Progress made in NHL labour fight, with league and union to meet again during upcoming week

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces the NHL Winter Classic hockey game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Feb. 9, 2012. The NHL has canceled the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. The signature event between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, is the latest casualty from the labor dispute that has put the season on hold, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP - Paul Sancya

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A secret, long-awaited bargaining session has done some good in the NHL labour fight—so much so that the sides already have plans to get back to the bargaining table soon.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and players' association special counsel Steve Fehr met for long stretches of Saturday in an undisclosed location, marking the first time the sides had gotten together for talks in more than two weeks.

"We had a series of meetings over the course of the day and had a good, frank discussion on the most important issues separating us," Daly told The Associated Press in an email Sunday morning. "We plan to meet again early in the week."

Daly and Fehr hadn't met since Oct. 18 when both sides rejected offers, but a series of phone conversations this week did enough to produce a new round of talks.