Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Bettman on CBA discussion: “We’re not there yet”

NHL Awards Portraits

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 22: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman poses for a portrait during the 2011 NHL Awards at the Palms Casino Resort June 22, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Times have been good for hockey fans and the NHL the last few years. Still, with the CBA set to expire this summer and feared labor leader Donald Fehr heading the NHLPA, the specter of another lockout looms in the background.

The last thing people want to think about is the prolonged negotiations that messed up the current NBA season - or worse - so many hope that both sides of the equation will be proactive. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman admits that talks haven’t gotten off the ground just yet, though.

Bettman said there is contact on a regular basis with the union, and he thinks talks will begin “sooner rather than later, but we’re not there yet.”

No news isn’t necessarily good news in this situation, but it’s silly to get too worried about things in mid-February.

In the mean time, Bettman and the NHL have other issues to sort out. Bettman said “very serious people” are taking a “very serious look” at buying the Phoenix Coyotes, so take what you will from that.