NHL replies to union's counteroffer
NHL representatives offered a response to the players association's latest proposal as the sides met Tuesday night in New York.
The league gave the NHLPA a lengthy proposal last week, and the players offered a counterproposal Monday before the league came back with its latest offer Tuesday. The sides are striving to save a season that has yet to begin due to a lockout.
"The fact that we are involved in a continuous process is something I'm glad to see, but we are clearly not done yet," commissioner Gary Bettman said, according to USA Today.
NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said his side would review the league's latest proposal and might response as soon as Wednesday.
"It's better to be meeting than not, but I'm not saying more than that," Fehr said, according to USA Today.
The Tuesday night meeting lasted less than an hour, according to multiple reports, but smaller groups from the sides talked earlier in the day.
Both ESPN.com and USA Today reported that pensions are a key sticking point in current talks. Revenue-sharing was also a topic discussed Tuesday, according to the reports.
An agreement would need to be in place no later than Jan. 11 for the season to begin Jan. 19. According to Bettman, that is the last start date that would accommodate a 48-game regular season and a postseason that would end in June.
The two sides met for about three hours Monday afternoon, with the session ending shortly before 5 p.m. ET.
All games through Jan. 14 have been cancelled due to the lockout.
