(CP) - Talks resumed on the NHL labour front Wednesday but little progress was made despite a set of new league proposals.
Bill Daly, the NHL's executive vice-president, and league commissioner Gary Bettman presented new material to Bob Goodenow, the executive director of the NHL Players' Association, but the union wasn't swayed.
``We had a four-hour meeting, probably the most substantive talks we've had to date in this process,'' Daly said from New York, where the meeting took place. ``We gave them a memo and an outline of six new systemic concepts, six new systems that we feel would each achieve our objective in collective bargaining.''
But NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin downplayed the NHL's new ideas.
``They did put forth six new different system concepts but unfortunately each one of them begins and ends with a salary cap and that doesn't provide any basis for any progress,'' Saskin said from New York.
``We're not interested in negotiating a salary-cap system. So we didn't make any progress in that regard.''
Neither side would divulge specifics of the six new proposals.
The two sides, which hadn't met since May 25, agreed to meet again Aug. 4 in Toronto.
The collective bargaining agreement, twice extended over the last 10 years, expires Sept. 15 - the day after the World Cup championship game in Toronto - at which point owners would likely impose a lockout until a new deal is struck.
Daly took some comfort in the fact the NHLPA left Wednesday's meeting wanting to know more on the league's new concepts.
``They've asked us to provide them more detailed backup information on the some of the modelling we've done on these systems,'' said Daly. ``We think that's a hopeful sign, because some of these systems are based on concepts that, to date, they had suggested were non-starters.
``At a minimum they're prepared to look at them and discuss them in detail with us, and so I think that's good thing.''
Saskin said the league should not read too much into that.
``What's important for us is to make sure we fully understand the concepts they're putting forward,'' he said. ``Because maybe if you look at the rationale behind certain concepts you can structure different ways to address the concerns.''
In other words, Wednesday's concepts put forward by the league would have to be significantly modified before the NHLPA could buy into them. The NHLPA refuses to accept any system that either resembles a salary cap or guarantees a percentage of revenues to the league's owners.
Owners appear ready to fight long and hard for a system that guarantees them cost certainty, having put aside more than $300 million US in case of a lockout.
The NHL wants a new labour agreement that ensures costs won't overrun revenues. The union says the league's proposal, no matter how worded, amounts to a hard salary cap. Saskin said all new concepts presented Wednesday represented much of the same.
``All of their system concepts are predicated on having total player compensation not exceed an agreed upon percentage of what they're prepared to declare as league-wide revenues,'' Saskin said.
``They call it cost certainty, we call it a salary cap. It's a cap on player compensation.''
The league says that 75 per cent of total revenues in 2002-03 went to player costs, leaving only 25 per cent to pay for coaches, travel, building costs, marketing and advertising - not enough to make any money in the NHL's eyes.
So the league is adamant it wants a new system that guarantees a link between costs and revenues, and that was the case in Wednesday's six new concepts.
``They are all systems that would provide the league with the element of cost certainty we need as part of our next collective bargaining agreement,'' Daly said.
The NHLPA proposed a system back on Oct. 1 that included revenue sharing, a luxury tax, a one-time five per cent rollback in salaries and some changes to the entry-level system.
``We still believe that our proposal of Oct. 1 remains the best framework in which to address the owners' stated concerns,'' Saskin said.
A luxury tax system would have to have more teeth than the one currently employed in Major League Baseball, which last year only penalized clubs that had a payroll over $117 million. Only the New York Yankees were taxed.
``In the modelling we did with league representatives, it contemplated many more teams being subject to luxury tax,'' Saskin said.
But there was no word of it in Wednesday's meeting.
``The luxury tax was not part of any systemic concept we discussed today,'' Daly said.
In the meantime, NHL employees found out Tuesday that their jobs are in jeopardy if a lockout takes place. Over 50 per cent of NHL employees in New York, New Jersey, Toronto and Montreal will be laid off on Sept. 20 if a new CBA isn't reached by the 16th.
Those who work until the 20th will receive a severance package, plus vacation compensation and extended medical benefits.
``We did have staff meetings in all of our offices yesterday talking about what would happen in the event there is no agreement on Sept. 15,'' Daly said.
``We're just trying to plan from a business perspective as prudently as we can.''
A lockout seems unavoidable at this point.
``Hopefully at some point we'll be able to find a compromise between our respective positions,'' Saskin said. ``It's something we're going to work hard towards achieving.''
Daly echoed Saskin's hope.
``I think today was good in the sense that we had a good candid dialogue and we have to continue to work at it,'' Daly said. ``We remain hopeful that if we continue to work at it, good things will happen.''