NHL Talks to Stay in Toronto

NHL negotiators agreed to return to Toronto on Tuesday to respond to the labor proposal made Thursday by the players’ union, a deal it said would deflate salaries enough to save owners $1 billion over six seasons.

The union’s offer, the first move by either side since owners locked players out on Sept. 15, featured a 24% cut in all existing contracts, salary arbitration rules that are more favorable to clubs, and a luxury tax with a threshold of $45 million.

However, it did not feature the “cost certainty” the league has said it needs to stem losses it stated at nearly $500 million the past two seasons. Players interpret “cost certainty” as a euphemism for salary cap and have said they won’t accept a cap.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and other league executives were expected to spend the weekend talking with owners and formulating their counteroffer. Bettman called the salary rollback “a one-time element” and said he doesn’t believe a luxury tax would deter clubs from spending lavishly and renewing the inflationary spiral that drove the NHL to the financial straits it now faces.

-- Helene Elliott