from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun at The Observer (Sarnia),

If the league's offer on the "make whole" portion of the CBA is genuine, then they can move on to other issues, like the five-year limit on contracts the NHL is trying to impose along with changes to free agency.

While all games up until Dec. 1 have already been chopped, the league could still have a meaningful 60-game season that wouldn't require the playoffs to start late and the Stanley Cup final to be played after mid-June.

"They can worry about that stuff after they get an agreement," said a league insider Sunday. "They've got a lot of work to do before they can even think about trying to have a season."

The hope is these talks will lead to action on the ice.

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