Friday, January 21, 2005

NHL prospects look dimmer

Talks in Toronto go nowhere in a hurry, and no date is set for next negotiations

By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

Lockout at a glance A look at the NHL lockout through Thursday: * Total days of lockout: 127 * Total days of season missed: 100 * Games lost Thursday: 9 * Total games missed: 671 regular-season games, plus the All-Star Game. * Thursday's best canceled game: Toronto at Ottawa. The Maple Leafs are 17-20-3-2 against their Northeast Division rival. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

DETROIT -- It's almost time to ice the season.

After two days of meetings, the NHL and its players' association are no closer to ending the four-month lockout.

"We still have very strong philosophical differences," said Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice president and chief legal officer, after talks broke off Thursday in Toronto.

"We clearly have some strong differences of opinion that we've had for some time," said Ted Saskin, senior director of the players' association. "We continue to look for ways to bridge the gaps. We have not been successful in doing so."

Although both sides indicated they are willing to talk again, no date has been set for for negotiations.

At issue is the owners' demand for a salary cap and the players' refusal to accept one.

Manny Legace, the Red Wings' player representative, remained optimistic about the tone of the meetings. But he also was realistic about salvaging the season.

"My hopes were high, and they're still optimism because they're talking," Legace said. "But the more time that goes by, there's not much opportunity (to save the season in some form). We've talked about how many guys have to be signed (free agents), and there's so little time, it's disappointing."

As was the case at the initial meeting Wednesday in Chicago, neither Commissioner Gary Bettman nor players' association executive director Bob Goodenow participated in Thursday's meeting.

The lockout had wiped out 671 games through Thursday.

The NHL would become the first major North American sports league to cancel an entire season because of a labor dispute.

It would be the first time the Stanley Cup wasn't awarded since 1919, when a flu epidemic canceled the final series between Seattle and Montreal.

"We all know time is not an ally," Saskin said.

The two negotiating sessions were initiated by players' association president Trevor Linden, who was praised by Daly for his efforts in trying to reach a solution.

"I give Trevor Linden a lot of credit for bringing us together," Daly said.