The NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association are getting ready to start working on a new Collective Bargainning agreement, and on Wednesday afternoon the NHLPA announced its negotiating committee.
The list includes 31 players from around the NHL, many of whom are free agents this summer.
“It’s great to see that so many Players have chosen to participate in bargaining and get involved in the important work ahead for their Association,” said Don Fehr, NHLPA Executive Director in a statement. “I’m certain this group of Players and all Players who will be attending bargaining sessions will do a great job.”
Fehr also added on Wednesday afternoon that he encourages any player that wants to be involved in the process to attend the meetings, while the NHLPA will handle their travel and hotel costs.
"It's their futures," said Fehr.
The committee, as of Wednesday, includes the following players:
Craig Adams (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Adrian Aucoin (Phoenix Coyotes)
Alex Auld (Ottawa Senators)
David Backes (St. Louis Blues)
Marty Biron (New York Rangers)
Brad Boyes (Buffalo Sabres)
Chris Campoli (Montreal Canadiens)
B.J. Crombeen (St. Louis Blues)
Mathieu Darche (Montreal Canadiens)
Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders)
Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes)
Brandon Dubinsky (New York Rangers)
Ruslan Fedotenko (New York Rangers)
Alex Goligoski (Dallas Stars)
Ron Hainsey (Winnipeg Jets)
Scott Hartnell (Philadelphia Flyers)
Jamie Langenbrunner (St. Louis Blues)
Manny Malhotra (Vancouver Canucks)
Steve Montador (Chicago Blackhawks)
Dominic Moore (San Jose Sharks)
Brendan Morrison (Chicago Blackhawks)
Douglas Murray (San Jose Sharks)
George Parros (Anaheim Ducks)
Chris Phillips (Ottawa Senators)
Cory Schneider (Vancouver Canucks)
John Tavares (New York Islanders)
Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
Kevin Westgarth (Los Angeles Kings)
Dan Winnik (San Jose Sharks)
James Wisniewski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings)
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