Threat of impasse gone?

The specter of impasse and replacement players for next fall is gone, at least for now. By coming off their philosophical opposition to a salary cap, the NHL Players' Association has made the impasse scenario a virtual impossibility, even if the NHL and the union fail to reach an agreement to save the season.

"I think at this point it's fair to say there is no longer an impasse," said Neil Bernstein, a professor specializing in labor and employment law at Washington University in St. Louis.

"If the owners were to try to back off and say we're going to do things our way and do this unilaterally, no, that would not be acceptable."

"The real danger now," Bernstein said, "is whether management will smell blood and go for the kill rather than saying we've accomplished what we want to accomplish and let's give them the opportunity to save face."

•	Threat of impasse gone? thehockeynews.com (Canada), Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005 Byline: Mark Brender, Senior Writer