The N.H.L. made a surprise offer in talks for a new collective bargaining agreement on Tuesday in Toronto, proposing a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue with the N.H.L. Players’ Association and a mechanism guaranteeing that current contracts would be honored without rollbacks.

It was the first significant movement in the negotiations since the league’s owners locked out the players Sept. 15 and subsequently canceled the first two weeks of the season.

Under the old agreement, the players received 57 percent of revenue. The owners’ initial proposal would have given the players 43 percent, and a more recent offer, made Sept. 13, offered 47 percent. The players have proposed accepting diminished pay raises that would reduce their share of revenue to about 53 percent.

With its latest move, the N.H.L. has offered the approximate revenue split achieved by N.F.L. and N.B.A. owners after lockouts in those leagues last year. Commissioner Gary Bettman has often said that N.H.L. owners are seeking a similar agreement.