NEW YORK - The greatest save in NHL history might come at the bargaining table.

Just two days after the season was called off because of the protracted lockout, the announcement was made Friday that the NHL and the players' association scheduled a meeting in New York Saturday at the request of the league.

"It's the right thing," New Jersey Devils president Lou Lamoriello said. "I've always said that you should do it as quickly as you possibly can and not let any time go by."

The union denied an online report Friday night that an agreement had been reached on a $45 million salary cap. An NHLPA spokesman told The Associated Press in an e-mail that the report was "absolutely false."

On Wednesday, commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, saying it was too late to play any semblance of a schedule. That made the NHL the first major North American sports league to lose a full season to a labor dispute.

Or did it?

"I think the timing has always been to get an agreement so that we can play," said Lamoriello, who has taken part in previous negotiations. "Right now, it's still get an agreement, and then if we get an agreement, then can we play?

"I think it's a little different than it was before."

In a statement released Friday night, the players' association said the NHL made the offer late Thursday night to get together. There was no immediate word on who would take part in the meeting, but rumors were rampant that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were very much involved in the process.

"The way everything has transpired, nothing surprises me," said Lamoriello, who declined to say whether he would be in attendance.

NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly was involved in a closed-door meeting Friday evening and had no comment.

There hadn't been any official contact between the NHL and the players' association since Tuesday night - when the sides traded what they said were final offers.

All proposals were rejected, and Bettman canceled the season Wednesday at a news conference that was scheduled two days earlier.

"I don't think anything was premature. It was a necessity," Lamoriello said. "It didn't appear to be going anywhere and there was too much jockeying going on.

"Right now, there's a chance of people getting down to possibly getting this done."

Bettman said in a letter to NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow on Tuesday that the league's salary-cap proposal of $42.5 million was as far as he could go and that there was no time or flexibility for negotiation.

Goodenow sent a letter back, proposing a soft cap at $49 million that could be exceeded by as much as 10 percent by teams twice during the course of the six-year deal.

It appeared there was momentum toward reaching a deal and the season had a chance to be saved, because the sides were only $6.5 million apart on their cap numbers. But talking ceased after each side sent two letters to the other on Tuesday night.

"A lot of players, owners, managers saw how close the two negotiating teams got to a deal and I think people are just exploring if that can be explored any more," agent Pat Morris said Friday. "I don't know if it'll have a successful conclusion."