Negotiations between the locked-out players and the NHL will resume in Toronto Tuesday after two days of inconclusive meetings last week. This is the fifth labor dispute in last twenty years and it has delayed the start of the NHL season, which was originally scheduled to start on Oct. 11.
During the discussions in New York last week, the NHL and the union discussed issues which were secondary. The main problem -- the division of hockey-related revenue - remained unaddressed. Only issues such as player contract terms, drug testing, grievances and other legal matters were discussed.
As many as 82 games have been called off through October 24, the first two weeks of the season. More matches are likely to be cancelled if no agreement is reached in Tuesday's meeting.
Although there's no agenda set for Tuesday's meeting, both sides would be eager to negotiate the economic issue so that it could be resolved at the earliest.
The Associated Press quoted Bill Daly, the NHL deputy commissioner as saying: "It's fair to say that we will be looking for ways to advance the puck on the main issues - how to move the process forward."
Daly along with Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, will be at the meeting on Tuesday while Donald Fehr Steve Fehr will negotiate on behalf of the union.
No future dates have been announced for further meetings.
Mathieu Schneider, the former defenseman and current NHLPA special assistant to the executive director said: "We remain committed, as we have throughout this process, to reaching an agreement so that we can get the players back on the ice. Our meeting on Tuesday is another opportunity for us to get together in an effort to advance the discussions and find a way to reach a deal."
The cancellation of the entire preseason games cost the NHL about $100 million according to Daly while the regular season losses would account for another $150 million.
A fixed percentage of the NHL's pooled revenue is divided among the hockey teams each year. It was 57% for the 2011-12 season. Last season's ticket sales, merchandise sales and broadcasting money generated about $3.3 billion.
In July, the NHL had proposed to reduce the players' share of the revenue from 57% to 43%. The players however, are not happy about the massive deductions at a time when the overall revenue reached a whopping $3.3 billion. Last month the NHL proposed a 46% share which the owners think might be a more agreeable number.
The union also asserted the NHL did not announce anything in return for the players if they agreed to the lower percentage share.
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