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 more than 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. “To go through chronicling issue by issue isn’t going to serve anybody’s purpose and probably isn’t all that interesting.

“I think, most importantly, hockey fans that like and love the Olympics would like to see us get this done, and that’s what we’re going to be focused on. … Ultimately, the IOC, the NHL players and the board of governors are going to have to approve what we get done, but we’re working on it.”

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.

“There are many issues that are of common interest,” Bettman said of all the parties involved. “I believe we have been supportive of issues the players’ association has raised, and the players’ association has been supportive of issues that we have raised. The IIHF has been supportive to the IOC on issues that both the players’ association and the league have raised.”

No decision on whether NHL players would head to Russia next February was expected this week, but one will have to be made soon.

“We put ourselves on a timetable,” Bettman said. “We each have some work to do internally before we get back together, but we’re going to get back together again and stay in communication.”

It is believed hockey federations will need to know by May what players will be available for their teams. The NHL would like an even quicker resolution.

“I think timing is more of an issue from our standpoint,” Bettman said. “We have to do the schedule for next season. I don’t want to prognosticate. We’re all trying to get to the same place.”

While the NHL and the players are interested in participating in the Olympics again, they have to figure out if it makes sense for them to interrupt another season to make it possible.

The league is just coming off a long shutdown caused by the lockout that produced a shortened regular season this year.

“For sure we have to know as early as possible,” said Fasel, an IOC member. “As Gary said, we do not have a deadline, but what we know is next week we’re going to start to work (with) a lot of people to prepare as soon as possible an agreement.

“It is not easy, but that makes it very interesting.”

The time difference will force the Games to be played at off hours in North America, and the NHL would like to receive concessions from the IOC that haven’t been made before.

In return for sending its players to the Sochi Olympics, the NHL is trying to acquire video, photograph and website rights for the games. The IIHF and the IOC retain those exclusive rights now.

The NHL began sending its players to the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, and continued through the 2010 Vancouver Games. Even though the NHL received great exposure by having its players take part in an Olympics in North America, disrupting the season does come with a cost.

The stopping of the season, the potential injury risk to players, and no tangible upside for the NHL are all factors that create doubt about whether the investment is good for the league.

“I hope they vote yes,” said New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro, a U.S. Olympian in 2006. “It’s as simple as that. It’s great for the sport.”

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“The best thing to do is acknowledge that it was stupid,” Miller said Friday, before turning his attention to Sabres fans. “I appreciate their patience. I know it’s a hard situation. I still don’t even know the right message because it was just a stupid, useless waste of time.”

Miller, who played a role in negotiations, called himself “embarrassed” that it took more than six months of negotiations to reach an agreement. At one point during talks, he gave up on the possibility of having a season.

And he laid the blame on the owners’ side, specifically singling out commissioner Gary Bettman, whom he accused of being the reason why the four-month lockout wasn’t resolved sooner.

“In my mind, it always had to be January in Gary Bettman’s mind,” Miller said. “Obviously, he had something in his head and he was going to see how far he could take it. So there’s really no going up against Gary when he has something in his head.”

For someone who hasn’t played in a competitive game since April 5, the ever-outspoken Miller seems already in midseason form.

“It’s exciting to be back. It’s the way you that you’re supposed to feel,” he said. “It’s not in the board room, so that’s good. It’s getting back on the ice, and that’s the important part.”

Spending much of his offseason in southern California, Miller arrived in Buffalo on Thursday, and was on the ice for what’s expected to be the players’ final informal practice at a suburban arena. Training camp is tentatively set to open Sunday, and a 48-game regular season to start a week later.

A seven-year veteran, Miller is the face of the franchise, and regarded as a team leader. His arrival was welcomed by the Sabres, and also by numerous fans. About 300 onlookers — the largest turnout this week — lined the boards to watch the open practice.

Aside from his frustrations regarding labor talks, Miller was in an upbeat mood. Walking out of the locker room with his mask perched above his head, exposing a familiar patchy beard — “It’s my lockout beard” — he then flashed a big smile and waved his glove hand before taking the ice.

Before taking any questions from reporters afterward, Miller first wanted to find out what’s been happening in Buffalo, and then shook hands with each member of the media.

“There,” he said. “We’re reintroduced again, eight months later.”

Now it’s time to get to work in what will be a shortened season, and for a high-priced Sabres team that was among the NHL’s biggest busts after missing the playoffs last season.

Buffalo (39-32-11) finished ninth in the Eastern Conference and was hampered by a rash of injuries, including Miller missing a nine-game stretch because of concussion-like symptoms. On the bright side, Miller hopes the team can pick up where it left off after closing last season on a 15-5-4 roll.

The challenge for Miller is getting himself ready to carry much of the load during a tightly packed stretch of games.

“Hockey-wise, I’m in a pretty good spot,” he said. “Mentally, I always kind of knew it was going to be a short sprint kind of situation. It’s not a surprise for anyone of us.”

Coach Lindy Ruff already has projected Miller will play 36 to 38 games.

Miller hasn’t given any thought to how many games he’ll play, but has been accustomed to being the Sabres’ workhorse.

He’s appeared in 59 or more games in each of his past six seasons. That includes 2009-10, when he was the NHL’s Vezina Trophy winner after going 41-18-8 in 69 NHL regular-season games. He also played six games at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he led the United States to a silver medal.

“I just want to be that guy, and we’ll go by that,” Miller said. “I think if I’m playing at a high-enough level, I’d like to be in net.”

Unlike some NHLers who spent part of the lockout playing overseas, Miller elected to stay home. He said the insurance premiums on his contract proved expensive. He also noted that he wanted to make sure there were no lingering effects from the head injury he suffered last season.

Miller spent much of his time working out in California, where he skated three or four times a week. He mostly worked out with members of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings such as Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson, Justin Williams and Rob Scuderi. Several other NHLers, including Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, also spent a few months working out with them.

“I’ve been skating pretty consistently since June, but it’s not the same as playing with your teammates,” Miller said. “It’s been missing from my life for the past eight months, that’s a long time.”

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The 30 governors on hand for the league’s board of governors meeting voted unanimously to pass, completing one half of ratification.

All that is needed for the deal to become official is for the players to vote. The vote, which will be held electronically for the 700-plus membership, is expected to be finished by Friday or Saturday, a source told ESPNNewYork.com. Training camps are tentatively set to open Sunday, the source said, with a 48-game regular season scheduled to start Jan. 19.

Assuming the players ratify as well, the lockout officially will come to a close after almost four months.

In a statement following Wednesday’s meeting in midtown Manhattan, Bettman offered an apology to the fans for the lockout, the third work stoppage during his tenure as commissioner.

“We know no words of apology or explanation will soften the disappointment. I read the letters, I followed the tweets, I read the blogs. We have a lot of work to do,” Bettman said. “The National Hockey League has a responsibility to earn back your trust and support, whether you watch one game or every game. And that effort begins today.”

Bettman said there would be initiatives and campaigns to win back the fans, but said they would be announced at the “appropriate time.”

Despite the resounding support Bettman received in the vote, there was speculation his future could be in jeopardy as a result of the long, bitter battle that cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars.

“It’s nothing more than speculation and it’s nothing more than unfounded speculation,” Bettman said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to grow this game, both on and off the ice as we have over the last 20 years. I think the opportunities are great and I’m glad to be a part of them.”

Bettman said realignment and Olympic participation, neither of which were included in the new (tentative) CBA, will be dealt with separately, and soon.

When asked whether any violation of the league’s agreement with Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League could threaten Olympic participation, Bettman declined to place any blame.

“I don’t want to get into ‘what ifs,’ ” he said. “We’ll see what happens and deal with it in an appropriate fashion.”

New Jersey forward Ilya Kovalchuk’s return to the NHL from Russia has yet to be verified, but Bettman did not issue any threats when questioned about the matter.

“The NHL represents the highest level of hockey in the world,” he said. “We expect that the best players will want to play here.”

Bettman said he hopes to build a relationship with what he called a “stable union with strong leadership” and one that provided the opportunity to create a partnership. He admitted that the 113 days it took to reach a deal with the union was a “long and extremely difficult” negotiation in which “everyone lost in the short term.”

He said he hoped the 10-year deal, pending ratification, would provide stability to the game moving forward.

The memorandum of understanding, the document the players will be voting on, was still being finalized by lawyers on both sides Wednesday afternoon, a source confirmed.

Bettman declined to provide details about the schedule, other than that one won’t be released until after the CBA is signed.

He did acknowledge that, for hockey fans, that day cannot come soon enough.

“The players are ready to play their hearts out for you, the teams are prepared to welcome you back with welcome arms, the wait is just about over,” he said. “Like all of you, we can’t wait to drop the puck.”

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After a round of small-group meetings Wednesday morning — held mainly to discuss pension issues — the union returned to league offices shortly before 3 p.m. ET to deliver its latest proposal. It was the fourth proposal made between the two sides in the past six days.

The meeting, which included several players, lasted approximately one hour.

The two sides expect to reconvene Wednesday evening, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said. According to a source, the next meeting is set tentatively for 8 p.m. ET.

Fehr declined to comment on whether the NHLPA will file a disclaimer of interest, which would dissolve the union, although the executive board will hold a conference call on the matter at some point Wednesday night.

The players have until midnight Wednesday to decide whether to dissolve the NHLPA, thereby nullifying its right to collectively bargain as a union.

With little details emerging from the information exchange between the sides, the NHLPA’s decision will provide the best glimpse at where negotiations stand.

A vote to disclaim interest would have a significant impact on negotiations — possibly derailing them altogether — and would be a sign the two sides are not as close as many had hoped.

Should it let the deadline pass, it is possible the union believes it can reach a deal.

The league already has canceled all games through Jan. 14, and the deadline to salvage the season is looming. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said a deal would need to be reached by Jan. 11 in order for a 48-game season to be possible.

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