NHLPA to present 'alternative' CBA proposal Tuesday

(SB Nation) -- The NHLPA will share with the NHL their own CBA proposal Tuesday, one month to the day that the league presented their own radical initial offer.

Representatives from both sides held the first of four days of scheduled talks in Toronto Monday as negotiations begin to heat up. The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Sept. 15 and economic issues continue to be the major divide with the NHL Players' Association.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said Tuesday's pitch will not be a counter-proposal to the deal the NHL presented in July. Instead, Fehr said the Players' Association will, "put forth an alternative view as to what we should do next." Numerous star players, including Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators, will be present at the Tuesday meeting. In the past, Spezza has gone on record saying that the NHLPA made "a lot of concessions" during the previous CBA negotiations, and will be resistant to making more.

The NHL's July proposal asked players to lower their percentage of hockey related revenue from 57 percent to 46 percent, along with various contract restrictions. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said the league would lock out the players if there is no new agreement when the current agreement expires.

-With files from Peter Raaymakers