from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

The NHL’s Canceler-in-Chief Gary Bettman, under pressure in the form of phone calls from big-market owners — including the Rangers’ James Dolan, multiple sources report — to resurrect bargaining the league abandoned three weeks ago, made modest adjustments to the previous offer regarding, most notably, contract term limits for free agents changing teams; salary variance within contracts; and amnesty buyouts.

The league, though, is still proposing a $60.2 million cap for 2013-14 that represents a drop of 14.53 percent from this year’s $70.2 million compliance figure and would all but certainly result in the players’ assuming double-digit escrow losses next year, even including make-whole payments.

A cap of $60 million next season would both put a squeeze on the approximately 250 players whose contracts are due to expire over the summer while minimizing their choices as unrestricted free agents.

The union is expected to propose a higher 2013-14 cap in the transition to 50/50, perhaps $65M, plus a cap on escrow losses.

The league’s proposed single buyout per team that would count against the players’ share, but not against individual club caps, would provide some, but not substantial relief to those clubs hard up against next year’s reduced cap.

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