The National Hockey League's Board of Governors -- the consortium of 30 men who own each club -- has voted on Thursday afternoon in unanimous fashion to authorize a lockout if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is not struck by Saturday's deadline.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement on Thursday afternoon in New York, adding a few choice quotes on the matter, casting himself as a man at the mercy of forces beyond his control: "This is very hard and I feel terrible about it... No one wants to play hockey more than I do. It's my life."
It was an undesirable outcome despite the pronouncements from the NHLPA about the solidarity
of its members, making their presence known in Manhattan with two days to go before a third work stoppage in 18 years commences.
"We're not dealing with stupid people on the other side," said NHLPA's Don Fehr. "Sure, they're frustrated -- they want an agreement."
One thing at stake is the semantics of the NHL's proposal from earlier in the week. Bettman defended it in light of the lockout threat, saying the deal is apparently not off the table once Saturday's deadline rolls around.
However, logic might dictate that the offer would be off the table if it is not agreed to by the players' union by 11:59 PM on the 15th, especially if the owners have given authorization to lock the players out at that time.
The union's site contains a list of those 283 players in attendance.
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