Still No Progress In NHL Meetings
ISELIN, N.J. (Sports Network) - The NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association met with federal mediators for a second straight day Thursday, but the meetings apparently were unproductive again.
The two sides decided to meet again Thursday after getting together for a little more than six hours Wednesday.
On Thursday, the NHL was represented by legal counsel Bob Batterman at the office of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Iselin, NJ. NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr and special counsel Steve Fehr were among the union representatives present.
Meanwhile, Steve Fehr and Batterman sat in on a meeting with mediator Scot Beckenbaugh and agreed to talk Friday, either by phone or in person.
"I think we're done with contact tonight; we're still working on a bunch of stuff as we always are," Steve Fehr said. "I expect there will be contact (with the League on Friday); not sure if it will be by telephone or in person, or if it is in person where it will be.
"It's good that we're talking. It's better than not talking and we'll see what happens."
The two sides also met with mediators on Nov. 28 and 29, but those meetings broke off without progress being made.
Thursday's meeting comes three days after the National Hockey League eliminated another block of games from the schedule with the lockout nearing a full three months.
Games from Dec. 15 through Dec. 30 were the latest to be wiped out, bringing the total to 526 lost to the lockout that started Sept. 16. The Winter Classic on New Year's Day was also canceled, as was the All-Star Weekend in late January.
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