NEW YORK -- On New Year's Eve, will the NHL be the toast of the town or will the season just be toast?
NHL Players' Association executive director Donald Fehr was supposed to deliver Sunday a response to the league's latest offer. Instead, the union decided it needed more time before getting back in the room with league officials.
While the two sides were supposed to sit down, the NHLPA informed commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy Bill Daly late in the afternoon they weren't ready to return to the table because they're still working on a response.
Though the players finished their due diligence with a series of conference calls and face-to-face meetings Sunday morning, Fehr was huddled with his closest advisors working on a counter-proposal that will be tabled Monday.
"I'm sure you're going to see Fehr try to squeeze the league for more," predicted a league executive Sunday. "He still feels he has time to push a few more buttons."
