"My message to owners and to players is, 'You guys make a lot of money and you make a lot of money on the backs of fans, so do right by your fans. You can figure out how to spread out a bunch of revenue that you're bringing in, but do right by the people who support you,"' Obama said.
"And I shouldn't have to be involved in a dispute between really wealthy players and even wealthier owners. They should be able to settle this themselves. And remember who it is that's putting all that money in their pockets."
The NHL and NHLPA met with a federal mediator today, but have not yet agreed to meet face-to-face and continue negotiations.
The NHLPA insists the NHL is not willing to budge off its three main points -- a 10-year CBA, an a mutual opt-out after eight-years, tied to a $300 million make-whole provision and a limit contract lengths of five-years to free agents (seven-years for those re-signing with their own team) and a five per cent variant on salaries.
On Oct. 24, while a guest on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, Obama expressed the need to get an agreement done.
"Every time these things happen, I just want to remind the owners and the players: You guys make money because you've got a whole bunch of fans out there who are working really hard -- they buy tickets, they're watching on TV," he said at the time. "Y'all should be able to figure this out. Get this done. The fans deserve it."
As of this evening, no new meetings are scheduled between the two sides.
