NHL, players union resume bargaining talks

NHL officials and player union representatives Monday resumed collective bargaining negotiations in New York to end the 2-month-old lockout. The two sides, meeting for the first time since Nov. 11, conferred for a little less than 2 hours in the meeting before adjourning the session at NHL headquarters. Hopes for a deal that could allow the delayed 2012-13 season to get under way by Dec. 1 faded after league owners and the NHL Players Association broke off talks last week. Reports indicate the players have proposed accepting a cut in their share of the league's revenue pie but remain opposed to NHL demands to crack down on "back-loaded" long-term contracts deemed to be evading the salary cap. News that the negotiations would resume came after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman last week floated the idea of the sides taking a two-week break. All games through Nov. 30 have officially been canceled, as has the Winter Classic, which was set for Jan. 1 in Ann Arbor, Mich., between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.