from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,

The path to NHL labour peace — and a chance to save the season — is an idea that only number crunchers could love: a cap on escrow.

“If they’re willing to cap escrow, there’s something to talk about,” Mathieu Schneider — Donald Fehr’s special assistant at the NHLPA — told the Star on Thursday. “That would definitely be a step toward our direction, but that hasn’t been discussed.”

The two sides have no plans for face-to-face negotiations.

“The comment (from Schneider) is news to me, but the concept isn’t,” said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “The subject has never been raised across the table to us, either in the form of a proposal or otherwise.

“It’s just another way of addressing the ‘make-whole’ issue.”

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