights.?
The last-resort maneuver of union decertification may now pick up steam. It would allow individual players to bring lawsuits against the league and declare the lockout illegal under antitrust laws.
Asked whether decertification is more of an option now following the latest breakdown in talks, Winnik simply said ?you can make your own judgment on that.?
A tempest of emotion was the order of the day and it wasn?t limited to Winnik. Ducks winger Matt Beleskey tweeted: ?Pulling offers off the table in December? This on an off business is ridiculous!!! Sit down, negotiate and figure it out!?
Owners also spoke out for the first time through league-allowed statements after staying quiet largely by the threat of a $1 million fine.
?While I sense there are some members of the players association that understand our perspective on these issues, clearly there are many that don?t,? Winnipeg Jets owner Mark Chipman said.
Said the Toronto Maple Leafs? Larry Tanenbaum: ?I am very disappointed and disillusioned. Had I not experienced this process myself, I might not have believed it.?
Winnik said he wasn?t of the belief that the sides had an agreement because there were still some conflict over the player contracting rights.
For instance, it is his contention that the owners? insistence on no more than a five-percent salary variance between years will result in players having larger salary-cap hits and leaving less for teams to sign depth players.
In detailing the players? offer Thursday, Fehr said his side proposed a maximum 25-percent variance between years. Owners are pushing their number in order to prevent long-term deals with little money in the final years to circumvent the cap.
?You get into a problem of only star players and the highest-paid players making the money and there?s no middle class,? Winnik said. ?That was a problem for us.
?We addressed that with a proposal which we gave them today. It?s unfortunate that they tend to give proposals with a deadline where it?s take it or leave it. This is not the first time that we have heard that.?
But what incensed Winnik were implications that the players? desire to bring NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr back into the bargaining sessions killed a potential deal.
Players and owners met all day Tuesday without Fehr and Bettman at the table and appeared to find common ground on previous sticking points but owners.
?I think it?s insane to think that this broke down because we stopped meeting [solely] as players and owners,? Winnik said. ?We have a union and a head of that union and we hired him for a reason because he is the best at what he does.
?I just think that?s completely ridiculous if people are saying this didn?t get gone because we wanted Don back in the room and that it?s Don?s fault.?
Until now, Winnik has been firm in his belief that an agreement would be reached and there would be hockey played on the ice. Now the veteran is starting to seriously contemplate whether another NHL season will be canceled due to labor strife.
?Yeah, I think it kind of dims the light of optimism, for me at least,? he said. ?I guess that?s what everyone?s got to wonder now.
?This isn?t enjoyable for anybody.?
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Source: http://ducks.ocregister.com/2012/12/07/winnik-baffled-at-nhls-reaction-to-union-offer/113811/
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