Recently, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the targeted start date of January 1 for the NHL and the New York Rangers is a “work in progress”. Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of work to done and not a lot of time left to finish it if the league and the Blueshirts want to ring in 2021 by starting their season.
One of the issues is money. Recently, the NHL asked the players to defer more salary past this season beyond the 10 percent already agreed to last summer. The players have balked at this. As of Wednesday, the NHLPA had not offered anything to alter what was agreed to in the June Memo of Understanding defining the parameters of the CBA extension.