While there may be signs of movement in the National Hockey League's labour negotiations with the NHL Players' Association, the general consensus from the players is that there's still a lot of work to be done before an agreement will be made.
"I think it's definitely a positive, you can't look at it any other way," Flames defenceman Mark Giordano - one of several NHL players skating in Calgary - told TSN's Jermain Franklin on Wednesday. "Obviously we're not going to like every part of it."
The NHLPA is expected to offer a response to the proposal when the sides meet again on Thursday. "In terms of the fine print there's still a lot of things that need to be tweaked," said Washington Capitals defenceman Karl Alzner.
The NHL released details of its collective bargaining proposal to the public on Wednesday - an unprecedented move in the negotiation process.
The first document - released on its website - is a 10-point offer and the second includes a detailed explanation of the proposal. The offer is a six-year deal, with a mutual option for a seventh, that includes a 50-50 split in revenue and would see a condensed 82-game schedule start on Nov. 2.
"It is going to put a little bit more pressure," said Flames forward Alex Tanguay. "I teach my kids to share which is 50-50....they (the owners) wanted to get the public on their side but we have to make sure that we understand fully what 50-50 consists of."
And even with the possibility of puck drop in two weeks, Flames defenceman Jay Bouwmeester is guarded with his words.
"You don't want to get too excited or say something that's going to be twisted around the wrong way," he said. "It's good that they're talking and hopefully something can come out of it."
The players were also asked if the fact that NHL released their proposal to the media affects the negotiations.
"I don't know either way if that affects anything," Giordano stated. "The bottom line as a union we have to be aware of the actual numbers and the actual contract rules."
"That's the most important thing," added Edmonton Oilers goaltender Devan Dubnyk. "It's to truly understand exactly what their putting on the table. We have some people in the PA that are capable of doing that. We'll have an idea of how to keep things going and the negotiations going."
