'Drop dead date' looms as NHL lockout talks hit standstill

The chances of the NHL season being cancelled continue to increase as a report from Sports Business Journal says if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement isn’t reached within a week, games through December 15th will be cancelled. The report adds that a “drop dead date” could come next as a threat to wipe out the entire season.

In an email to the Associated Press, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said, ”No meetings scheduled, and no plans to meet.”

The NHL met with the Players’ Association four straight days last week before talks broke off Friday night, only to resume again Sunday. But that meeting lasted less than two hours, and no negotiations have happened since.

A sub-story to the lockout is the alleged demonization of commissioner Gary Bettman. A CBC report suggests NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr instructed players to publicly go after Bettman. Not surprisingly, the players’ association is denying the allegation.