Report: No formal meetings planned yet after informal lunch

The NHL and NHLPA reportedly conducted an informal lunch meeting today – Sportsnet’s Michael Grange indicates that Steve Fehr and Bill Daly were among the ranks – but nothing formal is planned for Saturday, according to Grange.

So far, there aren’t any clear plans for Sunday yet, either.

Update: ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the two sides will speak either Saturday night or Sunday morning to determine the next steps – or lack thereof.

After many hours of CBA negotiations this week, the two sides seemingly went from promisingly mum on details to sniping at each other as the weekend approached.

Not much has surfaced about the state of things on Saturday beyond previous bits about leaked memos and “make whole” provisions being insufficient, so observers have settled for making jokes about the lunch bill.

To some, this is a glum development after a week of heavy discussions. Others still see the bright side that the two sides are conversing even as things grew tense.

Either way, we’ll just need to sit and wait for updates as November rambles on.