When the NHL and NHL Players' Association ratified a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in July ahead of the league's restart, it presumably meant there would be labor peace not just through the pandemic, but through 2026, when the new deal expires.
The peace didn't even last four months without problems arising, as a couple weeks ago the league's owners reportedly asked the NHLPA to defer more salary and increase the escrow cap due to the likelihood that much of the season will be played without fans in attendance.
Players say they were "blindsided" by the request, as from their perspective, the 2020-21 season likely not being a normal one had already been accounted for in the negotiations that took place over the summer.
While it doesn't seem like the owners have much of a leg to stand on, the two sides are now engaged in a staring contest that, along with other logistical issues, has already caused the target start date for the season to be moved from Jan. 1 to Jan. 15.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that one of the owners who is reportedly most upset about the current situation is Jeremy Jacobs.
What is mildly surprising is where his anger is directed. According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Bruins owner, who is also the chairman of the NHL's board of governors, is among a group of owners who are "livid" at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
Their source of frustration is apparently that they felt uninformed about the summer negotiations and didn't have enough time to review the CBA before it was put to a vote, and that they're now unhappy that there seems to be little room for adjustments as they stare down the possibility of a season with no fans and significant lost revenue.
Even if that is the case, it's unclear why they wouldn't have spoken up at the time of negotiations.
Brooks reports that there are a "handful of owners" who want to cancel the season if the players don't agree to make concessions. While he doesn't directly name Jacobs as being a member of that handful, it wouldn't be surprising if the 80-year-old Delaware North chairman was.
Jacobs, who is worth an estimated $2.6 billion according to Forbes, has long been considered one of the NHL's most militant hard-line owners and is seen as one of the driving forces behind each of the NHL's last three lockouts (in 1994-95, 2004-05, and 2012-13).
He also came under criticism in the early days of this pandemic for being the last of the NHL's 31 owners to announce any sort of plan for gameday workers who were missing critical paychecks. The plan fell short of many other plans from across the sports world, and provided little immediate relief.
The Bruins have reportedly explored the possibility of playing their home games outdoors if it allows them to have fans in attendance. It's considered a "long shot."