 Ian Laperriere admitted he doesn't like the beating that the players' image is taking at the moment in the court of public opinion. (File Photo) |
Ian Laperriere says NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should quit trying to win in the court of public opinion and make an effort to save the season.
The Colorado Avalanche forward told the Sun before last night's La Caravane McDonald's game at the Robert Guertin Centre that he doesn't have much hope there's going to be a season and suggested the NHL Players' Association won't blink for "10 years."
"How can there be hope? Gary Bettman has done such a good job making us look bad and that really pisses me off," said Laperriere. "Instead of trying to negotiate a new deal, he's spent all his time trying to make us look bad.
'BAD GUYS'
"And you've got to give him credit because he's done a great job making everyone think we're the bad guys. He knows where we stand. He doesn't want to negotiate. We want to negotiate. We made an offer and nothing has happened."
With the NHL lockout entering its eighth week, Laperriere and the rest of the players aren't shocked there haven't been any negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement since the two sides last met Sept. 9 in Toronto.
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Laperriere, who attended the NHLPA's meeting for team representatives in Toronto last Tuesday, said the players are not going to be pressured into making a deal.
"It's only November and nobody has really lost that much (pay) ... that could be different in January or February" said Laperriere. "I know they've got $300 million put aside, but I'm not sure those teams really want to spend that $300 million.
WAR CHEST
"That should be money they shouldn't want to use. Hopefully, they don't think they're going to be able to put pressure on us because it might be 10 years before we feel any pressure. We'll wait as long as it takes. We won't accept a cap."
According to Colorado centre Vincent Damphousse, a vice-president on the union's bargaining committee, there are no plans to go back to the table because there's no point in having any discussions.
"There's slim hope, but that's because I'm an optimistic guy," said Damphousse. "I can tell you that the position of the league is going to have to change because we have made it clear we're not going to accept a cap.
"They're going to have to bring something different to the table. We made what we thought was a good offer. What's the point in meeting if all we're going to do is have lunch, not consider what's put on the table and then go our separate ways? We're not on the same (page) right now."
Laperriere admitted he doesn't like the beating that the players' image is taking at the moment.
"I hear it in Montreal, I read it from journalists on the Internet that we're such bad guys," said Laperriere. "We're not that bad a group of guys. We just want what we feel is a fair system and I think it's hard for people to understand that.
"This isn't about going from an average salary of $1.8 million (US) to $1.3 million. All we want is a system that treats us fairly. That's a marketplace system. Yes, we're making good money and we know that. We all want get back to playing hockey, but we're not going to do that with a cap."