The NHL rejected last week's proposal by the players' association and then had its own counteroffer turned down Tuesday during a 3½-hour negotiating session.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the offer made by the union last Thursday, which featured a 24-percent salary rollback, was a "big-time, significant and meaningful move" but was a short-term fix that wouldn't cure the league's financial troubles in the long run.
"In short, the league took what they liked from our proposal, made major changes and slapped a salary cap on top of it," union head Bob Goodenow said. "Put simply, our proposal provides the basis for a negotiated agreement. The NHL's does not."
The major difference in the dispute remains the salary-cap roadblock. The NHL wants one to achieve what it calls cost certainty. The players' association says it will never accept that as a solution.
"(Bettman) knows full well that a salary cap is a nonstarter for this organization," Goodenow said. "He remains fixated on the salary-cap solution. And as long as that's the case, there's going to be problems."
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