• Alex Ovechkin spoke out Tuesday against the owners and their demands in negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. ”It’s not fair for us. They still make money. They still sell tickets and they have money,” he said. “Why they sign us to long-term deals and that kind of money and when the CBA is done they want to cut our salary? Why do they want to cut 20 percent? If they’re going to cut a percentage of the contracts and years, I don’t think lots of guys who sign American deals are going to come back and play here. It’s not reasonable to be here. You have to think of your future. You have to think of your family.” Talks have been on hold since both sides “recessed” on Friday, but they should heat up again with the current CBA set to expire on September15.
  • Chris Phillips is frustrated that the NHL hasn’t responded to the players association’s most recent counter-proposal, according to the Ottawa Citizen. ”It’s disappointing. After we want back to them on Friday and made concessions, it didn’t seem to get us anywhere,” he said. “We’ll see what happens this week, how long they go without talking, but some of the guys are starting down there and they’re available, they want to get things going.” Both sides haven’t budged since Friday’s meeting, but talks are projected to heat up with the present CBA set to expire next weekend.
  • Eric Belanger is confident that a resolution to the CBA can be reached and he believes that a potential lockout won’t last that long, according to the  Edmonton Journal. ”So my Plan B is to wait. With young kids, it is different,” he said. “Back then, I had one child and she was just a year and a half old. There was no school to worry about. And I do think if there is a lockout, I don’t think it’s going to be as long as the last one.” He isn’t happy about being back in this situation after living through the canceled season in 2004-05, but he is preparing for training camp. Belanger had a career-low four goals and 16 points in 78 games last season, so he is also anxious to get back on track.

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