from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

While some media are speculating bargaining could resume Wednesday in New York, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told QMI Agency in an e-mail the NHL is willing to negotiate only on the offer it made the union last Tuesday.

"We have a proposal on the table," Daly wrote Monday. "If, and when, the (union wants) to bargain over it, we will be more than happy to do so."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, facing heat to get the season started, tabled a proposal that would have seen the sides settle their differences with a six-year CBA that included a 50-50 split in hockey-related revenues.

League sources say Bettman won't be allowed to offer up any more concessions to try to get a deal and, in fact, he has gone further than some owners expected he would.

There is concern in league circles the NHL won't be able to do anything to satisfy union executive director Donald Fehr and if Bettman continues to negotiate he is doing so against himself despite tremendous pressure to play.

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