Talks Produce No Signs of Progress : Hockey: Bettman says he will decide Friday whether to postpone Saturday’s scheduled season openers.

Talks between the NHL and its players’ union Monday in Toronto produced no signs of progress, increasing the likelihood that Commissioner Gary Bettman will delay Saturday’s scheduled season openers.

Bettman, who said last week he would not allow the season to start unless a collective bargaining agreement had been negotiated, said he will decide “sometime on Friday” whether to postpone the 12 games to be played on the first night of the NHL’s 78th season. Teams normally travel the morning or afternoon before road games and would need notice to cancel or alter plane and hotel reservations.

A source close to the negotiations said that because such significant disagreements remain, those involved were “not too optimistic” after Monday’s five-hour session that the season will begin as planned.

“It is very clear we have a wide difference of opinion,” said Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHL Players Assn. “I think unless there is flexibility, there will be a serious problem. . . .

“We will not be pressured into any kind of an agreement because of a pending lockout. It will work itself out and whatever course it takes, it takes.”

Each side’s labor lawyers met Monday before they convened en masse for what Goodenow called a group discussion. They will meet again today at the NHLPA’s offices.

“We’re in better shape than if I said we’ve broken up and gone back to New York,” Bettman said. “We’re working very hard. . . . I’m not interested in a Band-Aid solution. The future of this league depends on a new collective bargaining agreement.”

He repeated that he considers an entirely new agreement vital, and would not allow the season to begin under the terms of the last agreement.

The key differences are the NHL’s desire to impose salary controls, both in the form of a scale for players with limited time in the league and in the form of a payroll limit linked to each club’s revenues. Clubs that exceed the limit would pay a “luxury tax” that would be used to subsidize small-market clubs with fewer financial resources.

Players oppose salary limits in any form. They have proposed a 5% levy on clubs’ payrolls and gate receipts, with the proceeds also helping small-market clubs. They are also advocating greater free agency and the re-establishment of salary arbitration, which was eliminated by Bettman in a wide-ranging preseason edict.