Donald Fehr maintains sides were close in NHL talks

• Campoli on contract limits: 'You're going to see the middle class essentially being eliminated'

Two days after NHL talks blew up in New York, players association executive director Donald Fehr maintained Saturday that the sides were close to an agreement before the league pulled the plug on talks.

"We think we're either done on the dollars or very close to it with the exception of one issue called transition that we haven't even discussed yet. It seemed to me that we ought to be able to move forward and try and finish it off," Fehr told news reporters in Toronto. "So far, at least, they haven't indicated a willingness to continue discussions."

The league had offered to increase its "make whole" clause to $300 million to ease the blow to players' existing contracts as their share of revenue fell from 57% to 50%. It was in conjunction with the players accepting a 10-year length on the collective bargaining agreement (with an opt-out after eight years), a five-year cap on contract lengths (seven if a team was re-signing its player) and no compliance buyout or limits on escrow payments.

When the NHLPA agreed to the $300 million but suggested an eight-year CBA (with opt-out after six years) and an eight-year cap on contract length, the league balked and said it was pulling its latest offer.

Fehr addressed a meeting of the Canadian Auto Workers on Saturday, and afterward he and defenseman Chris Campoli provided an update on the NHL labor negotiations. What they said:

On whether the union would seek to decertify?

Fehr said it was always an option for any union member, but neither said they would discuss the NHLPA's internal discussions.

On why the union objects to a five-year limit on contracts:

"It's our right to negotiate and make our living. When you talk about a five-year term and a variability of 5%, I don't think it's hard to see what's going to happen," Campoli said. "You're going to have the stars in the league making big, big deals, and you're going to see the middle class essentially being eliminated because the cap hit is going to be so high. That's a big problem for us. The majority of membership is middle class, and guys don't want that eliminated."

On the league's suggestion that it's negotiating against itself:

"What exactly is it that has moved in the players' position?" Fehr asked. "It's not salaries. It's not contracting rights. It's not length of contracts. There is a tentative agreement on a pension plan, which is good, but it's basically almost completely paid for by the players out of their share."

On the NHL breaking off talks:

"I'm always disappointed when you're involved in a process and people want to call halts to it," Fehr said. "The one thing we know for certain is that you can't make agreements if you aren't talking about it. You'll notice that throughout this process that players have never made threats, have never threatened to walk out. We've had many instances of that from the management side. We'll see. Tomorrow's another day."

On whether there has been communication since:

Fehr said he hasn't talked to the league. He added that the union had had some communication, but "it hasn't been much."

On whose job it is to take the next step:

"If I get a brilliant idea, I'm not going to keep it to myself because I said the last thing," Fehr said. "I would hope they would have the same view."

On Fehr re-entering the talks after two days of players-owners-only meetings:

"At the end of the day, Don's our guy, our leader," Campoli said. "We obviously believe in him. The last three years our association has come a long way in restoring respectability. There's not going to be a deal without him is the bottom line. He has the complete backing of our membership."

On Commissioner Gary Bettman saying he was pulling the league's latest offer:

"What he threatened and what he said is hypothetical and not necessarily the fact," Campoli said.

On where the sides go from here:

"You keep negotiating and see what happens," Fehr said.