The NHL presented a reworked proposal to the NHL Players Association on Tuesday. The NHLPA agreed to review it Tuesday night and resume talks Wednesday morning.
"We talked for nearly seven hours, and everybody on both sides was working hard to make a deal,'' New Jersey Devils owner John McMullen said Tuesday.
The two sides are seeking to reach a collective bargaining agreement by Oct. 15, the deadline set by the NHL for opening the season and playing a full schedule.
The deadline was set after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman "deferred" action on a union proposal that offered a no-strike/no-lockout guarantee to start the season on time, Oct. 1.
The deferral effectively postponed the start of the season and locked the players out.
McMullen, Montreal Canadiens chairman of the board Ronald Corey, Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin and Boston Bruins president Harry Sinden were at the table with Bettman for the first time.
"I honestly believe we will come to a compromise,'' said McMullen, adding that a deal could be struck in two days.
"With both sides willing to give and take, it could be done,'' he said. "We only need to agree on the principles of the thing. The details may take a little longer, but there is nothing complicated about it.''
In another move Tuesday, owners told injured players they would not be paid during the work stoppage.
Teams originally were going to pay players who were injured during training camp, but they reversed course, according to a confidential memorandum circulated to the clubs. The memo, which was confirmed by the NHL, did direct teams to pay signing bonuses, such as the $4.5 million due Wayne Gretzky from the Los Angeles Kings.
Regular salaries are not being paid to players during the shutdown.
Originally, the NHL instructed clubs to pay the players injured in training camp, saying they were "entitled to be paid their salaries as if the season had commenced as scheduled.''
(Baltimore Sun, AP)
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