Late afternoon meeting held today between NHL and NHLPA!

It might not sound like much to you, however, you have to admit that fans across the National Hockey League will want to hear any news possible on any developments regarding the start of the 2021 season. On Wednesday morning, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that “NHLPA has another Executive Board call (31 player reps) scheduled for late afternoon today to update things on negotiations with the NHL on the ’21 season.”

LeBrun adds that a previous meeting took place last Thursday, though the NHL has not yet scheduled its next Board of Governors meeting just yet.

In a recent interview, deputy commissioner Bill Daly did confirm that the NHL was considering different schedules options for the regular-season calendar and playoffs. One would have all teams hosting games in their home arenas and another would require all teams to play in hub cities “that would be determined based on where there are the fewest COVID-19 cases.”

If the league is forced to proceed with the idea of having multiple hub cities, Daly stated that the safety protocols wouldn’t be as strict as what was done in Edmonton and Toronto this past summer for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Late on Tuesday night, it was Larry Brooks’ turn to share an important report on what might be coming next in negotiations. He revealed that “the NHL is seeking financial concessions in the form of a 13 percent deferral on 2020-21 pay from players as an opening gambit in Return to Play negotiations for the 2020-21 season”, according to multiples sources. While the Post isn’t aware yet on how the NHL’s Players Association will respond to this, it is clear that it will affect negotiations moving forward. 

While this be part of the call today? Who knows, but at least they’re talking.