Difficult Issues Remain in NHL Lockout

The air of optimism that had surrounded NHL labor talks dissipated Thursday when a second day of meetings ended with “very strong philosophical differences” dividing the negotiators.

NHL management and the National Hockey League Players’ Assn. parted ways after a 4 1/2 -hour session in Toronto with vague promises to meet again but little evidence of progress after nearly 10 hours of discussions over two days.

Bill Daly, NHL executive vice president and chief legal officer, summed up Thursday’s meeting by saying, “We’ve had two good days of communication, but we still have very strong philosophical differences.... We’ll keep working at it.”

That translated into pessimistic news for those hoping that the 128-day lockout would soon end.

“In other words, the owners wanted a salary cap and the players didn’t want it,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “Players are going have to come to the realization, whether it is right or fair, that they’re going to take a cap.... We all agree the owners probably created the problem -- sometimes they just paid more than they should have and created a market -- but players have to realize they have to help fix it.”

The meeting seemed to underscore that neither side was willing to budge from set-in-concrete ideas on how to fix what the NHL claims are crippling financial problems. The league says it must link revenue to player costs, which the union calls a salary cap. The union has offered salary rollbacks and luxury taxes that the league has said would be insufficient to curb salary inflation.

The union is believed to have suggested a six-to-eight year plan. After three years under a luxury tax, if preset financial thresholds, inflated by salaries, were reached, a salary cap system would kick in. But agent Pat Brisson said, “I can’t envision the union allowing any trigger that would bring in a hard cap.”

The union offered a brief statement from NHLPA President Trevor Linden: “We completed a second day of discussions today. We remain divided philosophically and have not scheduled further talks.”

A new collective bargaining agreement seemingly must be reached before February if there is to be any semblance of a season. Already, 671 regular-season games, as well as the All-Star game, have been wiped out.

A second day of meetings Thursday led to rumors of an imminent breakthrough. Reports that NHLPA executive committee members Bill Guerin, Trent Klatt, Bob Boughner and Vincent Damphousse were in Toronto to be debriefed on the meetings inflated hopes. Other reports that the Mighty Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes had ordered equipment for training camp -- which were denied by both teams -- further encouraged optimism.

“The frustrating part for everybody was when weeks and months went by and nobody was talking,” said broadcaster Bob Miller, who would have been in his 31st season with the Kings. “I’m at least encouraged that they met and were exchanging ideas. Whether anything comes of it, I don’t know.”