Those still hoping for an NHL season might have their faith finally rewarded. According to a number of reports, the NHL and NHLPA are slated to meet on Monday to renew negotiations for the first time since mid-December.
The NHL extended a new proposal on Friday and made a number of concessions on contract length, salary variance, and a compliance buyout. The NHLPA reviewed the offer on Friday and the two sides exchanged information over the weekend. It is widely believed that the NHLPA will offer a counter proposal.
According to Sam Carchidi, "Donald 'Grinch' Fehr expected to tell NHL $60M salary cap in 2013-14 is a joke + amnesty buyout shouldn't count toward players' HRR share."
According to Ben Kuzma, the union wants a salary cap closer to $67 million. The league had stated early on in negotiations that the cap needed to drop in the second year of the deal, but the player's insistence on the higher figure could potentially lengthen negotiations. Eklund of Hockey Buzz (who originally broke the news of the new NHL offer) stated that even if the league is unhappy with the $67 million cap in 2013-14, the owners are likely unwilling to lose the season over it.
However, the positive news extends far beyond the renewed negotiations. According to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Blog Puck Daddy, off-ice officials received a memo instructing them on "the upcoming season, 'specifically mentioning that the NHL and NHLPA are continuing to work toward a resolution that, if reached, will necessitate that arena personnel are 'ready to go.'"
This news would indicate that the league may in fact be anticipating the end of the lockout and the start of the season in mid-January.
Back during the 1994-95 lockout, the off-ice officials also received a similar notice from the NHL.