NHL: League trying to keep players in Olympics

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New York • Two days of talks between the NHL and international hockey officials wrapped up Friday with signs that the league will wind up sending its players to the 2014 Sochi Games.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel met for about 2½ hours after a 90-minute get-together Thursday night. No new talks were scheduled, but the sides are expected to meet again.

NHL players have participated in the past four Winter Games, and the league is weighing whether it gets enough return on its overall investment, which requires North American hockey to shut down its season for over two weeks to take part.

"I think it is fair to say that if this can be worked out to everybody's satisfaction, we'd all like to have NHL players at the Olympics," Bettman said.

Players' association executive director Don Fehr joined the discussions by phone from Toronto. The union and the NHL appear aligned in their position on the Olympics now that their labor dispute is behind them.