Hell just froze over, perfect for hockey!

[StarOfAfrica2]

May get to see some hockey yet!  Wooohooo!!

NHL, Players Give Ground in Negotiations

1 hour, 27 minutes ago  

By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK - In what could be a last-second breakthrough, both sides of the NHL lockout have given significant ground: The players' association will accept a salary cap, and the league has backed off its demand for a link between revenues and player costs.    

Now they just have to figure out the money, and time has all but run out.

Even while the negotiations were going on, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman already had planned to announce the cancellation of the season Wednesday, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday.

Bettman was slated to speak Wednesday in New York, but the NHL declined to give details beyond the time and location.

The NHL offered to give in on linkage, a "significant move in the players' direction" the union said early Tuesday following a meeting in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

But when the players offered to accept a cap at $52 million in return — the first time they came off their opposition to a ceiling on salaries — the offer was rejected by the NHL. The league insisted on a salary cap that topped out at $40 million per team.

"It is indeed unfortunate that with the major steps taken by both sides we were unable to build enough momentum to reach an agreement," players' association senior director Ted Saskin said.

The NHL had no comment Tuesday on the union's statement.

No new talks were immediately scheduled, but with the philosophical differences now bridged, there appeared to be room for the sides to negotiate dollar figures.

"We probably could've gotten this thing done in the summertime," Chicago forward Matthew Barnaby said. "Am I mad, no? I want to get back to work. But at the same time, I'm just a little disappointed that it went this far to play poker and to have someone call your bluff."

The 24 percent rollback on all existing contracts, originally offered by the union on Dec. 9, as well as more aggressive luxury tax rates and thresholds, were included in the players' counteroffer.

Buffalo Sabres (news) player representative Jay McKee was surprised Tuesday when he heard the union would accept a cap.

"If that's where we were going, I wonder why now," he said.

With the major stumbling blocks now out of the way, the sides are only $12 million apart on what each team's cap should be. With the salary rollback, only eight of the 30 teams would be above $40 million.

Until now, Bettman insisted that the 30 teams know what their costs will be each season. The only way, he said, that could be achieved was to tie to the amount of player costs to a percentage of league revenues.

That was a solution the players' association refused.

NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly was the only other person involved in the meeting that wrapped up early Tuesday. The NHL reported that no progress was made, but didn't reveal any details of what was discussed.

[2stony]

Who cares? It's basically just the same as the basketball strike a few years ago. People getting overpaid to have fun.

[Holden McGroin]

Is there much hockey in Honolulu?

[rpm]

Just watch girl's soccer and pretend they are on ice. You've got hockey.

[Raider179]

those rich idiots can forget it. I have now officially lost interest in hockey like I did in baseball. I am back watching baseball again but took a couple years off they had me so p.o'd.

[JB88]

[Maverick]

No hockey, no loos as far as I am concerned. That "sport" as it has been played recently is in serious need of an overhaul.

[Otto]

There's a Hockey strike.....?

[nirvana]

Its the GM's faults not the players, the player's have already gave in.  If you're missing hockey blame the GM's not your favorite teams.  I heard on the news it only takes like 8 GM's to settle the strike though and we'd have a 24-28 game schedule before the playoffs.  Like a full playoff season every game counts.

[Saurdaukar]

Fingers crossed...