After watching negotiations go off the rails in a very public setting last week, the NHL and NHL Players' Association are heading back underground.

And they've invited some company.

The sides are set to resume talks at an undisclosed location today with U.S. federal mediators Scot L. Beckenbaugh and John Sweeney rejoining the process. Those men first met with league and union leaders Nov. 27 and 28.

The NHLPA continued to push for mediation when players and owners gathered in New York last week and the NHL eventually agreed. However, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday that he would carry "no expectations" into the next session.

Some progress was made during the last round of negotiations when owners and players met directly - commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr were both kept out of the room - although talks broke down shortly after Fehr met reporters on Thursday night and announced that agreements had been reached on most of the main issues.

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