NEW YORK -- The troubled Ottawa Senators could have a new financing plan in place by the middle of next week, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday.

Bettman met with team owner Rod Bryden and the Senators' major creditors, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Fleet National Bank and Covanta Energy Corp.

"We met with all the interested parties and discussed a framework for providing financing that would enable the club to become current on its obligations,'' Bettman said in a statement. "It is our hope that the financing can be arranged and finalized by the middle of next week.''

The Senators, who led the league with 53 points going into Friday's games, missed a player payroll payment Wednesday after a $234 million financing plan fell apart on New Year's Eve. That deal would have injected $42 million to cover operating expenses -- including the missed salaries -- and payments to keep its loans current.

Even though the team has drawn well and has a comparatively modest payroll, debts estimated at $160 million have made it impossible for the Senators to make any money.

The league did not say what financing deal it was considering. Possibilities include loans to provide time for the team to arrange refinancing or having it declare bankruptcy to provide protection from creditors.

The $234 million financing plan involved about 650 investors buying units in the team and then being awarded Canadian tax write-offs based on the depreciation of 47 player contracts. That deal needed to be completed by Dec. 31 to provide tax benefits for 2002. Now with that deadline has passed, the plan probably will not be revived.

The two banks are owed $60 million by the Senators. The team has also borrowed money from Covanta, including the $50 million expansion fee paid in 1991. But that company was forced into bankruptcy protection last spring, killing a financing deal similar to the one that died Dec. 31.

Bryden addressed his players prior to Ottawa's 8-1 win over Atlanta on Thursday, the team's first game since failing to meet its payroll.

"It was probably a good thing to hear exactly -- from him, who's directly involved in the situation -- what's going to happen in the future,'' Senators defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn said after practice Friday. "I guess it cleared the air a little bit, if guys had any questions or any problem with it, he made sure that we were well aware of the fact that he's working on it to get it done.''

Leschyshyn expects the team to be paid by the middle of next week.

''(Bryden) just said that he's got something in the works right now and that within the next few days he hopes to have it all resolved, and our paychecks should be here,'' captain Daniel Alfredsson said.