NHL, players meet in bid to save season

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NEW YORK, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- The NHL and representatives of locked-out players met Tuesday amid renewed hopes they would reach a labor deal to save the remainder of the season.

A contingent of NHL Players Association leaders arrived at 9 p.m. at the NHL offices in New York after the league spent much of the day studying a collective bargaining offer put on the table by the union Monday.

They left an hour later saying they needed time to review the new proposals the NHL made at the meeting.

The (Toronto) Globe and Mail reported the two sides were close on the key issues of revenue sharing and pensions.

The NHLPA's proposal came in response to an offer put forward last week by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman aimed at reaching a deal to end a 108-day-old lockout that is threatening to scrub what's left of the NHL's 2012-13 season.

The league has said a deal much be reached by Jan. 11 in order to hold a 48-game season that would begin Jan. 19 following a one-week training camp.

After the NHL reportedly moved in the players' direction on several key points in last week's offer, the sides still disagree on the term of the new deal, salary cap provisions and buyout rules, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.