Negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League and the union representing its players were called off for the day on Wednesday as the clock ticked toward a lockout.
Union head Donald Fehr cautioned reporters not to read too much into the cancelled session, saying it was all part of the process and that both sides would resume negotiations today at the NHL Players' Association offices in Toronto.
"Sometimes you schedule things and they don't come off, sometimes you don't schedule things and you end up with much longer, more involved meetings. You change the format," Fehr told reporters.
"This is an ordinary part of process. I wouldn't attribute any particular significance to it beyond that."
With the current labour agreement set to expire on Sept. 15, players and owners are entering the critical stage of bargaining if they are to avoid another lockout like the one that wiped out the entire 2004-05 NHL season.
Fehr said top executives from the league and union held a separate meeting earlier on Wednesday where they spent most of the time discussing procedural issues before cancelling the larger afternoon session.
The two sides agreed to reconvene today when they will tackle some of the major trouble spots.
"We had the meeting this morning and talked about how we go forward and what we do next, and the thought was made that we would be better off doing some other things this afternoon," said Fehr. "We spent some time talking about the core economic issues but that is all I want to say about it."
