Bill Daly Longer Quotations

Now that we are into late August, union leadership recognizes that it no longer can get away with avoiding a more aggressive meeting schedule, ... So it has found a different way to stall, talking about individual team situations that have already been discussed in detail over the course of the last five years and matters, quite frankly, that should have been discussed months ago if the union truly was interested in them.

Obviously injuries are an issue and a concern of our clubs. Location of the Olympics plays into that, the significant time difference we had in Nagano (for the '98 Games) was a challenge and it led into a longer break than we would have otherwise liked. There are a number of issues that you deal with as you make these decisions each time around, and probably the most significant is our experience here and whether players are getting hurt.

We'll wait until we hear for certain what their intentions are before we decide what the consequences will be. But I think it's safe to assume that, at a minimum, NHL clubs will no longer be willing to release players from contractual obligations to participate in the annual world championships.