Hockey

Second straight week of progress reported

CHICAGO - Progress was reported Thursday for the second straight week in labor talks between the NHL and the players' association.

Both sides issued brief statements but didn't reveal many details of what was discussed.

Union senior director Ted Saskin said he expected commissioner Gary Bettman and union executive director Bob Goodenow to schedule new meetings soon.

"We just completed two days of meetings focused on revenue measurement and reporting issues," Saskin said. "There is a lot more information to be exchanged between the parties."

NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly said the sides planned to meet again next week.

"Further progress was made in reviewing and discussing league and club financial and accounting issues," Daly said.

The sides met in smaller groups and without Bettman and Goodenow, as they did last week before two days of full bargaining sessions that lasted 22 hours.

That led to the latest round of talks that started with a 61/2-hour session Wednesday.

The sides are trying to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with a salary cap.

As has been the case since before the lockout began in September, the league and the union are trying to find common ground on the idea of a cap. The sides have agreed to have one, so it's just a matter of agreeing on how it should work and what the upper and lower limits should be for each team.

Working off an April 4 concept offered by the players' association, the league and union are looking to develop a system with an upper cap that could move each year depending on revenues.

Last week, the sides met for four straight days in New York. Full bargaining sessions Thursday and Friday produced the first signs of progress in the standoff that forced the cancellation of the 2004-05 season.

[Last modified May 27, 2005, 00:40:18]