After finishing up another four days of meetings this past week in New York, the NHL and the NHLPA have agreed to resume talks on Monday in Toronto.

NHL VP Bill Daly said some progress continued to be made.

"There was healthy dialogue, and progress continued to be made on many operational issues relating to a new collective bargaining agreement."

I wonder if he comes up with that stuff himself, or if he has a team of P.R. guys helping him?

Yesterday the Toronto Sun reported that Gary Bettman told an unnamed general manager that a team-by-team salary cap had not been agreed to, despite reports to the contrary. The article also reports that sources indicated that a luxury tax had not been agreed to either.

The Sun's sources had better call Jim Lites, the president of the Dallas Stars, because Lites confirmed the reports from earlier in the week . . . AND he put his name to it. If you ask me, I give a named source more credibility than an unnamed one. It is also curious that Saskin or Daly did not come right out and deny the reports outright. Just food for thought.

It looks as though the sale of one NHL is about to be approved, and another sale might be on the horizon. The sale of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli and his wife Susan had been reported quite some time ago. The sale is now close to being approved. Samueli has said that he intends on keeping the Ducks in Anaheim.

Meanwhile, a group of investors, led by William (Boots) Del Biaggio, a buddy of Mario Lemieux, has negotiated a letter of intent to purchase majority ownership of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Super Mario would retain a share of ownership. Del Biaggio stated that the group is committed to Pittsburgh should the deal go through.

In AHL news, the Philadelphia Phantoms swept the Chicago Wolves to capture the 2005 Calder Cup. Congratulations to the Phantoms.

Hartford Wolf Pack GM Jim Schoenfeld announced that the team has decided to not renew coach Ryan McGill's contract. Schoenfeld hinted that a lack of development in young players may have contributed to the decision. Thanks to message board member (and Crease bassist) Levitate for the reminder. This story is actually several days old, and I simply forgot to put it up.

Don't forget that Unforgettable Fire will be playing at Peggy O'Neill's in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn tonight. They put on an unbelievable show, so try not to miss them. Stop over and say hello to Andy, if you can find him. Mention Hockeybird to him and you get a free handshake! For more info, click here.

HDH

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