Quiet talks, hope for a 64-game season

THE WINTER CLASSIC has been axed. The NHL's entire November schedule was canceled more than a week ago.

Now, without any bargaining chips left in either of their pockets, it seems like the NHL and its players' association are finally ready to talk turkey.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr quietly met well into the night on Saturday at an undisclosed location. Unlike their previous discussions, these informal talks were not accompanied by rhetoric or spin.

"We had a series of meetings over the course of the day and had a good, frank discussion on the most important issues separating us," Daly said in a statement. "We plan to meet early again in the week."

"I agree with what Bill said," Steve Fehr said in a statement. "Hopefully we can continue the dialogue, expand the group, and make steady progress."

The statements are likely the first thing either side has agreed on in months. Formal bargaining has not taken place since Oct. 20.

Expanding the group, to include commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, might prove tricky. Both iron-fisted negotiators have been catalysts for counter-productivity and criticism more so than compromise.

Now, with expectations clearly defined, Daly and Steve Fehr retreated to likely draw up new proposals that might lead to a resolution of this 51-day work stoppage. More than $800 million toward the league's $3.3 billion revenue last season has already been lost with the cancellation of 26.5 percent of the schedule and the Winter Classic.

There is still plenty of time for a season. An accord in the next 10 or 15 days would allow for a 10-day preseason and a 64-game season commencing on Dec. 1. Varying reports this weekend suggested a 64-game slate would include six games against division foes and four against other conference opponents without any inter-conference matchups.

Until a new contract is hashed out, all of those details are secondary. It is all impossible without progress - even if it comes in baby steps.

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