CALGARY, ALBERTA - Wild and Flames players said Saturday that the players' union has nothing against realignment, but valid concerns need to be addressed before players are willing to give its consent on a plan approved last month by the NHL Board of Governors.
Friday night, the NHL announced that the kibosh has been put on realignment for next season because the NHL Players' Association refused to provide its consent.
The Wild was one of the big winners, moving out of the Northwest Division and into a conference with Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg.
"Realignment is going to be a fact of life, and it's going to be a good thing, but there's a lot of information I know we don't have," Wild veteran Matt Cullen said.
The union wants analysis on how realignment will affect each team's travel. It is also uncomfortable with the new playoff structure. In two conferences, there's a four out of seven chance to make the playoffs. In two others, including the Wild's, the odds drop to four out of eight.
"It seems like there should be some way to make it more fair," said Wild player rep Nick Schultz.
"I think that's a pretty realistic issue," Cullen added. "There's going to be realignment. It's just a matter of trying to actually do it right instead of rushing to get it done. I don't quite understand why the league imposed a deadline."
With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire Sept. 15, there's concern with hard-liner Donald Fehr now running the show for the NHLPA that this was the first salvo in another potentially catastrophic labor fight.