NHL, players meet with mediator, but don’t negotiate

NEW YORK – A federal mediator held over 12 hours of separate talks with the NHL and the players’ association Friday before stopping for the night with a promise to get going again in the morning.

The sides remained apart all day, buffered by the presence of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who shuttled back and forth between the hotel where the union is working, and the league office. He started at 7 a.m. PST and wrapped up discussions for the day shortly before 8 p.m.

It still isn’t known when the league and the union will get back together at the bargaining table. Neither side provided details, but the all-day discussions at least provided a glimmer of hope that perhaps progress was being made from afar.

That would be a welcome change after things cooled during an unproductive Thursday.

After marathon talks that lasted deep into Wednesday night, the sides have remained apart with the exception of two smaller meetings Thursday.

The lockout reached its 111th day Friday, and the sides have only one week to reach a deal on a collective bargaining agreement that would allow for a 48-game hockey season – the minimum the NHL has said it will play.

Commissioner Gary Bettman set a Jan. 11 deadline so the season can begin eight days later.

The players could be looking to wait until tonight to return to the bargaining table when it is expected that the executive board will again have the authority to exercise a disclaimer of interest that would allow the union to dissolve and become a trade association.

A vote among union members was initiated Thursday, and players have until 3 p.m. PST today to cast their ballots that would allow the board to take the action of the disclaimer. An earlier vote passed overwhelmingly last month, but the union let its self-imposed deadline go by Wednesday night without acting.

A restoration of authority to go the route of the disclaimer might be the leverage the union wants before it starts negotiating again.

Representatives from the league and the union met twice Thursday for small meetings, one dealing with the pension plan, but never got together for a full bargaining session. A long night of discussions Wednesday that stretched into the early morning hours didn’t end well after the players’ association passed on declaring a disclaimer of interest and created Thursday’s lack of activity.

The sides can’t afford many more days like that.

All games through Jan. 14, along with the All-Star game, have been canceled.