NHL

NHL, players union to resume talks today

As sand through the hourglass, representatives of the NHL and NHL Players’ Association will meet today for the first time since talks broke off last Friday, albeit in an informal session.

It is unknown whether this small-group meeting will lead to the resumption of formal negotiating.

A lockout looms upon the midnight, Sept. 15 expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, with the Board of Governors and commissioner Gary Bettman demanding massive givebacks from the players that would include an immediate 19.3-percent cut in the athletes’ share of revenues.

The league exacted a 24-percent rollback of players’ salaries coming out of the owners’ lockout that resulted in cancelation of the 2004-05 season.