On Monday night, the NHL had a major reason to celebrate despite entering the 58th day of the lockout.
On Monday, the NHL inducted four new members into its Hall of Fame including Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Pavel Bure, and Adam Oates. Despite the celebration, the conversation regarding hockey's future was brought up to those representing its past.
Hall of Famer Brett Hull sent a cautionary message to the league and the players in dealing with the current negotiations. "They need to figure out right now how to fix it, and so it doesn't happen again, because, let's face it, we're not baseball, we're not football, we're not basketball," said Hull. "We're kind of the fourth kid in the major sport market, and if you keep doing this, the fans are going to leave-and we need the fans.
Hall of Famer Dino Cicarelli added that "I think people will accept it if they start playing again soon...But I think it's getting to the point, in Michigan, where the fans are getting impatient. I think if they get to Christmas, it's really going to hurt the game."
Despite the warnings from Monday night, the NHL entered its 59th day of the lockout and made no new progress. According to the Washington Post, no meetings were established for Tuesday or for the near future between the two sides. "There is nothing new, and no meetings have been planned," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press on Tuesday via email.
Last week the two sides met almost everyday but little progress was made regarding any of the major issues. The NHLPA stated that the owners would make no concessions on contracts and were hurting players' abilities to negotiate their contracts. NHL Poster Boy Sidney Crosby also expressed annoyance with the lack of progress. "I don't really know what (the owners) have given up to this point," Crosby told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "They're trying to take away all the contracting rights."
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