NHL, union spend day on conference calls

NEW YORK: The NHL and the players’ association are spending lots of time talking, but not negotiating yet.
One day after it was revealed that the NHL made a new contract offer to the union, the sides spent much of Saturday taking part in conference calls. The talks were strictly on an informational level and not meant for bargaining purposes. The thought is that the sides are looking to meet for traditional negotiating on Sunday in New York, but that hadn’t been scheduled as of Saturday afternoon.
The players’ association has been going over the new proposal it received late Thursday. Calls were scheduled for Saturday so the union could ask questions of league officials regarding the offer that is about 300 pages in length.
Whether enough progress will be made to lead to face-to-face talks remains to be seen. So far, only more informational sessions have been scheduled for Sunday morning.
The sides haven’t gotten together in person since Dec. 13 with federal mediators.