The last thing the Islanders want to think about right now, on the cusp on a strong playoff push and amid rising optimism of maintaining consistent contender status from season to season, is labor unrest.
Which is exactly what Wednesday’s dual announcements from the NHL and the NHL Players Association after the sides met in Toronto that there would be no World Cup of Hockey tournament in 2020 had the potential to portend.
Either side can opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement on Sept. 15, 2020 and given that owners’ lockouts wiped away nearly half of the 1994-95 and 2012-13 seasons and all of 2004-05, it’s easy to question whether the sides can come to an agreement on a new CBA in relative peace.