NHL and NHLPA get smart, go with mediator

Mediator? Eh. But hey, at least it’s progress.

In a move in the right direction by both sides, the NHL and NHLPA have agreed to use a mediator to help end the lockout. The mediator process is relatively simple, as the mediation team will hear both sides and come to a neutral decision. This, in essence, is a lot like arbitration.

However –as we saw in 2004– mediation is not binding. The NHL or NHLPA can walk away from the mediation outcome and we would be right back where we started. So basically, there’s nothing really interesting unless both sides agree to the outcome presented by the mediation group.

Perhaps we already saw the most interesting aspect of this mediation saga.

Guy Serota, who was originally slated to be on the mediation team put together by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Instantly, his Twitter account was “discovered.” And then the fun began, courtesy of a few questionable tweets.

Questionable is used loosely here, as most people simply took some tweets out of context, as they were part of Craig Ferguson skits. Within an hour, Serota was removed from the mediation team.

Honestly, I’ve never seen the government move that fast on anything before.