NEW YORK, 10 July 2005 — The National Hockey League moved for the second straight day on Friday to squelch reports that it has reached a tentative agreement with the players union on a new labor contract.
“Given additional media reports, the NHL again denies that there is an agreement in principle between the league and the NHLPA,” the league said in a statement.
Following a published report in Thursday’s Los Angeles Times that stated an agreement had been reached, both the NHL and the union issued statements of denial.
The sides, which have held discussions every day since Monday, will continue to meet this weekend, however.
Citing “sources familiar with the labor negotiations” on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times said the tentative agreement, likely to be announced next week, features a hard cap linked to 54 percent of league revenue, a 24 percent rollback in existing player contracts and qualifying offers, and a provision that would prevent any one player from earning more than 20 percent of the team’s cap figure in any given year.
According to the Times, the new contract would also allow for NHL players to compete in the Winter Olympics in Turin. Other media outlets have also reported mounting expectations that a new deal would be announced soon.
On Feb. 16, Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the 2004-05 season, making the NHL the first major North American sports league to have an entire season wiped out due to a labor dispute.
