Distrust continues to creep into the NHL's stalled labour negotiations.
The NHL Players' Association was questioning the league's motives after news surfaced Tuesday that team owners and general managers were given a 48-hour window last week to speak with players about the NHL's latest contract offer.
"Most owners are not allowed to attend bargaining meetings," said Steve Fehr, the NHLPA's special counsel. "No owners are allowed to speak to the media about the bargaining. It is interesting that they are secretly unleashed to talk to the players about the meetings the players can attend, but the owners cannot."
The window was granted at the same time the NHL took the unusual step of publishing its entire proposal on its website last Wednesday. Team employees were told they could answer questions about the offer from players until 11: 59 p.m. on Friday.
"Players were contacting club personnel to inquire about our proposal," said deputy commissioner Bill Daly. "We gave them a limited window in which to respond to those inquiries."
The NHL's up-and-down negotiations have stalled just days before a deadline to save the entire season. On Tuesday evening, the NHLPA requested a meeting today at the league's New York office.
However, Daly said that it wouldn't be granted since the union hadn't shown any interest in the NHL's most recent proposal and wasn't ready to table another offer of its own.
"What would we be meeting about?" said Daly.
Tension seems to be growing between the parties with the lockout now in its sixth week.
The NHL sent out guidelines prior to allowing club personnel to speak with players for the first time since the work stoppage began on Sept. 15, but didn't alert the union it was doing so. In a lengthy internal memo obtained by the Canadian Press, the league stated clearly to teams that the discussions had to be limited to the contents of the proposal.
It also provided examples of questions that shouldn't be asked of players and noted that any violation would be subject to NHL bylaw 17.17, which grants commissioner Gary Bettman the power to levy fines up to $250,000.
"You may not ask [a player] what he or others have in mind," the memo read. "If he volunteers what he has in mind you should not respond positively or negatively or ask any questions but instead refer him to the NHLPA.
"Likewise, you may not suggest hypothetical proposals that the league might make in the future or that the league might entertain from the union."
With no deal in sight, more top players have set their sights on Europe. Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane signed with EHC Biel in Switzerland on Tuesday, just days after Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom packed his bags for Dynamo Moscow in the KHL.
