from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

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."

Several players were expected to start arriving in New York late Sunday and early Monday to accompany Fehr to the bargaining session, which is certainly the most pivotal of this 107-day lockout -- the season is hanging by a thread.

"We're going to find out how bad the NHL wants a season," said a union source.

The players were happy to get an offer Thursday, but they weren't completely pleased it was almost 300 pages, accompanied by a drop-dead date of Jan. 11 to get a deal in place and the season starting on Jan. 19.

The league can't afford to have many more days without formal bargaining sessions with such a tight deadline. Bettman and Daly were both at the league's headquarters on Sixth Avenue before heading home late in the day.

read on