NHL Losers Continue Labor Talks

NHL labor negotiations resume today in Toronto, with many commentators predicting a new collective agreement by the end of June. A few, like this guy at the Toronto Sun, say it's all over but the paper work, and that the result is a resounding victory for the NHL.

Unless recent media reports are way off base, it appears the owners will get what they want - a salary cap starting somewhere under $40 million per team; some sort of link between salaries and league revenues. Whether this means the owners "won" won't become clear for a few years, after we've seen the new deal in action.

The players have moved off their initial stance, apparently dropping their objections to a salary cap and the "link-to-revenues" plan. This inevitably makes for strained relations within the Players' Association, with TSN's Bob McKenzie reporting that a group of hard-line players will try to scuttle the current push for a deal.

But any talk of winners and losers misses the larger point: nobody will come out of this looking good. Consider the latest announcement from ESPN, which says it isn't interested in broadcasting NHL games unless it can have them for free. Can you spot the winner in that story? Hint: if you know a puck from a penalty box, it isn't you.