TORONTO — Another NHL lockout is beginning look inevitable.

Unable to move beyond the philosophical stage of talks, the owners and players have watched another week slip by without progress. They sat down together for a quick session Thursday morning before reporting the same significant gap that has existed all along.

The main issue that divides them is not complex.

“We believe we’re paying out more than we should be,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Of course, the NHL Players’ Association doesn’t quite see it that way.

Executive director Donald Fehr has acknowledged there’s room for some flexibility in that area — last week’s proposal included three years with a slightly lower share in revenues for the players — but he hasn’t come to the table in a conciliatory mood after taking over a union that capitulated during the last round of negotiations.

“Everybody understands that employers would always like to pay less,” Fehr said. “That’s not a surprise to anybody — it’s disappointing sometimes — but it’s not a surprise.”

He went on to add that the services his constituents provide are irreplaceable.

With both sides so entrenched, real negotiations have yet to begin even with the Sept. 15 deadline for a lockout.

The parties attempted to make some progress Wednesday by clearing the meeting room of everyone but the key figures: Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly along with Fehr and his brother Steve Fehr, the union’s No. 2 man. They soon discovered there was little common ground.