Union responds to latest NHL offer in labor talks
Union responds to NHL's latest proposal; more talks could be on tap to try to end lockout
FILE - This Aug. 14, 2012, file photo shows NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, left, and Bill Daly, deputy commissioner and chief legal officer, following collective bargaining talks in Toronto. The NHL is set to get back to the bargaining table Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, with the locked-out players’ association after a new contract offer from the league broke the ice between the fighting sides. "We delivered to the union a new, comprehensive proposal for a successor CBA," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement Friday, Dec. 28. "We are not prepared to discuss the details of our proposal at this time." (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young, File)
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL players' association delivered its latest counteroffer to the league Wednesday as the two sides try to resolve the lockout.
The union and the NHL could meet again later Wednesday after the league looks over the proposal.
The NHL had presented the players with a counteroffer Tuesday night.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that the league had told the union a deal needs to be in place by Jan. 11 so a 48-game season can begin eight days later. All games through Jan. 14 have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.
Wednesday night is the deadline for the players' association to declare a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.
If the deadline passes, union members could vote again to authorize their board to file a disclaimer at a later date.
"The players retain their option and it's an internal matter," players' association executive director Donald Fehr said.
