Deep into the night

Thursday, 03 January 2013 06:02

Written by Dave Molinari

Negotiations for a collective bargaining agreeement to end the NHL lockout went into the early-morning hours, but did not produce a deal.

Representatives of the league and the NHL Players' Association will get another chance soon, however, because talks are scheduled to resume around 10 this morning.

When the late-night session ended, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at the meeting site in New York that "there's been some progress, but we're still apart on a number of issues."

A deal apparently is close enough, however, that the NHLPA decided against filing a disclaimer of interest that would have removed it as the bargaining agent of its members and allowed players to pursue individual antitrust cases against the league.

The deadline for filing the disclaimer passed at midnight, although it could happen at some future point if the union gets another authorization from its members to do so.

"The players retain all the legal options they have always had," NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr told reporters.

The league and union still haven't agreed on, among other things, pension issues and the salary-cap ceiling for 2013-14. The league was to set it at $60 million.

"The parties moved closer together on some issues," Fehr told reporters. "There is still a ways to go, if an agreement can be reached. We'll consider where we are in the morning and we'll figure out what to do next."

No word on whether that will include either side putting forth a new proposal today. That's happened no fewer than four times during the past seven days.