RANGERS 101

Things sure are getting sour between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association.

The NHLPA's executive board reached out to the NHL executives about meeting this week, but the league declined.

"They have made it clear to us that they have very little interest in the proposal we made last Tuesday," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an email Tuesday night to ESPN.com. "They also told us they have no intention of making a new proposal. I'm not sure what we would be meeting about."

The stalemate follows a disheartening sequence of events in Toronto last week, when the NHL promptly rejected all three of the union's proposals. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the two sides were not even "speaking the same language."

On Friday, the league canceled another block of regular-season games, wiping out the schedule through Nov. 1, and more cuts appear imminent. Fans can expect more significant cancelations by the end of this week should no deal be reached.

If a deal someone is reached prior to then, somehow the league can still salvage an 82-game season. However, with the two sides not meeting, there is no chance of that.

"The league is apparently unwilling to meet," NHLPA counsel Steve Fehr said. "That is unfortunate as it is hard to make progress without talking."

The two sides are acting as if their proposed deals were "take it or leave it."

If this continues, expect no NHL this year, and many players jumping ship and potentially staying overseas.

Tags: Bill Daly, Gary Bettman, Hockey, New York, New York Rangers, NHL, NHL Players' Association, NHLPA, Steve Fehr

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