NEW YORK (AP) — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says it looks like a full-82 game schedule “is not going to be a reality,” as the lockout nears its seventh week.
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday announcing the New York Islanders’ move from Nassau Coliseum to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2015, Bettman seemed resigned to looking at a shortened season with the NHL and the players’ association still at odds after months of negotiations.
Thursday is Bettman’s deadline to reach a new collective bargaining agreement in time to preserve a full season. But talks have not been scheduled for this week at all. Last week, Bettman offered up a third proposal to the NHLPA in Toronto, but he and union head Donald Fehr did not come to a deal.
This is the third lockout of Bettman’s tenure. The stoppage began on Sept. 15.
