We're at the point of the NHL lockout where we've gone from mediation to potentially the court system.
On Friday, it was first reported by TSN's Aaron Ward that the NHLPA Executive Board decided on Thursday that it's time to seek a vote from the 700-plus player membership whether or not to authorize the Board to file a disclaimer of interest if it so chooses. So, to be clear: Not to necessarily go that route; just to vote to give the Board that authorization if it wants to go that route.
A disclaimer of interest is essentially where Executive Director Don Fehr and the NHLPA effectively walk away from the players and say the Union no longer represents its membership. That gives players the right to file lawsuits against the NHL for locking them out and to go after all the things agreed upon in that collective bargaining agreement, things like the draft, free agency, etc., etc.
The Union has been discussing this possibility publicly for some time. But in a preemptive strike once that threat became public knowledge, the NHL filed a class action complaint in federal court in New York seeking a declaration that the lockout is legal AND the NHL filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that by threatening to "disclaim interest," the NHLPA has engaged in an unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process and conduct that constitutes bad faith bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act.
The NHLPA says this is "completely without merit."
The 43-page complaint to federal court can be read here, courtesy of Sportsnet in Canada. Named as defendants are the NHLPA, the 31 players on the negotiating committee, including Minnesotans David Backes, Jamie Langenbrunner and Alex Goligoski and also five others that have different types of contract statuses (restricted free agent, unrestricted, unsigned draft pick, etc., and an NHLer playing overseas -- Minnesotan Ryan McDonagh).
In the complaint are several players quoted either in articles or on Twitter where they talked publicly decertification (where the players disavow themselves from the union rather than vice versa) or disclaimer of interest. In addition, the NHL has taken quotes of players also demonstrating complete faith in the Fehr Bros., so the league is trying to demonstrate that this would just be a negotiating ploy and not the fact that the union cannot adequately represent the players.
(This is clearly one reason why Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't allow owners to speak publicly. May this be a learning lesson to us all; words can be used against you at a later date).