Statement from Larry Tanenbaum (Leafs Owner) / Ron Burkle's (Penguins)
 

http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/news....L%7CTOR%7Chome


Statement From Larry Tanenbaum, NHL Governor And Chairman of MLSE
Thursday, 06.12.2012 / 8:47 PM / News

“I was pleased to be asked to join the Player/Owner negotiation sessions. I had hoped that my perspective both as a businessman and as one of the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs would be helpful to the process. Like all other teams, this work stoppage has hurt our fans, our employees and our business. Neither the owners nor the players will ever recover the losses incurred with this work stoppage.

I understand how important it is to have a strong league and 30 healthy teams. I must admit that I was shocked at how things have played out over the last 48 hours. The sessions on Tuesday felt cooperative with an air of goodwill. I was optimistic and conveyed my optimism to the Board of Governors at our Wednesday meeting. However, when we reconvened with the players on Wednesday afternoon, it was like someone had thrown a switch. The atmosphere had completely changed. Nevertheless, the owners tried to push forward and made a number of concessions and proposals, which were not well-received. I question whether the union is interested in making an agreement.

I am very disappointed and disillusioned. Had I not experienced this process myself, I might not have believed it. Like all hockey fans, I am hopeful this situation can be resolved as soon as possible. I miss our game


Pittsburgh Penguins owner Ron Burkle's statement:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...medium=twitter
Quote:
"The idea to put players and owners together in the same room was a refreshing idea. Commissioner (Gary) Bettman should be thanked for proposing it and (Donald and Steve Fehr of the NHLPA should be thanked for agreeing to it.

"The players came with a strong desire to get back to playing hockey. They were professional and did a good job of expressing their concerns and listening to ours.

"We wanted to move quickly and decisively. We have all spent too much time without any real progress at the expense of our fans, our sponsor and the communities we serve. It was time to make bold moves and get a deal. Many people think we got over our skis and they are probably right, but we wanted to do everything we could to get back to hockey now. We didn't hold back.

"We made substantial movement on our end quickly, but unfortunately that was not met with the same level of movement from the other side. The players asked us to be patient and keep working with them. It's not what they do and they wanted us to know they were committed. We understood and appreciated their situation. We came back with an aggressive commitment to pensions which we felt was well received. We needed a response on key items that were important to us, but we were optimistic that we were down to very few issues. I believe a deal was within reach.

"We were therefore surprised when the Fehrs made a unilateral and 'non-negotiable' decision -- which is their right, to end the player/owner process that has moved us farther in two days than we moved at any time in the past months.

"I want to thank the players involved for their hard work as we tried to reach a deal.

"I hope that going backwards does not prevent a deal."

First Published December 6, 2012 8:51 pm

Very interesting read. Take it for what you will. Thought I share it with you guys. This was just released about 9pm Eastern Time Dec 6th.

tweet from Dater

From deep inside players side: "We were ready to play again. But Don came in (Wed.) and told us we could get more and to hold out"

seems pretty obvious what caused the chill

And unlike that cheapskate owner Jeremy Jacobs in Boston, Tanenbaum is seen as very respectful of the players and wants to see a deal done.

Yeah, that's a disappointing quote. We know what happened. Both sides are going to regret this so badly.

Who's dater?

adrian dater - beat writer for the avalanche

Thanks a lot for that. Tanenbaum sounds like a real decent guy and a true hockey guy. Extremely disappointing what he is communicating about the players response to these latest negotiation efforts.

Just because Fehr did a lot for players years ago, doesn't make him some genius that is doing the right thing this time.

The players would have been better off with Paul Kelly.

Does Bettman control the owners in this way? I don't think so!

There must still be a majority of players still supporting Fehr; either that or the players have all become puppets of the puppet-master.

After this, I think we'll see more angry quotes from players coming out against Fehr.

That "cheapskate" spends to the cap, every year.

Pittsburgh Penguins owner Ron Burkle's statement:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...medium=twitter

Looks like the players trolled the owners LOL.

Anyway, this is a garage league. Just cancel the season already. I wonder if Edmonton will get the #1 pick again this year.

He's always been cheap. He's a cancer to the league.

After the last lockout, the NHL changed their rules so that it only takes 7 members of the BoG to shoot down an offer. If there are 7 teams dead set on this lockout until the players cave... there won't be any hockey until the players cave.

proof?

And charges tax on cup rings :laugh:

Burkle has made billions because of his business savvy. He's also won The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Man of the Year. Gotta trust him here. I only here good things about the guy.

Edit: OP you may want to add the Burkle quote to your original post just so it's easier for the thread newcomers to find.

did he elaborate to the players what "more" was? or did he just say "you can get more" without any basis

Do you not know the history of the Boston Bruins? He's been cheap for decades. Everyone knows this. Ask Adam Oates, Ray Bourque, ETC.

People blamed Sinden for being cheap, but it was Jacobs pulling the financial strings.

The "Ray Bourque" salary cap kept Boston with an affordable payroll for 15 years.

Im sorry,

This is so sad where there is finally some "adult" movement and as soon as Fehr gets his word it everything is off.

I am obsessed with Hockey and these events make me not want to support it when it does come back "13/14".I will..... as sad as it is but I am glad Tanenbaum said what he said but I really think they need to loose Betman and Fehr for all talks and........... get the out of hockey!

I could, and did for a brief while, believe that these were genuine statements and not for PR purposes... until I realized that every owner deemed 'moderate' in the meetings each released one, all with similar messages. Seems like a PR stunt.

I think they genuinely wanted to get a deal done here and they were doing a pretty good job until that process got derailed. Got further than when any of the two leaders have been involved.

I have no reason to believe their disappointment isn't genuine, just as I have no reason to believe Crosby's is.

It's easy to become cynical because of the mess this entire process has been, but I think the new owners and the moderate players wanted this to work.

Has the PA acknowledged or commented on this?

So if this did happen, theoretically, would you expect them to have different messages?