The National Hockey League (NHL) and the union
representing its players met face-to-face along with a federal mediator
on Saturday with hopes of ending a lockout in time to salvage a
condensed season.
A small group meeting between the league, union and
mediator began early Saturday afternoon in New York, according to a NHL
Players' Association (NHLPA) spokesman.
The meeting, which began with less than a week to go
until the league's self-imposed deadline to reach a deal, marked the
first face-to-face dialogue between the league and NHLPA since talks
broke down two days ago.
The two sides met separately with the mediator on Friday.
With half of the 2012-13 regular season already lost to
the labor dispute, the NHL has set a January 11 deadline for a new deal
so that a 48-game campaign could begin eight days later.
The lockout, which the league has said is costing it
about $18-$20 million a day, began in mid-September when the previous
collective bargaining agreement expired with both sides at odds over how
to split the NHL's $3.3 billion in revenue.
The dispute, which follows a lockout that wiped out the
entire 2004-05 campaign, is now centered around the salary cap number
for the 2013-14 season, the pension fund and length of player contracts.
