NEW YORK – The NHL Players’ Association accepted an invitation from the league to return to the bargaining table later this week.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman sent an e-mail to union executive director Bob Goodenow late Friday to request a meeting, and the players’ association agreed Monday to get together at an undisclosed location, a source close to the negotiations told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

It will be the first bargaining session since Feb. 19, when the sides met in a desperate attempt to save the season three days after Bettman canceled it. But even the presence of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux wasn’t enough to get owners and players to reach an agreement.

Bettman said all previous offers are off the table and linkage to profits is back in play. He warned the union future deals will be worse than ones already rejected.

Bettman has said teams lost more than $1.8 billion over 10 years, the last time a collective bargaining agreement was reached. NHL clubs claim to have lost $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season.