PHILADELPHIA - There just might be some hope for the hockey season.
While the NHL players' union has been denying it is not currently preparing a new proposal designed to at least reopen talks with the league, the rumor won't go away.
In fact, it is growing. The union is quietly working on a proposal and will introduce it at a players meeting to be held early in December, possibly Dec. 6, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
And a statement issued Tuesday by senior director Ted Saskin didn't exactly slam the door on the idea.
"The NHLPA has not yet confirmed a date for a player meeting and there are no new proposals planned at the present time," Saskin said in a statement released by the union late Tuesday, the 69th day of the lockout.
NHL executive vice president Bill Daly acknowledged that the league is hearing the same thing and is hopeful it is true.
"I have heard, indirectly, that the union is preparing the proposal and will present it to the league at the appropriate time," Daly told the Daily News, which also reported the league is working on a counterproposal based on what it thinks is coming.
Lukowich leaves minors
Lightning defenseman Brad Lukowich has left the Fort Worth Brahmas of the Central Hockey League, the team he was playing for during the NHL lockout.
The Brahmas released a statement Tuesday that said Lukowich was leaving the team after two months because of personal and family reasons.
Lukowich did not return telephone messages, but his agent, Carlos Sosa, said Lukowich was spending too much time away from his family.
"He was spending more time away from them playing for the Brahmas than he did when he was playing in the NHL," Sosa said. "They take buses, not planes, and the road trips can be long. I think he believed playing there would good if we were looking at a short (lockout), but now it looks like a long (lockout). He just missed being away so much of the time."
Lukowich, the first Lightning player to catch on with another team during the lockout, played nine games for the Brahmas with three goals, three assists and a plus-3 rating.
Meantime, Nikolai Khabibulin won his debut with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian league. Khabibulin stopped 27 of 28 shots in Ak Bars Kazan's 2-1 victory Tuesday against Salavat Yulayev Ufa.
