NHL lockout 2012: NHLPA says league’s lawsuit ‘completely without merit’

The NHLPA doesn’t think the NHL’s lawsuit has merit.

The union announced Friday evening in a statement that they had received a copy of the league’s NLRB filing, but had yet to be served with the lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in New York on Friday afternoon. The lawsuit claims that the union has been negotiating in bad faith and has disrupted the collective bargaining process by threatening to dissolve via a disclaimer of interest.

“The NHL appears to be arguing that players should be stopped from even considering their right to decide whether or not to be represented by a union,” said the NHLPA in their statement. “We believe that their position is completely without merit.”

The NHLPA reportedly took the first steps towards a potential disclaimer earlier Friday. Should a disclaimer of interest be made, the union would dissolve and players could then individually file antitrust claims against the league. In a preemptive action against that possibility, the league’s lawsuit filed Friday will seek to affirm the legality of the now 90-day-old lockout.