REPORT: NHL PLAYERS CHOOSE NOT TO RE-OPEN CBA

The NHLPA's executive board has voted unanimously not to re-open the collective bargaining agreement at the end of the NHL season, meaning the CBA will remain in place for another two years, according to a report in the Toronto Star.

The deal currently in place expires in September of 2011.

The CBA that was signed in July of 2005, ending the NHL lockout, included a choice to opt out of the six-year agreement after the fourth year.  But the decision not to re-open the CBA came during a conference call with NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly and player representatives from all 30 NHL teams, the report said.

In the three-plus years since the CBA was signed, the salary cap has grown by a sizeable 45 per cent, making the players that much more likely to see through an agreement that was originally thought to be less than satisfactory for them.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=264343&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl