NHL, players still struggle with issues

NEW YORK – The NHL and the players’ association are now disputing whether they have anything to talk about.

The sides have had just limited contact by phone since Thursday, when the league presented more salary-cap concepts in an effort to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. But even that talking stopped Monday, leaving even less optimism that the hockey season could be saved.

Bill Daly, the NHL’s chief legal officer, expected to hear from the players’ association on Monday, but that call never came.

“I’m expecting that at some point we’ll hear back from them with respect to some of the concepts we discussed on Thursday night.”

Ted Saskin, NHLPA senior director, said Daly shouldn’t have expected a response from the union regarding the new concepts because they still reflect the salary-cap position of the league. That is an option the union vows it will never accept.

“Bill knows the concepts they discussed with us on Thursday would not form the basis for an agreement, so he should not be surprised that he hasn’t heard from us,” Saskin said. “We were very clear on Thursday that we would not be negotiating over his proposed concepts.”

The NHL is committed to achieving cost certainty that would provide a link between league revenues and player costs. The players’ association has refused to accept that as a solution to end the 138-day lockout.