After quietly meeting on Friday, Steve Fehr and Bill Daly “touched base” today to hash out a negotiating schedule for next week, according to Pierre LeBrun.
The NHL and NHLPA traded barbs after announcing the cancellation the first two weeks of the 2012-13 season, yet the latest updates have provided traces of optimism.
For one thing, LeBrun reported that the two sides seemed more eager to find a compromise during that Friday gathering.
There are even rumors that the players are preparing a new proposal to try to strike a deal.
At least one expert finds it hard to believe that the two sides are truly as far apart as some of the commentary indicates, too.
Still, it’s tough to say how much progress has been made. Mostly pessimistic pieces such as this Sporting News report hint that the sides still could be deeply divided.
As we’ve mentioned before, it’s heartening that they’re at least keeping the lines of communication open, if nothing else.