NEW YORK—NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players’ Association. Executive Director Donald Fehr were poised to rejoin labor negotiations Thursday after moving aside to let their respective top lieutenants preside over the talks for 2 days.

The change comes at a critical juncture in the discussions, which produced some movement on each side on Tuesday and Wednesday.

However, left unresolved were key issues such as as the league’s insistence on a 5-year cap on contracts and a maximum five percent salary variance from year to year.