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The NHL's official line this fall has been that the economic turmoil battering other sports and industries has yet to hit the rink. But after a day spent poring over dour forecasts for the world economy, the seriousness of the crisis is in sharper focus.

The league's board of governors, gathered in Florida for two days of meetings, didn't really talk about hockey yesterday and instead spent the day hearing from experts who detailed an increasingly grim financial picture.

Though the governors insist the current season's revenues are largely insulated from the deepening recession, Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, the chairman of the board of governors, said: "Business is going to be difficult in Boston next year, I know. And it's difficult now."

Ottawa Senators president Roy Mlakar described the presentations as "enlightening" and "in some ways, it's a little depressing." He added that the session was unlike any of the others he has attended in the past.

"The discussion was even more global than North American or related to hockey," Mlakar said. "It's really what's going on in the world, even on how it's impacted on China, Japan, other countries. This wasn't just hockey-related today … we have never been in this position in my 20-who-knows-how-many years in the National Hockey League, we've never seen anything like this."

Another hot topic in the hallways yesterday: a Rogers Sportsnet report indicating the Buffalo Sabres are negotiating with a potential ownership suitor.

Sabres minority owner Larry Quinn moved to squelch the speculation over the sale of the team as he arrived at yesterday's meeting, held at the chic Breakers resort.

"We're not shopping for a buyer — at all," said Quinn, who heard reports the club is entertaining a buyer.

But at the same time, Quinn wouldn't rule out an eventual deal if the right offer comes along.

"We have had, since the lockout [in 2004-05] … I'm going to say four or five times people have come to us, because let's face it, we're a club that's done pretty well," Quinn said, "but we have never sought out anybody."

After yesterday's financial-centred meetings, newly minted Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke said all clubs — even deep-pocketed ones such as Toronto — understand they will have to manage their organizations more carefully in the coming years.

"We don't think any industry and certainly no team is recession-proof," Burke said. "It's that simple. Our fan base and our corporate base are facing the same challenges as everyone else. You see what's happening in NASCAR. You can't argue that it's not having an effect on professional sports."

And for Canadian owners, it was a chance to hear an update on the worsening situation in the United States, where a half-dozen teams — mostly in Sun Belt cities — are feeling the pinch.

"It was sobering," Edmonton Oilers chief executive officer Patrick Laforge said. "I hadn't heard it in that kind of detail, and if you're in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, you're just not running into a lot of U.S. economists. When you look at all of North America, it becomes a little a more dark and deep."

The meeting also embarked on a preliminary discussion regarding the NHL's eventual involvement in the Champions Hockey League — a multicountry, season-long European club tournament in its inaugural year.

"It's a tournament they have over there," said Colin Campbell, the NHL's executive vice-president and director of hockey operations. "The question is: where would we be as part of that? They like what we have as far as our structure, our history, what do we bring to them? It's not something [the owners] have said no to. … It's interesting, it's a good concept that's over there, they're going ahead with it, with or without us, so …"

The governors didn't address the contentious issue of the salary cap — one person present at the meeting said that only about a third of the agenda items were discussed — preferring instead to dwell on a broader discussion of the economy.

"We wanted to get to [the cap] today, it would have been a good segue way to what we went through," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "But the board was engaged enough with the people that were talking about the economic situation."

Daly added the league understands there is "tough sledding" ahead, and with several clubs hemorrhaging money — the Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders among them — the conventional wisdom that the real hit won't come until next season (Mlakar said "85 per cent of our business is done already" for the current season), the situation is increasingly perilous.

At the same time, Daly said the NHL won't be following the examples set by the NBA, which recently laid off 9 per cent of its employees.