As NHL Labor Talks Resume Today, Major Areas Of Focus Emerge

Talks between the NHL and NHLPA toward a new CBA are slated to resume today in Toronto, and SPORTING NEWS' Jesse Spector identifies three major areas where the two parties "can take great strides."

• Player Safety: "There is much more to be done, including players and management continuing to work together to refine concussion-assessment protocols."
• Going Global: "It is in the best interests of hockey for NHL players to continue to participate in the Olympics, even if doing so in Sochi, Russia, will be more difficult logistically than the last Games in Vancouver."
• Realignment: "The most obvious way to make a four-division setup work would be for the NHL to expand to 32 teams, which would make the union happy because of the jobs created and the owners happy because of the expansion fees they would collect" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/9).