Buzz: The NHLPA’s Next Step Is To File a Disclaimer of Interest
Friedman wrote today “Barring a breakthrough in mediation, it’s
expected the NHLPA will begin moving in that direction very
shortly. It can take effect immediately. It’s what the NBA did
days before reaching a settlement last November.”  On the NBA
disclaiming interest last year, Larry Coon wrote at that the
NBAPA removed itself as the bargaining unit for the players and
converted itself into a trade association.  Derek Fisher, the
NBAPA president at the time said, “After two years of making an
effort, we concluded that the process has not worked. We cannot
get a fair deal.”  Coon adds “In utilizing a disclaimer of
interest rather than an involuntary decertification, the players
have chosen a timelier but riskier approach. The disclaimer will
likely be challenged by the league as a “sham,” as the NFL did
when faced with the disclaimer issued by the players’
association; the league argued that the dissolution was merely a
negotiating tactic, and