"The owners wanted to leave the room and pull everything we spent a full day on. I asked them to stay and continue pushing through," Miller wrote in a text to the News. "I may have been passionate but there was no disrespect or calling out one owner by name. I have a lot of respect for any owner because they are a big part of hockey.
"I wanted more than anything to make a deal but we are not professional negotiators. We as players didn't have the experience or authority to make a final deal. We were trying to responsibly move this process forward as best we could. If anyone thinks that we did wrong by the game or by the fans then they are misinformed. We have a responsibility to about 750 players and we made moves approved by them and thinking about them."
In the meantime, NHLPA chief Donald Fehr spoke at a Canadian Auto Workers Union meeting in a downtown Toronto Hotel on Saturday and maintained that the League must take into consideration concessions made by the players in their last CBA as well as NHL revenue increases in recent years.
Fehr has not had any direct contact with the NHL over the weekend as the League is more and more in danger of losing its second full season in seven years.
The NHLPA is looking to keep negotiating to reach an agreement and save the season.
