WINNIPEG - With the NHL lockout at another impasse and the threat of losing another full season picking up steam, the presence of Mark Chipman at the bargaining table has to be viewed as a positive step.
Regardless of how things turn out on Tuesday afternoon when a group of six owners meet with six members of the NHLPA in New York City without Gary Bettman and Don Fehr in the room, this should be a chance for the Winnipeg Jets co-owner to express himself.
We’re not sure what the structure is going to be for this meeting, but unless the NHL wants this latest development to be viewed as another public relations stunt, you’d have to think Chipman and the others weren’t simply invited to simply shut their mouths while Jeremy Jacobs and Murray Edwards — members of the NHL’s negotiating team and noted hardliners — dominate the discussion.
