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NHL lockout: Could Penguins, Flyers be working together?

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has signed with a KHL team due to the NHL Lockout.

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49 Total Updates since August 27, 2012
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NHL lockout: Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Penguins working on ending stalemate

The Penguins have a large constituent on hand in New York hoping to end the lockout and bring labor peace.

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NHL lockout: Negotiations start again Wednesday

The NHL and the Players Association will resume labor negotiations Wednesday, according to Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Members from both sides spoke on Monday and Tuesday, Yohe reported. No negotiations took place Tuesday, however.

Former Penguins forward Ryan Malone commented on the lockout, saying "the whole thing is crazy":

"If we lose another entire season," said Tampa Bay left wing Ryan Malone, "then shame on all of us."

[...]

"This whole thing is crazy," said Malone, who has already missed one season because of a labor dispute. "You just kind of keep waiting for good news."

A new proposal might not be pitched Wednesday, Yohe reported, despite internal meetings the last two days. Monday's meeting involved "economic issues and contracting."

Penguins star Sidney Crosby has been one of the most vocal players opposed to the lockout. He said last week he didn't want a break in the talks, saying, "I don't see how that's going to help anything."

The current lockout started Sept. 15, which was less than a month before the scheduled start of the season. It is the NHL's third lockout since 1994.

Many of the NHL's biggest stars have signed contracts with teams overseas to keep working through the lockout.

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NHL lockout: Flyers, Penguins could team up to force resolution, according to report

A report in the Philadelphia Daily News suggests that the Penguins and their hated rival the Flyers could get together to help end the long NHL lockout.

Despite their on-ice rivalry, there seems to be some thinking that the Flyers are interested in teaming up with the midmarket but high-revenue Pittsburgh Penguins to sway more governors toward a swift resolution. The Rangers are also viewed as anti-lockout.

The idea is that, if the Flyers' outlook on the lockout is evolving, it could come to an end more quickly. And as the lockout drags on, it poses greater problems for teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets or Florida Panthers, which might be unable to recover from the fan discontent the lockout is causing.

The article also mentions that someone like former president Bill Clinton could help negotiate the end of the lockout, although that seems unlikely for all kinds of reasons. In any case, it doesn't sound like anyone is particularly happy that it's mid-November and there's no end in sight.

Via The Pensblog.

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby opposed to break in talks

Sidney Crosby has expressed disapproval at the idea of a two-week break in talks between the NHL owners and the Players' Association. The two sides have not met since a 90-minute session on Sunday, and commissioner Gary Bettman suggested that negotiations were at a stalemate. He and the NHL's top officials think that some time off would give both sides time to reassess their positions.

But Crosby disagrees, saying: "I don't see how that's going to help anything. If that's the way he feels ultimately that's up to them. I don't really see that being the best way to find a resolution."

On the negotiations thus far, Crosby seems equally discouraged: "I think the whole way it's been played out is the frustrating part. It hasn't been as productive maybe as it could have been."

Friday is Day 62 of the lockout. The Players' Association has not yet responded to Bettman's request for a break.

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NHL lockout: Penguins' Craig Adams optimistic

Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Craig Adams said the NHL and the Players' Association "are ready and willing to talk again," according to Trib Total Media's Josh Yohe.

Adams said Tuesday there is still time to get a 2012-13 season in:

"We aren't there yet," Adams said. "Obviously, there is a deadline where we won't be able to have a season. We aren't going to start a season in March. But that stuff is up to the schedule makers and the league. We aren't there yet."

Adams said "the meetings in New York were productive" and the two sides made progress. However, he also said the NHL "has been unwilling to partake in legitimate negotiations."

Yohe reported that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said via email "the NHL is not currently considering canceling more games."

While talks are ongoing, the NHL has canceled games through November. Earlier this week, Penguins star Sidney Crosby said the lockout was "frustrating."

Earlier this month, the NHL cancelled its marquee game, the Winter Classic. The game was scheduled for Jan. 1, 2013. The Detroit Red Wings were slated to play the Toronto Maple Leafs at the University of Michigan's Michigan Stadium.

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NHL lockout: Situation 'frustrating,' Sidney Crosby says

Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby discussed the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA after an informal practice on Monday, and expressed that he is frustrated by the process.

With the two sides meeting for four consecutive days last week, in addition to an abbreviated meeting on Sunday, the reports emerging from the talks have been largely negative in nature. With each still at odds over core issues, several outlets have reported that the two sides are having a difficult time finding traction in talks.

Crosby stated that he believes the owners are not as willing as the players are to make concessions. He noted that contract issues have become a new sticking point, with the owners attempting to reform the process. According to several reports, the owners are looking to limit contracts to five years, cut entry-level contracts to two-years and push back a players' eligibility for unrestricted free agency.

To Crosby, this is a one-sided point of view by the NHL. Regardless, he just wants a deal to get done, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"It's just frustrating. You kind of hear the same things coming out of the meetings all the time. Just waiting to hear something new from their side. It's almost to the point where you don't want to ask because you know you're going to get the the same answer you got a week before. There's no reason we can't figure something out. I really want to be optimistic. It's not easy right now. It's just a roller coaster ... I don't know what's going to happen."

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby abruptly leaves to attend negotiations

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby abruptly left a players' workout in South Pointe on Tuesday to attend the negotiation meeting between the NHL and NHL Players Association.

Crosby left the practice after an hour with club union rep Craig Adams and explained the move as a last-minute decision as he originally stated on Monday that he would not attend the meeting. He had originally planned to host several Penguins players and their significant others in a luxury box at Consol Energy Center for the Madonna concert on Tuesday night.

On Monday afternoon, the NHLPA held a conference call that persuaded Crosby and Adams to alter their plans.

As of this time, nothing has been made public in regards to what the meeting is about as the two sides are looking to avoid any kind of media distractions in the hopes of gaining traction in talks. It is assumed that talks will concentrate on core issues such as the guaranteeing of current contracts.

The two sides will be meeting at 3 p.m. ET, and commissioner Gary Bettman is not expected to address the media unless a significant development occurs.

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby not attending Tuesday's meeting

Both the Pittsburgh Penguins' NHLPA representative and the team's best player will probably skip Tuesday meetings between the league and its players' association, as reported by Rob Rossi for the Tribune-Review.

The league and the NHLPA are meeting on a large scale somewhere in New York City. While Penguins' rep Craig Adams said that he was looking for a way to get to the city, he said he hadn't fully decided whether he would attend. And Sidney Crosby, who has attended several such meetings already, declined -- instead he'll be at Madonna's concert at the Penguins' arena, having invited several other players and their significant others to attend with him in a private suite at the Consol Energy Center.

Crosby said he wasn't sure if he was "invited" to the players' meeting. Several Penguins players, including Crosby and Adams who have not agreed to overseas deals continue to meet at the team's training facility in Southpointe to practice while the lockout continues.

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby says talks are in 'important' stage

Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby believes that the labor dispute between the NHL and NHL Players Association has reached a critical point in the process.

With the NHL having already canceled all games through Nov. 30 in addition to the 2013 Winter Classic, Crosby believes that the next round of discussions set to begin on Tuesday will determine whether anything close to a full season will be played, via Dave Molinari:

"It's definitely an important time, considering the timing of everything, knowing in the back of our minds that it's probably the last chance to get anything close to a full season."

After engaging in discussions via phone and e-mail last week, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr met all day on Saturday, ending their meeting around 1 a.m., ET. The talks were beneficial enough, that the two sides determined a round of negotiations should resume in New York City on Tuesday.

As of this time, it's unclear whether NHL commissioner Gary Bettman or NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr will attend the session on Tuesday.

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NHL may announce cancellation of Winter Classic on Friday

The NHL is reportedly notifying sponsors that it plans to cancel the 2013 Winter Classic, according to Nick Kypreos. Kypreos expects an official announcement to come on Friday afternoon, perhaps as early as 2 p.m. Friday is Day 48 of the NHL lockout, and November games have already been eliminated. Reports earlier in the week suggested that a cancellation of the Winter Classic was imminent.

The 2013 Winter Classic is scheduled for Jan. 1 in Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The game is supposed to feature the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Meanwhile, members of the Pittsburgh Penguins continued to practice on Friday at Southpointe, according to Rob Rossi. Sidney Crosby, Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Tyler Kennedy and club union rep Craig Adams were all in attendance. Twenty-three Penguins games have already been wiped off the schedule. Crosby told the media that the next three weeks will be crucial to avoiding another lost season.

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NHL lockout: League cancels more games, Penguins won't play in November

The NHL officially announced on Friday that the league had canceled all regular season games through Nov. 30 due to ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players Association.

In total, 326 games (26.5 percent of the regular season schedule) have been canceled from Oct. 11 through Nov. 30. In addition, it means that the prospects of playing a full 82-game schedule are unlikely.

Following the passing of Thursday's deadline, it became apparent that the league was going to cancel more games. The NHL presented the union with a new proposal last Tuesday, which included a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue with no salary rollbacks. After the players decided not to accept the deal, the owners withdrew the offer because it was made in the hopes of starting a condensed regular season on Nov. 2.

As of this time, no future negotiations are scheduled.

In terms of the Pittsburgh Penguins, captain Sidney Crosby stated that if all of November was canceled, he would have to consider playing in Europe, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Sidney Crosby, who has joined about 25 other NHL players for a week of training in Plano, Texas, had said he would "have to seriously look at" his European options if the entire November schedule was whacked.

"It would force me to think about it much differently," he said. "If they say they're going to end talks for a while, I'm going to have to think about things."

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NHL lockout costs city of Pittsburgh $2.2 million per game, according to report

The NHL lockout is costing the city of Pittsburgh an estimated $2.2 million per home game, according to a report published by the Pittsburgh Business Times on Friday.

That amount is based on lost revenue from businesses such as hotels, restaurants and other establishments that benefit from Pittsburgh Penguins games. However, that total does not include the estimated $15.2 million that was lost from the four preseason games that were canceled earlier this year.

As of this time, the NHL and NHL Players Association still remain at odds over key issues in collective bargaining negotiations. In fact, the league formally announced on Friday that all games through Nov. 30 have been cancelled. This means that it is unlikely that the league will be able to play 82 games this season.

There have been no announcements regarding future negotiations and reports have already surfaced that more cancelations could come as early as next week. It is believed that the Winter Classic is going to be the next casuality of the lockout.

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NHL lockout: NHL informs teams that games through Nov. 30 will be cancelled, according to report

The NHL has informed its teams that the league plans to cancel all regular season games through Nov. 30 as part of the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NHL Players association, according to Elliotte Friedman of CBC.

The official announcement is expected to come later on Friday afternoon.

This decision is no surprise as the NHL had set a deadline for Thursday, Oct. 25, to have a new CBA agreed upon. In an attempt to accomplish this, the league presented the NHLPA with a new proposal last Tuesday, which included a 50/50 split of hockey related revenue without salary rollbacks. If the players agreed to the proposal by the deadline, the league planned to play a condensed 82-game schedule, which would have begun on Nov. 2.

However, the players association was not pleased with the proposal and countered with three new proposals of their own last Thursday, which the NHL quickly rejected.

As of this time, no future negotiations are scheduled.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly already stated that the NHL All-Star Game will not be canceled as part of this next block of cuts, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. However, it is believed that the Winter Classic could be canceled as early as next week.

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NHL lockout: Barack Obama says 'Y'all should be able to figure this out'

President Barack Obama took a question about the NHL lockout on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week, and he gave a common-sense, populist answer, albeit not a particularly deep one.

I do have a comment on this, and ... 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. Y'all should be able to figure this out.

Of course, it's easy to get frustrated with a bunch of rich people arguing about money, but that doesn't mean that the players should be willing to take an unfairly small share of the revenue just because. And I'm not sure what he means about the fans "working really hard," but I'm guessing that's just a bit of detritus from the campaign. Anyway, Obama is really more of a basketball fan. It's always amazed me that, as President of the United States, you really have to have opinions about everything.

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NHL lockout: Winter Classic, All-Star Game could be cancelled

Two of the most popular events of the NHL season might be cancelled in the coming days, as the league prepares to get rid of the annual Winter Classic and All-Star Game, according to Rob Rossi of the Tribune-Review.

With both sides prepared to move on from the idea of holding an 82-game season in the coming days and the likelihood that several weeks of games will be cancelled if an agreement between the league and NHLPA don't reach an agreement imminently, it seems the two prominent events could be eliminated from the schedule. Rossi details the situation:

The Classic and All-Star Game have been the highest-rated regular-season games since the Classic’s debut in 2008. Reasons to cancel the signature events include: protecting local businesses such as hotel and restaurants; refunding tickets; and eliminating the lucrative games as possible bargaining chips during labor negotiations.

The Tribune-Review first reported earlier this month that NBC, the NHL’s national broadcast partner, had started planning for programming to replace the Classic. HBO, which had produced the "24/7: Road to the Winter Classic" series each of the past two Decembers, must know by mid-November if that program can go off as planned.

This year's Winter Classic is scheduled to be held New Year's Day between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., while the All-Star Weekend is slated for Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 26-27. The league's current offer to the NHLPA is contingent on a full season being played this year, but the league says that if an agreement isn't reached by Friday, there won't be an 82-game season.

Rossi reports that Penguin players expect at least two weeks but possibly more than a month of games to be cancelled this weekend.

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NHL lockout: Owners, players to discuss 'core economic issues' Tuesday

The NHL and the players will resume talks Tuesday in Toronto to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement and the division of revenue between the two parties, according to Rob Rossi of TribLive.com.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly hopes the two sides can establish common ground on this issue and, from this point, "move forward." Daly, along with commissioner Gary Bettman, will represent the NHL in Tuesday's talks.

The players made 57 percent of league revenue under the old collective bargaining agreement, and the owners now want to shift that number more in their favor. Several other issues must also be resolved before a new collective bargaining agreement can go into effect, but the splitting of revenue remains the primary point of contention.

According to Rossi, if no progress is made in Tuesday's talks, the NHL is expected to cancel more regular-season games by Thursday. A number of games have already been canceled.

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby doesn't 'have much else going on'

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby is finding himself with little to do thanks to the NHL lockout taking away his main source of joy this autumn.

While the players and owners are locked in a vicious game of tug-of-war, Crosby remains on the outside, waiting for hockey to resume instead of seeking it out overseas.

When Josh Yohe asked Crosby whether his routine of working out at Southpointe would be the same next week, he got the following answer:

"Yeah," he said, "I don't really have much else going on right now."

Yes, Crosby is bored. Incredibly bored. He's an intelligent kid and has other interests, but his whole life is a giant ice rink. Imagine being the very best at what you do, but being unable to perform. Crosby is more disgusted with this situation than most people realize. He just wants to play.

The labor situation remains murky, with the two sides scheduled to talk more this week.

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NHL lockout: Penguins' Deryk Engelland to play for Norwegian team

As the NHL lockout drags on, another member of the Pittsburgh Penguins is packing his bags and heading for the professional leagues of Europe. This time, its defenseman Deryk Engelland, who will take his talents to the fjords of Norway this winter. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Penguins' Deryk Engelland has signed with RIHK in the top league in Norway, according to that club.

The rugged defenseman will join Florida forward Jack Skille, who signed Thursday with RIHK, which stands for Rosenborg Ishockeyklubb Elite. It's in the Get-ligaen.

Engelland, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, he has played in most of the Penguins' games the last two years. He had said from the beginning that, if the lockout were to drag on, he would play elsewhere, according to the Post-Gazette. Engelland is the third Penguin to go to Europe for the lockout, following Evgeni Malkin — who will be playing in the KHL — and Dustin Jeffrey, who will play in Croatia.

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby discusses rumors of ownership conspiracy

Sidney Crosby addresses the rumor that the NHL has a secret deadline in November to end the lockout.

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NHL lockout: Sidney Crosby still considering playing in Europe

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is still weighing his option on whether or not to play overseas, Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Crosby is currently just taking part in informal workouts at Southpointe.

The Pens' star is hanging around hoping the league and players union can soon reach a new collective bargaining agreement, so he can return to work. If that doesn't happen soon, Crosby maybe forced to go play in Europe like many other NHL players. The Post-Gazette writes:

Crosby's desire to see the lockout conclude isn't the only thing he has in common with a lot of co-workers, because he is at least considering the idea of playing in Europe until labor peace returns to the NHL.

However, Crosby's decision to play in Europe may not be that easy, says Molinari, because a European team will need to take on the large financial burden a player like Crosby will ask for.

Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, told a Canadian radio station recently that insuring a significant amount (though not all) of Crosby's future earnings -- he is scheduled to be paid $7.5 million in 2012-13 before a 12-year, $104.4 million deal kicks in -- could cost between $200,000 and $400,000 per month.

The Pens' star is still holding out hope that the NHL lockout will be lifted soon and a decision to play or not play overseas will be made for him.

Currently, the Penguins' first regular-season game is schedule for Oct. 25.

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NHL lockout forces cancellations of 2 weeks of games; Matt Niskanen reacts

The NHL officially canceled the first two weeks of the regular season Thursday. The decision means the Pittsburgh Penguins' first six games are now canceled, including the season opener, Oct. 12, against the visiting New York Islanders.

"Right now,” Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen told the Trib's Josh Yohe, “this whole thing just stinks. It totally stinks.”

According to the Penguins' official website, Pittsburgh's new season-opener will now be played against the visiting New York Rangers on Oct. 25. The Penguins' next six games, a span from Oct. 26-Nov. 7, would be played on the road.

However, there are no signs that a new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players will be finalized anytime soon. The two sides are still unable to work out how to split up $3 billion in hockey-related revenues. This means another round of cuts to the regular-season schedule could be coming.

The league was scheduled to begin regular-season play next Thursday night with four games. It's still unclear how the league will handle a shortened season.

“We’re just hoping for the best right now,” Niskanen said. “But right now, it’s not looking good. We’d be at the end of training camp right now in a normal season. It’s just a bad situation for everyone.”

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NHL lockout: ESPN to carry KHL games

Russia's Kontinental Hockey League announced on Tuesday morning that the league has come to an agreement with ESPN to broadcast KHL games on the network's digital channel ESPN3 throughout the course of the 2012-13 season. ESPN3, also known as Watch ESPN, is available solely on digital platforms such as computers, smart phones, tablets and other streaming devices.

This will allow hockey fans in the United States to watch NHL players such as Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Ovechkin while they are locked out by the league as part of the on-going collective bargaining negotiations, via the KHL's official website:

The Kontinental Hockey League has reached an agreement with the US sports TV channel ESPN to broadcast games in the 2012/2013 KHL Championship. The games will be shown on the ESPN3 channel in the United States, Territories of the United States, and also in Great Britain.

ESPN3 reaches 73 million American households and devotes most of its output to live broadcasts of events, including college football, college basketball, the NBA, MLB, ICC (International Cricket Council) competitions and qualifying matches of FIFA tournaments.

Broadcasts are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Oct. 3.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Yahoo!'s Dmitry Chesnokov tweeted that his sources had informed him that the KHL is actively pursuing a broadcasting deal with Canadian markets.

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NHL lockout: Penguins' Craig Adams says 'lack of progress' is 'frustrating'

Pittsburgh Penguins NHLPA representative Craig Adams was in New York last weekend for the labor negotiations, and according to a report by Josh Yohe of the Tribune-Review the Penguins right winger wasn't encouraged by his experience.

"It’s very frustrating right now," Adams said to the Tribune Review. "We’re not making a lot of progress."

Adams' comments come almost a month since the NHL owners locked out its players, Sept. 15, as neither side could reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. Though, Adams admits there has been small progress on some issues -- drug testing, player health and player safety -- the owners don't seem to want to talk about the larger ones -- the division of future league revenues.

"I don’t know who suggested it to who that we only discuss the smaller things," Adams said. "But, of course, both sides know it needs to get done at some point and that we need to talk about the big issues."

Adams said the NHLPA is wants to negotiate a new labor agreement, as the NHL regular season is scheduled to begin in 10 days, but he's feeling all the league wants to do is stall and isn't interested in talking.

"Absolutely I feel that way," Adams said. "I really do."

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NHL lockout: Weekend discussions could lead to progress

Negotiations between the NHL and its players could go on for up to three days in New York this weekend in a possible sign of progress, according to 'numerous sources' in a report by Josh Yohe of the Tribune-Review.

The meetings on Friday, according to the report, will be discussing issues such as player safety issues, realignment possibilities and player discipline issues.

Craig Adams, player representative for the Pittsburgh Penguins, told Yohe in the report that any progress that could be made in these topics of discussion may serve to provide a boost of momentum to the lockout negotiations as a whole and open the door for "serious progress," as the report says, to be achieved.

The previous collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players expired on Sept. 15, beginning the lockout on Sunday, Sept. 16. Earlier today, the league announced the cancellation of the entire 2012 preseason. The regular season is currently slated to begin on Oct. 11.

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NHL lockout: Talks to take place Friday

The NHL lockout has been in place for 11 days, but at least a small bit of good news is rolling in.

For the first time since the players were locked out on Sept. 15, the two sides will meet to discuss their differences on Friday, with Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr expected to be present.

While it's not on the schedule to talk about the main economic issues such as salary rollbacks for players and the percentage each side will get from the total financial pie, progress could still be made.

The NHL has already lost all of its September preseason games and, according to triblive.com, could announce the loss of the remaining preseason contest as early as Wednesday.

If the lockout drags on much longer, it would be fair to reason that the NHL's regular season will start to feel the impact. The season opener is scheduled for Oct. 11, something that seems almost implausible at the moment.

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NHL Lockout Shouldn't Last Long, Local Writer Says

There is hope that the ongoing NHL lockout won't be a long work stoppage. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writer Rob Rossi argues that this lockout shouldn't be anything like the one that wiped out the 2004-05 NHL season, because that dispute was about economic structure and this one is simply about economics. Rossi spoke with former Pittsburgh Pirates legal counsel Larry Silverman:

"This is a battle for hockey revenue, and if it’s just about that, there shouldn’t be a long stoppage," said Larry Silverman, the Pirates’ baseball legal counsel from 2002-11. "Long stoppages occur when there are fundamental structural differences between parties."

Silverman said the issues in the NHL lockout more closely mirror those of the 2011 NFL lockout than they do those of the 04-05 NHL lockout or the 2011 NBA lockout. The main issue in the ongoing NHL lockout is the distribution of hockey related revenue, a figure that was roughly $3.1 billion last season. In the past collective bargaining agreement the players collected 57 percent of that revenue, a number the owners would like greatly reduced. The most recent NHL proposal had owners collecting from 51-53 percent of revenue.

For more on the NHL and the ongoing lockout, be sure to check out SB Nation's NHL hub. For news on the Penguins, check out PensBurgh.

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NHL Lockout: Sidney Crosby Not Optimistic

Pittsburgh Penguins' center Sidney Crosby isn't optimistic about the NHL playing a full schedule this upcoming season, as he told Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Rob Rossi Thursday, "Right now its not looking great." The comments were in support of the NHL union which is trying to negotiation a new collective bargaining agreement with the league before Saturday's 11:59 p.m. deadline.

"Basically when you look at things, it’s a partnership," Crosby told the media after Day 2 of meetings in New York. "If you look at the key principles of everything, we’re showing we’re willing to move, to sacrifice things.

"If you look at (the NHL) proposal, it’s not really the same type of feeling."

Crosby is currently one of 283 union players that are looking to negotiate a deal which would prevent a lockout. But things are not moving in the right direction and Crosby mentioned he's considering playing someplace else if the NHL does not have a season.

"I think everyone has a different opinion on that," he said. "Mine is that I’m a hockey player. It’s a competitive business. Would I look forward to possibility of taking someone’s job? No. But at the end of the day I’m a hockey player. At the end of the day I don’t see anything wrong with that."

For more on the Penguins and the possible NHL lockout, please be sure to check out our blog PensBurgh and SB Nation Pittsburgh for all the latest news and updates.

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Sidney Crosby Healthy, Considering Playing Overseas During NHL Lockout

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby joined his teammates for informal workouts on Tuesday morning and appeared to be in tremendous shape, according to Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

After battling the lingering effects of a concussion last offseason (which carried into the regular season and forced him to miss all but 22 games), Crosby has jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of this offseason. Despite his struggles to consistently stay in the lineup, the 25-year-old superstar still managed to register eight goals and 29 assists for 37 points, which leaves to the imagination what he could do with a full, injury-free year.

While Crosby may be primed for the 2012-13 season, the issue of a potential lockout may force him to play in another abridged regular season.

However, teammate Evgeni Malkin has already expressed interest in recruiting Crosby to play in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League in the case of a lockout. Crosby was non-committal when the topic was brought up on Tuesday but stated that he would consider it.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the Players' Association is set to expire on Sept. 15. Commissioner Gary Bettman has already made it clear that the player's will be locked out if a new agreement is not reached prior to the deadline.

For more on the Penguins and the possible NHL lockout, please be sure to check out our blog PensBurgh and SB Nation Pittsburgh for all the latest news and updates.

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Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.