NEW YORK, N.Y. – The start of the 2010-11 National Hockey League pre-season is just over a week away but reports indicate that the league and the National Hockey League Officials Association (NHLOA) have yet to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, leaving many to wonder if a strike is eminent.
Image credit: National Hockey League
“We don’t anticipate any game disruptions and I don’t believe the officials do either,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Toronto Sun via e-mail. “We are continuing in the process of getting a new deal and have every expectation we will get one done in due course.”
While talks continue, officials working in both the American Hockey League and the ECHL say they have been contacted to find out if they have interest in acting as replacement NHL officials should the two sides fail to reach an agreement.
An un-named official contacted by THN.com said he would not become a scab but added “there are a lot of my colleagues that are surprisingly jumping at the chance.”
If these reports are true, it would indicate that the NHL is putting a contingency plan together in case the worse happens. It may also be a possible negotiating tactic to show the union that the league isn’t concerned with the threat of a work stoppage by its members.
Neither side is saying much about negotiations or bargaining points. The NHL has said that the previous agreement expired on August 31st but the NHLOA hasn’t commented on whether or not the agreement has in fact expired or even if the two sides are currently negotiating a new deal.
The NHL has utilized replacement officials in the past. During the 1993-94 season, NHLOA members voted to go on strike after a lack of progress was made toward getting a new CBA signed. The strike lasted for 17 days before an agreement was signed.
NHL officials completed their annual training camp in Ontario on Friday and have received their officiating assignments for the pre-season, which opens with the following nine games on September 21st ( All Times Eastern):
Ottawa @ Toronto, 7pm
New Jersey @ Philadelphia, 7pm Florida @ Carolina, 7pm Columbus @ Atlanta, 7pm Colorado @ St. Louis, 8pm Tampa Bay @ Dallas, 8:30pm Vancouver @ Calgary (split squads), 9pm Calgary @ Vancouver (split squads), 10pm Phoenix @ Anaheim, 10pm
The NHL says that they will proceed with the pre-season as scheduled even if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t in place. For now, it remains uncertain who will be officiating those games.
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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